Superman on Television
Superman: The Animated Series - Episode Reviews
Season 3 - Episode 7: "In Brightest Day"
Original Air Date: February 6, 1999
Writer: Hilary J. Bader
Director: Butch Lukic
Cast:
Tim Daly as Superman/Clark Kent
Dana Delaney as Lois Lane
Michael P. Greco as Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern
Ted Levine as Sinestro
David Kaufman as Jimmy Olsen
George Dzundza as Perry White
Reviewed by: Marc Lax
Kyle Rayner, would be comic book creator and art department associate for the Daily Planet, comes across a mysterious green ring... in the Men's Room! Abin Sur, a member of the Green Lantern Corp., crash lands on Earth. Knowing he's dying he sends the ring to find the next candidate. Kyle. Superman comes across Abin Sur's ship. Sur tells Superman that he must help the next Green Lantern. Along comes Sinestro, former Green Lantern and would be conqueror. He and Superman throw down. When Sinestro realizes Superman doesn't have the ring he flees. Re-entering the ship Superman comes across an actual green lantern battery and is whisked away to the planet Oa where he meets the Gaurdians.
Meanwhile, Kyle gets a quick lesson on being a hero, saving a girl from being run over by a truck and saving the truck driver before the truck explodes. But then along comes Sinestro. On the planet Oa, Superman gets a lesson on the Green Lantern Corp. and Sinestro's betrayal. Superman is sent back to Earth in the nick of time saving a "green" Kyle from being wasted by Sinestro. The two end up at an empty canyon so Kyle has time to learn how to use the the Green Lantern battery... and along comes Sinestro. Sinestro uses his yellow ring to subdue Superman and he and Kyle have it out. In the end Kyle tricks Sinestro with a fake ring he constructed and the villain is defeated. Back on Oa the guardian's tell Kyle he is worthy because the ring chose him and Superman assures him he'll to a fine job.
Rating - 4 (out of 5): Green Lantern in the DCAU has a complicated history. I believe this is the first appearance of a Green Lantern and the series chose Kyle probably because he was the Lantern in the comics when this aired. His origin is more in line with Hal Jordan's origin except Superman finds Abin Sur instead of Kyle and Sur sends the ring to his successor. There is even a quick reference to Hal when Kyle is knocked into a plane by Sinestro. The name on the plane is Hal Jordan. The costume too is more in line with Hal's. They were trying to have the best of both worlds. And that's fine for the Green Lantern's first appearance. But a few years later the "Justice League" animated series uses John Stewart as Green Lantern giving him a somewhat altered origin than the one he had in the comics. Not to mention a brief appearance by Hal in the "Time Warped" episode. And there are more examples but I think I made my point. My favorite of these different versions is John Stewart. While not quite the John Stewart from the comics, I was always a fan of his. He was in the first Green Lantern comic I ever read and I love this version. With all that being said, I loved what they did with the character here and their portrayal of Kyle, who's always been a fan favorite. I wish we got to see him again, but regardless this still made for a great episode.
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