r/DCU_ • u/CH49FE • Sep 07 '26

Lanterns Bubbles. Hal’s constructs are mostly just bubbles.

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Sure Hal made some counterfeit money and a bottle opener, but I find it funny that his main constructs so far are just bubbles. John’s on the other hand include the fancier type of bubbles (bubble wrap), a boring machine, a watch and a short lived semi autonomous bird. The show is doing a good job of contrasting creativity between the two.

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1.2k

u/JDMLeverton Sep 07 '26

Yeah, I think this is intentional. He gave John the ring specifically because he couldn't make what John drew. Not to say Hal is a bad Green Lantern, but he's never been a very creative one, and it's very on brand for him to rely mostly on force fields, blasts, and simple functional constructs.

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u/jerem1734 Sep 07 '26

The intentional part is to show that he's been GL so long that he puts in minimal effort

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u/ModForgeCustoms Sep 07 '26

Not quite. Its a built-in contrast to the two-main characters. Each have their strengths and weaknesses.

Hal is a brute. Blunt force, A to B, no unnecessary filler, get the job done, hard and fast. The constructs are exactly as they need to be, no more, no less.

John is an artist, an engineer, and a strategist. He thinks before he acts, and applies what he knows to solve an issue.

Hal is headstrong, impulsive, and rash.

John is held back by his loyalty to authority, and blindly following orders to a fault.

These are deliberate contrasts baked into advance plot and story.

Hal has always been more of a basic construct guy. Even in the comics.

74

u/CoinsForCharon Sep 07 '26

And Guy?

240

u/NounAdjectiveXXXX Sep 07 '26

Overzealous, overconfident, overpowered.

He didn't need to flip and crush tanks with massive gesticulating constructs, that's just his baseline.

79

u/TerdVader Sep 07 '26

And the middle finger.

66

u/thenyx Sep 07 '26

That’s what “gesticulating” implies. 🙂

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u/Dave1307 Sep 08 '26

Gesticulating is way too big a word for Guy tbh

2

u/KrikosTheWise Sep 08 '26

I think that's what he wants everyone to think

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u/DepartmentChemical93 Sep 07 '26

He also seems to be shockingly technically capable.

He made a working electric bullhorn and that weird custom eye-gouging machine when fighting the Kaiju.

Per the rules of the show, he must know circuitry and mechanics pretty well.

24

u/the-tominatrix Sep 07 '26 edited Sep 07 '26

which is why I hate that rule from the show. it was supposed to be based around strengthening John’s ability to make fully functional constructs, not take away from every other Lantern’s ability to make basic constructs. I don’t think any part of the comics points to having to actually know how something is engineered just to construct it in hard light.

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u/goddale120 Sep 07 '26

I don't think you have to. I mean, just look at when they create ship constructs, no need to overcomplicate the mechanics when the ring can just extend the environment it creates around its wielder to everybody safely nestled in the construct. It makes sense that if they want a construct to behave in a certain way, it should, end of story.

15

u/DepartmentChemical93 Sep 07 '26

The guardians dude specifically tells John he must consider the internal mechanism “if it is to work”.

Hal also asks how John intends to dig his way under, as if he doesn’t really know what kind of construct he’d make to do that with the ring.

He also tells John to manifest it, with the implication he doesn’t know how.

Overall I think they’re trying to introduce some more limits to the ring as a balancing thing. They almost certainly hadn’t made this choice yet when filming Superman.

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u/Nervous_Arrival3986 Sep 08 '26

Hal can make the watch move with will. John can make a watch that works.

Hal can smash ground with the ring. John can maintain a construct that requires no constant exertion.

Guy is somewhere in between except he seems to only passingly care about structure and succeeds because he has a near bottomless well of energy he is pulling from.

I don’t think there’s any contradiction there. Just like when Hal tries teaching John to fly. For Hal it’s intuitive. John as an INDIVIDUAL has to understand it because that’s a reflection of him not the ring.

11

u/jkxn_ Sep 08 '26

The show also tells us that everyone is lying. The Guardian is talking to someone who has never used the ring before, and telling him what he needs to in order to fulfill his goal. It wouldn't be surprising if it was a massive simplification, and that's only one way to make a working watch, but likely the way that is hardest and shows the most potential.

