Shenanigans & Tomfoolery

UPDATE: Finished illustration can be found here.

One of the cool things about Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern epic is thinking about which power ring would go to which character.

But let me start at the beginning before I continue.

Before, there was only the Green Lantern Corps and they wore a green ring powered by willpower. Then, Geoff Johns somehow thought, “hey, why not have different Corps with different colored rings and different emotions powering them? ” and thus the can of worms was opened. Now we have seven+ different Corps, each corresponding to one of the colors in the rainbow (or ROYGBIV) and each powered by a different emotion. It’s always fun to think about which DC character would get which ring. It’s even more fun to think the same for Marvel characters. What’s more fun than that? A lantern draft between fictional characters from all mediums which brings us to this post.

I’m picking one character from comics, manga, anime, movies, television, video games or whatever to represent each one of the seven corps.

Let’s do this.

Red/Hate = Guts

This was a tough one because there tends to be a lot of angry people in the stuff I read and watch so it was hard to narrow it down to just one. The Hulk is an obvious choice but I could’ve just as easily picked Wolverine or Kratos or even Goku just to name a few. I ultimately settled for Guts from Berserk because I admittedly have a soft spot for the series but, more importantly, this is one seriously pissed off dude. This is a guy that *SPOILERS* cut his own damn arm off in a fit of rage *SPOILERS* and it doesn’t get much angrier than that. Sure, he can be a calm and collected individual at times but expect to see showers of blood when the gloves come off.

Orange/Avarice = Gollum

Gollum, I have to admit, was an inspired choice on my part. This is a guy that will do anything (and lose anything) for that which he yearns the most which is, incidentally, a ring of power. The orange ring that would be bestowed upon him would not be the same ring of Lord of the Rings lore he’s so desperately after but it is a powerful ring nonetheless and one that I’m sure would satiate his thirst for mighty accessories. If only temporarily.

Yellow/Fear = Darth Vader

This was one of those choices that, once I settled on it, I hard a time letting go. Sure, I could’ve picked a Xenomorph or a similarly grotesque creature or monster for this spot but I don’t think any one of those could instill fear across an entire freakin’ galaxy like Darth Vader did. The Empire troops’ sense of fear while in presence of Vader was almost palpable in the Star Wars movies and his size and death-like blackness, coupled with his legendary breathing, more than earns him my nod as the most fearsome man in the galaxy.

Green/Willpower = Link

Green was tricky. I was initially going to take the easy route and simply throw Hal Jordan on here. Marvel’s own Man Without Fear, Daredevil, would’ve been a good choice as well but then I thought of Link and all the crap the little guy goes through in your average Zelda game and I started to lean towards him. And then a friend of mine fucked it all up with two words: John McClane. Damn, that’s a good choice. The guy will throw himself at absolutely anything and survive. I ultimate went with Link because of two things: 1) I felt like a needed a video game representative and 2) the guy already dresses in green for cryin’ out loud. It’s perfect. Still, in that one parallel universe where Link doesn’t exist, I’d go with John freakin’ McClane.

Blue/Hope = Superman

Superman as hope was another one of those choices that I quickly settled on but he had some good contenders. Luke Skywalker was suggested by a friend and that’s a really good choice so I had to find a good enough reason to justify Superman’s spot here. The fact that he was the first superhero, thus inspiring an entire generation of individuals (directly or otherwise) towards the path of righteousness and self-sacrifice, was no longer going to be enough. Then I stumbled upon my copy of Dini and Ross’ Superman: Peace on Earth and found my answer. That book is the perfect example of why Superman is a beacon of hope and why he is the icon he is today. Go read it.

Indigo/Compassion = Kenshin

Kenshin is an interesting choice because during his time as the Battousai he could’ve easily wielded the yellow light. Nonetheless, it’s compassion that is his driving characteristic for most of the character’s life. It’s what (misguidedly) set him on his path to become an assassin and it’s what fueled his “no killing” oath. His deeds are selfless and motivated entirely by a pure and honest wish to simply help people in need. Also, when we meet him at the beginning of the series he’s pretty much a wandering bum that does good without pay, which is similar to what the Indigo Tribe is about. My runner-up for this category? Jesus.

Violet/Love = Jessica Rabbit

What can I say? She freakin’ loves that rabbit. In the world of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” she could get any man (or cartoon) she wanted and the fact that she is so completely devoted to Roger of all people speaks miles about her. Love was tricky because it was hard to not pick from one of dozens of Disney movies or hokey comic book relationships so I think Jessica Rabbit is a good choice. I also considered Wander from Shadow of the Colossus but I hate that game so no.

So what’s the ultimate purpose of this piece?

Well, eventually I plan on drawing all of these characters together in their respective Corps outfits.

I don’t know when I’m going to do it but it’ll happen.

Related posts:

1. Lantern Draft
2. Supreme Guardians
3. A (very, very late) “Green Lantern” review.
4. First “Green Lantern” trailer

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