Green Lantern

In their mad rush to kickstart a cinematic universe without actually giving new characters individual movies, Warner Bros. has often struggled in the shadow of its Marvel competitors. Fans who are rooting for the success of the DCEU  —  those willing to see see the good and the bad of the movies, at least  —  know that movies like Wonder Woman are important because they create personal and well-rounded characters that we can then smash up against each other in movies like Justice League. After all, nobody would care who gets invited to an All-Star Game if there wasn’t an entire season’s worth of plays and memories to get us to that point.

In the tradition of ScreenCrush series like You Think You Know Movies and You Think You Know TV comes a new YouTube series: Top Five! Every month (or so; we’ve got a lot of other stuff going on), ScreenCrush editor and critic Matt Singer will count down a particular topic from the world of movies (and probably write these introductory posts in the third person).

Q: Are superheroes inextricably tied to their alter-ego day jobs? For example, does Clark Kent have to be a journalist, or Hal Jordan a pilot? — @Chan_180 A:For all the questions about whether the Secret Identity is a concept that can still provide drama within the superhero genre or something that just sticks around as an outdated trope from the Golden Age that was handed down to comics by Emma Orczy and the Scarlet Pimpernel, the idea of getting rid of the day job is something that's rarely discussed, probably because it hasn't actually happened all that often. Let's face it: If you're a superhero, you're a whole lot more likely to literally come back from the dead than you are to start a new career once you're in your thirties.

On this day in 1959, issue #22 of DC Comics' Showcase appeared on newsstands. Three years earlier, in issue #4, the anthology series had introduced a radically new take on the company's super-speedy Flash character, and in doing so, laid the groundwork for a full-fledged revival of the superhero genre. In the time since, Showcase alternated through a variety of new features (Manhunters; The Flash; Challengers Of The Unknown; The Space Ranger; Rip Hunter, Time Master; Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane; Adam Strange), but with #22, it once again returned to the well of iconic properties, taking the name of a Golden Age hero and lending it to an all-new character. The original Green Lantern of the 1940s was a guy who channeled mystical "green flame" powers through a talking lantern (and a ring made from metal that he cut out of said lantern), and wore an eye-popping multi-hued outfit that looked like it was assembled by a color-blind tailor on his last day before retirement.

Last time in Superhero Color Theory we explained why our main heroes look the way they do. Now it's time to look at the secondary colors and how they often, but not always, signal the presence of a bad guy. Obviously it makes the most sense visually, that to stand apart from a primary colored (red/blue/yellow) hero, you want a secondary colored (purple/green/orange) one. But what do these colors tell us about what type of character the heroes are encountering?

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will really set the stage for Warner Bros.’ slate of DC superhero movies, which includes solo outings for Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg, along with two Justice League movies. And at the far end of that schedule is a new Green Lantern film, tentatively arriving in 2020. Of all of WB’s new DC movie heroes, Green Lantern is the only one we won’t meet anytime soon, but if you’ve been wondering when to expect his arrival, we may have an answer.

Comic-Con 2014 is just around the corner, which means lots of big announcements are on the way. While Marvel has certainly been on top of their game as far as carefully planning the phases of their superhero properties, we've wondered exactly what DC and Warner Bros.' game plan was for the next few years, now that they've got 'Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice' in motion. Now, new reports have emerged regarding WB's upcoming slate of comic book movies, including 'Justice League,' a 'Wonder Woman' solo movie, and a Green Lantern and Flash team-up.

Justice League, assemble! Well, it has... allegedly. While a report came out not too long ago revealing which comic book heroes would be joining the team for its big-screen debut, a new more up-to-date one has come out naming the key players who will go up against 'The Avengers 2' for box office dominance. And one new name has been added into the mix, as well!

Are you excited to see this?