Exactly. I purposely left out anyone who's a villain for all of the Green Lanterns in general, like the other Corps or the Manhunters or renegade Guardians, exc. All it would do is increase everyone's number evenly by one, so it doesn't really help.
Agreed, Kyle does have probably the most interesting rouges gallery. I did notice you forgot one big villain that Kyle had to deal with, Oblivion; a mysterious being who seemed to be one of Kyle’s greatest foe at the time and later revealed to be the living embodiment of Kyle’s fears and self doubt that was created when he was given the power of a Green Lantern. These rouges are one of the reason Kyle is my favorite GL; they challenge him physically, emotionally, and psychologically in different forms, avoiding the fights from being repetitive and making Kyle’s victory more triumphant and satisfying most of the time.
Wouldn't Fatality be tied more to John Stewart because she was from Xanshi? She explicitly hates John because of what he did, in fact she has more of a hatred towards John then Kyle once she finds out that John is responsible for her planets destruction. I mean I know she appeared in Kyle's run, but I feel she is more tied to John. Id also add Oblivion as it also represents Kyle's irrational Fears of responsibility as well as anger and sorrow. Even if its just a manifestation of Kyle's worse aspects
It was always weird, because Fatality makes way more sense as a John Stewart villain, but she didn't appear until Kyle was the only Green Lanterns left...and by that point John didn't have any powers, which meant Kyle had to be involved no matter what, making him feel like a third wheel in a what should've been a confrontation between John and Fatality. Fun fact, Fatality never knew or cared who the Green Lantern that destroyed her planet was, she just wanted revenge on all of them...until Kyle just randomly decided to tell her it was John, for literally no reason at all, which of course made a defenseless John Stewart into one of her permanent targets from then on. It's still probably the dumbest thing Kyle has ever done in his life.
Is almost everything Hal related is usually my favorite but I like your perspective on Kyle's era since I never read that (I started during Blackest Night) A villain I'm surprised you didn't mention was Atrocitus. I know he hasn't been used recently unless you count Injustice 2 but I always feel he adds a profound thoughts about anger.
Kyle has the best villains and unfortunately modern writers have completely forgotten about them. Like Effigy.. I wish we got Green Lantern Underworld on Fire from DC Round Robin
Nice video that’s very insightful! I would’ve first thought Hal too based on what GL lore I know but you definitely made a more compelling and eye opening statement for Kyle having the best villains. A hero’s story is only as good as the villain that’s a part of it
I have to agree with you. Hal has more villains that are all appealing in their own way but very few of them have unique, personal connections to Hal. Sinestro, Star Sapphire, Hector......Black Hand i guess? Itd be nice to see future writers adress that.
You forgot to bring up Nero being like Sinestro to Kyle. Or how he inherited the Manhunters and Mongal. Or how Kyle took the Captain Atom villain Major Force and made him a long term villain for not just Kyle but Guy too.
You did miss one "villain" for Guy Gardner, Batman. Okay, Batsy was more of a slight antagonist smacking Guy around when Guy was being stupid. I always thought Fatality was Stewart enemy and didn't realize she came around the time of Rayner. I guess she later switched to Stewart when she realized it was him who failed. Parallax was definitely Rayner's biggest villain with Sinestro being Jordan's villain. In a way the two pairs are sort of mirrors of each other.
The Guy Gardner Warrior villain known as Dementor is an underrated & humorous villain who could shoulder against Lobo. Dementor lasted a few issues until killed off.
Great video Dan. Kyle Rayner is my favourite Green Lantern and your perspective on the villains related to him is the context of this video I agree with the most, especially Effigy and the Parallax-possessed Hal Jordan. Both of them acted as shadow archetypes to Kyle and helped further his growth as a character.
I think this video just made GL my favourite character, specifically Hal. I already like GL and the GLC enough to put them in my top five, maybe top three, but now I think it's settled. (AT least between DC and Marvel) I wouldn't have chosen him over Guy or Kyle but the fact that he's the only hero I can think of in comics that was a damn good hero, and turned into one of the worst villains, not just for a short time, but as a reoccurring villain for Kyle, is fucking awesome. And it was cannon, instead of being an alternate universe, like Injustice. Nor was it a clone all along, or a dream, or an imposter, or a fake out to go undercover for anything, it was real. I'm not a big enough comic nerd to know this for certain, but I'm pretty sure NO OTHER COMIC HERO HAS DONE THIS. Not for as long as Hal did, leaving that huge gap of him eventually being gone. I don't count Superior Spider-Man either because it wasn't a thing were Peter went evil then it was retconned that he was possessed by Doc Ock. In fact, i think Hal being just a villain on his own without Parallax being involved made it better. Too bad the majority of comic readers don't seem to know a good story when it hits them. Christ GL is actually some of the best story telling out there. I love this character.
