10 Smartest Decisions In DC Superhero History

10. Changing The Green Lanterns - Various

It's been said many times that Green Lantern is essentially DC's Star Wars, and in terms of scale and just overall sci-fi goodness, the comparison rings true. It doesn't have quite the mythological splendor of George Lucas' space opera, but there's nothing else in the superhero genre that comes as close to it as Green Lantern.

Interestingly though, Green Lantern didn't start off as the sci-fi epic we know it as today. The original incarnation of the comic (which began in the 1940s), focused on Alan Scott, a Green Lantern who derived his powers from magic. It wasn't until the Silver Age commenced in the following decade that Hal Jordan would be introduced, and with it the sci-fi focus that has stuck with the comic ever since. (Hal's creators, John Broome and Gil Kane, had the foresight to keep the banger of an Oath from the original Alan Scott comic, though.)

But that wasn't the only home run GL managed to hit in the decades following Alan Scott's debut. As the years progressed, DC introduced a number of different Green Lanterns to compete with Hal Jordan, each bringing their own personality to the comic. John Stewart (really the best incarnation of the character), was an architect, which was reflected in the constructs he made with his power ring. Kyle Rayner, meanwhile, was an artist, and so his constructs had much more flare than usual.

Today, every DC reader has a Lantern they love the most. It's generational, and even though the Silver Age nostalgia goggles have prevented newer Lanterns from making the mark they probably should have, it hopefully won't be long until Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz and Jo Mullein - star of the brilliant Far Sector - become just as iconic as their predecessors.