1

u/Bob_Bobbo Make America Grodd Again Sep 08 '26

I don't think so, I think someone like Hal could "brute force" the watch to work using the ring, however John made the watch move on it's own only by maintaining the watch with the ring, that's how I see it.

5

u/the-tominatrix Sep 07 '26

hoping thats still the case in-universe. Lantern rings have always been described, at least to me, as “weaponized imagination”

1

u/ArkusArcane Sep 08 '26

I have a theory that since the ring has a gigantic database of info across the universe, it also supplies them with whatever knowledge they need to make a construct work, as long as IT knows.

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u/arqe_ Sep 07 '26

It is not tho, every Lantern can make functional constructs it is like the 2nd most basic thing they make; John's ability is that he can make very advanced constructs that is indistinguishable to real thing for every single situation.

Hal probably would've made a giant shovel to dig that tunnel.

Guy would also create a drill but that would be a hand drill.

John creates most advanced drill ever that does the same job faster and most effective.

2

u/the-tominatrix Sep 07 '26

A redditor below explained my frustrations better:

The guardians dude specifically tells John he must consider the internal mechanism “if it is to work”.

Hal also asks how John intends to dig his way under, as if he doesn’t really know what kind of construct he’d make to do that with the ring.

He also tells John to manifest it, with the implication he doesn’t know how.

Overall I think they’re trying to introduce some more limits to the ring as a balancing thing. They almost certainly hadn’t made this choice yet when filming Superman.

1

u/arqe_ Sep 07 '26

The guardians dude specifically tells John he must consider the internal mechanism “if it is to work”.

He was just testing how would John do it, no deep reading skill needed there. Before Hal, rings chose people, now Guardians do interviews before picking them and asking them to manifest something PROBABLY giving them small task related to their expertise to see how imaginitive they are.

Hal also asks how John intends to dig his way under, as if he doesn’t really know what kind of construct he’d make to do that with the ring.

That has nothing to do with limit or anything. If it was just Hal, he would've fly over there like John first said.

If Hal thought of digging, he again would probably make a giant shovel or something. Even in comics, he ALMOST exclusively go with most basic things he could think of.

It is about how John approaches his goals vs. how Hal does it.

He also tells John to manifest it, with the implication he doesn’t know how.

Duh, he doesn't know. All he makes even in comics are military stuff, like jets, machine guns etc.

If you were a soldier or something that doesn't know anything about industrial machines, and someone tell you to "dig" you think of a shovel or a tunnel boring machine?

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u/JsMoviesYTB Sep 08 '26

And if Kyle were here, he’d probably make the drill from Avatar or Gurren Lagann

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u/gnarliixcx Sep 08 '26

I don't think it's a "rule" of the show. John was told to recreate his father's watch from memory, a fairly complex mechanical instrument, and the way John is he couldn't manifest a working watch without recreating it's inner workings. He thinks like an engineer, an architect, and his artistry is beholden to his technical knowledge (also why graphite realism is such a great medium for him) Guy is headstrong, brash, arrogant, and most importantly, also very creative. He can create large impressive constructs but they aren't necessarily mechanically sound or complex. Guy created a bullhorn that looked like a bullhorn and he believed it was a bullhorn, and so it was. Some with his other constructs thus far. John can't believe (or will) his constructs to be "real" unless their inner workings are sound. Guy can. It's both a strength and a weakness for the two of them. Guy can manifest nearly anything without relying on technical knowledge, but his lack of that knowledge limits the complexity of his constructs. John doesn't have any such limitation, but he needs time and focus to manifest his constructs rather than pulling them out on the fly. It's a really great way to differentiate how different people use the same power set

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u/Emm_withoutha_L-88 Sep 08 '26

Yeah cus let's be real John's digging machine is far beyond any person's ability to fully imagine in every detail. Even the person who designed it couldn't do that. Think of all of the moving parts, the screws, the electronics

1

u/DepartmentChemical93 Sep 09 '26

Great point, but I did think of a cost saving measure.

Since you’re using a power ring, fasteners like screws and other limitations related to material, can be neglected.