Heya - GL's my favorite, so I'm a bit shocked I never came across your channel before - automatic sub! This was an interesting analysis. I appreciate the explanation of your thought process and certainly having a personal connection to the hero's journey or theme is *one* important aspect to the success of a villain, but I disagree with using that as the overriding arbiter of what makes those villains "the best." The fact that they functioned so well as part of Kyle's development also meant that they didn't really have a lot of legs outside of Kyle which could just as easily be seen as a negative. And this is completely subjective, but how many Effigy stories really stood out or are considered memorable? Same can be asked of Nero or Grayven. Once the Corps came back, how many of them were brought back as larger threats? (also, who's "Kyle Reynolds?" 😋(the title of the last chapter in your timeline)) Also, Guy's had several of his own series -- did he really not have any recurring baddies?
This was so cool! I really enjoy learning about different parts of different characters and how they change over time. It's so much fun to think about what kinds of stories they could tell in today's DCU with a few of the characters on this list who otherwise seem to have been forgotten
Its not much but I feel that Frank, the Phantom lantern was specifically designed to be an anti version for Simon. He represents the opposite values of Simon who see having the ring as a burden he must bare.
For Legacy sake I’ll say Hal had the best villains even to the point where he himself became a villain.Kyles were an interesting case since all of them constantly made him challenge his self worth and esteem and he actually aged during the time he started.
Kyle, John, and Sojourner are my favorite Green Lanterns. But Hal and Kyle have sick rogues galleries. I love Kyle and Parallax’s dynamic. But Hal also has Attrocitus and Nekron. It’s a tie for me. Still Kyle is my boi.
There's another factor that you overlooked. If you're looking for villains who say something about the hero, what about the villains who are enemies of Green Lanterns in general, instead of specific individuals. For example, while Thaal Sinestro definitely hates Hal Jordan above all others, enemies like Atrocitus, Krona, Nekron or the Manhunters would be more villains for the Corps in general or maybe the Guardians specifically.
We’ll agree to disagree, but your video came across as predisposed to Kyle coming out on top the way it was set up and laid out. I think you need to read a lot more GL or do more research before making this list. To dismiss John Stewart and Guy Gardner shows you have not read enough about them. They each had their own series in the past with their own villains. Not saying they would come out on top, but they shouldn’t be dismissed. As far as Hal goes, you have completely dismissed several recent villains from his time as a GL. It’s like you cut off the timeline after Kyle became a GL (hence my comment on being biased). Hal also had major opponents in Nekron and Black Hand. You mentioned Parallax, but ultimately Parallax was proven to be an opponent to Hal, and initially shown in GL Rebirth. Parallax is the embodiment of fear that possessed Hal. This doesn’t include other opponents from the Sinestro Corps, the Red Lanterns, and Larfleeze, which all came in during Hal’s recent tenure and were threats Hal faced. I love Kyle Rayner as a GL, but his villains list and the impact they have on him as a character doesn’t hold a candle to Hal.
The 3 that has the most powerful opponents are already dismissed from the beginning... Jon, Guy, and Simon are fighting the ultimate battle. Conquering and mastering the self.
All the rules went out the window after Hal blew everything up. Ganthet literally just bumped into Kyle and said "you will have to do" and handed him the ring.
@@MosaicComics hey could you do a video where you discuss possible lantern corps for character from different corp from different franchises, universe ,and series Like hulk being worthy of a red lantern ring or captain America being worthy of a blue lantern ring and etc.
Another reason why I dont fuck with everyone from Kyle up, John Stewart never got a good shake, he's always been put in the back. I suppose being black wasn't good for him.
What Geoff Johns did with black hand was absolutely amazing. From a goofy one note villain to someone who was a real threat and had depth.
Blackest night got me back into comics
Agreed
I am honestly glad you didn't mention larfleeze or atrocious because I consider them to be villains of the corps itself
Exactly. I purposely left out anyone who's a villain for all of the Green Lanterns in general, like the other Corps or the Manhunters or renegade Guardians, exc. All it would do is increase everyone's number evenly by one, so it doesn't really help.
Agreed, Kyle does have probably the most interesting rouges gallery. I did notice you forgot one big villain that Kyle had to deal with, Oblivion; a mysterious being who seemed to be one of Kyle’s greatest foe at the time and later revealed to be the living embodiment of Kyle’s fears and self doubt that was created when he was given the power of a Green Lantern. These rouges are one of the reason Kyle is my favorite GL; they challenge him physically, emotionally, and psychologically in different forms, avoiding the fights from being repetitive and making Kyle’s victory more triumphant and satisfying most of the time.
