SPOILER ALERT: In case you haven’t seen ‘Justice League’ this article discusses elements from the movie, so proceed with caution.
The ‘Justice League’ tagline “Unite The Seven” officially makes no sense, now that that the movie has arrived. With the resurrection of Superman, the team’s roster still sits at six, with Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg. Maybe Alfred counts as an honorary member. But one thing’s for sure, the seventh member is NOT Green Lantern.
Despite some internet teasing from Armie Hammer, an actor originally cast to play Batman in the aborted ‘Justice League: Mortal’, he did not appear in ‘Justice League’ as Hal Jordan. There were no Earthling GLs… but there was an alien one! During the flashback to Steppenwolf’s first attempt to conquer Earth, he is shown being opposed by the Amazons, Atlanteans, the ancient gods and… an ally from the stars, a Green Lantern. Because this scene is set thousands of years ago, it isn’t one that most fans are familiar with, but it turns out, he wasn’t just some made-up alien Lantern, either. Intrepid fans have deduced his identity and he does originate in the comics.
It appears, the GL in the film is Yalan Gur. In a tale published in 1991’s ‘Green Lantern’ #19, Yalan Gur was revealed to be a GL from two thousand years ago and the protector of Sector 2814. After he was nearly killed by a yellow monster, the Guardians of the Universe removed the weakness to that color from the Lanterns’ Power Rings. But with the weakness removed, Yalan Gur came to believe that he was invincible and set about conquering the planets in his sector, including Earth. He attacked China, which resulted in the building of the Great Wall. The Guardians then reworked their programming and made Yalan Gur’s ring vulnerable to wood. When the ancient Chinese soldiers hurled wooden spears at him, he was taken down and his Power Ring and Battery merged with the substance known as the Starheart, which thousands of years later, became the weapons of the first human Green Lantern, Alan Scott, who had previously had no connection to the Guardians of the Universe or the Green Lantern Corps.
His story appears to have been altered in ‘Justice League’. He is killed battling Steppenwolf and the Parademons and upon his death, his ring went to find another champion to wield it for good.
In case you were curious as to how fans sussed out this mystery Lantern’s identity, check out the art below:
OTHER: In case there was still any doubt about who THAT was in the History Lesson… from DC_Cinematic
At least this establishes the Green Lanterns in the film universe. Warner Brothers had a ‘Green Lantern Corps’ movie scheduled for 2019, but there has been no news about this in quite some time. At this time, ‘Shazam!’ is the only DC Comics movie set for 2019, but it looks as though ‘Nightwing’ could also see a release then, as director Chris McKay hopes to get production started next year. But it could still happen.
Was this a good introduction to the cinematic Green Lantern Corps? Do you still hope that WB manages to add a ‘GLC’ movie to its upcoming lineup?
