The Green Lantern is one DC superhero with a long history. While most people are more familiar with the Hal Jordan version of the hero, the original Green Lantern was actually a man named Alan Scott who gained access to a magical lantern and ring. These items allowed Scott to tap into the mystical power of the Green Flame and gain virtually limitless power.
These powers made Scott a powerhouse against even DC’s most powerful foes – but like any great power source, Scott’s ring had a major weakness that could be uniquely exploited by one specific Marvel superhero!
At first, it would appear that Scott would be more than a match for any hero in any universe. Not only does his ring allow him to fly, throw up protective shields, and create energy constructs like other Green Lanterns, it grants Scott a host of other powers as well. In the past, Scott has shown he can move objects with his ring, melt items, pass through walls, and even shrink objects. Moreover, since his ring draws from a different power source than most Green Lanterns, Scott’s ring does not have the usual vulnerabilities of Green Lantern rings, such as a weakness for the color yellow.
However, Scott’s ring does have a separate weakness – it cannot affect anything made of wood. While this seems like a weird weakness to give a superhero, it proved to be one Scott had to constantly defend against – for while his energy shields could shrug off the most powerful bullets, it wouldn’t stop a simple wooden arrow from penetrating it.
As a result, Alan Scott’s Green Lantern would be virtually defenseless against one popular Marvel superhero – the Guardians of the Galaxy’s sentient tree-man Groot! As a living tree, Groot is basically made out of wood, meaning Scott’s most powerful attacks would mean nothing to him. Moreover, Groot can form wooden weapons out of his body and throw them at Scott, meaning this Green Lantern would constantly have to be on the defensive against his opponent.
Granted, Scott might be able to use his other powers to launch an attack against Groot (instead of directly attacking the tree, he might be able to shrink the support structures of large nearby objects and make them topple onto Groot), but Groot’s own strength and speed would help him ward off such tactics as well. And once Groot gets his hands on this Green Lantern, it would be game over as even super-powerful enemies have a hard time taking on Groot.
Amusingly, Groot’s advantage over Green Lantern is so enormous, that even his “weaker” forms – including Baby Groot and Teenage Groot – would probably be too much for Scott to handle. Baby Groot’s smaller size would make him a much harder target, and his ability to grow long wooden tendrils guarantees he’ll be able to ensnare the Green Lantern eventually. Alan Scott may be powerful – but once he faces off the Guardians of the Galaxy’s tree-man, he’ll know what real power is!