Wouldn't Fatality be tied more to John Stewart because she was from Xanshi? She explicitly hates John because of what he did, in fact she has more of a hatred towards John then Kyle once she finds out that John is responsible for her planets destruction. I mean I know she appeared in Kyle's run, but I feel she is more tied to John. Id also add Oblivion as it also represents Kyle's irrational Fears of responsibility as well as anger and sorrow. Even if its just a manifestation of Kyle's worse aspects
It was always weird, because Fatality makes way more sense as a John Stewart villain, but she didn't appear until Kyle was the only Green Lanterns left...and by that point John didn't have any powers, which meant Kyle had to be involved no matter what, making him feel like a third wheel in a what should've been a confrontation between John and Fatality.
Fun fact, Fatality never knew or cared who the Green Lantern that destroyed her planet was, she just wanted revenge on all of them...until Kyle just randomly decided to tell her it was John, for literally no reason at all, which of course made a defenseless John Stewart into one of her permanent targets from then on. It's still probably the dumbest thing Kyle has ever done in his life.
Is almost everything Hal related is usually my favorite but I like your perspective on Kyle's era since I never read that (I started during Blackest Night)
A villain I'm surprised you didn't mention was Atrocitus. I know he hasn't been used recently unless you count Injustice 2 but I always feel he adds a profound thoughts about anger.
Hal Jordan rules.
I love your pfp
Kyle has the best villains and unfortunately modern writers have completely forgotten about them. Like Effigy.. I wish we got Green Lantern Underworld on Fire from DC Round Robin
If you say so kid.
In a perfect world Kyle would have been the protagonist of Johns's run.
Nice video that’s very insightful! I would’ve first thought Hal too based on what GL lore I know but you definitely made a more compelling and eye opening statement for Kyle having the best villains. A hero’s story is only as good as the villain that’s a part of it
I have to agree with you. Hal has more villains that are all appealing in their own way but very few of them have unique, personal connections to Hal. Sinestro, Star Sapphire, Hector......Black Hand i guess? Itd be nice to see future writers adress that.
Alan has Rose and Thorn but yeah she suffers from the same problem as Harlequin
You forgot to bring up Nero being like Sinestro to Kyle. Or how he inherited the Manhunters and Mongal. Or how Kyle took the Captain Atom villain Major Force and made him a long term villain for not just Kyle but Guy too.
You did miss one "villain" for Guy Gardner, Batman. Okay, Batsy was more of a slight antagonist smacking Guy around when Guy was being stupid. I always thought Fatality was Stewart enemy and didn't realize she came around the time of Rayner. I guess she later switched to Stewart when she realized it was him who failed. Parallax was definitely Rayner's biggest villain with Sinestro being Jordan's villain. In a way the two pairs are sort of mirrors of each other.
The Guy Gardner Warrior villain known as Dementor is an underrated & humorous villain who could shoulder against Lobo.
Dementor lasted a few issues until killed off.
YES,GL needs Good Villains,It always hard to come-up to 10 of them. I hope DC make New ONES.
Kyle rayner rogue gallery sounds really awesome and super underrated in my opinion.
Great video Dan. Kyle Rayner is my favourite Green Lantern and your perspective on the villains related to him is the context of this video I agree with the most, especially Effigy and the Parallax-possessed Hal Jordan. Both of them acted as shadow archetypes to Kyle and helped further his growth as a character.
I think this video just made GL my favourite character, specifically Hal. I already like GL and the GLC enough to put them in my top five, maybe top three, but now I think it's settled. (AT least between DC and Marvel) I wouldn't have chosen him over Guy or Kyle but the fact that he's the only hero I can think of in comics that was a damn good hero, and turned into one of the worst villains, not just for a short time, but as a reoccurring villain for Kyle, is fucking awesome. And it was cannon, instead of being an alternate universe, like Injustice. Nor was it a clone all along, or a dream, or an imposter, or a fake out to go undercover for anything, it was real. I'm not a big enough comic nerd to know this for certain, but I'm pretty sure NO OTHER COMIC HERO HAS DONE THIS. Not for as long as Hal did, leaving that huge gap of him eventually being gone. I don't count Superior Spider-Man either because it wasn't a thing were Peter went evil then it was retconned that he was possessed by Doc Ock. In fact, i think Hal being just a villain on his own without Parallax being involved made it better. Too bad the majority of comic readers don't seem to know a good story when it hits them. Christ GL is actually some of the best story telling out there. I love this character.
A haiku on Green Lantern
It's the Green Lantern
He does really cool light stuff
In the brightest days
In the case of Scott you could also mention the Fool and you could also count Solomon Grundy and Sportsmaster as his own villains
Love your videos, but Sportsmaster was legit great in "The Golden Age" (the comic by James Robinson), many many years before YJ.
