Justice League Take New Green Lantern Forms in Art ‘Too Weird’ for DC

In a piece of art deemed “too weird” by DC Comics, the Justice League take Green Lantern forms. Artist Ethan Van Sciver shared the piece on Twitter, showing each member of the Justice League with a different colored power ring. The results are interesting, subverting fan expectations on who would get what ring—but ultimately DC passed on the piece.

In 2005, writer Geoff Johns and artist Ethan Van Sciver took over the ailing Green Lantern franchise, injecting it with new life. First, the duo restored Hal Jordan to the role of Earth’s Green Lantern as well as reestablishing the Green Lantern Corps. Next was the introduction of the Emotional Spectrum, one of the fundamental forces of the DC Universe. Each color of the traditional spectrum is endowed with a particular emotional drive: red for anger, orange for greed, yellow for fear, green for willpower, blue for hope, indigo for compassion and violet for love. Fans embraced these new additions to the Green Lantern mythos; the story of the Emotional Spectrum came to a head in 2009’s Blackest Night. During the course of that event, several DC heroes and villains became deputized members of the various Corps, and now Ethan Van Sciver gives his own take on the event in a newly revealed piece of art.

In a Tweet, Ethan Van Sciver unveiled the piece, prefacing it by saying he was approached by the then-editor of Justice League to do a cover, with the only limitations being Sciver’s imagination; the cover did not even need to reflect the book’s contents. Sciver’s cover shows each member of the New-52 era Justice League with a different colored Lantern ring. The Flash has a Red Lantern ring, Aquaman wields the Orange Light of Avarice, Batman wears the colors of the Sinestro Corps, Superman inspires hope as a Blue Lantern, Wonder Woman is a compassionate Indigo Lantern and Cyborg wields the violet energies of the Star Sapphires. This unique Justice League is being led into battle by Green Lantern. Sciver revealed that while DC paid for him the cover, they never used the image, deeming it “too weird.”

Sciver’s cover may not necessarily be weird, but he certainly posits some interesting choices for each Lantern Corps. Some make sense: Superman is a symbol of hope throughout the universe, making his induction into the Blue Lantern Corps obvious; Batman, whose career is predicated upon fear and intimidation, is an ideal candidate for the fear-based Sinestro Corps. In Blackest Night, Wonder Woman joined the Star Sapphires, probably due to only women being members of that group. Sciver flips this on its ear, making Wonder Woman a member of the Indigo Lanterns; given her mission has been one of empathy and tolerance, this makes sense.

Yet Cyborg’s inclusion into the Star Sapphires remains a puzzling one. What about Vic Stone specifically lends itself to love? Furthermore, why is the Flash (who is assumed to be Barry Allen) wearing a Red Lantern ring? Nothing about his character screams anger, or rage. Finally, why is Aquaman wielding the orange light? Is it because he is ruler of a kingdom that has waged wars of conquest in its past? Perhaps, but Aquaman has never shown greedy or materialistic desires.

The various Lantern Corps have receded into the background, waiting for their time to return to the DC Universe. Ethan Van Sciver’s choices for the Justice League’s new Green Lantern forms are simultaneously obvious and puzzling, all of which inspired DC to reject the piece for being “too weird.”

Source: Twitter/Ethan Van Sciver

About The Author

Shaun Corley
(1378 Articles Published)

Shaun Corley is a pop culture enthusiast living in the Pacific Northwest. After stints in both customer service and academia, he’s turned his attention to writing about comic books–his lifelong passion. He is a graduate of Radford University, with a degree in English. When not reading comics, he enjoys spending time with his fiance and their dog.

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