We all have bad memories of the abysmal Green Lantern movie, and many people have dreamed up ways it could have been improved. A particularly neat idea expressed in some fan art by Instagram artist MJ Hiblen imagines Keanu Reeves’ John Wick taking up the power ring of the Green Lanterns, along with that of several other Corps.
The nature of the beagle avenger plays perfectly into the power source of each of the corps. Green Lanterns, in the center of the emotional spectrum, are fuelled by the ring bearer’s willpower, and John never once wavers in his mission of vengeance, remaining implacably resolute to see it through to the end. He’s explicitly stated by both the Tarasov gangster brothers to be a man of “sheer will,” and the artist even quotes the line as a comment on their work.
Meanwhile, the Sinestro Corps, the Yellow Lanterns, are driven by fear, specifically that which they can inflict upon others, and as anyone who has seen John Wick can tell you, even the whispered mention of his name is enough to strike terror into the hearts of anyone except those too gormless to understand who they’re up against. The image also plays into the legend of John with his off-hand weapon choice, invoking Viggo’s line: “I once saw him kill three men in a bar with a pencil.”
Red Lanterns are driven by anger, and while John is a taciturn man not given to expressing his feelings, the boundless depths of his rage is made clear despite his efforts to fight against sliding back to the rampaging killer he once was, with the source of his fury manifested beside him.
Black Lanterns are not part of the spectrum, and instead of emotion are fuelled by death, the power of their ring recharging each time its wielder kills. The only problem John would have in becoming one that is their ranks are only available to those who have been killed, which would first require someone skilled enough to take him out.
The next attempt at a live action Green Lantern will be the upcoming HBO Max series, and while its army of space cops is unlikely to feature a sharp-suited assassin among their number, we can still imagine how suitable John Wick would be to join them.