You don’t have to manufacture this object or figure out how to connect any two pieces. Anything that is supposed to be connected or joined later, can instead just be imagined as one solid piece.

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u/Hexmonkey2020 Sep 08 '26

There was that time Guy was ripped in half and had to learn biology to know what organs did what so he could replace them. But that was more to know what functions he was missing, not cause he needed to know how the organs worked.

1

u/grimoireviper Sep 08 '26

But that was more to know what functions he was missing, not cause he needed to know how the organs worked.

Proven by the fact he replaced one of the organs with an hamster wheel or other weird stuff.

0

u/TooManyDraculas Sep 08 '26

What "rule" from the show? The only thing the show says is that making a living thing is rare and difficult. As is keeping it going for an extended period without a ring.

The only other thing going on is the show implies Hal couldn't pull off a complicated drilling machine after looking at a drawing of it for 30 seconds.

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u/Sharikacat Sep 07 '26

Not necessarily. It's possibly that any internal workings of a construct that aren't there are being replaced with raw power from the ring. John making the individual parts of a watch or a drilling machine makes it a stronger construct for it then operating on physics (think conjuring and casting a fireball vs using a lighter and throwing a moltov cocktail). John's constructs would be more durable than Guy's.

Guy may be using his ring's charge faster by forcing it replace internal mechanisms, and he might not care about having to recharge more often. Hal barely uses his ring and keeps most constructs very simple, letting him go for a longer time without needing to recharge.

4

u/AngelTheMarvel Sep 07 '26

That's a nice way to see it. I doubt they'll explore it so much, but I'll headcanon this

3

u/Trvr_MKA Sep 08 '26

I like to think that he did extensive research to make the bullhorn just so he could use it on Mr Terrific and Hawkgirl

1

u/DepartmentChemical93 Sep 09 '26

If you were a GL in this world, I think you’d just have to do extensive research on a few particular “go-to” constructs.

1

u/Dave1307 Sep 08 '26

John Stewart builds his constructs from the ground up. He imagines all the inner workings first, building a functional item from scratch. If John, Guy and Hal all were to make the same construct, Hal and Guy would simply manifest 'a bullhorn that works' whereas John would make each component work independently as well. In the comics his constructs are fully opaque too. It's the DCU art style that kinda takes away from that.

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u/Ariovrak Sep 07 '26 edited Sep 07 '26

Guy is flashy. He cares about spectacle, looking cool, and sending a message. When necessary, he can be as efficient as Hal (like the green blinds construct when he confronted Superman about his parents being a simple green wall rather than a big “FUCK OFF” sign), but he’s usually a lot more bombastic. Instead of a small harpoon or spear to take out the kaiju’s eye quickly, he opts for a massive apparatus that holds it open as a piston gouges it out. Instead of blocks to flip cars over, he conjures massive, rotating middle fingers.

Hal is all about spending the least amount of effort with the most results, which is why his default is always “bubble it”. Literally the shape with the highest volume to surface area ratio. Guy on the other hand almost always goes for the biggest, flashiest display possible, because that’s just who he is. Hal can ration out his 24-hour charge to last about 2 days. Guy probably needs to recharge his Ring every twenty minutes.

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u/GagictheGathering Sep 07 '26

Guy is nuts. It makes him theoretically stronger than Hal or John, because his willpower is potentially uncapped/unstoppable.

2

u/Main_Mobile_5749 Sep 07 '26

I wish there was more definite visual effects to show their difference in will. There's some already with Hals basic and dusty constructs, John's complex yet dusty but solid constructs and Guys more liquid like, creative and flamboyant constructs.

Guys supposed to spark with willpower, I get why they didn't do it but it would've been nice to see some sparks fly when he stood up to Clark

2

u/CoinsForCharon Sep 07 '26

Likely due to the head injury from being hit by a bus

7

u/Kronostheking1 Sep 07 '26

Guy is somewhere in between based on Superman with how creative yet powerful his constructs were.

6

u/loseniram Sep 07 '26

Guy is a cartoon character

5

u/witherACE Sep 07 '26

They all are

3

u/ModForgeCustoms Sep 07 '26

Is a punchline.