Heya - GL's my favorite, so I'm a bit shocked I never came across your channel before - automatic sub! This was an interesting analysis. I appreciate the explanation of your thought process and certainly having a personal connection to the hero's journey or theme is *one* important aspect to the success of a villain, but I disagree with using that as the overriding arbiter of what makes those villains "the best." The fact that they functioned so well as part of Kyle's development also meant that they didn't really have a lot of legs outside of Kyle which could just as easily be seen as a negative. And this is completely subjective, but how many Effigy stories really stood out or are considered memorable? Same can be asked of Nero or Grayven. Once the Corps came back, how many of them were brought back as larger threats? (also, who's "Kyle Reynolds?" 😋(the title of the last chapter in your timeline)) Also, Guy's had several of his own series -- did he really not have any recurring baddies?
Hal Jordan
Kyle Rayner being the GOAT Lantern yet again.
This was so cool! I really enjoy learning about different parts of different characters and how they change over time. It's so much fun to think about what kinds of stories they could tell in today's DCU with a few of the characters on this list who otherwise seem to have been forgotten
Todd you really need to make action figures out of Grayven the son of Darkseid and Amon Sur.
Its not much but I feel that Frank, the Phantom lantern was specifically designed to be an anti version for Simon. He represents the opposite values of Simon who see having the ring as a burden he must bare.
Armazing video bro, great characters. Is the best that DC has to offer. Reyner is a armazing character
5:57 just like Spider-Man’s villains
For Legacy sake I’ll say Hal had the best villains even to the point where he himself became a villain.Kyles were an interesting case since all of them constantly made him challenge his self worth and esteem and he actually aged during the time he started.
Sinestro is a Hal Jordan villain and he’s better than any others.
You didn't mention Rose and Thorn who I always found interesting
As The Grand Priest of The Temple of the Algorithm, I bless this video with a comment.
Kyle, John, and Sojourner
are my favorite Green Lanterns. But Hal and Kyle have sick rogues galleries. I love Kyle and Parallax’s dynamic. But Hal also has Attrocitus and Nekron. It’s a tie for me. Still Kyle is my boi.
Pretty good video
Thanks!
There's another factor that you overlooked. If you're looking for villains who say something about the hero, what about the villains who are enemies of Green Lanterns in general, instead of specific individuals. For example, while Thaal Sinestro definitely hates Hal Jordan above all others, enemies like Atrocitus, Krona, Nekron or the Manhunters would be more villains for the Corps in general or maybe the Guardians specifically.
Hal Jordan duh
Fatality/Yrra is a good villain.
Also, is it safe to assume that the whole matter for f Grayven (as at 9:51) looking like a direct ripoff of Thanos has been covered elsewhere?
Thanos is literally based on Darkseid, so Grayven is Darkseid's son.
Great Video, I can’t wait till I start reading Green Lantern! Anyone know where I should start?
We’ll agree to disagree, but your video came across as predisposed to Kyle coming out on top the way it was set up and laid out.
I think you need to read a lot more GL or do more research before making this list. To dismiss John Stewart and Guy Gardner shows you have not read enough about them. They each had their own series in the past with their own villains. Not saying they would come out on top, but they shouldn’t be dismissed.
As far as Hal goes, you have completely dismissed several recent villains from his time as a GL. It’s like you cut off the timeline after Kyle became a GL (hence my comment on being biased). Hal also had major opponents in Nekron and Black Hand. You mentioned Parallax, but ultimately Parallax was proven to be an opponent to Hal, and initially shown in GL Rebirth. Parallax is the embodiment of fear that possessed Hal. This doesn’t include other opponents from the Sinestro Corps, the Red Lanterns, and Larfleeze, which all came in during Hal’s recent tenure and were threats Hal faced.
I love Kyle Rayner as a GL, but his villains list and the impact they have on him as a character doesn’t hold a candle to Hal.
The 3 that has the most powerful opponents are already dismissed from the beginning... Jon, Guy, and Simon are fighting the ultimate battle. Conquering and mastering the self.
How is Kyle a random nobody the ring would not have work for him if he wasn’t worthy .
All the rules went out the window after Hal blew everything up. Ganthet literally just bumped into Kyle and said "you will have to do" and handed him the ring.
@@MosaicComics hey could you do a video where you discuss possible lantern corps for character from different corp from different franchises, universe ,and series
Like hulk being worthy of a red lantern ring or captain America being worthy of a blue lantern ring and etc.
Another reason why I dont fuck with everyone from Kyle up, John Stewart never got a good shake, he's always been put in the back. I suppose being black wasn't good for him.