My second article. This won't be as long as my SUPERMAN "What If." This is a basic outline for a 4-part Green Lantern Saga. Full disclosure, I originally came up with and posted this idea around the time Jack Black was trying to make a GL movie. As with everything I have posted and will post in the future, not everything is 100% accurate to the comics. My goal with this series is to present these characters in ways that comic book fans will recognize without alienating general movie goers. With that in mind...
GREEN LANTERN - PART 1
The beginning of the first film would be a prologue, narrated by the Guardians, telling the history of the Corp. Then we'd go to some planet where Sinestro and Abin Sur have tracked an intergalactic smuggling ring to their hideout and are about to raid it. All goes well until Abin Sur is shot in the back with a burst of energy from Sinestro's ring. The wound is fatal and Abin Sur is using his ring to keep him alive and doesn't have the strength to will himself to fly. He steals one of the pirate ships and blasts off with Sinestro in hot pursuit. The nearest habitable world is Earth and Abin Sur heads straight there, hoping to find someone worthy enough for the ring before Sinestro can get his hands on it.
On Earth, Hal Jordan is piloting a new prototype low orbit plane designed to allow the pilot to fly to the upper atmosphere and break through to space. All is going well as Hal ascends higher and higher until another craft suddenly comes on his radar. The craft is moving faster than Hal thought possible and before he can react, the plane and the ship collide. As the plane falls back to Earth, Hal ejects and parachutes to safety. While waiting for Ferris Industries personnel to arrive, he spots a plume of smoke not to far from where he landed. He decides to check it out and finds the craft that crashed into him and an alien, Abin Sur, crawling away from the wreckage. You know what happens next. Sur passes the ring to Hal and is told to put it on. As soon as the ring leaves Abin's finger, the energy keeping him alive disappears and he dies. Hal puts the ring on, just in time for Sinestro to show up. Sinestro demands that Hal give him the ring but Hal, without knowing what he's doing, manages to fend Sinestro off until in a brilliant flash of light, Hal, Abin Sur and the alien spaceship disappear. Sinestro is left cursing the Guardians. Hearing the approach of the Ferris people, Sinestro quickly disappears and Carol Ferris arrives to find a smoking crater with no debris.
Hal ends up on Oa, standing before the Guardians. He is asked what happened to Abin Sur. Hal doesn't know. All he knows is that some alien, wearing the same uniform as people on Oa, demanded that he hand over the ring and tried to kill him for it. Hal names Sinestro and it causes quite a stir. The Guardians first ask Hal to hand over the ring but Hal says Abin Sur asked him to protect it, to use it and the Guardians contemplate what's before them, the first human Green Lantern. They decide to train him, trusting in the judgement of Abin Sur and the ring. Meanwhile Sinestro meets with a mysterious figure on an alien planet. It's clear that he is working with or for this stranger and we learn that Sinestro has promised to bring the Green Lantern Corp to its knees in exchange for the rings he collects from their corpses. The Guardians, unsure of Sinestro's plans or motives, task Hal Jordan with his first mission - find Sinestro and bring him to Oa for trial. And that's essentially the first movie. Hal is paired up with two other Green Lanterns, probably Kilowog and I'm not sure about the other one.
Anyways they eventually track Sinestro down and after an epic battle, he is defeated and Sinestro stands trial. It's revealed that he is working with the Guardians first creations, the Manhunters, who are seeking to weaken the Green Lantern Corp ahead of an impending attack. Sinestro's ring is taken from him, he is stripped of his power and banished to the furthest edge of the universe. Hal then officially becomes the Guardian of Sector 2814.
GREEN LANTERN - PART 2
Movie 2 follows two characters. The first is Hal Jordan and we see him serving as a Green Lantern, policing his sector and showing that he is fast becoming the greatest Lantern of them all. The second is Sinestro, who is now traveling the edge of the known universe, wanting revenge but with no way to obtain it. He is seeking power but he is a broken man. He follows legends of ancient weapons and power sources to dead ends. The focus of the movie remains with Hal though and the Guardians of the Universe, disturbed by the prospect of an attack by the Manhunters, send him to a world to investigate the disappearance of his friend and ally, Kilowog. He finds his friend in a prison designed by the Manhunters where he is tortured for information on Oa's defenses but he refuses to give in. Rescuing Kilowog, Hal learns that the Manhunters plan to break Hal's strength of will by staging an attack on his homeworld of Earth and the city of Coast City. The plan wasn't concocted by the Manhunters themselves though. It seems they have a silent partner, also interested in seeing the destruction of the Corp. Meanwhile, Sinestro finds a world where the legends of ancient power may actually be real.
