One Lanterns Episode 1 Scene Shows Just How Powerful Hal Jordan Is
Contains spoilers for "Lanterns" Season 1, Episode 1
Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) might be a bit of a jerk, but there's a good reason why he's a member of the Green Lantern Corps in James Gunn's DC Universe: He's very, very good at using his power ring. However, his biggest show of strength in the "Lanterns" series premiere is also his most understated one.
Sure, Hal creates a force bubble that's able to stop a self-detonating alien trucker (Chris Coy) from blowing up the town. That's basic superhero stuff. However, his true display of power comes earlier, and is treated almost as a joke: Hal is able to make a convincing-looking 20-dollar bill with his ring, and a jukebox's money validator happily accepts it.
This is an absurdly complex feat considering the amount of anti-counterfeit measures U.S. currency has. Hal being able to do this shows the level of control he has over the ring's power. Combined with the brute force that the ring also allows him to use, this makes him a truly terrifying player whose game is levels above the giant hands and simplistic constructs often associated with the power ring.
Hal Jordan reveals his power in a characteristically casual way
In the comics, the Green Lantern power ring can be an incredibly powerful weapon and a very precise tool, depending on the willpower and the ability of the Green Lantern wielding it. The green energy of the ring can effectively bend physics and manipulate universal forces. This means that the only real limitations of the ring are how much charge it has left and how good the user is at wielding it.
Before "Lanterns," we saw Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) get creative with his powers in James Gunn's "Superman," vanquishing enemies with giant hands and massive manual tools. However, impressive as these constructs are, we haven't seen Guy show anything even close to the level of sheer skill that Hal's money trick demonstrates.
If a Green Lantern can have enough fine control and knowledge to create energy constructs of such finesse, he's unlikely to have much trouble with large-scale stuff. This seemingly throwaway jukebox gag is a good reminder that Hal might be abrasive, but he's also historically the best Green Lantern of Earth – and definitely one of the more powerful characters the DCU has introduced so far.