History Franchise / GreenLantern

* TheExile: Hal Jordan was exiled for Earth for a year by the Guardians, as punishment for not responding to a distress call from Ungara because he was helping Carol Ferris. Normally such an offense would have meant expulsion from the Corps, but his exemplary record saved him from that fate.

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Subverted by the Guardians, who are cold and distant at best, and {{Manipulative Bastard}}s at worst. Thankfully, straight examples exist in Ganthet and Sayd.

[[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Created in 1940]], the original Green Lantern was a railroad engineer named Alan Scott, who fashioned his ring and lantern out of a magic metal called the Starheart. Alan used his fists as often as he used his ring, and was more of a pulp hero than a sci-fi one. Like most of the other DC characters of the time, his comic ended as super-heroes fell out of fashion in the late 40s.

[[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Created in 1940]], the original Green Lantern was a railroad engineer named Alan Scott, who fashioned his ring and lantern out of a magic metal called the Starheart. However, [[TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks in the late 1950s]] DC Comics revamped the title with a sci-fi bent, reimagining the hero as cocky test pilot turned [[SpacePolice space cop]] Hal Jordan, who was given a [[RingOfPower Power Ring]] by a dying alien who crash landed on Earth (and was just one of many extraterrestrial peacekeepers serving the wise [[TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness Guardians of the Universe]]). What most people know of the character originated during this era: the villainous Lantern renegade SelfDemonstrating/{{Sinestro}}, the living planet Mogo, alien drill instructor Kilowog, and aerospace entrepreneur/love interest Carol Ferris. Occasionally, Jordan would pass his ring off to other humans, like stoic architect and former U.S. Marine John Stewart or [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold lovable jerk]] Guy Gardner. Alan Scott would also return, first as an [[AlternateUniverse Earth-2]] counterpart to Hal, then after continuities got merged in the ''CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'' he became a respected elder hero with only the loosest connection to the Corps.

* EvilCounterpart: Sinestro for Hal, Nero for Kyle, Arkillo for Kilowog, the Controllers for the Guardians, and later [[ThePsychoRangers the Sinestro Corps for the GLC]]. The Green Lantern archetype has also had an EvilCounterpart from another universe named Power Ring.

* FaceHeelTurn: Sinestro used to be the single most respected member of the Green Lantern Corps, until he took a shortcut in his work by enslaving his home planet. The Manhunters were also the Guardians' original fighting force, until they decided they worked better alone, and without morals.
** As of ''Rise of the Third Army'' [[spoiler:the Guardians themselves]].

* FallenHero: Hal Jordan, during ''Emerald Twilight'' and ''Zero Hour'', though some things were changed during ''Rebirth''.
** As mentioned above, Sinestro was one of the greatest Green Lanterns until he used its powers to take over Korugar.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: Kyle and Guy; so much so that when it looks like [[spoiler: Kyle has died in ''BlackestNight'', it crosses the DespairEventHorizon for Guy and he accepts a red ring, then goes completely AxCrazy [[BerserkButton berserk]] on just about everyone around him]].
** Also Vath Sarn and Isamot Kol, in spite of the two of them being from two different ''[[{{Egregious}} species]]''. Two species who ''hate each other''.

** The Lanterns also get along famously with TheFlash family: Alan Scott and Jay Garrick, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen, and Kyle Rayner and Wally West.

* LastStarfighter:
** At one point things got so bad for the Green Lantern Corps that the last Guardian teleported to Earth and threw a ring at a random person. Eventually they got better.
** This happens to the Corps every so often. When Hal Jordan was still a rookie, the villain Legion had defeated the entire corps with its gigantic yellow suit of armor, but Hal figures out that if he covers Legion in mud, his ring will work on him. When cracking the armor open turns out not to have been the best idea, Hal flies into the central power battery and supercharges his ring, giving him the strength to defeat the villain on his own.
** After the ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths, the GLC is reduced to the three Lanterns of Earth and a small handful of others spread around the universe. When the sole remaining Guardian is driven mad by solitude, it's pretty much up to Hal to save the day again.
** Nova Corps: After a devastating interstellar war, the superpowers of a million-man-strong force were co-opted into one super suit, leading to several HeroicRROD situations.
** In ''[[WesternAnimation/GreenLanternFirstFlight First Flight]]'' Sinestro has destroyed Green Lantern battery, all of the remaining Green Lanterns are left powerless. Only Hal was able to get green elements power working again and fight Sinestro one on one.

