8 June 2011
There's something about men in tights, writes Anna Angel.
GREEN Lantern Corps, the intergalactic police squad, fights some of the universe's nastiest villains, but will struggle to topple Marvel's heroes at the box office.
DC's much-loved comic series Green Lantern opens on June 17 in a live-action, 3-D adaptation starring Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.
The timing lands it in a battle for movie-goers' dollars with Marvel's mutant prequel X-Men: First Class, which has been called the thinking man's superhero movie, and Captain America's live-action debut on July 28.
It's also fresh on the heels of Marvel's portrayal of Thor, god of thunder, which won over the fans despite being labelled a ``Shakespearean epic for nerds''.
The marketing team behind Green Lantern, which centres on a test pilot bestowed with a mystical green ring and responsibility for keeping universal peace, have all claws out. Two trailers for the Warner Bros production have gone viral.
With the third Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, and Avengers set for release next year, comic fans can expect this standoff to get even bloodier.
1 The Green Lantern and Frodo weren't the only ones bestowed with powerful rings - the Earth's spirit liked five culturally diverse youths enough to give them rings that transform them into Captain Planet's Planeteers.
2 The Badger may be just one of Vietnam veteran Norbert Sykes' multiple personalities in this darkly funny series, but happily he's the only one with the ability to talk to animals.
3 Basic first-aid principles contradict the entire premise of Peter Parker's transformation into Spiderman through a radioactive spider bite.
4 An unlikely and short-lived hero is DC's The Red Bee, who fights evil with the aid of trained bumblebees - keeping his favourite stashed in his belt for special occasions.
5 Doing a deal with the devil and skimming over the fine print, Spawn returns to Earth to reunite with his wife. He's given superpowers and forced to wage war against heaven, but - bless him - he still tries to get the girl.
6 If you're bitten by a cobra on a family trip to Africa, don't let dad treat you with a transfusion of mongoose blood. During the golden age of comics, The Whizzer discovered it might give you super-speed, but it can't be hygienic.
7 Most ninjas go through years of training with a reputable sensei to earn their head-scarf stripes. You can speed up the process with sewer ooze mutation and a ninjutsu quick-course with an oversized rat, a la the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
8 Dr Manhattan of The Watchmen must not have liked what he saw in the mirror. After accidental disintegration, he simply rebuilt himself, albeit bluer and more god-like.
9 You can't be too careful around Super Plastic Fluid, lest you mistake it for a refreshing glass of cola, as did DC's 1960s creation Bouncing Boy.
10 Marvel writer Roy Thomas might take the crown with 1970s 3-D Man. Crashing an alien saucer in an escape attempt, Chuck Chandler seemingly disappeared (after radiation exposure, of course) before his brother Hal's eyes. Luckily he was imprinted on to the lens of Hal's glasses, so when he concentrates really hard, he projects Chuck as a triple-strength 3-D image.
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