Awesome / Green Lantern

• Larry Niven wrote the Green Lantern writing bible and some stories. Notably one where Red shifting was abused to take down Sinestro.
• In this issue, Kyle Rayner gets hit with a dart from Fatality that makes it hard to focus, and thus hard to use his Ring. When she has him on the ropes, on the deck of an aircraft carrier, he manages to start sketching something with his ring. Something with spikes...it's a Lawyer-Friendly Cameo of Calvin, who throws a jet fighter at Fatality like a paper airplane.
• "In Blackest Night": Green Lantern rings are powered by willpower. Yellow Lanterns (Sinestro Corps) are fear. Red Lanterns are rage, and manifest as red, bloodlike puke-fire energy spewing from their mouths. After his capture Sinestro is being transported through space by the GLC, and his convoy is ambushed by the Sinestro Corps. Who are themselves interrupted by a blue space-cat in a red costume. Who proceeds to energy-puke on a being wielding one of the most powerful weapons in existence. And it takes off the top half of his head.
  • The blue cat, Dex-Starr, is the Red Lantern of Sector 2814. He's from Earth.
• That one time during Blackest Night where John fought off an entire army of zombies on the reformed carcass of Planet Xanshi.
• The two occasions on which Alan Scott had to stop his son Obsidian when he was overwhelmed with insanity, wiping the Earth clean of all-encompassing darkness.
  • Alan's been Awesome ever since 1944, when he took on the explicitly "unstoppable" Solomon Grundy (in Grundy's origin story) without his ring. And stopped him!
• EVERY time the oath is spoken.
  In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night
  No Evil shall Escape my Sight
  Let those who worship Evil's Might
  Beware my power, Green Lantern's Light!!!!
• Hal Jordan overcoming the yellow impurity in Secret Origins.
• John Stewart re-routing his very mind to combat Fernus
• People will never let Guy forget that Batman knocked him out with one punch. But say what you will about Guy, not many people have the stones to moon Batman
  • He doesn't just moon Batman. He moons Batman IN SPACE.
  • And Batman is completely unfazed by this.
  Batman: "Tell Guy he needs a shave."
• Near the end of The Death of Superman arc, Hal Jordan returns to Coast City, only to find that Mongul has destroyed it with the help of Cyborg Superman. Hal goes absolutely berserk and attacks Mongul, only for Mongul to wipe the floor with him. At the last minute, Hal finds Steel's hammer, which said hero had dropped in an earlier battle, and threatens Mongul with it. This ensues:
  Hal: Your day is over, crud! For you, and whoever the creep is you take orders from!
  Mongul: Indeed? Your powers require will, little man. Too bad I shattered that will.
  Hal: Mongul...you shattered my arm...you shattered my knee...
  (Uses his ring to create a glowing power suit and lifts the hammer)
  ...but my will is something you'll never touch.
• In Green Lantern 154 and 155, Kyle Rayner's associate and friend, Terry Berg, is the victim of a Bury Your Gays level beating outside a gay club and left for dead on the street. Terry's parents still resent him for being gay and the police show little interest in tracking down any of the other attackers, since the one guy they caught claims the beating was self defence, so Kyle decides to pay a visit to the one perp the cops are holding. One would assume Kyle will use his powers as Green Lantern to get the names of the other attackers, and he does. But not before crossing into Nightmare Fuel territory. Kyle Soundproofs the cell with his Lantern ring. He suspends the perp from the ceiling, upside down. And then he starts breaking the guy's bones. One by one. Cut to the Justice League HQ where Batman says he went too far with that stunt. And Kyle isn't amused at being called out by Batman...
  Kyle: You do the same every day before breakfast!
• When Sodam Yat is called upon by his mother to save his home planet of Daxam from the Sinestro Corps, Sodam refuses at first, because Daxam is a thriving cauldron of xenophobic hatred towards any species other than their own. To add to this, when he was younger Sodam watched as a friend he'd made, a member of a different alien species, was murdered and then put on display as an example of "hostile aliens", and then later Sodam's parents tried to have him brainwashed. When Sodam finally decides to help, he forces his mother to thank a construct of his deceased friend for saving her worthless life, as it was with his crashed ship that she was able to get off Daxam.
• When John Stewart is convicted of destroying a planet, he attempts to recreate it-to its entirety-for peace of mind. This is where his architectural prowess comes into play. This also proves that his Determinator goes far and beyond the scope of most human lanterns...or even most alien lanterns. How is this shown? With only five small words.

  John Stewart's Ring: Warning: Willpower exceeding power ring capabilities.