* DangerDeadpan: Hal Jordan in the ''JusticeLeagueTheNewFrontier'' miniseries.

* MilitarySuperhero: Both Hal Jordan and John Stewart are former military, but except for his ''JusticeLeagueTheNewFrontier'' incarnation, it's not a big aspect of Hal's background. John, however, is VERY much this trope. He's a [[SemperFi retired Marine]], and you better not forget it.

->''"In BrightestDay, in BlackestNight\\

* ''BlackestNight''
** ''BrightestDay'': Again, not strictly a Green Lantern story, though it does spin out of one and the Lanterns do take part.

** Although [[BrightestDay recently]] it's been revealed that current forms of the Guardians aren't natural for them at all, but rather a result of some wierd process that makes them ultra-powerful midgets. Most exemplified by [[spoiler: Krona]], who was tall and buff mere years ago, but now [[HollywoodEvolution has evolved himself]] into a Guardian form. If the Zamarons did the same, they would probably look like the female Guardians.

** It should be noted, though, that the power of a Green Lantern relies solely on the creativity and skill of the individual corpsman.

** Invictus, a minor, but recent, villain. He's an angel ([[SadlyMythtaken not the mythological kind; an alien]]). To be fair, he targeted ''Larfleeze'' for the crime of killing his race. He just wouldn't listen to others when they said they needed Larfleeze alive.

* GeniusBruiser: Even without his ring, Kilowog is both superstrong and a technolo
* {{Flanderization}}: The Guardian's hypocrisy, intolerance of emotion, and total inability to make good decisions have been greatly exaggerated in recent years. There is a reason they lasted billions of years without collapsing on themselves, you know.gical genius.

* GeniusBruiser: Even without his ring, Kilowog is both superstrong and a technological genius.

* PassionIsEvil: The coda of the Guaridans. The Green Light is the center of the spectrum and the most stoic. The other lights are further from the spectrum (with red and violet being the extremes). The more powerful the emotion, the more it controls the Lantern.

Outside of comics, ''Green Lantern'' has been animated a number of times for television, including ''SuperFriends'', the {{DCAU}} (mostly in ''JusticeLeague''), ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'', the DTV releases ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternFirstFlight'' and ''Film/GreenLanternEmeraldKnights'', and even a notable episode of ''DuckDodgers''. Warner Bros. released the first big budget ''Film/GreenLantern'' movie in 2011, starring RyanReynolds as Hal Jordan; and is following up with ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries''.

** At one point in the DTV movie ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternFirstFlight'', Hal performs an attack suspiciously similar to the {{Lensman}} [[EarthShatteringKaboom "Nutcracker" maneuver]].
** The names of two GL Corps members, Arisia and Eddore, are also {{Lensman}} shout-outs -- specifically, to the home worlds of that series' two {{Precursor}} races.

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The Green Lanterns are also frequent members of versions of the JusticeLeagueOfAmerica, with Hal, John, and Kyle part of different incarnations of the main team, Guy in the JusticeLeagueInternational, and Simon in a secondary JLA team. Alan Scott is also a founding member of the JusticeSocietyOfAmerica, which is either the League's predecessor or its Earth-2 counterpart depending on the era.

* NotSoHarmless: Black Hand, who was just a creepy necrophile before ''BlackestNight''.

** For Alan Scott, it was wood. As [[TheBigBangTheory Raj]] puts it: