Green Lantern vs Iron Man: Who’d Win a Comic Battle?

While their personalities are different, DC Comics‘ Green Lantern and Marvel Comics‘ Iron Man have similar sets of strength and durability. Their projectiles are among the strongest in their respective universes, and their moments of determination define their victories, making them perfect in a battle against the other. Unfortunately, Iron Man never got a chance to face off against Hal Jordan in the Marvel vs. DC event because writers put Kyle Rayner’s Green Lantern against Silver Surfer. So to answer the question once and for all, would Tony Stark be able to defeat Hal Jordan?

After terrorists abduct Tony Stark in a cave, the businessman realizes that he must stop his selfish ways. Ho Yinsen helps him build his first Iron Man armor to escape, and the rest is history. He begins to defend the planet as the Invincible Iron Man and leads the Avengers into battle. Since his first mission, Tony has created over 60 suits, and they’ve become exponentially more advanced. During Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca’s Heroic Age Invincible Iron Man comics, Tony builds the Bleeding Edge armor, arguably his most practical Iron Man model. It allows him to coat the nano-machine armor from under his skin. On top of the usual repulsors, lasers, missiles, and energy shielding, the Bleeding Edge armor can predict an opponent’s fight pattern, utilize different repulsor combinations, charge from any source of kinetic energy, and give Tony eyes on anything surrounding him. His biggest weakness is his ego and tempting addictions. His narcissism, former alcoholism, and stubborn overconfidence get in the way of many missions; however, Iron Man continually endeavors to leave these tendencies behind him.

When Abin Sur’s Power Ring first finds Hal Jordan, he becomes the first human in the Guardians of the Universe’s Green Lantern Corps. He helps kickstart the first Justice League of America and defends the galaxy as one of the DC Universe’s greatest heroes. Green Lantern has the power to create anything in his imagination, travel on an interstellar level, and enhance his senses. Although the “strongest Green Lantern” is debatable, Hal is commonly known as the most powerful. In current comics, his only drawback is his battery drain. However, it’s worth noting that Hal’s will is a superpower in itself, granting him the usage of the Ring with sheer willpower. There was a time when Green Lantern was weak against the color yellow; thankfully, the defeat of Parallax during Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver’s Green Lantern: Rebirth ensures this ridiculous weakness would never be an issue again.

So with all their strengths and weaknesses in consideration, who would win in this explosive battle? Well, it would be an incredibly close match. Iron Man’s genius-level intellect and his array of armors ensure that it will take a while for him to run out of energy. On the other hand, Green Lantern’s intense willpower can potentially fuel him until he thoroughly defeats Tony. The only thing that causes the balance to break is Tony’s impulsive behavior, which might ultimately give Green Lantern the win.

While it’s immensely close, Tony’s impulses are no match for Hal’s willpower. When it comes to it, DC‘s Green Lanterns face multiverse-ending threats more frequently than Marvel Comics‘ Avengers. Even considering Tony’s most powerful suits, Hal has probably faced worse. There’s a possibility Iron Man could win if luck is on his side, but when considering each character’s willpower, Green Lantern narrowly outranks him.

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