Posts Tagged ‘Hal Jordan’

Chad and Mark return to bid adieu to the New 52 and specifically, the remaining monthly GL titles from it. The final issues of both Sinestro and Green Lantern, along with the penultimate issue of Edge of Oblivion are all fair game!  Throw in some Marvel and DC movie talk, and you have yourself a great way to begin the summer! Be sure to email us or call our voice-mail at 708-LANTERN with your thoughts!

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For the milestone episode 250 of The LanternCast, co-hosts Mark Marble and Chad Bokelman welcome friend and fellow podcaster Ryan Daly to talk about FINAL NIGHT! The sun has gone out, the planet is freezing, and Earths heroes are scrambling for a solution. A solution only Parallax, Hal Jordan, can provide. So listen in as we cover the monumental first steps towards Hal Jordan’s redemption! Be sure to email us or chime in on our voice-mail at 708-LANTERN!

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In participation with EIGHT other comics podcasts across the internet during the month of May, Mark and Chad jump in on the JLMay fun! Join the guys as they talk about issues 7 & 8 of the ‘JLA: Year One’ arc from the late 90’s! Find out HOW the original JLA formed post Crisis if the trinity were no longer involved! Don’t forget to leave us a voicemail by calling 708-LANTERN!

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CHECK HERE FOR A LIST OF PARTICIPATING SHOWS!

• Fire & Water Podcast: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/fire-water-163/
• Power Fishnets: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/podcast/power-of-fishnets-6-jlmay-crossover-part-2/
• Waiting for Doom: http://waitingfordoom.podbean.com
• LanternCast: https://lanterncast.com
• Super Mates: http://fireandwaterpodcast.com/supermates
• Idol Head of Diabolu: http://shoutengine.com/TheIdolHeadofDiaboluPodcast
• Comic Reflections:http://www.podcastgarden.com/podcast/comicreflections
• Views from the Longbox: http://www.viewsfromthelongbox.com

 

It’s time for April books, as the countdown to DC Rebirth continues!  Chad and Mark take a quick look at Green Lantern #51, Sinestro #22 and Edge of Oblivion #4 in a surprisingly short, but hopefully still sweet, episode! Be sure to email us or sound off on our voice-mail at 708-LANTERN!

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Hal Jordan meets his new arch-nemesis, Monsieur Stigmonus, as they battle for the soul of Hal’s niece, Helen!  Why is Helen so important? Oh, she might just be the future savior of mankind. Possibly. Confused? You’re not alone, but Mark and Jim work hard to try to make sense of this as they delve into the first two parts of “The Redeemer” story arc!

Give us your feedback and future episode ideas at our voice mail 708-Lantern!

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What could be big enough to reunite Jim, Dan, Chad and Mark?  Well, DC Rebirth, of course!  The former and current hosts discuss their thoughts on what Rebirth means to Green Lantern and the DCU as a whole.  Throw in a healthy debate about Jessica Cruz’s role in the DC cinematic universe, and you have one great episode! Be sure to chime in on our voice-mail at 708-LANTERN to give us YOUR thoughts on Rebirth!

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*record scratch*

 

Alright, that’s enough. No more.

 

Jessica Cruz WILL NOT be the Green Lantern of the ‘Justice League‘ film. Nor will she be the Green Lantern of the ‘Green Lantern Corps‘ film currently slated for release in 2020.

 

In October of 2014, someone at Newsarama thought it would be fun to speculate about WHICH Green Lantern would feature in the ‘Justice League’ and ‘Green Lantern’ movies of the DC cinematic universe. Their conclusion? That Jessica Cruz is the ideal choice, going so far as to say, “if Vegas were to give us some good odds on who will be the lead movie GL, [our] money wouldn’t be on [Hal, Guy, John, Kyle, or Simon]”.

 

Speculation is all well and good. Editorial pieces, of which I am a personal fan (so long as you present them as such), are fun and thought provoking. And it’s a theory that’s catching on…

 

Latina Entertainment

 

Movie Pilot

 

OmegaUnderground

 

Cinema Blend

 

And now it’s resurfaced yet again with the reveal on Weds March 23rd that Jessica Cruz would be trading in her Power Ring power ring for a REAL Green Lantern power ring in the forthcoming Rebirth initiative from DC Comics.

