Did Green Lantern miss its chance to join the Trinity?

[Mister.Weirdo]

It's a good point. It's not a real thing. There's a big difference in sales/marketability between Bats and everyone else. And undoubtedly the 4th favorite at times has been about equal to the third.

It's just really a "title" thing, meant to make it sound more significant then it really is, more then anything else.

[Space Cop]

Honestly I could care less about the concept of the "trinity". . .

It's a good point. It's not a real thing. There's a big difference in sales/marketability between Bats and everyone else. And undoubtedly the 4th favorite at times has been about equal to the third.

[Mister.Weirdo]

Honestly I could care less about the concept of the "trinity". For me Green Lantern should just written well, not worried about if it's the "most popular", or anything like that. GL had its time in the sun, and it past, maybe it'll come back again, who knows?!

It doesn't help that the live-action movie suffered from a case of "too many cooks" in the kitchen, but still, I've been enjoying the comics now more then ever. For me that's at least something.

[Trey Strain]

Yes, Green Lantern has more than one protagonist. Sadly, it now has MANY more than one. But I think it did miss its chance to challenge the Superman franchise as DC's number two property.

Just about everything DC has done with Green Lantern has been wrong-headed, and has been for a very, very long time. Denny O'Neil sowed the seeds of disaster when he made Hal a lost self-doubter and the dummy sidekick of Oliver Queen. The comic almost recovered from that when Steve Englehart and Gerard Jones were writing it, and again when Geoff Johns was writing it, but both times it went off the rails again.

I have no illusions that the new writer will turn it around.

[Parrylakks]

I agree that it's way too convoluted to properly hold the same appeal as the Trinity. Honestly, the more insane it gets over the years, the more I look back on the 90's with an understanding that destroying the Corps was the best thing for the characters involved. It made them all unique, and that's not something any Lantern can ever dream of being considered these days.

[Star-Lantern]

I don't think Green Lantern would be on the level of the trinity because who is Green Lantern? It's a different man or woman or kid or whatever depending on who you ask and who is behind the scenes in production. People sometimes act like that's a strength, but I don't think so. I think it makes for a confused and confusing brand. It might be more of a strength if the brand was set up to be like that, but it clearly never had that foundation. Alan Scott was a single man who was Green Lantern and also the main character. Same with Hal Jordan. I think you can get away with two or three characters like Hal, John, and Guy, but now the brand is watered down beyond belief and there's too much contention as to who and what the focus of it is. Even the people behind the scenes can't agree on that.

So, no...I don't think Green Lantern would ever be on the level of Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman. I think the brand is too much of a confused shit show for that, and there's too much infighting among the fans (and also among creators) about the most basic and foundational of things about it.

[Space Cop]

...I still believe that the film is underrated, but it could have been better in terms of narrative and it could have been marketed much better.

I still like (not love) it. It’s really a mid-level comic movie, not the disaster it was portrayed as. It’s just that the budget was so big and public that the financial side got wrapped up in its rep. If nothing else, the movie got my stepdad to say he finally understood why I was so into GL.

[Big Blue Lantern]

Honestly after johns reinvented gl with green lantern rebirth he would of been the next big hero but i also think the 2011 film really killed green lanterns momentum. I admit i lost Interest in it after the film and i really wanted to believe it was good you can even find old posts of mine trying to defend it. .

Green Lantern fell prey to the heart of WB's problem: the parent company always struggled to adapt their comic properties. Sure, they've had some more recent successes like the Arrowverse, but WB was always slow and unsteady with their projects. I still believe that the film is underrated, but it could have been better in terms of narrative and it could have been marketed much better.

[TazzMission]

GL was never going to be top 3. Supes and Bats are two of the most well-known fictional characters in human history. Wonder Woman is the most famous female comic character ever, and that probably won't change.

GL could have cemented that name as #4, just outside of the Trinity, but that has gone to Flash. DC could have capitalized on the Johns popularity, but the movie seemingly made everyone at WB apprehensive.

Honestly after johns reinvented gl with green lantern rebirth he would of been the next big hero but i also think the 2011 film really killed green lanterns momentum. I admit i lost Interest in it after the film and i really wanted to believe it was good you can even find old posts of mine trying to defend it. But instead of buying the books Ill poke around to see whats happening via YouTube reviews and yea sounds like trash. Isnt there like Violet lantern now? Plus i have no interest in bas, cruz, and riri 2.O. They have a chance to redeem themselves with the hbo show but with berlanti behind it hard pass. Call me homophobic call me old fashioned racist sexist whatever but nothing he touches keeps me interested and thats coming from someone who defended supergirl until it got political in season 3 if i recall. I know this is random but i need to say it. People shit on man of steel by zack snyder and i who never really cared for superman loved the meaning behind man of steel a child of 2 worlds trying to find his way and viewed as a Christ like figure and the discussion about humanity. I loved it.I want more superhero films to be that story driven and have a connection with.

[Big Blue Lantern]

And the '77 show did put her in the popular consciousness with non-comic readers.

As dated as it looks now, that show was a runaway hit back then. It was obvious from her WW84 cameo that Carter's version is still in the public consciousness. I'd love for any live-action version of any Green Lantern to leave this kind of pop culture impression, but I can't quite imagine it right now.

[Space Cop]

Wonder Woman never sold many comics until recently. But she has sold merchandise fairly well for a long time. She was probably in third place there.

And the '77 show did put her in the popular consciousness with non-comic readers.

[Trey Strain]

Honestly, WW was put in the Trinity before she probably deserved it by popular recognition, but (as BBL said) she was the most important female cape (which is legit important when your character is over 80 and you’re trying to appeal to a female audience as well). Most other popular female superheroes (over all brands) are much newer (like Danvers Captain Marvel) or just never reached the same level as Diana (Supergirl).

At various points, I think GL, Flash and WW could hold 3rd or 4th spots.

Now, I think she has the popularity and her power set over the past 10+ years also puts her in the same field as Supes.

Wonder Woman never sold many comics until recently. But she has sold merchandise fairly well for a long time. She was probably in third place there.

[Space Cop]

Honestly, WW was put in the Trinity before she probably deserved it by popular recognition, but (as BBL said) she was the most important female cape (which is legit important when your character is over 80 and you’re trying to appeal to a female audience as well). Most other popular female superheroes (over all brands) are much newer (like Danvers Captain Marvel) or just never reached the same level as Diana (Supergirl).

At various points, I think GL, Flash and WW could hold 3rd or 4th spots.

Now, I think she has the popularity and her power set over the past 10+ years also puts her in the same field as Supes.

[Big Blue Lantern]

GL was never going to be top 3. Supes and Bats are two of the most well-known fictional characters in human history. Wonder Woman is the most famous female comic character ever, and that probably won't change.

GL could have cemented that name as #4, just outside of the Trinity, but that has gone to Flash. DC could have capitalized on the Johns popularity, but the movie seemingly made everyone at WB apprehensive.

[Trey Strain]

And not just characters. You'd need to get rid of everything that has ever made a Green Lantern look bad. Lord knows there's plenty of that.

If you wrote Star Trek, would you make the stars look bad? Hell no!