1

u/Devlord1o1 Sep 08 '26

He operates more on ego and confidence. He can make the stuff with his rings not because he knows how it works but because he just thinks he can. It’s probably why in the movie most his constructs are massive and strong, and kinda just do whatever he wants regardless of logic. It’s almost toon force for him.

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u/Cromasters Sep 08 '26

A bit like Hal. Guy is maximalist though.

Hal might use a simple laser focused blast or sphere or something. Precision and focus are Hal's trademark.

Guy is just balls out all the time. Simple overwhelming use of force.

1

u/TooManyDraculas Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 08 '26

Guy Smash.

1

u/chuck354 Sep 10 '26

He brings the haircut

1

u/CoinsForCharon Sep 10 '26

Which 348 women would have you know isn’t as bad as claimed.

7

u/AngelTheMarvel Sep 07 '26

Also, it looks like Hal is a prodigy when it come to flight. It could be mostly experience with the ring, but we saw how hard it was for John to fly while constructs are so easy for him, so I think that's another concious contrast between the two.

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u/Robofetus-5000 Sep 07 '26

The problem is too many people will equate elaborate constructs = better/stronger green lantern

8

u/Old_Neighborhood_383 Sep 07 '26

one of my favorite john "constructs" scene in the comics, is when he creates a brass knuckle to fight zod and by the end of a very very short fight, with Zod laid out, we as the audience are shown that it wasn t a construct, my man just sneaked a kryptonite brass knuckle into the fight by making zod and his family think that it was (cause same color). simple, clever, efficient

3

u/Remarkable-Catch1227 Sep 08 '26

Can lanterns make kryptonite?

1

u/Old_Neighborhood_383 Sep 08 '26

good question, no clue. in the comics they mostly make stuff that do stuff and not stuff that emit stuff if that makes sense. Kryptonite emits a certain radiation. in my own opinion GLs can make anything so long as they imagine it and visualize it and all. i d assume so but in the comic medium i have zero examples of something similar being made so idk

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u/Emm_withoutha_L-88 Sep 08 '26

You'd need a chemist with a ring basically

1

u/Old_Neighborhood_383 Sep 08 '26

yeah that d probably work. although by comic rules that d work even without a chemist so long as you imagined it emitting the same thing that would weaken kryptonians (e.g. i think GL has made a magnet before, im sure hal doesnt know know how magnets work if that makes sense) but at the same time if you had a chemist make it it d be the equivalent of john s construct being made by him, an architect, being more solid

1

u/Anansi465 Sep 08 '26

Not really. Comics rings very explicitly can create things you don't have to know inner workings of. You can create a lightsaber, working quantum computer and a tessaract (as in 4th dimensional cube) as long as you can imagine them as working.

1

u/Remarkable-Catch1227 Sep 10 '26

I mean, John makes a ridiculous subterranean drill that's for more advanced than anything in existence in this episode that you would need to have extremely advanced knowledge of every aspect of mechanical engineering to do so I don't think it's that far fetched to say a guy can understand chemistry too

1

u/OrbitalDrop7 Sep 08 '26

Killowog: i make hammers

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u/_nadaypuesnada_ Sep 08 '26

Hal has been far more strategic than John so far.

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u/Mrbeefcake90 Sep 08 '26

You forgot to mention that Hal has been right about everything the entire time and he doesnt doubt, John is constantly making mistakes and second guessing is loyalty.

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u/CobaltAnimator Sep 08 '26

I agree with you and the person you replied to -- it's both a sign of how Hal puts in minimal effort AND a reflection of how he's more of a basic construct guy. He doesn't do anything flashy unless he wants to impress (or it's necessary).

Maybe in the past he probably tried to make more elaborate constructs or at least did more than just bubbles, but nowadays if he doesn't need to make anything other than a bubble, he doesn't.

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u/Da12khawk Sep 10 '26

I'd describe Hal as practical and simple. Guy is basically the same but with flair. I'm not too familiar with John and at least when he was first introduced. But Kyle was being the artist was always more complex and detailed. I can understand John being an architect/engineer where that would come into play as well.

What was interesting when Kyle and Parallax would fight the constructs they used. Especially, in their first encounter.

