Warning: Contains spoilers forAbsolute Power: Task Force VII#3
Summary
What makes theGreen Lanternsstrong is their willpower. While this truth most often means the courage to face their greatest fears and to keep their light burning against evil’s might, DC has just altered what it means to be a Green Lantern - and it makes absolute sense. In addition to having the power to overcome great fear, willpower now means having the power to will something into being — and so, having the power of free will.
Asa new evil Justice Leaguesteals DC heroes' iconic costumes and even their powers thanks to the massiveAbsolute Powerevent, Green Lantern is one of the many victims to fall to the onslaught. InAbsolute Power: Task Force VII#3by Jeremy Adams and Marco Santucci,the Green Lantern villain Jadestone makes his first big debut, and this Amazo’s aim is to eliminate the Justice Society of America.
After stealing Alan Scott’s Starheart, Jadestone undergoes an evolution that brings him to sentience. What this android Lantern discovers is something I’ve been waiting for DC to explain: thathaving willpower means having a choice to fight for good or evil.
“A Gigantic Reset of the GL Universe”: DC Reinvents Green Lantern Lore with THREE Seismic Changes at SDCC 2024
DC shares horror-focused Green Lantern Dark, new Absolute Green Lantern continuity and the Corps' upcoming civil war (& a hero turns villain?)
A Green Lantern’s True Power Is Free Will
Willpower Isn’t Just About Overcoming Fear
Many fans may assume that being a Green Lantern means fighting for good, but that hasn’t always been the case. Hal Jordan’s long-time villain, Sinestro, was once his friend and mentor — and a famous Green Lantern, too. However,Sinestro used his willpower to enforce martial lawon his own planet and become a dictator. Usually, this heel turn is seen as the birth of the Sinestro Corps, which is powered by fear. Really, I think it’s just an example of a Green Lantern’s ever-available free will.
Willpower is just the opportunity to make a decision and see it through to existence in the world, for good or ill.
The crux of a Green Lantern’s power is how they act of their own accord and use their imagination to solve complicated problems. In my experience, willpower is just the opportunity to make a decision and see it through to existence in the world, for good or ill. What Jadestone discovers, even afterproving that Alan Scott is the strongest Lantern, is that he has a choice.Jadestone doesn’t have to obey Amanda Waller.With Alan Scott’s Starheart powering his engine, he realizes another option — he can save people instead.
Jadestone Has a Choice: Which Green Lantern Will He Be?
The Path of Evil - or the Path of Alan Scott?
Jadestone asks Alan just why he saves people, and Green Lantern responds that it’s not solely in his programming — it’s a choice that he makes. In this one exchange,the whole of the Green Lantern mythos shifts, chanhing the focus from the Lanterns being powered by their rings to the humans who have the willpower already within, ring or not.I think that’s the point of a hero: having the courage to choose good every time. With Alan Scott’s manifest willpower helping himbecome DC’s strongest hero, Jadestone just might make the same choice.
While it’s assumed that the good guys will make good choices, Jadestone’s evolution shows me a more complicated path that I genuinely enjoy as a long-time Green Lantern fan. Having willpower is not just about overcoming fear, but making the choice to overcome fear and do what’s right every day. In my opinion, Jadestone, while introduced as a villain, is already becoming aGreen Lanternhero that just might save the day — as long as he makes the right choice using his willpower.
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name given to multiple enforcers of intergalactic justice in the DC Universe. Green Lanterns can harness the cosmic energy of willpower, and create unique spectral objects to face off against their enemies. Though some Green Lanterns have assisted with the Justice League, they primarily belong to the Green Lantern Corps.
