Listeners to our show have likely heard me talk about my kids, the Goblin King and the Twilight Princess. Dad Mode is all about the funny things kids teach you about the world and humanity. This is what my son and the Green Lantern Corps taught me about equality.
At the time of this writing my son is 3 and a half. He’s a pretty stereotypical boy. He loves trucks and trains and running around outside. But he’s also my son, and he’s therefore developed a fondness for super heroes. If you ask him who his favorite is, he’ll quickly say, “Batman!” (That’s my boy!) Being the ever observant parent, I can tell you that his real favorite is definitely Green Lantern. He flies in space! He makes cool constructs! He wears green! We’ve watched GL over a few incarnations (probably too many, but I can’t help myself!), and I’ve noticed something peculiar about how he sees the different GL Corps members he’s met.
So who is this handsome gentleman?
Well he’s Hal Jordan, test pilot and Green Lantern of sector 2814 and the first human member of the Corps after a chance encounter with a dying Abin Sur. Created in 1959, he’s been the best known GL in most forms of media, including the recent (and frankly not well received) Ryan Reynolds movie. The picture is from the woefully underrated GL Animated series from a couple years ago.
Who does my son think he is?
Green Lantern!
Who is this, and what’s with the hair?
This fellow is Guy Gardner, originally a “backup lantern” for times when Hal Jordan was unable to fulfill his duties but later full and high ranking member of the Corps in his own right. Baltimore born and raised, at times depicted as a reformed juvenile delinquent, at others as a police officer kicked off the force, but always with that haircut. The picture is from Batman: The Brave and the Bold animated series where Guy takes the lead as the primary GL of the show.
Who does my son think he is?
Green Lantern!
Who is this intense looking guy?
You’re looking at John Stewart (no, not THAT Jon Stewart), the second “backup Lantern” and third Green Lantern from Earth. He’s an architect and retired US Marine. He was also the first black superhero DC put into print back in 1971. When DC was expanding their animated universe for the Justice League series in 2001 John was front and center on the team. He continued to be a major part of the cartoons until the cancellation of Justice League Unlimited in 2006. He’s the GL that many children of the 90s and 00s grew up with.
Who does my son think he is?
Green Lantern! Are you seeing a pattern?
I decided to run a test, I asked my son who this is.
This is Iolande, member of the royal family of the planet Betrassus who becomes a GL after her brother commits murder in his own attempt to get a ring and join the Corps. She is a Lantern of Sector 1417. Her partner is Soranik Natu, who just so happens to be the daughter of long time GL villain (and former Lantern himself) Sinestro and his wife Arin Sur (who is also the sister of Abin Sur, often considered the greatest Lantern who ever lived and whose ring chose Hal Jordan as his successor). It gets complicated.
So, who does my son think she is?
Green Lantern!
The Green Lantern Corps is one of the most diverse organizations in comics. Members of all different species, races, and sexes populate the thousands of members. Take one look at a GL comic and you’ll see all sorts of different beings on the page. But for all the myriad beings on the page my son just sees Green Lantern. He doesn’t see the white Green Lantern or the black Green Lantern or the girl Green Lantern, he just sees Green Lantern. It doesn’t matter who the person wearing the uniform or slinging the ring is, they’re a Green Lantern and they’re a hero. I’d hope that if I gave him this same test with police officers or fire fighters that he’d have the same results, that he wouldn’t see race or gender as anything to make him think differently about who he’s seeing. Right now, he’s too young to have any concept of what those mean to the way a stranger treats you in this world.
As he grows up, though, I hope that he never gets it. I hope that he will inherit a world that doesn’t make judgements based on the color of your skin or what parts you have or the way you dress or the accent you speak with or who you love or any of the other quick impressions we make about other people on a moment to moment basis. That he’ll take the time to learn that Hal Jordan is impulsive and it often gets him into trouble. That Guy Gardner’s temper does him more harm than good. That John Stewart is often too hard on himself about mistakes he’s made in the past. That Iolande being an actual princess doesn’t win her many friends among a Corps made up of beings from all different socio-politico-economic backgrounds. That for the most part none of these have anything to do with them being white or black or female or having a weird looking haircut and that all of them come from a deeper understanding of who these people are. And that that understanding can only come from communicating and interacting with other people. There is much so more to people than something you can see on the outside.
It’s so easy today to be told that a person can’t do something because of X factor or Y reason, how do we change the world to get people to actually talk to each other, communicate, and come to any kind of mutual understanding? That’s the challenge. I wish I had an easy answer. Children are shown so many role models in their young lives, so many heroes. Let’s make sure to show our children role models of all different races and creeds, of all different sexes and genders, and for now, we’ll keep watching Green Lanterns in all their various forms, in brightest day, in blackest night … just not past bedtime.