Green Lantern Corps

A Superhero Comic Surprise

By Katherine Keller
June 1, 2007

Despite the rampant pandering to adolescent fanboy mentalities that dominates a lot of mainstream superhero comics, a discerning reader can find flowers amongst the weeds. Personally, I currently enjoy Captain America, Daredevil, Cable and Deadpool, White Tiger, Ex Machina, Birds of Prey, Blue Beetle, JSA, Manhunter, and Green Lantern Corps. In addition to well written story lines, all of these books also feature smart, strong, capable women characters.

With the exception of Birds of Prey, Ex Machina and Cable and Deadpool, all of these are books that I've started reading in the past year. Of them, Green Lantern Corps has turned out to be the most pleasant surprise. Other than Blue Beetle, GLC is the only DC OYL title that hasn't left me annoyed and/or bored at some point. (I love BoP, but, frankly, it got off to a rocky start with OYL, and Manhunter, while excellent, had a huge hiatus; JSA has only had a handful of issues.)

I've never been a huge Green Lantern fan. I love the concept, but other than GLC, I've yet to last past five or six issues of a Green Lantern monthly title before growing bored and wandering off.

Writers Dave Gibbons and Keith Champagne, and primary series artist Patrick Gleason have kept my interest for four reasons: They know how to make the corps feel "real"; Dr. Soranik Natu; Iolande of Betrassus; and R'amey Holl.

The Green Lantern Corps is huge. There are 3600 sectors of space, each with a minimum of two Lanterns, so that means the Corps has at least 7200 members. While Gibbons and Champagne have focused most tightly on a core cast of about eight, they both do a wonderful job of showing all the little things that go on in the background to keep the Corps running. There are HR Lanterns. There are Protocol Lanterns. There are even (as Iolande of Betrassus discovers to her intense dismay) Data Entry Lanterns. Somebody's got to keep track of vacation time, and as we see in a series of LOL funny exchanges between Guy Gardner, Salaak and Kilowog, somebody does.

Those same scenes also work as a delightfully endearing example of well thought out character interaction. Guy's natural instinct is to try and bully the much smaller (and downright spindly) Salaak. I mean, after all, Guy's a few feet taller, a hundred pounds of muscle heavier, and more or less has the most powerful weapon on the universe on his hand ... only Salaak's got one of those, too, and he may not see as much field action as Guy Garnder, but nobody gets a ring based on good looks and charm. He's so not impressed by Guy's bluster. Fortunately, before Guy can do anything profoundly stupid, Kilowog intervenes, distracts Guy, and defuses the whole situation. The sequence was funny, but also, quite realistic and an example of how well thought out this vision of the Corps is. We may not see them, but readers know that there are cooks and plumbers and somebody's scrubbing the toilets. Just like in a real military/police organization.

Gleason also does a bang up job creating this realism by populating the backgrounds with Lanterns of all shapes, sizes, and costume preferences. Yeah, I've yet to see him draw a female character who wasn't attractive and athletic (and buxom), and there's an occasional indulgence in T&A — but not so often and so pointlessly I feel like I'm being stabbed in the eye several times an issue. I enjoy that I've only seen one remotely battle-thongish costume on a female character (and I suspect that was more of an in-joke than anything else). Nor do Gleason's male and female humanoid lanterns have a "stock" face. Finally, as "Soyo Erika" pointed out on the Girl Wonder forums, none of the women Lanterns have long, loose, flowing hair. Instead we see short hair, pony tails, braids and headbands — militarily appropriate hairstyles. Details like this contribute as much as the writing elements to making the Corps feel "real."

But, as stated earlier, three very compelling female characters also keep me coming back.

R'amey Holl

I shall start with the one who's received the least screen time so far, R'amey Holl, a rookie Lantern from Papillox, introduced during a three issue arc written by Champagne.

