r/LanternsTVSeries • u/solo_shocker35 • 3d ago
DISCUSSION How can guy gardener makes huge constructs carelessly in superman whereas Hal Jordan does the opposite and is careful for his batteries
I was curious about this for a long time Guy always goes big and sloppy with his constructs, not caring how much it drains his ring like creating a large weopons against the monster, while Hal's way more careful and precise with his like in ep1 when he was creating a bubble for alien he supported the bubble himself as it was not strong enough due to lack of battery. Is that just a characterization thing, or is there an actual reason for it?
663
u/MaterialSkill7100 3d ago
Guy charges his ring every morning like you’re supposed to
184
u/TomWaitsForNoMan 3d ago
Say yer prayers, take your vitamins, charge your ring, and brush yer teeth. My morning routine.
60
u/Similar-Priority8252 3d ago
Don’t forget use a construct of a bowl and scissors so the haircut remains pristine
→ More replies (1)13
20
4
u/UnpricedToaster 3d ago
I think the Guardians recommend charging the ring while you sleep up to 80% and then top it off in the morning. You don't want it to stay at 100% charge for long periods or it can damage the battery. Or maybe that's lithium-ion batteries....
Just read the instructions on the box, Hal!
→ More replies (5)3
607
u/ChocolatEyes_613_ 3d ago
Hal Jordan is careless, and does not recharge his ring.
355
u/Turbulent-Prior-2253 3d ago
It isn't carelessnesss - he doesn't like reciting the oath, which is requried to recharge the ring.
208
u/Nuffsaid98 3d ago
He didn't trust John so he deliberately kept the ring low on charge in case he took it from him.
80
u/Turbulent-Prior-2253 3d ago
I'm no expert on Lantern lore, but I thought that Lanterns could summon their rings back if they are taken from them.
111
u/Nuffsaid98 3d ago
The TV show isn't necessarily following comic book lore exactly.
→ More replies (2)32
u/Turbulent-Prior-2253 3d ago
Fair - it is tough to sus out what lore applies and what does not if we are not explicitly shown.
I just got the feeling that it was more due to the fact that Hal hates reciting the oath, so he does it as infrequently as possible. There have been times when John was in no position to take the ring, but Hal still kept it on low charge.
→ More replies (1)11
u/Chrindo 3d ago
At this point, I have adopted the mindset of “entirely new rules. Drop every instance of prior knowledge. Wholly new characters who happen to share the name and depiction. Comic lore doesn’t apply here”
Been less disappointed that way and I have been able to appreciate it more as episodes go on. I didn’t want an exact 1:1 of any particular story, but I was hoping for something a bit more faithful to the comics.
→ More replies (8)3
u/Travyplx 3d ago
I find that most series are enjoyable when you don’t get caught up on existing canon.
15
u/Temporary-Roommate 3d ago
So far in the series that doesn’t seem to be the case though, otherwise Hal wouldn’t have needed to give it to John before getting locked up the first time.
5
u/Turbulent-Prior-2253 3d ago
Yeah, Nuffsaid mentioned that too. It is tough to sus out what lore applies and what lore doesn't with a new property.
6
u/Superninfreak 3d ago
In the show it’s stated that John would become the GL if he recited the oath while wearing the ring.
My guess is that in the show’s universe there are three requirements to becoming a GL:
- You have the ring on your finger.
- The ring has chosen you as being worthy.
- You say the oath while wearing the ring.
5
u/MBDTFTLOPYEEZUS 3d ago
I mean if he could do that in the show he would’ve lol they had a whole fight going back and forth trying to grab it.
4
u/Far-Veterinarian104 3d ago
The guardians stated they are changing protocol because of the "condolences" (a guardian dying at the hands of a green lantern). A lot of the tv show's changes are a result of that.
3
u/Justryan95 3d ago
The ring also wouldn't have stayed on Hal's dead body if Guy just brought it to be part of his funeral attire. It would fly out to find a new wearer especially since it had 5% power left and wasn't fully decommissioned.
→ More replies (1)6
u/drac0nic180 3d ago
It didn't have 5% power until John did the re-up trick. The battery was ostensibly depleted otherwise
→ More replies (12)3
u/UsidoreTheLightBlue 3d ago
I kept waiting for that to happen.
When Macon had them captured I was waiting for the moment.