  • John seems to be involved with blowing up a lot of planets. In War of the Green Lanterns, John blows up Mogo with a Black Lantern bullet.
• Here's one for John Stewart After trying his best to create peace between the Sinestro and Green Lantern corps , things go ary and Soranik Natu and her loyalist Yellow Lanterns turn back to their Knight Templar ways and prepare to battle with the Green Lanterns , and as John struggles against an enraged Soranik (now calling herself Sinestro), he activates a secret 'Green Impurity' he placed in the Sinestro Corps' power battery , ending the battle with one brilliant Batman Gambit.
• A robot is about to blow up Hal Jordan's home city and he has no charge in his ring, what does he do? He decapitates it, by punching it in the face, after jumping out of a jet that's on fire and traveling at mach 1.
• During the Sinestro Corps War John Stewart out-snipes Bedovian, a yellow lantern who often kills his targets from light years away.
• Just about anything Guy Gardner does: rides a motorcycle construct through space, talks back to the Guardians, declares war on the Reach, steals Krona's power gauntlet, puts Parallax out of the central power battery, etc.
• Green Lantern (1990) Issue 135: When preparing to face off against Alexander Nero, Kyle calls in the Justice League. He tries to explain the danger to them, but all they're hearing is "dangerous, ruthless villain with a powerful weapon. So?"
  Kyle: I can split atoms with this. It wouldn't take a lot of power. Just a lot of concentration. The hard part would be controlling and containing the blast afterward. But if you're not concerned about that... "
  The entire League finally understands. Even Batman and Plastic Man are visibly shocked and scared.
• After Mogo has been blown up, he reforms, and sucks in John and Fatality. As all of the Third Army soldiers within three parsecs of his coordinates arrive, he destroys them all before reforming the Green Lantern symbol across himself and releasing John and Fatality.
• John becoming the very first human guardian
• In the very last issue of the legendary Johns run, G'nort finally shows up, and pulls a Big Damn Heroes against a nigh-omnipotent Reality Warper.
• In the very same issue, we get a glimpse of Guy Gardener's future as an old warrior, traveling the universe telling tales of his service in the corps. When a wannabe alien brawler challenges him to a fight, Guy takes him out. With one punch.

  Alien: One punch...

• In War of the Green Lanterns, despite the repercussions, let it be remembered that Hal Jordan ONE HIT KILLED KRONA. Who, as a Guardian of the Universe, is supposed to be impossible to kill with a Green Lantern ring. But, does the impossible mean a damn to Hal? HELL no.
• The Coast City police are savvy enough to prepare for more zombie attacks after the Blackest Night.
  Da Chief: All right, boys, you thought it was a joke when we spent that week training up for a zombie attack. Nobody's laughing now. You know what to do! Head shots and major joints! Take 'em apart!
• The entire end to the Green Lantern Corps: Recharge miniseries. First, you have the entire Green Lantern Corps standing together next to the main power battery in their darkest hour when Oa is raided by a group of space spiders that is slowly working its way towards winning against them. Second, you have Guy Gardner giving this speech:
  Guy Gardner: Listen up. We're the Green Lantern Corps. We're the best team in the universe. If we believe in each other, if we trust in each other, if we conquer fear, we're unstoppable! Together, we can turn this around. But first, there's something we gotta do. Our power's gotta match our will. So together, now. Rings forward, and RECHARGE!
  • Third, you have the ENTIRE Green Lantern Corps recite the Oath together. And to top it all off, they proceed to collectively collapse a sun to send a massive power feedback to the ones trying to turn it into a black hole, utterly decimating them. Beware their power, indeed.
• Black Hand gets a villainous moment (albeit a crippling one) in Godhead. The Source Wall basically "kills" anything that comes into contact with it, trapping them in the wall forever. When Black Hand realizes it is essentially a graveyard, he up and awakens several dozen of the horrors trapped within the Source Wall (although the experience does start petrifying him as well, leaving him screaming and running away from the final battle.)
• At the end of the recent New Guardians run, Kyle Rayner, Carol, Saint Walker, the Templar Guardians and two other characters Kyle encountered during the run are fighting against Oblivion. When Kyle has fallen into despair, the Guardians, Carol and Walker all convince him to find another way - Kyle then split up the Life Equation between seven other rings, officially creating the White Lantern Corps and averting the future seen in Future's End.
• During the Rise of the Third Army, Guy Gardner is in prison and without his ring. A cellmate tries to sexually harrass him, but Guy delievers an Offhand Backhand that knocks his cellmate down, showing that he doesn't need his ring to be a badass.
• In Green Lantern Vol.3, #131, Kyle is abducted by Manhunters who become self-aware and turn him into a remote power source for his ring so they could use it, and he immediately beats them at their own game!