 

 

…and it’s WRONG.

 

Why? Well, since this all sprung directly from Newsarama, it’s only logical to go point for point with their point by point.

 

1.) She of course is a current Justice League member and again was created by Johns, at exactly the time DCE and Warner Bros. seemed to be assembling their master movie plan and starting production on Dawn of Justice.

 

It sounds like you’re taking the “there’s no such thing as coincidence, it’s all fate” philosophical approach to life a little TOO far. Geoff Johns IS the Chief Creative Officer at DC. Geoff created Jessica Cruz. Geoff is involved with the direction of DC characters OUTSIDE of just the comics. Geoff isn’t THE decision maker though. If he was, ‘Green Lantern‘ wouldn’t have turned out to be the steaming pile it ended up. Perhaps a DIFFERENT steaming pile, but definitely not what we ended up with. All sources put that folly squarely on the Warner Studio muckety mucks. And maybe they’ve learned to loosen their grip and hand it off to their directors vision more (aka Snyder’s more creatively controlled vision we’re currently getting). But as much power and influence as Geoff has rightfully EARNED, he’s not THAT influential.

 

2.) Did we mention Johns created her himself, again, just a short time after already creating another new young Green Lantern character that serves to add diversity to the GL Corps and the Justice Leagues – Simon Baz (he even set Baz up as her mentor just before leaving the Green Lantern comic). It would not be a stretch of the imagination to conclude Jessica was created to fill a specific role Simon does not (we’re getting there in a sec), since Johns could have easily slotted him into the comic book League if he chose.

 

See our response to point 1. Also yes, Johns DID create her and Simon, but you’re forgetting the fact that Johns ADORES the silver age incarnations of characters (IE: Barry and Hal). So he may have created Simon and Jessica, but he’s only spent so much time with them. Prior to that? He spent 5+ years DELIBERATELY building Hal (and the GLC) back into the DCU. So which trumps which?

 

Additionally, you’re assuming the current comics have the same influence on the feature films that they have on the direct to DVD animated features. The last time DC films took a page directly from the current comics, we got the 2011 ‘Green Lantern‘. Granted the material it was ROOTED in was amazing, but the interpretation was obviously off.

 

Then DC went with the “no more old story interpretations in our direct to DVD animated features, only new material”. Which was fine. But have you noticed that decision loosening its grip lately? (the forthcoming ‘Killing Joke’ anyone?) Bottom line? The big screen films draw from more time tested stories and versions of the DCU, not the recent stuff. And have you SEEN the numbers for the comics lately? Even the popular stories? Those numbers, even the best ones, aren’t big enough “proof” to convince a studio to invest their millions of dollars and man hours.

 

3.) Since we can safely assume the movie League line-up is Batman, Superman, The Flash, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Cyborg, we can conclude the movies are following at least the basic roadmap of the New 52 line-up Johns created.

 

Yes. The BASIC road map. Meaning A GL. But wait. Was GL in BVSDOJ? No? When’s he showing up? Not until probably Justice League 2? (or end of JL 1?) So then what does “Unite the Seven” mean? Let’s count it out. We’ve got: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg, Aquaman….hmmm, that’s six. And no GL for awhile. Who’s left? Ah yes, the only other person getting a solo movie who HASN’T been mentioned yet… SHAZAM!

 

 

And their last two points together (since they’re essentially making the same point)…

 

4.) Cyborg basically supplanted Martian Manhunter (as well as other potential characters with rich Justice League history like Green Arrow, Hawkman, and the Atom), no doubt in part to inject some youth and technical weaponry into the line-up, but to also provide some yes … diversity.

 

5.) Finally, that seven character League … pardon us for saying so … is/was a bit of a sausage fest.

 

And here we go. The only REAL reason they’re pushing for Jessica in the first place. She’s a female of Latin origin. Gender and race.

