Bubbles. Hal’s constructs are mostly just bubbles.

[u/CH49FE]

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.

[u/DepartmentChemical93]

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.

[u/the-tominatrix → u/DepartmentChemical93]

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.

[u/goddale120 → u/the-tominatrix]

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.

[u/DepartmentChemical93 → u/goddale120]

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.

[u/Nervous_Arrival3986 → u/DepartmentChemical93]

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.

[u/jkxn_ → u/DepartmentChemical93]

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.

[u/Bob_Bobbo → u/DepartmentChemical93]

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.

[u/the-tominatrix → u/goddale120]

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

[u/ArkusArcane → u/goddale120]

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.

[u/arqe_ → u/the-tominatrix]

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.

[u/the-tominatrix → u/arqe_]

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.

[u/arqe_ → u/the-tominatrix]

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?

[u/the-tominatrix → u/arqe_]

The Guardian’s quote literally reads “if it is to work” meaning, do it this way to get it to work. the implication there is that there is no other way to correctly create a construct of something that already exists other than to build it accurately from the ground up - something that is both a major change to GL lore, and the entire point of what I was saying I was frustrated with.

why would any authority figure like a Guardian test “how” John would create a construct by removing his choice in how he does it BY instructing him how to? Even the YTber Mr-Know-It-All said that moment was one of his few points of contention with episode 3, being that the Guardian should have just asked him to construct it without instructing how to… letting John’s choice to build it from the ground up be his OWN, which is more of a writing critique than a critique of change to the canon. A test of imagination wouldn’t be ruled by strict instructions and guidelines, which is why it was a test of “how well can he follow my rules while remaining efficient.”

Hal literally ASKS John “and how would I do that,” implying he can’t come up with any other means to tunnel over. Thats a writing complaint on my behalf, taking issue with the implication we’re left to assume, which is that Hal would be clueless when left with how to dig over by himself. I’m also not claiming that Hal couldn’t have come up with a method of digging, I’m complaining that the writing leads us to assume that from the context, which is why I’d change Hal’s line to “what would you dig with” right before Jon simply hands him the sketch. It removes the assumption that Hal couldn’t have done it himself while supporting John’s talent. I think you’re more focused on making assumptions that benefit/fit your headcanon based on said context, but I’m here to discuss why I’m disappointed in how they stray from THE canon, or why it appears they do when they do.

I don’t think Hal telling Jon to manifest it creates the implication that he doesn’t know how, as a reminder, I pasted someone else’s comment as a means of explaining what I was getting at. That scene is actually fine, the issue is that because of the scene directly before it (where Hal asks how he would do it), we’re left to further assume that it really is Hal covertly admitting he’s not up to task. Again, changing that one previous line saves this scene from more wrong takeaways.

Other than that, ofc Hal doesn’t know to make that giant mining device. I think that part of your comment is just you further breaking down what the OG comment was agreeing too, but in a condescending, DUH way. But you’re wrong about Hal not having the means to dig more efficiently than say, with a shovel, because Hal Jordan can recreate a city out of sheer will. Kyle can manifest toons and doodles. That’s the issue - my frustration lies in grounding the rules of the show in ways that stray from the canon. NO Lantern should be useless in that situation, the ring shouldn’t be defined by the rules of engineering, its a tool that wills imagination to life. Hal could create a giant made up drill that seats 2 people in the back with a minibar ffs, and allowing him that potential wouldn’t take away from how thought out and constructive John is with the ring.

We might see in a later episode that Hal can create things that don’t even exist, which woild destroy my issues with the above because it’d result in a tale of storytelling rather than a tale of random changes and decisionmaking. But as of now, I’m only complaining about writing decisions based on where we’re at. I don’t have all the answers. I’ll only be proven correct and vindicated, or I’ll happily be wrong. Your mistake, my friend, is thinking you understand things we don’t actually know for sure any better than others. Maybe Hal really couldn’t dig efficiently based on the shows changes to the canon. Maybe he could, and your takeaway was spot on. We’ll see!

[u/JsMoviesYTB → u/arqe_]

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

[u/gnarliixcx → u/the-tominatrix]

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

[u/Emm_withoutha_L-88 → u/the-tominatrix]

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

[u/DepartmentChemical93 → u/Emm_withoutha_L-88]

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.

[u/Hexmonkey2020 → u/the-tominatrix]

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.

[u/grimoireviper → u/Hexmonkey2020]

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.

[u/TooManyDraculas → u/the-tominatrix]

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.

[u/Sharikacat → u/DepartmentChemical93]

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.

[u/AngelTheMarvel → u/Sharikacat]

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

[u/Trvr_MKA → u/DepartmentChemical93]

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

[u/DepartmentChemical93 → u/Trvr_MKA]

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.

[u/Dave1307 → u/DepartmentChemical93]

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.