The DC Universe is filled with mighty relics and weapons, but none as amazing as the Green Lanterns' Power Ring. When a being is inducted into the Green Lantern Corps, they are given access to one of the most highly effective pieces of Malthusian technology. The Power Ring enables its users to fly, travel through space, and translate nearly every language in the galaxy.
But the most amazing thing the Power Ring can do is allow its users to create any sort of light-based constructs a Green Lantern can imagine. There have been a lot of constructs over the years, but the following ten will show the true strength of the DCU's ultimate weapon.
10 Hal Jordan’s Fighter Jet
Hal Jordan learned to master fear by watching his idol, his father Martian Jordan, soaring through the skies as a test pilot. Though Hal’s father perished in an unfortunate accident, Hal keeps his spirit alive with a construct inspired by the planes Martin once flew. Not only does it work as a means of conveyance for Hal when he desires, but it also doubles as a powerful offense. The jet construct is one of Hal’s most-used as it has many applications, and also honors the life of the Green Lantern’s loved one.
9 Guy Gardner's Villain Army
Guy Gardner likes presenting himself as the Green Lantern Corps’ attack dog. So when the DC Universe’s greatest heroes traveled to Mars to confront Doctor Manhattan in Doomsday Clock #9, the rowdy Lantern pulled out his greatest intimidation tactic: constructs of the greatest villains the Corps has ever fought. Darkseid, the Anti-Monitor, Superboy-Prime, and many more all make up the who’s who of DC villains. While they don’t attack Manhattan, nor is the blue-skinned god intimidated by them, the army of villains Guy creates showcases the force the Power Ring could easily replicate if necessary.
8 Simon Baz’s Car Track
Simon Baz might not be as experienced as other Lanterns on this list, but he quickly figured out what he was capable of with a Power Ring on his finger. Green Lanterns #34 sees Simon and his partner Jessica having to rescue a race of aliens from a dying planet. A childhood memory inspires Simon to spirit the aliens away safely on a giant car track. When necessary, the Power Ring is just as good at saving lives en masse as it is combating hostile forces.
7 Kyle Rayner’s Green Machine
Speaking of cars, Simon isn’t the only one who fancies generating automobiles using a Power Ring. Green Lantern: The New Corps sees Kyle Rayner using his ring to construct himself a car to drive around the galaxy in. Sure, it’s not the most practical use of the ring, but it does show how the Green Lanterns can create literally anything that comes to their minds. Even something as redundant as an automobile in space.
6 John Stewart’s Highly Detailed Guns
Before he was a Green Lantern, John Stewart was two things: a Marine and an architect. Not only is he intimately familiar with firearms, he knows how they’re constructed down to their smallest parts. So when he’s taking on an intimidating force, he literally pulls out the big guns. John’s constructs are far more detailed than most other Lanterns, but that gives his structures a stability that surpasses most other constructs. In a life-or-death scenario, John relies on his guns more than anything else because it’s the most reliable construct in his cache.
5 Soranik Natu's Impromptu Medical Equipment
Not all Green Lanterns use their Power Rings for offensive purposes, but they're able to save just as many lives with them. Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #1 sees Doctor Soranik Natu recruited into the Corps in the middle of surgery. With no other option and her patient’s life on the line, Soranik accepts the ring and immediately creates a complex system of medical equipment to perform a delicate procedure. The Power Ring is a powerful weapon, sure. But in the hands of the right Green Lantern, it can serve a far more noble purpose.
4 John Stewart’s Attempted Solar System
A Green Lantern’s Power Ring is capable of almost anything, but even it has its limits. However, that didn’t stop John Stewart from attempting to recreate a solar system in Green Lantern #26. When reflecting on the destruction of the planet Xanshi, an event John blames himself for, the hero tried his damndest to try and bring the world back with just his ring. Unfortunately, such a construct was too much, even with John’s iron will. But the fact that he got close shows how far a Power Ring can really go when effort is put into it.
3 Kyle Rayner’s Artistic Creations
Being a Green Lantern doesn’t necessarily require a creative mind, but having one can bring out the best of a Power Ring. Case in point, Kyle Rayner’s background as an artist has inspired him to make some innovative and larger-than-life constructs, such as a full-scale mecha. The mecha is one of Kyle’s standbys, but he’s also fashioned kaiju and even a version of the Norse god Thor. Being able to visualize fantastic and over-the-top imagery has helped Kyle create some of the most awe-inspiring constructs a Power Ring could generate.
2 Kyle Rayner's Kryptonite
Granted, kryptonite is only good against Kryptonians, but being able to generate Superman’s greatest weakness is a good backup plan to have. In Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #13, the Man of Steel was out of control and a danger to his allies. Martian Manhunter was able to pull the formula for kryptonite out of Clark’s head and transfer the knowledge to Kyle, who managed to create an effective version of the radioactive meteorite. No one likes the idea of having to take Superman down, but the Power Ring is more than capable of doing so.
1 Hal Jordan’s Construct Army
Hal Jordan may be considered one of the greatest ring-slingers, but even he recognizes that the true strength of the Corps lies in numbers. In Green Lantern #42, Hal is fighting Larfleeze, the sole member of the Orange Lantern Corps. Since Larfleeze uses construct members as his ‘Corps’, Jordan responds in kind with an army of constructs modeled after his allies. The Power Ring can easily replicate any kind of weapon one can imagine. But when the chips are down, there’s nothing else Hal would rather summon than a fighting force based on his comrades.
The Green Lanterns have created hundreds if not thousands of constructs over the years, and these ten definitely stand out as some of the best examples of what a Power Ring can do.