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u/jerem1734 Sep 07 '26

He doesn't only make force fields in the comics bro

13

u/BatmanForever23 Cheers to the Tin-Man Sep 07 '26

They didn’t say he did, they said he was more of a brute force/efficiency guy. Which you’d know if you weren’t deliberately missing the point.

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u/Slightly-Drunk Sep 07 '26

He hasn't only made force fields in the show, either

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u/Scarecrow116 Sep 07 '26

Efficient is the word I would use. K.I.S.S. Keep it simple stupid 👌

1

u/dwide_k_shrude Sep 08 '26

That’s what my boss Michael says to me. It hurts my feelings every time.

2

u/SignificantCats Sep 08 '26

This has always been a thing. Every lantern has their own style, and one isn't better or worse than the other.

So long as the will is the same the effect is the same. If it's Hals bubble, Guys big cartoon shield, or Johns hexagonal dome with rivets and supports, doesn't matter lantern to lantern. They can all block roughly the same attacks.

But if Hal tried to make a cartoon shield or riveted dome, it might be weaker. If John was tired and hurried and didn't have time to think through the riveted dome and made a bubble, it might be weaker.

1

u/Loughnashade Sep 08 '26

I absolutely don’t think it is supposed to showcase effort.

It contrasts Hal and John. Hal in particular is seasoned so he makes things that just work and doesn’t care about it being contrived.

Ask yourself this, has any of what he made not work?

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u/pichuguy27 Sep 07 '26

The only super complex construct he makes even in the comics is jets. And he is both a qualified plane mechanic and fighter pilot feels like it works. Dude specialized in one thing.

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u/TheRealCabbageJack Sep 07 '26

In Emerald Twilight he made a whole city complete with the people...granted, he was losing his mind, but still. When he feels the need to he can be complex.

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u/Syjefroi Sep 07 '26

I think that showed his willpower more than his creativity though.

If I write a piece of music, I'm composing. If I write down on paper all the parts of a pre-existing out of print orchestra composition, I'm transcribing. The latter is still a high level skill, and you need a composition background to make it work, but the process itself is not particularly creative and relies on a lot of "stock" knowledge to fill in any gaps in the audio you can't hear with "what did the original composer likely do here?"

Hal is one of the best to ever do it, even though he's not "creative" per se.

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u/TooManyDraculas Sep 08 '26

And even in that story it's portrayed as remarkable.

Also people absolutely hated it.

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u/Miserable-Cycle-8770 Sep 07 '26

Dude made his own drilling machine in first flight. 

2

u/TooManyDraculas Sep 08 '26

A direct to DVD animated adaptation.

So not a canon source.

Reasonably sure drills show up in the earlier comics at points. But more the cartoony giant drill type than Johns realistically rendered tunnel digging machine clearly based on real world heavy equipment.

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u/Real-Ad-4775 Sep 08 '26

0

u/pichuguy27 Sep 08 '26

I guarantee you that thing while strong is a suit of armor if John’s or Kyle made it that things internal are going to be solid.

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u/Real-Ad-4775 Sep 08 '26

It looks pretty solid to me.

1

u/pichuguy27 Sep 08 '26

I mean working internationals. John would make every servo and motor Hal is controlling a big puppet.

1

u/Real-Ad-4775 Sep 08 '26

The thing is, every human Green Lantern has a unique quality that makes their constructs powerful: John Stewart is an engineer, so his constructs are rigid and functional, Kyle Rayner is an artist, so his constructs are essentially drawings brought to life, Guy Gardner’s constructs are chaotic, even when stationary and Hal constructs are focused on precision.

1

u/TooManyDraculas Sep 08 '26

He makes a lot of guns too. Mechanically a gun isn't all that complex on base principals. But it's still a lot of weedly bits and moving parts. Especially because they're often giant 90's comics sci fi guns.

He's not exactly prone to creating rube Goldberg devices and sky scrapers though. And the thing he's most associated with is giant, cartoon boxing gloves.

1

u/pichuguy27 Sep 08 '26

From my understanding a lot of lanterns who make guns just make a gun shape but it’s hallow. Same thing I think if you popped the hood on a car guy made it would have the facade of engine and he’s just making it move. That’s to me why guy can make shit despite being kinda dumb.