It turns out that the Green Lantern Corps has a black ops branch, euphemistically called the "Corpse." Corpse members remove their rings, get an energy disk that's the equivalent of a three day ring charge, and if they're caught or if they fail, they will receive no help from the Corps. Lanterns on mission for the Corpse have no official ties to the Corps during these missions and if asked, the Corps will say they've gone rogue. They're on their own.

Guy Gardner and R'amey Holl are ordered to an icebound planet to make contact with Von Daggle, the last surviving member of the Corpse. Guy (because he's something of a self-important chauvinist) both hits on R'amey and tries to play the veteran with vast experience. She's having none of it. She may look like a delicate butterfly fairy, but she was a Cop before joining the Corps. (And as an aside, I don't mind that her outfit is low cut in back. She's got wings that attach to most of the length of her back, so it's only practical that her uniform would be open back to allow freedom of movement.)

I won't go into great detail about the plot of the story (because it's detailed, twisty, and merits careful reading to fully understand in a few places), but, though R'amey makes a few rookie mistakes, she's shown to be a quick learner, as well as being brave and resourceful under very adverse conditions. Exposure to strange radiation sparks a transformation in her, turning her into a being of light and energy (a nice bit of irony, considering she's doing black ops), but it's also a nice metaphor for the transition she's also making in her life during this story.

See, delicate, beautiful, fragile looking R'amey, not big blustering Guy, has the kind of personality it takes to make it in the Corpse. She may look fragile and delicate, but physically and mentally? R'amey's actually tougher than many others in the Corps.

Iolande of Betrassus

Heir to the throne of Betrassus, Iolande's rise to the Corps is marred with tragedy. The Corps became involved in Betrassan politics as part of a Civil War in which several members of the royal family were murdered. Soranik Natu and Guy Gardner became involved when Soranik's partner Lantern for Sector 1417 was murdered. Soranik's investigation of his murder lead to an attempt on her life, too.

The person in question turned out to be Prince Ragnar, Iolande's brother, who had become obsessed with being a Green Lantern and decided that he should arrange events wherein he "proved" his bravery, and when that was not enough, he sought to murder his sector's other Lanterns and anybody else he thought might be a candidate.

Iolande discovers she's the new Lantern for her sector at her brother's execution.

Her adjustment to her new status has its rocky moments. She balks at getting an initial menial assignment doing data entry. She and Soranik Natu butt heads on their first mission together when Iolande tries to tell Soranik how she should conduct herself with relation to Korugar, an act that does not sit well with a very upset (and heartbroken) Soranik. The head-strong Iolande is used to being a Royal Princess and having people listen to her because of this. In the Corps, nobody cares that she's a Royal Princess, and they're all as head-strong as she is.

But Iolande is learning. In recent issues she and Soranik team up quite effectively in the field. Iolande's cool, facts-based approach to the case they're investigating (all that data entry had an unexpected payoff) ends up working well with Soranik's more direct and fiery style. They compliment each other ... even though there's probably always going to be a touch of friction between them because they're both proud, strong-willed perfectionists, and used to being the smartest girl in the room. (More of that aforementioned realistic characterization.)

But will the respect that's grown between them stand the test that now faces Iolande? Her father just died (not even Soranik's intervention could save him) and she's torn between her grief, the fact that she's the heir to the throne and has a duty to her people, and the fact that she's a Lantern. I really identify with Iolande and wonder what choice she'll make, because she doesn't have an easy one.

The costume Patrick Gleason designed for the regal and somewhat reserved Iolande of Betrassus is a nice contrast to the uniform worn by Soranik Natu. Where Soranik has a cleavage revealing V neck (which is very much in character, given Soranik's in-your-face, moxielicious personality) Iolande's uniform covers her from chin to toes and even has a hooded cape. The whole thing really meshes with her personality and style and shows that Gleason does not view Iolande and Soranik as interchangeable hot babes.

