It is definitely in the habit of the Arrowverse to drop references to a character before introducing them as a major player in the Arrowverse. One such character has had several nods dropped about them in various ways and we at Nerd Union think that its about time for them to get their chance to … shine …
Green Lantern is a prime candidate for the Arrowverse due to how much potential this character has to expand it. Specifically Hal Jordan. I know, I know, its always Hal but Hal was the first Lantern that Arrow referenced. Yes! Hal Jordan was in fact referenced very early in the show when they mentioned a pilot for Ferris Airlines who mysteriously disappeared. Since then both Ferris Airlines and Coast City have been brought up on several occasions, albeit there haven’t been any references to a flying man wearing green tights (although that could change with the addition of the Kryptonians to the Arrowverse.) Adding in Green Lantern has several perks that could help improve the Arrowverse in ways that no other hero does as well.
A cast of characters that allows for trial and error
One of the most interesting aspects of the Green Lantern universe is the fact that it includes such a diverse cast. While the cast of alien characters is interesting in and of itself, at the moment we are just going to talk about the earth cast. With the large number of possible Earth lanterns (the number is currently at 6) it allows you to try a character and see how your audience reacts and if the result is less than desirable, then you have an easy exit to introduce a new main character that would resonate more with their target audience. Granted, they need to surround such an exit with a good plot, but other than that its a simple resolution to a common problem. If done correctly, could lead to even better results later on.
It just makes sense
I don’t really think that I am going out on a limb by saying that Oliver and Barry are the two main hero focuses of the Arrowverse right now. Yeah, I know, “What about Kara???” She just got on the CW and only recently became an official part of that universe, so we need to see how they handle her character first and see if they execute it well (and seeing as all the marketing has her overshadowed by her not-as-beefy-as-expected spandex wearing cousin, it doesn’t look like they’re off to a great start).
In the meantime, we’ve got these 2 heroes already set in place. One of them is running out island flashbacks, while the other one may run out of speedforce based villains soon (No pun intended). But comic series wise, you know who both of them are good friends with? Hal Jordan! Both Green Arrow and Flash have plenty of fun saving the day with each other, but in the comic series they both have a fairly good relationship with Hal and adding Hal into the Arrowverse would certainly be an easy addition to the already created relationships between characters. It would also give a way to keep those Flash and Arrow in the loop should the CW ever decide to cancel either show.
It sets up an intergalactic cast of heroes and villains
Green Lantern is more than just a hero that is relevant to planet Earth. Hal Jordan and the other Green Lanterns from Earth are actually members of an intergalactic group of defenders who essentially function as the Space Police of the universe and help with various conflicts and issues going on all over the universe. If the CW were to include Hal or any other Lantern in the Arrowverse roster, it would give them literally a whole universe to play around with. It would give them more villains from outerspace (that the movies will never use) to deal with while also allowing for the Green Lanterns show to operate fairly independently if they wanted since the show would be able to take place on different planets within the same actual universe. It also gives the CW an even more powerful roster of villains, heroes and anti-heroes to pull from for their cross over episodes and helps them justify having all of these heroes in one place in order to combat a specific threat (And we know how much the CW loves their crossovers).
Should they ever get the rights to all the characters, it opens the door to a VERY easy Justice League set up
Many of Green Lantern’s villains are incredibly powerful and since some of these villains can be from literally ANYWHERE in the universe, it would give the CW a very easy set up for a justice league series without having to set up a whole season’s story arc for every member. In fact, half of the league’s opening roster has already been introduced into the Arrowverse so why not just throw Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman into an episode where Hal is needs help fighting something crazy, and then have the rest of the league show up with Barry to help combat it? Suddenly BAM there is your Justice League (Especially if this is how transition introduce Sinestro into a villain instead of a hero).
It appeals to a whole new set of fans
Much in the same way that Barry Allen appearing in Arrow appealed to fans of the Flash, adding in Hal Jordan or any of the other Lanterns could appeal to all of those Green Lantern fans who still wait for an incredible live screen version of the hero (Especially since the DCEU is getting so much mixed reception among fans and will not introduce any Lanterns until 2019 at least). If the CW wanted to appeal the current set of shows to another set of DC fans who may not be interested in the current heroes in their TV universe, this would be an excellent way to pull that off.
But let’s not forget the greatest reason for the addition of the Green Lantern Corps
KILOWOG!
That’s right poozers! It would mean CW would have random cameos and appearances from our favorite Space Cop KILOWOG! That’s enough for me to want to see the Green Lantern Corps introduced into the Arrowverse?
What do you guys and gals think? Should The CW bring in Hal and the rest of the Corps? Let us know in the comments below!