2023 Put Green Lantern Back in the A-List by Upgrading & Updating His Powers

Warning: SPOILERS for DC Comics’ ongoing Green Lantern series

Earth’s members of the Green Lantern Corps have always been some of DC Comics’ most prominent heroes. From Alan Scott to Kyle Rayner, these Emerald Guardians are ever-present – with the Silver Age icon, Hal Jordan, oftentimes defining the mythos. Though he’s taken a back seat in recent years, 2023 put Hal Jordan back on the map as Green Lantern with more than a few upgrades.

Established in the pages of Green Lantern – by Jeremy Adams, Xermanico, Romulo Fajadro Jr., and more – Jordan’s new status quo finds him wielding a mysterious new Power Ring inside a quarantined Earth. As such, fans have been learning about Hal’s new abilities alongside the so-called “greatest” Green Lantern.

While Hal isn’t unfamiliar with having a special connection to his Power Ring, this latest emerald band features a wide array of abilities, both new and old. Such abilities make Hal Jordan one of the most unique Green Lanterns of all – even if he’s technically quit the Green Lantern Corps.

Hal Jordan’s New Ring Is Unlike Anything Before

So far, it is clear that Green Lantern’s new ring is unique, and accessible only by him, and only on Earth, while also bringing back old-school abilities like the capacity to project constructs in any color. Additionally, the Green Lantern’s ring is once again capable of emitting radiation frequencies resembling that of Kryptonite, while a team-up with Etrigan the Demon confirmed that the ring is also a surprisingly effective spellcasting tool. With such wild variation from other Lanterns, these new powers not only catapult Hal back into the A-List of the DC Universe, they even make him a realistic threat against other heavy hitters like Superman or Wonder Woman.

As protectors of the cosmos, the heroes of the Green Lantern Corps are some of the most powerful champions in the universe. But it’s clear that Hal’s new ring has separated him from the rest of the pack in terms of versatility, if not sheer power, despite his unofficial Lantern status. These days, Hal isn’t the only Corpsman with altered abilities, and while fellow ex-Lantern, John Stewart, is far and away the most powerful Green Lantern around, Hal Jordan’s new connection could give the Master Builder a run for his money in terms of being the most distinct Green Lantern of all.

This Year Elevated Hal Jordan Once More

As a founding member of the Justice League and one of the DC Universe’s greatest heroes, the Green Lantern deserves to be one of the publisher’s A-List heroes. While Hal Jordan has long played an important role within the tapestry of the DC Universe, the new abilities demonstrated in the past year recontextualize his place alongside his fellow heroes, as well as DC’s other Green Lantern Corpsmen. Now that he’s packing a ring that could clearly take on being like Superman, the evil in the DC Comics universe best beware Green Lantern’s light – especially now that it can change colors.