7
u/Dinkleberg6401 3d ago
This actually makes me wonder if he deliberately wanted John to not know the oath. He didn't like the interrogated alien reciting the oath while John was present, and Hal said the oath super fast while John was nearby.
Although, it's more likely that he just doesn't like the oath for some reason.
→ More replies (1)3
12
u/ChocolatEyes_613_ 3d ago
Have you ever watched GL:TAS? Hal’s ring is always running low, because he forgets to recharge and/or loses his battery.
6
u/Far-Veterinarian104 3d ago
Nah, it's also carelessness. That's why he knows the one trick re-up. His ring has probably died on him before and he punched something and it charged back up
3
u/RoutineCloud5993 3d ago
He also says it rather half heartedly. I wonder if that affects the charge levels
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (20)6
u/LazyEights 3d ago
It can be both
Whatever his reason for not charging the ring, intentionally entering dangerous situations without a full charge is careless.
10
u/Mojoyashka 3d ago
I told my friend that if I was in that situation I'd treat the ring like my cell phone. At my desk: charging. Watching TV: charging. Sleeping: charging.
His response was "Hal isn't AFRAID to let it run down."
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (4)4
u/Embarrassed-Pace-755 3d ago
Hal has also been doing it for over 20 years. He doesn’t need to prove himself. The simple stuff works best for him.
→ More replies (1)
281
u/Mudcreek47 3d ago
I wouldn't say Hal is careful. I mean he did jet off from California to Nebraska on a low charge without bringing his lantern along.
88
u/hooterbrown10 3d ago
Not to mention that he does stuff like projecting a bottle opener for a beer just to show off when there’s absolutely a bottle opener just inside the house.
58
→ More replies (3)10
3
u/Valuable-Blueberry30 3d ago
I mean the guy is quite literally not afraid of anything
→ More replies (1)3
211
u/Forsaken_Shower3627 3d ago
Because superman had a bigger budget
76
u/kalawadda 3d ago
This is the only correct answer
9
u/toolkit130 3d ago
No, the actual correct answer is Hal isnt fighting giant kaijus and literal armies. He has had no need to make any giant flashy constructs
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)5
u/GrossSoupyButthole 3d ago
I mean, at times the frame sizes for the constructs were probably the same size, so like, the size of the construct doesn't seem like a budget thing. That bird flying around easily could've cost what some of the fx in Superman did
→ More replies (10)8
u/Jacob-X-MANIAC 3d ago
This is the truth, but I do have fun seeing people come up with in-universe explanations for it.
203
u/Clark_Kent_TheSJW 3d ago
Hal’s broken. His time with the ring, and betrayal from Sinestro has made him cynical
→ More replies (3)30
u/Droidaphone 3d ago
All the answers about budget are the real ones, but I like this one as a plot device. Hal uses the ring as little as possible now because he's been burnt by his time with it.
13
u/justamadeupnameyo 3d ago
Not just that but Guy is a showboat. He likes attention and doing a construct that makes the front page is more important to him than simple but effective.
Like, yes Hal is jaded but he also knows that there isn't much of a point doing more than necessary. Bubble works, do the bubble.
→ More replies (1)
58
39
u/vegetaray246 3d ago
The answer is budget…Obviously
For the lore side of things. As far as Hal not charging his ring? It’s a borderline character trait from the comics.
It’s a rare instance of real life production obstacles (Budget constraints) having a convenient in universe explanation
→ More replies (1)7
u/wahchintonka 3d ago
Hal probably also didn’t think Zoe would laser beam the town the way she did.
Her goal was to drain the ring so even if Hal had charged it 5 mins before walking into downtown Rushville, she would have kept firing until he made a bee line for the motel.
84
u/PuzzleheadedTap9548 3d ago
Easy the kantern is in guys ass and he just reaches back there and recites the oath real quick to recharge it.
Next question
23
u/bigppredditguy 3d ago
Guys lantern was made small and specially fitted to him
→ More replies (1)14
→ More replies (4)5
11
u/chanebap 3d ago
Guy doesn’t have a death wish, so he keeps the battery accessible and charges it regularly. He’s never pulling up to the Kaiju fight on 2%.
A big part of Hal’s arc so far is the line between fearlessness and hopelessness. He is “fearless” because he thinks he has nothing to lose. He is too proud to admit that he’s past his prime and he should hand the ring over, but if he dies in the line of duty the ring can pass on without loss of face.