Soranik Natu

A highly respected neurosurgeon on her native Korugar, Soranik Natu was outraged and horrified when she discovered that a Green Lantern ring had chosen her. On Korugar the Green Lantern symbol and ring are connected to the oppression and horrors Korugarans suffered under the heel of Sinestro before Hal Jordan exposed his crimes to the Guardians and the rest of the Corps. (The Green Lantern symbol is viewed on Korugar much the same way we view a Nazi Swastika.) Desperate to save the life of her patient, Soranik accepts the ring — ostensibly for the purpose of going to Oa and telling the Guardians to stick it where the sun don't shine — and in doing so becomes an outcast in the eyes of her people. (IIRC, "Sinestro the Wicked" and "Katma Tui the Lost" have now been joined by "Soranik Natu the Damned".)

But a funny thing happens on the way back from Oa to Korugar (she refused to join the Corps but retained the ring to see her safely home); Soranik ends up investigating the death of her predecessor, Tarkus Whin, because death rites are important to Korugarans. Like Whin, she ends up sucked into a black hole full of the spider beings that had killed him, but outwits them by telling her ring to put her near-death state so that they cannot not find her. When it is safe, her ring sends out a distress signal. Because of her quick thinking, when fellow Lanterns show up to revive and rescue her, Soranik is able to help them and provide a warning which saves Oa from attack from these spider beings.

She joins the Corps and plays a role in helping to capture Superboy Prime during Infinite Crisis.

Soranik, after a traumatic start where her failure to save the life of a Betrassan Prince and after a pep talk by Guy Gardner (who isn't always a jerk), again shows similar presence of mind when investigating the murder of her partner on Betrassus. Prince Ragnar used a yellow virus as part of his plan to kill Lanterns and as soon as Soranik's medical training alerts her to what was happening, she overcomes her fears, thwarts the attack, and fakes her death as part of a ruse to capture Prince Ragnar.

Despite her successes in the field and the respect she has earned from veteran Lanterns, Soranik is still an outcast on Korugar. There's a heartbreaking scene after she loses her medical license where she returns to find her home broken into and all her possessions tossed into the street. Her rage and pain is palpable as she flies off. Later she returns to Korugar and tries to work in an underground manner by providing free medical services to homeless Korugarans. They love her, but the government of Korugar considers her a traitor and a terrorist and launches an all out attack on her. Having Iolande of Betrassus show up to rescue her and then later lecture her about diplomacy doesn't help Soranik's hurt feelings any.

But don't think that Soranik is some sort of "Mary-Sue from House Sparklypoo." Yes, she's very smart, brave, and capable, but she's also arrogant, and like many accomplished people she's afraid of failure ... to the point it can cause failure. She came into the Corps as a very skilled doctor and is used to playing God. And now she's a doctor with a ring that increases her abilities to play God — thus increasing the chances for catastrophic failure. She's brash and hot tempered to boot. Watching her deal with events that she cannot stop, cannot control (the situation on Korugar, her inability to save Iolande's father from death by old age) makes for some compelling character moments indeed. This complexity is the reason she's swiftly become one of my all time favorite female characters.

Three compelling female characters whose motivations come from their innate sense of right and wrong and desire to succeed and do right, not from past traumas. Indeed, for Soranik and Iolande, accepting the ring is inextricably tied to traumas and yet they take on the burden and prove capable of meeting the challenges. Yet none of these women characters has an orgin story that's specifically "female". (None of them have been raped so they'll get pissed off enough to to make the universe a better place and/or to provide "you touched my stuff" angst for their male friends.) Their origins are gender neutral.

So long as Green Lantern Corps continues to be this well written, deftly exploring a wide range of relevant issues — including the day-to-day minutiae of life in the Corps — in the context of "widescreen" action-adventure, showing that it's possible to write and draw women superheroes in an intelligent fashion, one that does not rely on pandering to attract and keep a reader's attention, one that shows them being the equals of their male counterparts, it will continue to have me as a reader.