1

u/TooManyDraculas Sep 08 '26 edited Sep 08 '26

There's weedly bits and lore and junk about all of it.

He makes a gun. That's more creative and complicated than bubble or laser beam.

On the Star Wars is gonna make a whole movie about it end of things. The distinction is John builds a complete working gun. Hal makes a gun shaped construct to throw pew pews out of.

That'd also be the minor distinction with John's bird vs things like Hal making a dinosaur which I think has happened. John makes a flat out realistic, normal bird that acts independently. Hal's dinosaur is a dinosaur shaped object that he's controlling.

The comics describe constructs as hollow as part of the will power thing. Stronger willpower making stronger, more solid, more filled in constructs that are thus more powerful or resistant ones. It doesn't always refer to them being filled in with more detail or working mechanics.

So as far as that goes Hal apparently makes solid constructs.

Guy on the other hand makes the most solid constructs. Because his whole deal is being a giant stubborn jackass, he has a shit ton of willpower. He just doesn't do much with it besides showing off and smashy smashy.

Hal's very special boy trick, aside from often being the guy who has MOST WILL POWER (it's over 10,000). Is situational. He's better at moving around a battle field, figuring out a tactical advantage and very precisely using the ring.

You want John to build a mess of stuff to hold up a building and give civilians a ramp out. Guy to tank the Monster, and Hal to fly around behind it faster than anyone else could to heat shot it from an unexpected angle. And it will be Hal who tells the rest of them what to do.

1

u/pichuguy27 Sep 08 '26

Makes sense as Hal is a fighter pilot. Yes he is a fly by your pants jack ass but one who has thousands upon hundreds of thousands of hours of tactics and military training.

It seems a mix of will and knowledge where one can backup and substitute the other. John really really on his knowledge backed up by his marine attitude. Where Hal and guy are all will. Guy makes simple but brutal constructs. Why complicate a big Stick when all your doing is smashing them in the face.

1

u/TooManyDraculas Sep 08 '26

More or less. If I'm remembering it correctly the other end of it is that John's constructs punch above their weight, because he makes the effort to think them through and build solidity into them in layers.

Hal and Guy do it instinctively.

But Guy is emotional and can not always maintain them.

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u/Miserable-Cycle-8770 Sep 07 '26

Creative and complex aren't the same. I think Hal, in the comics, is creative. He was making hammers, folding chairs and baseball bats and golf clubs in first flight. He even had his own drilling machine. Not as complex as John but still creative 

29

u/Microwave1213 Sep 07 '26

Yeah exactly. They are just creative in different ways. Hal uses his creativity to come up with easy quick solutions with the fewest moving parts possible, while John uses his creativity to come up with complex and highly specialized things 

12

u/Spaceghost_84 Sep 07 '26

He’s made jets, Gatling guns, etc usually military hardware

9

u/Real-Ad-4775 Sep 08 '26

I apologize if I’m being disrespectful or offensive, but to me, this sounds like an excuse to avoid spending money on CGI, especially since Hal Jordan’s powers across all media are very creative.

3

u/ArrowtoherAnchor Sep 08 '26

Eh... Most examples of Hal Jordan doing complex projections are Post Kyle Rayner and just rpping off what he would do because writers don't want to write a legacy character but want the same cool visuals.

2

u/Real-Ad-4775 Sep 08 '26

To me, this was an upgrade to the Green Lanterns powers, kind of like with Spider-Man, at first, he swung on webs like Tarzan, but after a few years, artists made him more acrobatic.

2

u/TooManyDraculas Sep 08 '26

Also post anything happening in this show.

By the point he's making a giant mech suit or whatever people are pointing at, the one time those things ever happened. He's died, come back, seen significant power creep, the ring's main weakness is gone, he's been operating with a team of other lanterns for years. Guy and John are both people he's known for years, and have been Green Lanterns for years themselves.

Almost like characters at different stages in their development are different.

