Jane Dryden - Green Lantern and Philosophy: No Evil Shall Escape this Book

CONTENTS

The Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture Series

Series Editor: William Irwin

South Park and Philosophy

Edited by Robert Arp

Metallica and Philosophy

Edited by William Irwin

Family Guy and Philosophy

Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski

The Daily Show and Philosophy

Edited by Jason Holt

Lost and Philosophy

Edited by Sharon Kaye

24 and Philosophy

Edited by Jennifer Hart Weed, Richard Davis, and Ronald Weed

Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy

Edited by Jason T. Eberl

The Office and Philosophy

Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Batman and Philosophy

Edited by Mark D. White and Robert Arp

House and Philosophy

Edited by Henry Jacoby

Watchmen and Philosophy

Edited by Mark D. White

X-Men and Philosophy

Edited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Terminator and Philosophy

Edited by Richard Brown and Kevin Decker

Heroes and Philosophy

Edited by David Kyle Johnson

Twilight and Philosophy

Edited by Rebecca Housel and J. Jeremy Wisnewski

Final Fantasy and Philosophy

Edited by Jason P. Blahuta and Michel S. Beaulieu

Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy

Edited by Richard Brian Davis

Iron Man and Philosophy

Edited by Mark D. White

True Blood and Philosophy

Edited by George Dunn and Rebecca Housel

Mad Men and Philosophy

Edited by James South and Rod Carveth

30 Rock and Philosophy

Edited by J. Jeremy Wisnewski

The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy

Edited by Gregory Bassham

The Ultimate Lost and Philosophy

Edited by Sharon Kaye

Spider-Man and Philosophy

Edited by Jonathan J. Sanford

Copyright 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

Chapter opener art by Forty-Five Degree Design LLC

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ISBN 978-0-470-57557-4 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-00327-5 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-00328-2 (ebk.); ISBN 978-1-118-00329-9

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

No Gratitude Shall Escape Our Sight

We would like to thank some of our personal Guardians for helping to make this dream a reality. Eric Nelson and Connie Santisteban of Wiley gave us our rings and our batteries and taught us the most important oath of all: Dont miss deadlines! Though they granted us this power, Bill Irwin taught us how to use it and gave invaluable advice on the constructs we developed. Finally, we thank our fellow members in the Philosophy Corps for their dedication to the mission; we hope none of them become Red Lanterns because of us!

Jane would like to thank Caitlyn Pascal and Dawn Wintour, who got her started reading comics back in the day. Mark would like to thank Jeff Peters, whose love of Green Lantern helped to reignite Marks green flame after many years away from the Corps.

Finally, we would like to thank all the amazingly imaginative and intelligent creators who have powered the Green Lantern mythos for all these decades: Mort Finger, Art Nodell, Julius Schwartz, John Broome, Gil Kane, Denny ONeil, Neal Adams, Marv Wolfman, Joe Staton, Alan Moore, Len Wein, Dave Gibbons, Steve Englehart, Gerard Jones, Ron Marz, Judd Winick, Peter Tomasi, and, of course, Geoff Johns. Without them, Green Lantern would just be a run-of-the-mill hero with sparkly jewelry; because of them, Green Lantern is a legend. This book is dedicated to them.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Corps!

We admit it: If we could be any superheroes, wed like to be Green Lanterns. Why Green Lanterns, you ask? First, theres the vast array of vivid and compelling characters who fill the pages of the Green Lantern comics: Hal, Kyle, John, and Guy, of course, but also Alan Scott, Arisia, Ganthet, Soranik Natu, Kilowog, Katma Tui, Salaak, Mogoeven Sinestro. Theyre so different from one another, and yet they seem like folks wed like to knowand would very much like to join. (And not to brag, but we look quite good in green.)

And then theres the concept of the Green Lantern Corps itself, an intergalactic police force composed of members from different species on different worlds who all have to get along with one another and work together to ensure peace and order in the universe. The United Nations only needs to worry about different countries and humans getting alongthe Green Lantern Corps needs to worry about different planets and species! Each member of the Corps has a unique set of values and way of life, but they all swear to fight evil, putting aside their differences to further a common goal.

But more than anything, its the rings. The power of a Green Lantern ring inspires a sense of possibility and wonder the first time you read a comic or see one on the big screen. Anyone who dreams of how to make the world a better place can imagine ways to make that dream come true with a Green Lantern ring. Given enough willpower, a Green Lantern can make the ring do whatever he or she can imagine. And each Lanterns constructs reflect his or her personality, from Hal Jordans simple boxing gloves to John Stewarts architecturally sound structures to Kyle Rayners artistic flights of fancy.

With these fantastic concepts and characters, the philosophical questions just flow. How do all the Green Lanterns work together? What limits does justice place on the use of a Green Lantern ring? Can a Green Lantern do literally anything at all? What roles do willpower and imagination play when a Green Lantern uses the ring? What do the differently colored corps reveal about the nature of our emotions, and how should emotion affect a Green Lanterns judgment and decisions?