Warning: Spoilers for Green Lantern #15!Batmanis too serious for his own good, andGreen Lanternis - well, not so serious. While the Justice League certainly has its share of light-hearted heroes, none of them quite match the maverick impulsiveness of Hal Jordan, which Batman just can’t seem to stand. These two heroes have had a fraught history for as long as they have been around, but Green Lantern just pulled a move on Batman that shows he knows how to outsmart his “frenemy” better than anyone.
Alongside his ally, Flash Wally West,Green Lantern is without a powered ringin the wake ofAbsolute Powerand is on a mission to save the day in a new preview ofGreen Lantern#15by Jeremy Adams, Fernando Pasarin, Oclair Albert, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Dave Sharpe. He takes the Flash to one of Batman’s islands and shows him the prototype of the Batwolf, a Bat-Plane that only a skilled pilot like Hal Jordan could drive.
As Green Lantern says,he knows Batman’s biggest weakness - he’s too strategic, and that’s exactly what makes him predictable.
Batman and Green Lantern Are Heroes, But Not Friends
Hal Jordan and Bruce Wayne Are Practically Opposites
Batman isn’t normally thought ofas “predictable.” He’s a master tactician who has trained his body and mind to take him to the absolute peak of humanity, practically making him a god. Yet the predictability comes from that very seriousness of his character. Batman can be counted on to make plans within plans and to always trust a strategy over flying off the cuff, like Hal Jordan is known to do. A hero with a thousand contingency plans eventually becomesthe most predictable hero in comics.
To see what Batman has been up to duringAbsolute Power, check outBatman#152 by Chip Zdarsky, Mike Hawthorne, Adriano Di Benedetto, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Clayton Cowles, available now from DC Comics.
Hal Jordan, on the other hand, is a master improviser, seen from the very fact ofhis Green Lantern powers, with creativity at the forefront of what it means to have willpower - the very will to create.Hal Jordan is constantly having to improviseby creating constructs to suit the current situation. As Hal Jordan, he’s a reckless pilot, and as Green Lantern, he’s a force of impulsive creativity, the very bane of a planner like Batman.
And Even a Few Fistfights
Even though they’re teammates,Green Lantern and Batman have never had a fully functioning relationship. In every universe, it seems, they will find ways to annoy each other. In the New 52Justice Leaguetitle by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, Batman slipped off Hal Jordan’s ring, showing him that he needed to concentrate better. In the alternate universe ofAll-Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonderby Frank Miller and Lee,Bruce Wayne goes a step further and coats his suit and an entire room in yellow paint, the weakness of a Green Lantern, showing just how farBatman’s contingency plansget him.
Green Lantern’s New Costume Is Rainbow-Themed Nightmare Fuel
Green Lantern gets a beautiful new look, but it speaks to the intense damage the Emotional Spectrum and Kyle Rayner are feeling right now.
Green Lantern, on the other hand, has had his own fair share of assaults on Batman. As far back asZero Hourof the nineties, Hal Jordan did have a brief stint as a villain known as Parallax, before anyGreen Lantern lore changed too drastically, and it required Batman and the rest of the Justice League to take him down.
In smaller moments, Green Lantern loves toremind Batman that he’s just a man in a batsuit with no powers. Hal Jordan has the energy of an annoying little brother constantly cracking jokes at his too serious older sibling. But it’s more than just jokes in the end, because Green Lantern understands Batman’s weakness better than anyone.
Batman’s Planning Makes Him the Most Predictable Hero
And Green Lantern Is Nothing If Not Creatively Unpredictable
To a quick mind like Hal Jordan, Batman is too predictable.Billionaire Bruce Wayne, as it turns out, leaves expensive toys lying around as he moves onto the next model, and Hal Jordan is ready pick up the dangerous experiments left behind. He maneuvers around the kill switch toBatman’s new high speed plane- because Batman always works within the expected bounds, and Hal has learned to work around those bounds. To a man like Green Lantern, Batman’s greatest weakness is that he plans too much. It’s easy to plan for a planner.
Batman should take a page out of Green Lantern’s book and learn to play a little.
Batman should take a page out of Green Lantern’s book and learn to play a little. Batman’scontingency plans have destroyed the Justice Leaguemore than a few times - which wouldn’t happen if Batman could both trust his own teammates and trust his own instincts.Hal Jordan has enough instinct for the entire Justice League, and, as seen duringAbsolute Power,he doesn’t need a magical ring to create a bit of chaos.
Green Lantern’s Powers of Improvisation Will Save the Day
Not Batman’s Contingency Plans
Batman’s very efforts to win are his downfall. It’s a good thing that this time around, it’s not a villain twisting a contingency plan but instead a friend who knows the cracks in Batman’s armor. Just as Batman might use Hal’s flightiness against him, Hal knows how to useBatman’sdiligence against him. In a crisis without superpowers,an improvising hero likeGreen Lanternis just what DC needs.
Green Lantern#15is available September 11th, 2024 from DC Comics!
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.
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