Green Lantern Rebirth

• John Stewart confronts Batman, who had up to that point in the story had been drawn completely in shadow. After listening to Batman constantly bad-mouthing Hal, John has had enough and puts the Jerkass in his place:
  John Stewart: I'm tired of this. I'm tired of the disrespect Batman slings Hal's way.
  You've always had a thing against him, haven't you? And I finally see why.
  (illuminating Batman with his ring, revealing his true appearance - a man in a costume)
  Hal is the one person in the world that didn't buy what you're selling.
  Hal was the man without fear.
  And what is "the Batman" when you're not afraid of him? Just a man.
• Green Arrow managing to use Hal's ring against Sinestro. It's shown to be exhausting, and possibly painful, for him. According to Kyle, that's what it's like every time.
• Rebirth #4: "Sinestro! Get the hell away from them." And with those words, Hal Jordan is BACK. Bonus points for Sinestro blasting him out of the Watchtower next issue, and Hal's response just being a grin.
• In Rebirth #6 when Hal punches out Batman◊.
  • Which, if Guy's reaction in the background is any indication, is a reference to when Batman pulled the "one punch!" thing on Guy way back when. Revenge is sweet, even if by proxy.
• The end of Green Lantern Rebirth, when Hal Jordan stands up to the "Fear Entity" Parallax after his fellow Green Lanterns have fallen:
  Parallax: Give up.
  You failed once, you'll fail again.
  Lay down and die. You're weak. You're scared. Give up now. Give up.
  Hal Jordan: I...
  Parallax: Give up damn you.
  Hal Jordan: I don't know how.
• During the fight with Parallax possessing Ganthet, Hal describes how he and his fellow Lanterns opperate individually, showing just how powerful and unique The Chosen Many are.
  "John's constructs are built from the inside out. You look close, you can see every nut and bolt that makes it work. Nothing he creates is hollow. With or without the ring."
  "Gardner's ring is like a leaky water faucet. Sparks always fly. Even when he's just standing still. His willpower can't wait to get free. He opens it up. And attitude disappears in a storm of emerald energy."
  "Kilowog steps up to bat. His ring is the only one that makes a sound. Like a cannon exploding."
  "Kyle's sketching in his head. It sharpens into view, constantly being refined by his own imagination. Kyle's never satisfied. He's an artist."
  "For me it's about precision. Doing exactly what I need to do to get the job done. Concentrated power. Focused ambition. Tangible glory."
  

Wrath of the First Lantern

• As his final trump card against the First Lantern, Volthoom, Hal goes back to the Dead Zone...and summons Nekron. And not only does it actually WORK, but Hal then inherits the First lantern's ring and uses it to bring himself back from the dead and banish Nekron in one fell swoop.
  • And after THAT? He has a duel with Sinestro, who's empowered with the full might of Parallax, and it's an even fight.
• Saint Walker is one of many trapped by Volthoom's reverse Lotus-Eater Machine trick, having to witness his family getting turned into Third Army zombies. He refuses to give in to despair, instead regaining his Blue Lantern powers and restoring his family to their true selves. Even though it's just an illusion, it's really awesome. All will be well, indeed.
  Volthoom: It means I underestimated him. I'll wager I'm not the first.

2021 Run

• In the Darkest Hour, the Oan power battery has exploded, taking out every green lantern ring across the galaxy and killing a large portion of the corps that couldn't survive in space without their rings. But the Green Light is not dead, and the corps survives through the last powered lanterns; Teen Lantern, who manages to save Simon Baz from the blast with her gauntlet... And Jo Mullein, lantern of the City Enduring.

Sinestro

• Even if he is the Big Bad and leader of the Sinestro Corps, Sinestro definitely qualifies himself as Awesome and Badass. According to Sinestro himself he has broken power rings through sheer force of will twice.
• His impressive Xanatos Gambit in the Sinestro Corps War-create an army of the most feared beings in the universe in order to make the Green Lanterns more like him by forcing them to revoke the Thou Shall Not Kill rule. Either they stay by their scruples and lose, letting Sinestro command the universe the way he sees fit, or revoke the Thou Shall Not Kill rule just as Sinestro plans. There's a good reason why Sinestro remains their arch-enemy!
• Sinestro can also create Green Lantern rings through his own will, and bestow them upon others.
• In Green Lantern (2011-), Sinestro is trying to get Hal Jordan to think like a Green Lantern, not a superhero. When Hal tries to save a woman who's fallen from a collapsing bridge, Sinestro shuts down Hal's ring, then uses his own to catch the woman. And her car. And every other person, vehicle, and bit of debris. He then cold-welds the deck and cables, re-seals the road surface, and places everyone and everything back on the bridge. All at once. This is the second time we see exactly why he was known as the greatest of the Green Lanterns.
  • In the first time, seen in Green Lantern - Secret Origin, he de-exploded Hal's fighter jet, piece by piece.
• At the climax of "Wrath of the First Lantern," Sinestro does what lots of fans have probably been hoping and dreading he'd do for a while, now: He becomes the host of Parallax. And he's in total control.
• On top of that? He actually succeeds in killing the Guardians, as punishment for their flagrant abuse of power.
• During the Blackest Night, when Mongul has taken over the Sinestro Corps. and enslaved Sinestro's home world, he doesn't take it well. Mongul seems to have him on the ropes, before Sinestro reprograms Mongul's rings to impale him with several spikes and decides to crush him under the central power battery.
  "You look like you need a recharge."
  • And after all this, he still doesn't kill him. Only because he doesn't want to deal with a Black Lantern Mongul.

Simon Baz

• Even if he is the new guy, Baz already has a number of awesome moments under his belt:
  • He manages to escape THE JUSTICE LEAGUE by creating numerous decoy construct cars so that he can escape under cover when the find the one he was driving in.
  • He uses the Green Lantern ring to try to bring his sister's husband out of a coma, when B'dg stated it was impossible for the ring to cure illness, and says exactly that when it WORKS.
  • A tag-team moment with B'gd: Third Army trapped in sphere + Baz commandeering real missiles + Macross Missile Massacre = AWESOME.

---