Green Lantern the Animated Series

• Series Title: Green Lantern: The Animated Series
• Season: 1 (Complete Series)
• Date: 2011 -2013
• Episodes: 26
• Discs: 2 (Blu-Ray)
• Cast: Josh Keaton, Kevin Michael Richardson, Jason Spisak, Grey Griffin
• Original Network: Cartoon Network
• Production Network: Warner Brothers Animation 

In brightest day, in darkest night, no evil shall escape my sight…

Green Lantern: The Animated Series is animated using CGI, which frankly took me a while to get used to when I originally saw this show on Cartoon Network in 2011. Even re-watching the show now, it still took me several episodes to get used to the animation style. To me, it was like watching moving action figures – everything, especially the people, was just too smooth. However, that isn’t to say the animation is bad – it’s just different than traditional animation, and for me, it took me a while to get used to it.

However, this series is really good – and I wish it had lasted more than a season. The first half of the series, which is conveniently all on Disc One in the Blu-Ray set, has Hal Jordan and Drill Sergeant Kilowog, borrowing the Guardians of Oa’s new spaceship The Interceptor, and speeding off to Frontier Space to confront the Red Lantern Corps who have been killing Frontier Green Lanterns at will. The Interceptor has an artificial intelligence at its core, which Hal quickly names Aya. Razor, a former Red Lantern, who – appalled at the destruction he’s caused at the behast of the Red Lantern dictator Atrocitus, joins Hal and Kilowog as the Interceptor’s crew. Aya also constructs a robot self, so she can physically move around.

Hal, Kilowog, Razor, and Aya meet the Star Sapphires, the Blue Lantern, St. Walker, Mogo, and have adventures in Frontier Space. However, the majority of the continuing plotline for the first half of the season is the confrontation with the Red Lanterns and Atrocitus.

Disc Two starts with Hal returning to Earth. There, he discovers his girlfriend, Carol Ferris, has moved on, even giving away his job as a test pilot at Ferris Air. During a disaster, Hal meets the new Green Lantern of Earth, Guy Garner. Returning to Oa, Hal is promoted to the Green Lantern Corps Honor Guard. He meets other Corps members including Chip (the Chipmunk Lantern), Tomar-Re, Chaselon, and others. Tomar-Re begins to train Hal in his new duties when a new crisis occurs – the Rise of the Manhunters. Created by the Guardians as their first attempt at an intergalactic police force, the Manhunters originally went rogue and destroyed many worlds in Frontier Space after deciding all creatures with emotions must be killed. It was the Manhunter destruction that caused Atrocitus to form the Red Lanterns to destroy the Green Lanterns and Oa. Hal rescues Aya from a Guardian science cell with help from Chip, and Hal and Kilowog set off to try to stop the Manhunters. They find Razor studying with St. Walker and they are off.

I liked the second half of the season better, though there are a couple of episodes in the first half that are favorites, notably the episode that introduces Mogo and St. Walker. Overall, GL: TAS is an enjoyable, action-filled series. The majority of it takes place in space and introduces a number of people, species, planets, and situations. This show draws from the rich history of the classic Green Lantern Corps of DC Comics. It’s well worth watching. The Blu-ray package, although it lacks special features, is much more convenient than the previous DVD release which broke the series into multiple releases.

Recommended, especially to DC comics fans.