SPOILER WARNING for Young Justice #20
Despite her unconventional origin story, Keli Quintela may soon become Earth’s newest and youngest Green Lantern. Beings from across the DC Universe, including several people from Earth, have been chosen to join the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. Once a Green Lantern is selected, they receive a power ring and undergo intense training to become a hero. They also learn the famous oath, which acts as a way to reaffirm one’s allegiance to the Corps. Even with this system in place, Keli has managed to gain the powers of a Green Lantern without any of the training.
Introduced in 2019’s Young Justice #1, Keli Quintela, also known as Teen Lantern, is still fairly new to the hero scene. While scavenging through a junkyard in her hometown of La Paz, Bolivia, the 11-year-old watched a man shoot an alien. Later, she returned to the scene of the crime and discovered the dying alien, Iorl, who gave her a strange gauntlet before passing away. Keli quickly learned that this device allowed her to access the Green Lantern Power Battery and, with a bit of tampering, she was able to use it just like a Green Lantern Power Ring. With these new powers, she decided to fly to Metropolis and become a superhero, eventually joining the Young Justice roster.
In Young Justice #20 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Walker, and Scott Godlewski, the team of young heroes enters their new headquarters, which also happens to be a facility belonging to the Justice League. As they explore their new base, the team is attacked by a Red Tornado sentry for not having the authorization to be in the facility. Several members of the team are defeated by the robot but Keli is able to destroy it with one giant energy blast. Just after her victory, however, Green Lantern John Stewart arrives on the scene to see what is causing the commotion and tells Keli to give him the gauntlet. John is concerned with the dangers of the alien tech but Keli believes she has earned her powers.
As the two Lanterns argue, the rest of the Young Justice members come to Keli’s defense. Realizing that he won’t be able to change their minds, John decides to make a compromise. He tells Teen Lantern to meet him at the Hall of Justice to get some answers about her new powers, along with some training. Keli immediately accepts the offer to train with him, to which John replies, “I didn’t say from me.” Alas, the Justice Leaguer leaves to go on a new mission and Young Justice holds a team meeting.
The fact that Teen Lantern will finally be receiving training could paint a path toward her becoming a full-fledged Green Lantern. She’s proven herself to be a great hero in Young Justice, but hopefully, she will become more involved in the DC Universe moving forward. For now, fans can still speculate on who exactly will train her to become a Green Lantern. John Stewart has already established some rapport with the kid so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him become her mentor. A couple of other Lanterns that could work well as mentors would be Jessica Cruz and Alan Scott. Not only is Jessica Cruz the only woman among Earth’s Green Lanterns, but she is also Earth’s most recent addition to the Corps. Being new to the position, Jessica could probably provide the most insight on what it’s like to be a new Green Lantern. Alan Scott, on the other hand, is the oldest Green Lantern, but, like Keli, he is not actually a member of the Green Lantern Corps. While he is an unlikely pick, he could teach Keli what being a Green Lantern is like outside the Corps. Regardless of who gets chosen, the mysteries behind Keli’s powers will almost certainly be explored.
Bendis’s intentions for Teen Lantern remain unknown, but John Stewart’s offer seems to imply that Keli’s stint as a hero is far from over. Young Justice #20 is available now from DC Comics.