Absolute Green Lantern Brings Back This Iconic Weakness With a Twist

by

The Green Lantern ring is one of the strongest artifacts in the DC Universe. It creates whatever its user can imagine, allowing ordinary humans to compete against superhumans such as Superman and Wonder Woman. Only a few items can keep pace with the Green Lantern rings, including other emotional spectrum rings. However, the concept has been slightly altered in the Absolute Universe by making the lanterns themselves charged with green light, turning them into living channels of willpower, yet they don’t seem to have lost any power. It’s important to note that despite their immense powers, the Green Lantern abilities do have a counter. For a long time, this weakness was a significant limitation, and the series ‘Absolute Green Lantern‘ has recently reintroduced this vulnerability with a surprising twist.

Green Lantern’s Ring Didn’t Work on the Color Yellow

Similar to numerous superheroes introduced during the Golden and Silver Ages of comics, creators often incorporated a vulnerability that could incapacitate the hero completely. For example, Superman was weakened by Kryptonite, Thor lost his powers when away from his hammer for more than a minute, and Wonder Woman was once defeated by being bound by a man (thankfully this aspect was later phased out). This was primarily due to the fact that in those early days, heroes were significantly more powerful than they are now, and they faced weaker villains during their initial years. Frequently introducing the twentieth adversary who could physically match Superman’s strength would have diminished the true extent of his abilities, making him appear less extraordinary. Instead, it was more effective to pit the hero against ordinary individuals like Joe Schmoe from down the street, who possessed a unique ability or weapon that could challenge the hero and force them to rely on their intelligence as much as their strength to overcome them.

As a passionate movie reviewer, I’d rephrase that intriguing tidbit as follows: In the original Green Lantern lore, Alan Scott was vulnerable to wood. However, when Hal Jordan stepped into the limelight during the Silver Age, they chose to give him a unique twist instead of mirroring Alan’s weakness. So, rather than being weak against wood, Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern ring malfunctioned in the presence of yellow. This meant he couldn’t manipulate anything related to this color, and anything yellow could effortlessly bypass his constructs. Consequently, characters like Goldface, who was completely covered in yellow, presented a significant challenge for our hero because Green Lantern simply couldn’t engage him directly. Later on, the origin of this weakness was linked to the Yellow Impurity of Parallax, an Entity symbolizing Fear, trapped within the Central Power Battery. Although modern comics have abandoned this weakness in the main universe, Absolute Green Lantern cleverly reintroduces it in a captivating manner.

Gold Symbolizes Enlightenment, Not Fear

In issue #3 of Absolute Green Lantern, the narrative primarily revolves around the residents of Evergreen, who found themselves confined within Abin Sur’s energy field. John Stewart, one of the Green Lanterns, was examining the bikers that had collided with the wall of light when it initially materialized. He observed that only a yellow ring seemed to penetrate the barrier. He requested a golden toy from Hal (Green Lantern), which passed straight through the energy field upon being thrown. Subsequently, John tossed his grandmother’s wedding ring, which not only permeated the barrier but momentarily created an opening in it. John explained that objects resembling gold were able to repel the green light more effectively, with pure gold having the power to completely dissipate it. Yet, this phenomenon isn’t solely due to the color; there is a deeper significance at play.

John’s idea links gold’s effectiveness even when regular signals couldn’t penetrate the barrier to the legend of the Philosopher’s Stone, which could turn ordinary rocks into gold. The Philosopher’s Stone represents alchemy, a concept that implies mastering reality’s laws so profoundly that you can seemingly accomplish the impossible. John proposes that Abin Sur’s “judgement” turns their predicament into a test or experiment he is conducting. In this context, gold symbolizing ultimate comprehension could break the trap they are trapped in since the trap serves as a lesson. However, John also pointed out that this isn’t what Abin Sur intended them to glean from the situation. Concurring with him, Abin Sur appeared from the sky and destroyed John in the same manner he did Guy, suggesting his death.

Hal and Jo have once again bid farewell to a friend, taken by their extraterrestrial kidnapper, and Hal vowed that this was the final time. In light of the fact that gold can penetrate Abin Sur’s defense shield, Hal amassed as much gold as possible to coat his bullets with, intending to eliminate the alien permanently. However, given that he is the Black Hand and she has transformed into the Green Lantern, with her power seemingly trapped within her golden wedding ring, it seems this strategy is destined for disaster. Yet, this development presents a significant twist in the Green Lantern mythos, as yellow isn’t associated with contamination or fear, but rather symbolizes the ability to control one’s will, representing the capacity to conquer fears. This alteration promises to be fascinating, and I’m eager to witness how they develop it further.

Absolute Green Lantern #3 is on sale now!

Read More

2025-06-05 16:11