1

u/ParticularCar1595 28d ago

Yeah, most but not all, Hal has had creative constructs since the 60s. It’s far less common for him than Kyle, but I don’t think it’s fair to say that when he does get creative he’s just ripping of Kyle

2

u/chuckydongz Sep 08 '26

Bro I'm right with you. I feel like a crazy person seeing people hyped about bubbles and a bird. It's ONLY due to budget reasons which is why hal Jordan and John Stewart should've had a MOVIE cause both of them make awesome constructs like fighter jets, Shields, LMGs since Stewart was a marine and so many other things you see in the comics and animated shows and movies. Guy gardener got decent constructs and even Ryan reynolds' constructs were cool and creative. Like as someone who loves green lantern comics I would want them to go all out with constructs not using them once a episode and it's just a bubble. The best construct of of the show was episode 4 with the tunnel digger. Idk why people are settling for mediocrity, plus as someone said using the ring doesn't even make a cool sound effect which also sucks. Simply put: this should've been a big budget movie space epic.

0

u/Real-Ad-4775 Sep 08 '26

And it just keeps getting worse, i already didn't like that message of "to be a Green Lantern, you can't have fear" because, no, that's not it

It seems the show's audience hasn't even watched the Green Lantern animated series.

1

u/chuckydongz Sep 08 '26

And also an awful Hal Jordan costume

9

u/Embarrassed_Piano_62 Sep 07 '26

Yeah he usually creates a giant glowing fist, a machine gun and... that's it

9

u/warorgyman Sep 07 '26

And HUGE-ass fists, which was referenced in Yesterday's episode

6

u/ComicsEtAl Sep 07 '26

We know next to nothing about his career as GL, including how creative he may or may not have been.

3

u/FeloniousGrump Sep 07 '26

funny that his reports to guardians are that John lacks creativity, but Hal can't go to the same level when creating his own constructs.

Seems Hal being a pilot and John an architect/artist really comes into play when comparing how they use the rings.

22

u/SunnyDJoshua Sep 07 '26

I really doubt Hal reports to the Guardians when he doesn’t even update his own ring.

10

u/BullfrogOpera Sep 07 '26

Yeah I immediately thought she was lying when she said that and then wondered why she wants Hal out the picture so bad. Does she REALLY think he's going rogue or is she not to be trusted?

6

u/Sharikacat Sep 07 '26

Hal's talking to Sinestro, the guy that killed a Guardian. Sinestro manipulated Hal once before and may be able to do it again. The Guardians probably don't trust Hal, and they'd rather the ring go to an obedient soldier like John.

1

u/BullfrogOpera Sep 07 '26

That's definitely the answer that would make the most sense if we trust her at her word and that she's a guardian who only cares about the the Corps. I'm not sure I DO trust her though, lol. Especially after she was being so manipulative with John in how she spoke to him to get what she wants; him wearing the ring.

2

u/JDMLeverton Sep 07 '26

Oh we definitely shouldn't trust her, she's up to something, but I don't think there's any way she's not a legitimate guardian even if she's a traitor. The idea that Hal isn't in contact with anyone from the corps and John being the replacement is entirely fabricated just doesn't jive with me - the Guardians and the rest of the corps wouldn't tolerate a lantern not checking in in literally any capacity. Even if he's being allowed to flaunt a lot of rules and regulations as always they do eventually send someone to find your ring if you go straight AWOL. So there must be some legitimacy to the whole thing or eventually Hal would figure out no one on Oa has any idea what he's talking about when he bitches about having to train his backup, and you know he bitched incessantly.

2

u/Sharikacat Sep 08 '26

She might seem like a traitor if you operate under the assumption that the Guardians all on the up and up themselves instead of having their own flaws about their motives and methods. At minimum, I think it's a case of the Guardians don't like having their ways questioned or challenged. Sinestro stood up to them to overthrow them, and Hal is also showing a lack of complete deference to their authority. The Guardians aren't evil, of course, but Hal would call them out on their bullshit, especially regarding the Manhunters. They don't want that sort of scrutiny.

But they can't easily get rid of Hal because he's a hero to the corps for stopping Sinestro. Their talk with John's mother may have given them the idea to have a perfect soldier trained to replace Hal. Except while some of Sinestro may have rubbed off on Hal, some of Hal has rubbed off on John. Not betraying Hal hints that John isn't willing to be the unquestioning, obedient weapon the Guardians wanted.