So Hal quickly returns to Earth where the attack is already underway. US military forces are fighting bravely against the onslaught. One marine in particular, John Stewart, fights bravely against the invaders while trying to protect citizens caught in the crossfire. Hal arrives, signaling the first time the world has seen a Green Lantern and he leads the defense of the city. Facing defeat, the Manhunters, spurred on by their silent partner, decide on one final desperate move - they will crash their warship into the city, obliterating everything and everyone within 50 miles. Hal stands alone, his ring pointed at the ship, trying desperately to summon the power to stop it. But he can't...yeah this movie ends on a real downer. Coast City is destroyed, it's inhabitants disintegrated. The Guardians transport Hal and John away just before the explosion. The world is stunned by the horror and Hal standing before the Guardians, breaks down, the weight of a million deaths crushing him in despair. The Guardians declare all out war on the Manhunters and Hal wants to lead the fight but the Guardians see he is filled with rage and tell him to stand down, giving him time to come to terms with the loss. So they turn to John Stewart to become a new Green Lantern and protector of Sector 2814. John is equally traumatized but his experiences of war as a Marine have allowed him to seemingly cope better. Back on the unknown world, Sinestro finds what he was looking for. What he thought was an ancient power source to rival the Main Battery is in fact a creature. "I knew you would come to me Sinestro. I can give you the power you seek. The power to have your revenge" the creature introduces himself as Parallax.
GREEN LANTERN - PART 3
Movie 3 picks up a year later. Hal is still distraught. The world is bracing itself for the possibility of future alien attacks and John Stewart, as a Green Lantern, is doing his best to give some sense of hope and light in the face of such darkness. We find Hal in a rundown apartment, empty beer bottles on the floor, his power ring tossed aside on the table, rejected. Then, a bright light...a bright yellow light...fills the room and standing before Hal is Sinestro, complete with a yellow power ring. Hal rushes to grab his own ring but Sinestro stops him, He isn't there to fight. He tells Hal that the Manhunters weren't to blame for what happened to Coast City. It was the Guardians. They had the power to stop it. They could have sent a hundred Green Lanterns to aid him but they didn't. They allowed Coast City to burn. He calls the Green Lantern Corp a menace and says he betrayed them because he saw them for what they really were. Hal, in a drunken rage, attacks Sinestro bare-fisted but Sinestro hits him with a blast of his ring and he is knocked out.
When he wakes up, it's morning and Sinestro is gone. Hal stares at his ring lying prone on the table. He grabs it and puts it on and suddenly he feels an immense pain shoot through his body. He recovers quickly and starts to recite the oath.
In brightest day, in blackest night
No evil shall escape my sight
let those who worship evils might
Beware My Power.....
And he doesn't finish it.
On another world in another sector, a Green Lantern is overseeing the delivery of medical supplies to a plague-ridden world. A flash of green light strikes him and he falls to the ground, dead. The ring falls from his hand and begins to hover, ready to find a new wearer, but it's caught by the white glove of Hal Jordan. He then does the impossible and crushes the ring, destroying it. We then have a series of similar events with Hal Jordan attacking and killing other Green Lanterns. Meanwhile, Sinestro stands before the leader of the Manhunters, representing a common ally. He says the time is nearing to attack Oa but first they must draw the Green Lanterns away from the Main Battery. The Manhunters plan their assault while the Guardians, dismayed at Jordans actions, send Stewart to find and bring him to justice.
So the movie follows Stewart and his search for Hal while the Green Lanterns respond to an attack on a civilian colony not too far from Oa. A massive battle in space begins and as Stewart and Jordan have their own battle, the Guardians intervene, telling Stewart that the colony must be protected. Jordan laughs, asking why they wouldn't do the same for Coast City. They try to explain that Earth was too remote to send an effective force in time to prevent the tragedy but Hal ignores them. He is intent on killing Stewart but Stewart, knowing the urgency of his mission, takes flight with Jordan in hot pursuit. They arrive at a war zone with Green Lanterns and Manhunters alike being utterly destroyed. Hal sees them all as his enemy and begins to attack everyone with Stewart trying to stop him even as he battles against oncoming Manhunters. On Oa, a shadowy figure approaches the main power battery. It is of course Sinestro, and with a triumphant laugh he points the ring at the battery and recites his own oath.
In blackest day, in brightest night,
Beware your fears made into light.
Let those who try to stop what's right
Burn like my power--Sinestro's might!
A surge of yellow energy emerges from his ring, straight into the Main Power Battery. Back on the battlefield, the effects begin to occur straight away. Rings start losing their power. Some Green Lanterns become so weak their protective shields disappear and they suffocate in the cold of space. Stewart's own ring begins to give out. They all do, apart from one. Hal's remains as strong as ever. As he watches the rings of the other Lanterns around him begin to fail, he realises the truth. He was part of a plan, manipulated. He feels something inside him, infecting him. Parallax. As the Green Lanterns retreat to Oa, the Manhunters prepare to launch their final attack but Hal, in a final act of redemption, flies straight into the heart of the Manhunter fleet and unleashes enough energy from his ring that it destroys the fleet and him along with it.