 

I won’t lie for the sake of my own argument. It’s completely true. The big two (and others) are definitely pushing for more equal representation in their characters across all media. Equal time given regardless of gender, race, religious background, or sexual orientation. The problem with assuming this will play a large enough role to shove aside the GL boys in favor of Jessica Cruz is that there is no historical precedent for it. Heimdall was interpreted as a black character. But Heimdall isn’t a main character in Thor. Nick Fury was interpreted as a black character. Nick Fury isn’t so popular he offsets the cast of the actual heroes in Avengers. And so on and so forth.

 

As for our main characters? Iron Man? Tony Stark. Cap? Steve Rodgers frozen in ice. Thor? From Asgard. Black Widow? Natasha. Hulk? Bruce Banner. Superman? Clark Kent. Batman? Bruce Wayne. Wonder Woman? Diana Prince. Flash? Barry Allen. Green Arrow? Oliver Queen. Daredevil? Blind Matt Murdock. Supergirl? Kara Danvers. Want me to keep going? Because I can move on to the supporting characters like Patsy Walker, Laurel Lance, Ronnie Raymond, Carter Hall, Ray Palmer, Frank Castle, Electra, Luke Cage, Rip Hunter, and more and more.

 

Heck, even Hulk (the Ang Lee version) didn’t mean Bruce Banner got tossed out with the bathwater because of the toxic reputation of the film. Or ignored all together. They kept the classic interpretation, gave it some breathing room, and kept on.

 

Bottom line? There’s NO EVIDENCE that film makers (in TV or film) believe that equal representation trumps the classic, time tested, and mostly RECOGNIZABLE/marketable versions of main (or supporting) characters.

 

Not to mention the fact that, while studios in charge of superhero films don’t SOLELY cater their interpretations to the comic fan base, making the GL Jessica Cruz would completely and utterly alienate most every current fan of the mythos. And the ones NOT up to date on who she is but had experiences with GL in the past? Would be utterly confused. So while they may not make these films solely for us, we’re a big enough part of the audience that they at least CONSIDER our reaction. And if we’re a big enough group to consider, we’re a big enough group to impact the bottom line in some, even small, way.

 

And that’s it.

 

I’ll agree, WHERE POSSIBLE and still PROFITABLE, DC/Warner is MOST LIKELY to bring diversity in the DC cinematic universe with the Green Lantern characters (think the JL/JLU animated series). But when someone like John Stewart is available, characters like Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz don’t really stand a chance, no matter who created them.

 

I won’t deny it’s possible we might see them in a film (most likely GLC in 2020) but they won’t be the main GL’s. Period. Characters recognizable to both comic fans, and more importantly, the general movie going audience have the highest potential for profitability in both ticket sales AND merchandising. Because despite the push for diversity, studios are still profit driven entities. Jessica Cruz still doesn’t even have an action figure. Or a supporting role in the main Green Lantern title or even the ancillary titles (that could obviously change after Rebirth, though doubtful with a rumored title like ‘Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps’ in the works).

 

It’s going to be Hal Jordan or John Stewart. Or both. But it’s not going to be Jessica Cruz.

 

So thank your lucky stars Vegas doesn’t accept those types of bets.

 

(PS: The news that Jessica Cruz & Simon Baz will be featured heavily in both the Justice League title by Bryan Hitch and the Green Lantern title by Sam Humphries does NOT change these opinions.)

 

March books are upon us! Chad and Mark glide through the Edge of Oblivion before almost drowning in the despair of Telos and Green Lantern.  Luckily, the boys are saved by the warm glow of this month’s Sinestro!  The big question is do both hosts survive their respective rants on sloppy editing and character misuse?   There’s even time for LISTENER FEEDBACK despite the tirades! Be sure to email us or sound off on our voice-mail at 708-LANTERN!

Download the episode HERE!

Hal Jordan’s Legend as “Earth’s Greatest Green Lantern” is captured in this limited edition bust and ring prop. Limited to only 2000 pieces, this great piece is part of the four bust series that also featured Alan Scott, Hal Jordan and Sinestro!

It’s time for February books! Chad and Mark cover the three monthly Lantern books, with some Telos and Harley Quinn thrown in as a bonus! This episode includes at least two Mark mini-rants, as we build towards his coming complete meltdown in response to Green Lantern #50. Nothing will ever be the same again! All of this and LISTENER FEEDBACK! Be sure to chime in on our voice-mail at 708-LANTERN!

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