DC's Original Green Lantern Was Almost Another Classic Character Who Makes Hal Look Weak

Published Oct 2, 2026, 7:00 PM EDT Adam has been writing in the entertainment news space for over a decade. Beginning his career of covering film and TV at CinemaBlend, he has also appeared on The Flash Podcast and done several radio spots. Although Hal Jordan wasn’t the first superhero to go by Green Lantern (that honor belongs to Alan Scott), he is the first human to join the Green Lantern Corps. When Abin Sur crash-landed on Earth and was fatally injured, his power ring determined that Hal was a worthy successor as the Green Lantern of Sector 2814. While Hal’s history as a Green Lantern is fraught with controversy, most notably when he became Parallax and destroyed the Green Lantern Corps, he nonetheless still ranks as one of the great wielders of the emerald energy of willpower. Yet, Hal wasn’t the first choice to succeed Abin Sur. It’s established that before the ring selected the Ferris Air test pilot, another classic DC Comics character, who’s a powerhouse in his own right, nearly gained the ability to create physical constructs from his imagination. The only reason he didn’t get the Green Lantern ring was due to a technicality. Superman Was Almost A Green Lantern In 1989’s Action Comics #642, Hal learned that before Abin’s ring found him, Clark Kent, a.k.a. Superman, was one of the other potential candidates considered as the new Green Lantern. The only reason Superman wasn’t welcomed into the Green Lantern Corps is because he wasn’t born in Sector 2814. Despite having lived on Earth for nearly his entire life, Krypton, the place of his birth, was located in Sector 2813 before it exploded, thus making him ineligible to inherit Abin's ring. Superman’s memory of this encounter was erased, though eventually restored years later. Though Superman missed out on being a Green Lantern, millennia ago when the Guardians of the Universe were establishing the Green Lantern Corps, a Kryptonian named Jan-Al was their seventh recruit. Unfortunately, due to these early rings lacking the safeguards added later on, Jan-Al burned to death when she overcharged her ring with her willpower. However, DC fans have an idea of what Superman wielding a modern Green Lantern ring would look like thanks to another character. Sodam Yat, who hails from the planet Daxam, is one of the more prominent, non-human Green Lanterns of the last several decades. Daxamites descend from ancient Kryptonian explorers who colonized the planet, so they gain similar powers that Kryptonians get when exposed to yellow sunlight (albeit with a weakness to lead rather than Kryptonite). The combination of those powers and the Green Lantern energy make Sodam one of the Corps’ most powerful members, so Superman would match that level of might, if not far exceed it. Superman Has Been Part Of Other Lantern Corps DC Comics Though the primary version of Superman has never been a Green Lantern, he does have experience using power rings that channel different energies from the emotional spectrum. In the Sinestro series from the New 52 era, Clark was made a temporary member of the Sinestro Corp, allowing him to harness the yellow energy of fear. A few years later, during the Rebirth era, he was also briefly possessed by Parallax, the fear entity that once took control of Hal Jordan. The Injustice incarnation of Superman also used a Yellow Lantern ring in the comics. Additionally, during the Blackest Night event, Superman was inducted into the White Lantern Corps by the Life Entity alongside numerous other superheroes who, like him, had been killed, and then later brought back to life at various points. The White Lanterns used their bright power to make one last stand against Black Hand and Nekron, with the latter being defeated when the former was restored to life, thus severing their connection. Once this threat was neutralized, Superman and his allies were discharged from the White Lantern Corps. Superman’s corner of the DC Comics universe can be explored in Action Comics, Superman, and Superman Unlimited, while Hal Jordan currently co-anchors the main Green Lantern title with Kyle Rayner. Created By Martin Nodell, Bill Finger, John Broome, Gil Kane, Dennis O'Neil, Neal Adams Cast Ryan Reynolds First Appearance All-American Comics Alias Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz, Sojourner Mullein Alliance Justice League, Justice Society of America, Green Lantern Corps Movies Green Lantern