The 10 Most Powerful Green Lanterns, Ranked

Green Lantern is one the most powerful superheroes in the DC Universe, no matter who's wielding the emerald Power Ring. The hero's signature piece of jewelry is powered by a cosmic lantern that can manifest anything the wearer imagines. This effectively means that Green Lanterns are limited only by their imaginations as they defend the universe from the forces of evil. 

Most heroes wearing their own variations of the ring are part of an intergalactic peacekeeping organization known as the Green Lantern Corps, led by the omnipotent Guardians of the Universe. With thousands of Green Lanterns serving in the Corps at any one time, everyone has their favorite Lantern. We're here to determine which Green Lantern is not so much the subjectively best of them all, but who are the strongest, even if only given temporary power boosts. To help narrow it down, we're focusing on the Green Lanterns from the main DCU or Lanterns who have since called the main universe their home. 

Here are the 10 most powerful Green Lanterns ranked and where you can read about them in the comics.

The original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, isn't part of the Green Lantern Corps at all, with his ring drawing power from a different source. Introduced in 1940's "All-American Comics" #16, Alan was an engineer who discovered the otherworldly lantern and ring, using his newfound powers to save a train from careening off a bridge. Alan's ring and lantern were originally from a crashed meteor, with retcons establishing them being heavily modified equipment belonging to a rogue Green Lantern. Starting out as a solo hero in Gotham City, Alan became a founding member of the Justice Society of America, later becoming the team's chairman.

Even if his ring isn't connected directly to the Corps' Central Power Battery, Alan is one of the most formidable Green Lanterns in the DCU. Alan's powers have their own unique traits, though they do react strangely to wood, something he has figured out how to work around in time. Through his extensive superhero experiences, Alan merged with his lantern in 1978's "Green Lantern" #112 and slowed aging in "All-Star Squadron Annual" #3. Beyond his solo work, Alan is recognized as a master strategist, leading multiple superhero teams, even becoming a burgeoning gay icon.

A relatively new addition to the Green Lantern mythos is Jessica Cruz, who was introduced in 2013's "Green Lantern" #20. After barely surviving an incident that killed her friends, a traumatized Jessica was overcome by constant trauma and guilt. This made her a suitable host for the Ring of Volthoom, a controlling fear-based Power Ring from the morally inverted universe of Earth-3. Though the Ring of Volthoom gradually drained her life force, Jessica was able to survive when the Justice League helped her destroy the ring. This moment not only showcased Jessica overcoming her trauma but proved her worthy of joining the Green Lantern Corps, with her gaining the Corps' usual Power Ring immediately thereafter.

In addition to becoming an adept Green Lantern in her own right, Jessica's ring still has its own unstable connections to Volthoom. This includes the Travel Lantern, which served as the prototype for the subsequent power batteries developed for many of the subsequent Lantern Corps. Through this connection, Jessica is able to travel through time and space, something that makes her notably unique compared to the other Green Lanterns. An instant fan-favorite, Jessica Cruz has since appeared in numerous DC animated projects, including "My Adventures with Green Lantern."

While it takes a tremendous amount of willpower to wield a Green Lantern Power Ring, that doesn't mean that all their users are level-headed. A prime example of this is Guy Gardner, debuting in 1968's "Green Lantern" #59 as a backup for Earth's primary Green Lantern Hal Jordan. A much more rough-and-tumble figure than Hal, Guy is nonetheless a begrudging team player, including time serving on the funniest Justice League ever. For all his boorish behavior, Guy is quite skilled with the Power Ring, occasionally training the Corps' latest recruits and participating in clandestine missions.

Guy may charge headfirst, but even his bravado and bluster usually yields solid results, with Guy even taking down Doctor Manhattan, if only temporarily. Outside of his usual Power Ring, Guy is capable of wielding a Sinestro Corps ring and a Red Lantern ring, tapping into powers of fear and rage, respectively. Initially something of a joke character, Guy has proven himself repeatedly of being one of the DCU's greatest Green Lanterns. Arguably DC's angriest hero, Guy Gardner can actually back-up his tough talk –- provided he's not butting heads with Batman.

Before he became the Green Lantern Corps' bitterest enemy, Sinestro was reputed as one of the heroes in the entire Corps. When new recruit Hal Jordan discovered Sinestro misused his ring to rule his home planet Korugar, he was expelled from the Corps and became an avowed villain. Exiled to the antimatter universe, Sinestro gained a ring powered by pure fear and became Hal's nemesis and a fixture in the DCU's supervillain community. In addition to his mastery over Power Rings, Sinestro is a cunning tactician, plotting Hal's corruption by the fear-based Parallax entity and near-annihilation of the Corps.

As Green Lantern, Sinestro showed Hal tricks that even he didn't know he was capable of using the ring, skills he's retained since forming his own twisted Corps. In 2013's "Green Lantern" #20, Sinestro became the latest host for the Parallax entity, significantly augmenting his powers, both with and without the ring. In this upgraded state, Sinestro could stand directly toe-to-toe against Superman-level opponents and single-handedly massacre the Guardians of the Universe. Sinestro is one of the best DC villains ever, something that needs to be capitalized on-screen, not just hinted at in one of the worst post-credits scenes of all time.

The Green Lantern Corps recruits members from virtually all intelligent lifeforms in the universe, including the planet Daxam. Physiologically, Daxamites are very similar to Kryptonians in that they develop the same array of superpowers when exposed to the radiation of a yellow sun like Earth's. However, rather than having a weakness to kryptonite, Daxamites can be lethally poisoned by being in the presence of lead. Daxam has its own representative on the Green Lantern Corps, Sodam Yat, who was introduced by "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" creators Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill.

