The superhero Green Lantern is one of the emblematic members of the Justice League and the universe DC. And if his ability to be able to materialize almost anything by the sheer force of his will has long made the character formidable, a theory suggests that the very nature of his power would contain a huge loophole, which could render the hero totally powerless if it were to be exploited correctly.
a rather atypical theory
The Green Lantern Corps is one of the most powerful groups in the DC Universe., but one theory implies that he might have massive yet unexplored weaknesses. Worse still, it’s likely that the Green Lanterns aren’t even aware of this vulnerability, because if this theory is true, this means that their basic understanding of their powers is completely skewed. And while the Guardians have lied to the Lanterns about many important matters in the past, this would be their most dangerous lie.
As a reminder, the Green Lantern Corps is a group of peacekeepers across the universe, each with a ring of power. These rings were created by the Guardians, an ancient superpowered alien race, and allow their holder to perform a variety of feats based on the strength of their will. This often manifests as energy constructs consisting of “materialized light”. At least, that’s what the Lanterns were told. But a joke from the 1990s could reveal that these constructs are made of an entirely different material.
In the comics The Flash #135, released in 1998 and directed by Mark Millar, Grant Morrison and Paul RyanWally West’s Flash wife Linda Park is drinking from a coffee mug created by Kyle Rayner’s Green Lantern, when she remarks to him that the cups he creates make everything taste like vinegar. Although it was apparently a small joke made at Kyle’s expense, some fans took the reasoning further, coming to a chilling conclusion.
If the ring constructs were made of “materialized light”, they should not normally taste or even influence it. A change in taste could then indicate that there is a chemical reaction, thus meaning that constructs must contain another component. And since the cup gives everything the taste of vinegar, fans deduced that this component was surely acetic acidthe main constituent of vinegar (after water).
Acetic acid is naturally produced and secreted by certain bacteria. Its presence in the constructs then implies that the functioning of the rings of the Green Lanterns could depend on the presence of a particular type of bacteria. The theory then suggests that the user of the ring could cause the bacteria to rapidly ferment, producing acetic acid which the ring could then transform into constructs.
This theory then implies that by finding a way to kill or neutralize the bacteria in questionany villain would be able to prevent the rings from working, leaving their wearer completely helpless.
a joke that goes too far?
However, although interesting, This theory can be nuanced on several points.. First of all, it’s possible that it was just Kyle who used his ring to make the construction of the coffee cup Linda used have a specific chemical structure, since it is one of the functionalities of the rings.
Then we know that acetic acid can become very unstable when exposed to extreme temperatures. Considering the innumerable fights delivered by the Green Lanterns, in situations all more extreme than the others, the limits imposed by acetic acid in the operation of the rings should have already appeared in the past.
Finally, given the context in which this revelation is made, it’s a safe bet that this statement by Linda either mainly for humorous purposesallowing Green Lantern to brag about his mugs, not requiring washing up afterwards.
This theory at least has the merit of taking us back to the old DC comicsand while unlikely, its veracity would imply that the Guardians are endangering the entire Green Lantern Corps by not informing them of how their powers actually work.