On Oa, the Guardians deduce that the Main Power Battery has been infected. There is a weakness in the rings now. Sinestro has disappeared into the shadows and the Green Lanterns are sent back to their homes and warned not to use the rings in case they short out again. And so the movie ends, another cliff hanger.
GREEN LANTERN - PART 4
Movie 4, the final film of this story: It begins with Hal Jordan's final sacrifice. He unleashes the energy and the Manhunter force is destroyed. But the ring survives. We follow it across the universe to Earth where it falls into the hands of a struggling young artist - Kyle Rayner. This film is a more traditional superhero film, with Rayner using the ring to become a superhero, but he lacks will and control. He is effectively the last Green Lantern, the only one with a pure ring. John Stewart sees his actions on TV and is stunned. Sinestro has also become aware of this new Green Lantern and travels to Earth, determined to possess what he had failed to obtain the last time he was there. The ring of Abin Sur, of Hal Jordan and now Kyle Rayner. Kyle holds his own but his technique is unrefined and sloppy. Stewart intervenes and uses his own ring despite his better judgement. It proves ineffective against Sinestro's yellow energy. Kyle's ring though proves to work fine, much to Stewart's amazement. Sinestro is forced to retreat and Stewart takes it upon himself to train the last of the Green Lanterns. Meanwhile, the Manhunters are rebuilding their army, readying themselves for a final assault on Oa. News of the impending attack spreads across the universe and the Green Lantern Corp, weakened as they are, decide to return to Oa to make their last stand and die protecting the Guardians. Stewart leaves alone, wanting Kyle to stay safe and carry the Green Lantern light on when others go out but Kyle follows him across the universe to Oa.
Sinestro goes there too, intent on getting the ring and stage is set for the final battle. What follows is a battle of epic proportions as the Green Lanterns fight bravely against a seemingly endless army of Manhunters while Sinestro and Kyle fight across the surface of the planet. The Guardians, seeing how effective his ring is against the yellow energy, plead with Kyle to go to the Main Battery. Maybe his ring can destroy the Parallax infection. Parallax himself is now inside the battery itself, infecting the GL rings, and in Sinestro, giving him power. The Guardians use what little strength they have left to ward off Sinestro and allow Kyle time to reach the battery. He points his ring at it and purges the battery of Parallax once and for all. But it doesn't end there. The immense power is pulled from the Battery and into Kyle. The ring falls from his finger but he no longer needs it. He has become the energy of the Green Lantern Corp. He has become Ion.
His ring flies across Oa, to a tomb containing the remains of Hal Jordan, and on to the dead mans finger. Ion then unleashes a massive surge of energy that travels across the planet, restoring full power to every single ring. The Green Lanterns unite beside him and charge at the Manhunters, destroying them. The surge of energy also goes to the ring Hal is now wearing and suddenly his body is healed, his heart beats and his eyes open. With the Manhunters defeated, Ion returns to the Main Battery and returns the power he had obtained. The Guardians, weakened by their own efforts find themselves at the mercy of Sinestro but Hal comes to their aid and has a final battle against Sinestro with all of Oa watching. It ends when Hal uses his ring to create a giant lantern construct with what looks like a black hole in the centre. Sinestro's ring is destroyed and with it the last remnants of Parallax and Sinestro is sent through the black hole to be imprisoned in a pocket dimension (yeah I said it...it's essentially the Phantom Zone if anyone asks) forever.
The Manhunter threat is over, Parallax and Sinestro have been defeated and Hal Jordan has been redeemed and freed of the Parallax infection. Hal has his ring back and so Kyle asks if someone can send him home since he no longer has the power to do so himself. The Guardians have other plans though and they show Kyle Sinestro's old ring and tell him that the ring of a Green Lantern is for those who are courageous, just and true, for those who are worthy of its power without corruption. The ring wasn't meant for Sinestro. It was meant for him. The ring flies onto Kyle's finger and he is a Green Lantern now and forever. It then occurs to the Guardians that there are now three human Green Lanterns in the Corp and they have proven to be the greatest of them all.
---------------------------------
And there we have it. This obviously isn't as detailed as the Superman article. I have the basic story of the four films as outlined above but I haven't gone into a lot of detail. Given that Movie's 2 and 3 end on pretty major cliffhangers, I am aware that there could be a need to fit the story into a trilogy instead. My approach with Green Lantern is basically to make Star Wars with power rings. A big space opera spanning multiple worlds, multiple aliens. The fourth film would actually be the most Earth-based and most typical superhero type film with Kyle Rayner learning to use the ring and doing heroic acts on Earth.
You may have also noticed that there is no sign of Guy Gardner. In truth, I don't like the character all that much but the reason he isn't there is that there was simply no room for him. With this being the "modern" Green Lantern, there's also no Alan Scott. But who's to say he didn't exist in this universe and remained hidden from Oa? :P
I do have a vague idea for a fifth movie involving Mongul but not enough to be worth posting right now.