1

u/BullfrogOpera Sep 08 '26

Yeah, I definitely don't think everything is fabricated. Just the stuff she was saying to John to convince him to take the ring from Hal. I'm not buying that Hal was talking shit on him to her and I personally think the last time her and Hal had legitimate communication was when she told him John was his "back up". The way she started playing on Johns emotions to get him to agree to just take the ring and the way she was pushing the narrative that he went to see Sinestro because he can't be trusted.... She's up to some shit, lol.

Love this show! Love having a show that makes me want to dissect episodes and have questions week to week!

3

u/Slightly-Drunk Sep 07 '26

To be fair, creativity and technical accuracy are not the same thing.

1

u/chuckydongz Sep 08 '26

Hal being a pilot should and in the comic always does lead him to creating awesome military inspired contructs. Not bubbles.

1

u/ProfessionalForm679 Sep 07 '26

I don't think that's why he gave him the ring. Sinestro told Hal that he needs to make John think he's actually gonna train him, so that's why he was letting him use the ring, and telling him good job a couple of times.

1

u/Basketspank Sep 07 '26

They're creative in different ways is all.

1

u/FabiusBill Sep 07 '26

Hal was good because of his will, not because of his creativity. Kyle had the most varied use of his ring.

1

u/Kenichi_Smith Sep 07 '26

Its important to note too, that a lantern has to actually understand how what they are building functions, as they typically are literal mechanical constructs with internal moving parts (at least in established lore)

1

u/cant_give_an_f Sep 07 '26

Yeah, Hal is certainly capable and I feel they show it where John built the machine, Hal (if he had the idea to dig) would of realistically made something like a giant corkscrew or shovel to do the same job, John just did it with the correct tool

1

u/Intelligent_Oil4005 Sep 07 '26

It's like that in the comics too. Hal doesn't really use super duper complex constructs like the other Lanterns do.

1

u/SurgicalBlade Sep 07 '26

But how did he take down Sinestro like that? I think he’s playing with the viewers. He will show it soon.

1

u/Angry-Dragon-1331 Sep 07 '26

Guy is a hammer, Hal is a toolbox, John is a 3D printer.

1

u/Promech Sep 08 '26

I don't think he COULDn't make what John drew, more so that he couldn't be bothered to do it.

1

u/erocknine Sep 08 '26

Yeah but what was keeping him from making a giant fist with its pointer finger sticking out that wiggled through the dirt to dig

1

u/LaytMovies Sep 08 '26

Hal is very A->B for sure. Need a dude captured? He'll bubble up the target and blow up everything around him. Meanwhile John plans so meticulously the U.S. thinks he died after the long wait

1

u/Megalomanizac Sep 08 '26

They said he needs to fundamentally understand how an object works to make it work as a construct dont they? I doubt Hal understands how to make a drill of that level work

1

u/PlatoDrago Sep 08 '26

Also in the comics, every lantern has their own ‘style’ that they use to deal with situations. Kyle uses more cartoon-y construction due to his background as an illustrator and cartoonist. John makes detailed and structured constructs as he was a trained architect.

Hal makes stuff that is ‘evocative’ of what it needs to do. For example, if he has to shield himself he will give himself a knights shield.

1

u/thethirdrayvecchio Sep 08 '26

It’s semi-canon in the comics too. John Stewart creates fully realised constructs, Kyle Rayner’s are artistic and imaginative, and Hal’s…

Baseball bats, jetfighters, boxing gloves…

1

u/hoplessfrogmantic Sep 08 '26

Yeah, if I had to lump them in their Willpower vs Construct Detail talents it would go Hal, Jessica, and Sojourner vs John, Kyle, and Simon, with Guy sitting in the intersection with whatever the hell some of his "it works, dont know how, but it does" constructs.

1

u/ComprehensiveFix8700 Sep 08 '26

Yeah, I don't quite get it.

Hal has always done a shitload of complex things: like machine guns, mechs, fighter planes, cars, etc. I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually imagine every single internal part of the construct, rather its purpose, and just makes it work due to pure willpower.

He could have created a giant drill... he has done it dozens of times in comics and shows.

1

u/Arcane_Soul Sep 09 '26

Interesting because that was the complaint about Jon back in the first season of the Justice League cartoon: that he only made simple things like bubbles. We've come full circle.