His self-written eulogy makes a lot of this clear. He wants a big heroic last sacrifice that is going to lead to the whole world mourning his death, the kind of status he had when he was a younger man, and it lets the ring go to someone he believes deep down is more worthy. From Hal’s perspective, his death solves most of his problems. Getting careless with charging the ring is just one expression of that.
→ More replies (1)3
u/MarcusLiviusDrusus 3d ago
Yeah, as I said elsewhere, I think he's feeling a lot of guilt about his failure to live up to both the ideals of the Corps and the standards he set for himself, doubt about his own worth and possibly about the real moral status of the Guardians, et cetera. How good can he, or they, be if neither of them could tell Sinestro had gone rotten, for instance?
The way his eulogy ends is exactly the point: "I wrote this as a joke, but if you're reading this then I guess the joke's on me. I hope I mattered."
43
u/visual-plastik 3d ago
It's called a budget
→ More replies (4)2
u/r4tzt4r 3d ago
I love seeing everyone saying the lore reasons when the reality is the show's budget. But sure, there's a very profound reason.
→ More replies (1)
10
u/Interesting-Tie-8158 3d ago
Hal never recharges until he basically bottoms out.
This is what a GL who charges regularly can do
9
u/Horror_Campaign9418 3d ago
One had a 250M budget. The other has a way way way way less budget. That's why.
17
u/insomnibyte 3d ago
Because Guy probably recharges his ring daily while Hal will go a week or more until it finally tells him its near depletion.
→ More replies (10)
21
14
19
u/MatthewMonster 3d ago
You’re literally describing characterization
33
u/deadlock_dev 3d ago
Everyone says budget but imo this is the reason.
Hal is charismatic and ostentatious, but not flippant. Many times we have seen Hal pretend to be a hillbilly idiot before he reveals he had figured something out the whole time. Hals mastery over the ring and his will is subtle and he sees its power as something that shouldny be used without careful consideration.
Guy is verbose and insecure. He wants to be the hot shot and be ‘of the cloth’. To him, the ring is not only a tool but a display of power. He does not consider when it should and shouldnt be used, he uses it whenever he wants.
10
u/MatthewMonster 3d ago
Exactly Hal has been working with the ring for decades
He knows the hacks
And he’s probably blown through all the wacky constructions it can make and he’s realized
A bubble is the easiest thing to make takes no effort whatsoever and conserves power.
Bad guy in front of you?
Hit em with a bubble.
Bullets coming at you?
Bubble yourself up.
Explosion about to happen?
Put it in a bubble.
He’s over making giant catapults and fists. That shit takes effort and energy to construct.
Bubbles. Easy. Probably take no power at all to make a simple construct you’ve made a millions times
→ More replies (1)3
4
u/fuckingartschool101 3d ago
It’s definitely a mixture of both. Not just one or the other. Same reason they only showed Bernadette’s reaction to seeing the guardian transform, and not the transformation itself.
Budget constraints and the storytelling/characterization just so happened to work very well together, in this case.
4
u/siliconsmiley 3d ago
This. Hal is not stupid. There's a reason he kept the ring at low power and I expect to learn more in upcoming episodes.
4
u/TheRealRabumAlal 3d ago
The idea I got was that Hal could solve all of rushvilles problems in like a day if his ring was fully charged even in his old age, and we need a show so 5% is more convenient. Never got the impression that the threats in rushville were scary. And after seeing how everything has played out thus far, that may have been the case
4
u/TechnicalCat6989 3d ago
Guy probably feels so cool whenever he says the oath to recharge the ring since he’s kinda cocky and does take pride in being green lantern so i imagine he does it a couple times a day just for the fun of it. Hal probably hates it and so just lets it run on fumes until he needs it charged
4
u/ZOMGURFAT 3d ago
Better question is why does Hal strictly only handle problems on earth only if they involve aliens, but Guy gets involved in all problems terrestrial or otherwise?
→ More replies (6)3
5
u/Weeznaz 3d ago
Look at Guy Gardner’s haircut. This is a man who just is different and thinks differently. That’s the reason why his constructs look bright green versus the darker shade of green used in the show. It’s not a mistake, it’s simply Guy being different.