Debuting in 1986's "Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual" #2, Sodam Yat is one of the most physically overpowering members of the Corps. Even without his ring, Sodam can confront any of DC's strongest Kryptonians, including Superman himself, so long as there isn't any lead around. Armed with a Power Ring, Sodam is nigh-unstoppable, with his natural physiology complemented by creating any constructs he can imagine on the fly. One of the more obscure heroes in the DCU, Sodam Yat is an absolute powerhouse, with or without his ring on.

Intelligent life comes in all shapes and sizes in the DCU and, reflecting that diversity, so too do the various members of the Green Lantern Corps. The most unique hero in the Corps is the sentient planet Mogo, who was introduced in a short story in 1985's "Green Lantern" #188. More than just serving as the Corps' largest member, by celestial proportions, Mogo provides an extraordinarily vital service to the peacekeeping force. Through his deep-seated connection to the Central Power Battery, Mogo telepathically guides vacated Power Rings to find their new users while his surface serves as a training and recreation ground.

Telepathically, it's Mogo who holds the entire Green Lantern Corps together on an intuitive level, though he initially was reluctant to socialize. Given his sheer size, Mogo's power constructs are incredibly powerful, capable of making notorious DC bad boy Lobo to retreat rather than incur his wrath. Mogo can also control his own planet-scaled nature, including altering his gravity well and the very environment around his surface to target trespassers. A planet-sized hero, Mogo serves as a looming reminder that the biggest guns can single-handedly turn the tide of an entire battle.

The third human from Earth recruited into the Green Lantern Corps was John Stewart, who was inducted into the Corps in 1971's "Green Lantern" #87. A former U.S. Marine and architect, Stewart brings those professional sensibilities to his power constructs, creating extraordinarily detailed and advanced projections through his Power Ring. John's most powerful iteration was in the series "Green Lantern: Mosaic," which saw him temporarily become the DCU's first mortal Guardian of the Universe. John has also proved himself capable of wielding the Indigo Tribe's energy, using a combination of this and residual Black Lantern energy to destroy a rogue Mogo.

John is the most serious of the Earth-based Green Lanterns, a quality that consistently has him represent the Corps on the Justice League over his peers. Maintaining a cooler head than his counterparts, John combines his naturally tactical mind with the possibilities of his Power Ring, including any upgrades he receives. John Stewart was the primary Green Lantern in the DC Animated Universe, cementing his legacy and importance in the wider DC mythos. A longtime fan-favorite, Aaron Pierre is set to make waves as John Stewart in James Gunn and Peter Safran's DCU.

The Guardians of the Universe are among the most omnipotent figures in the entire DCU, though this vaunted status has led to most of them to eschew common emotions. The most empathetic Guardian is Ganthet, who debuted in 1992's "Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale," with Ganthet as the sole surviving Guardian after the Corps is wiped out by Parallax. After this, Ganthet recruits Kyle Rayner as the last Green Lantern, with the two gradually rebuilding the Corps to its former glory. However, on one occasion, Ganthet inducts himself directly into the Corps when the fate of the DCU becomes especially dire.

Creating a Power Ring for himself in 2010's "Blackest Night" #6, Ganthet maintained all his usual omnipotence while channeling his powers through his ring. Even without his temporary ring, Ganthet is capable of reshaping reality to his will, going as far as to permanently resurrect Hal Jordan with a fraction of his power. Along with his wife Sayd, Ganthet even created his own Corps, founding the hope-fueled Blue Lantern Corps in 2008's "Green Lantern" #25. By making himself a Green Lantern, even if for only 24 hours, Ganthet easily earns a high spot on this list with that kind of cosmic power.

Kyle Rayner joined the Green Lantern Corps during the darkest time for the organization after it had nearly been completely obliterated by Parallax. After his introduction in 1994's "Green Lantern" #48, Kyle was inducted by Ganthet into the Corps as its sole member two issues later. Kyle was instrumental in not only keeping the Corps' presence alive, but pivotal in building it back up, including resurrecting and cleansing corrupted Green Lantern Hal Jordan. These experiences led Kyle to receive enormous upgrades in his powers, occasionally beyond even the capacity of the Green Lantern Corps itself.

It isn't so much Kyle's time on the Green Lantern Corps that signaled how powerful he was, but the temporary upgrades that he's received along the way. In several instances, Kyle has embraced cosmic omnipotence, both in his roles as Ion and as a White Lantern, significantly upgrading his capabilities. As Ion, Kyle was willpower incarnate and was able to rebuild the entire Green Lantern Corps virtually single-handedly as he warps reality around him. As White Lantern, Kyle could not only tap into the different Corps' energies but held dominion over all life itself, making him a cosmic demigod.

Widely reputed in the DCU as the greatest Green Lantern of them all, Hal Jordan was the first human from Earth inducted into the Corps. Making his debut in 1959's "Showcase" #22, Hal is a test pilot who found a mortally wounded Green Lantern and was deemed worthy enough to replace him. Hal quickly rose through the ranks as one of the Corps' best, defeating countless supervillains and enemy entities that threatened the universe. Though he nearly eradicated the Corps when possessed by the Parallax entity, Hal was restored and regained his celebrated position.

Recognition within the Green Lantern Corps aside, Hal has received upgrades, from both good and evil sources, that made him one of the most powerful figures in the entire DCU. As Parallax, Hal absorbed the vast energies from the Central Power Battery, giving him control over time and space itself. After heroically sacrificing his life, Hal was bonded to the Spectre, God's Spirit of Vengeance, combining his latent cosmic abilities with divine power. Since then, Hal keeps things a bit more grounded as Green Lantern but, on separate occasions, has been the greatest villain and hero the DCU has ever seen.

All that, and he survived the abysmal 2011 "Green Lantern" movie. That his reputation emerged intact from that proves just how strong Hal is.