That Green Lantern movie sucked.
Okay, well maybe that’s a little harsh, but don’t take me saying that lightly; my green lantern tattoo isn’t just for show you know! (Okay, well, yeah it kind of is….) To be fair, I wasn’t expecting that much walking into the movie. Few exceptional cast members, paper thin and predictable story, and a needed emphasis on special effects led to a shallow super hero movie that was easily outclassed upon it’s release this past July by the likes of superhero epics such as Thor and X-men: First Class.
Still, this mainstream attention was enough to garner further marketing interest in the character, and DC is set to air a new Green Lantern animated series in just a few short weeks, aptly titled Green Lantern: the Animated Series. While that information is certainly interesting, what has got me most excited is a certain animated mastermind’s attachment to the project; at the executive producer’s helm sits Bruce Timm. If there is one guy you want attached to a DC animated project, it’s this guy.
In the 1990’s, Timm produced and co-created not only the legendary Batman: the Animated Series, but also not quite as successful Superman: the Animated Series and Batman Beyond. Timm later went on to be the sole creator and producer of Justice League, and it’s later incarnation Justice League Unlimited. Justice League and it’s later incarnation, along with Justice League Unlimited are generally considered the best of an impressive bunch, with darker storylines and character arcs than those typically found in these types of Saturday morning cartoons.
For fans though, the best part was that these cartoons all took place in the same continuity. In other words, the Batman and Superman that but heads in a three part storyline in Superman: the Animated Series are the same ones that display friendly bickering when they appear side by side in Justice League. Justice League Unlimited took things a step further, bringing in plot lines that dated way back to Batman: the Animated Series. For fans of super hero comics, Bruce Timm helped create what can be considered the most faithful representation of these characters and storyline in any media. Not a feat to be taken lightly.
With such a big name backing the series, things are already looking good for Green Lantern: the Animated Series. The premise of the series involves the Red Lanterns as the primary enemy, with lead Atrocitus set to take center stage as the primary villain. I was initially displeased at first because this meant fan-favorite villain Sinestro would surprisingly NOT be the main villain, nor would the Sinestro Corp. Apparently, the reasoning for this is that DC was unsure they wanted the direction the character to go in at the time, which makes sense to those reading the comic; I guess DC wasn’t sure whether they wanted Sinestro to continue on his sort of kinda redemption storyline that he’s had going on for a while now. Disappointing, but the inclusion of the Red Lantern Corp is still exciting, and likely means that various other corp can show up, such as the Blue Lantern Corp, the Indigo Tribe, or the sort of loveable Orange Lantern Larfleeze.
Voicing Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern is Josh Keaton, the former voice of Peter Parker from the latest Spider-man cartoon, which is also fairly exciting for nerds such as myself. Oh, and the guy that voices SpongeBob Squarepants is also voicing this guy….head. Also aiding the series is the fact that it will be the first DC animated series produced entirely in CGI. This gives the show an almost Jimmy Neutron look to it which may seem goofy at first, but leads to fluid and exciting fight sequences. Not to mention some of those Red Lanterns still are looking quite badass. Check out this video to see what I mean.
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