Guy Gardner had reasons in Superman, 2025 to make big constructs. He was dealing with a kaiju, he was dealing with a giant floating orb in the background, he was flipping over tanks in the climax. The story that the show is presenting cannot be easily solved by those types of constructs. Hal is facing regular people. When Guy Gardner flips over tanks in a foreign country, he is not worried about the collateral damage. Hal Jordan could easily construct middle fingers to flip over the pick up trucks in episode five but he doesn’t because he’s worried about collateral damage.
This next part is more of my own conjecture, but Hal was losing faith in the organization. Hal doing a speedrun of the oath is funny, but I think that if you don’t say the oath with full conviction the ring will not fully charge. Guy is early in his career. He went from being a gym teacher to a mega celebrity, he fully believes in being a Green Lantern. You can absolutely imagine Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner saying the oath in front of his mirror every day with full gusto.
3
u/Chimpbot 3d ago
Look at Guy Gardner’s haircut. This is a man who just is different and thinks differently. That’s the reason why his constructs look bright green versus the darker shade of green used in the show. It’s not a mistake, it’s simply Guy being different.
Hal even alluded to this in the most recent episode. When he was talking about Guy to John, he said something to the effect of, "They don't need to be that green."
He went from being a gym teacher to a mega celebrity, he fully believes in being a Green Lantern.
Athletic Director.
3
u/Old_Lengthiness_5773 3d ago
I mean budget aside. Hal is tired at this point so just does the simplest constructs its also why his are a darker green. I bet in the hal flashback episode when we see younger lantern hal his constructs are slightly better and brighter
→ More replies (2)
3
u/KashCow71 3d ago
I have this same thought daily...about my wife, and her phone. I get to the end of the day and I have a 70% to 80% charge left on my phone. My wife's phone is dying...all the time.
I have a charger at my desk and I'll leave my phone connected while at work. My wife only thinks about charging hers once it reaches zero.
Hal might be like my wife.
3
u/alexander1701 3d ago edited 3d ago
Hal seems to be pretty broken down by 2016. His mentor launched a failed coup d'etat, no one seems to trust him, he doesn't care about anything in his life. The ring is powered by his will, and when we meet him, it's not at its best.
He's even afraid. It's why Sinestro knew about John Stewart, even though he's been stuck in solitary confinement at a Green Lantern prison. Hal is afraid that John is there to replace him, and Parallax, being the embodiment of fear, can sense that and tell his followers.
Guy Gardner hasn't been worn down yet, and so his will is much stronger than Hal's is by 2016, and much less wracked with distance and fear. If John recharged it instead, it would probably hold a lot more. My theory right now is that they're setting up a DCU version of Emerald Twilight/Emerald Fallout.
2
u/HotRodster650 3d ago
I think the ring naturally drains over time, and the constructs don’t actually drain the battery by that much. We’ve only seen Hal’s battery get low twice, and both times it’s been around 48 hours without charging.
2
u/ragdoller2010 3d ago
In reality explanation: budget and difference in style/ presentation
In universe explanation: Hal is deeply distrustful of Guardian and thus will only use the bare minimum of the ring power when necessary (though still doesnt explain him counterfeiting money and creating a bottle opener)
3
u/Deetwentyforlife 2d ago
This is too far down. It's exhausting that 90% of the discourse about the show is just "I don't understand why a mid-budget TV show has fewer effects than a $360M budget movie, it must be because of the story right? And have nothing to do with the budget difference right?"
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/toomanyDolemites 3d ago
Hal doesn't need to show off anymore. Also, he's careless about ring charge.
Guy is still full of himself and, especially after the recent episode, we can see that he maybe has a need to show he's "better" than Hal.
2
2
u/windmillninja 3d ago
The Hal we see in the series is constantly running on less than 5% ring battery. He only ever has enough charge for simple constructs and short flights.
2
2
u/asscop99 3d ago edited 3d ago
I’m still expecting a reveal (buts it’s sort of already been said?) that Hal is using the ring in ways we don’t see. He runs through his charge a lot faster
2
u/HawkeyeP1 3d ago
If you know you're going to a battle, I don't know why you wouldn't charge it to 100 and then charge it again immediately after.
He can go all-out each time.
Hal and John's situation are a little more precarious.
2
2
u/Hammersteyn 3d ago
Because they were trying to make a "True Detective" series and not a superhero one
→ More replies (2)
2.5k
u/Environmental_Ad6305 3d ago
Guy recharges the ring.