Green Lantern is Superior to Superman

I will argue that as a superhero, Green lantern is better than Superman. For the sake of consistency by Green Lantern I am referring to Hal Jordan but in general any Green Lantern should do. By better I mean more powerful, or anything that gives him a superior edge. First round is for acceptance arguments start the next round.

Blasphemy.

I accept your challenge for the sake of truth, justice, and the American way.

Thanks to my opponent for accepting this debate, I can tell by his picture he is a comic book fan. I used to think Superman was disproportionately powerful and that he hogged all the powers, however, I now realize that Green lantern has phenomenal powers.

I shall start with a comparison of powers

Flight: Both Superman and Green Lantern posses this power

Breath in space: again they both have this power

Superman has laser and x-ray vision as well as ice breath.

Green lantern can create any weapon imaginable including Superman’s weakness which I will get to in a minute.

Superman can lift heavy objects with his bare hands. Although Green lantern can’t do this, he can create any sort of apparatus to do it for him.

Weaknesses: Superman’s weakness is kryptonite. What Color is Kryptonite? Green. Green lantern can create anything that is green including kryptonite. Therefore, if they fought each other, Green Lantern could win simply by creating Kryptonite.

Green Lantern’s weakness is the color yellow. In order for Superman to beat GL he would have to get him to some place with a lot of yellow, GL could easily avoid this simply by staying in an area without yellow and just creating kryptonite. Advantage: Green Lantern

Jurisdiction: Superman is confined to defending the Earth though on rare occasions goes elsewhere; Green Lantern has a whole section of the Universe to defend that includes more than just the Earth.

I await my opponent’s counter arguments.

I thank my opponent for proposing this highly contentious topic. I look forward to an entertaining debate.

Before we begin, it is important to identify which incarnations of the characters Green Lantern and Superman we will be discussing. Pro mentioned that he will be focusing on the classic Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern, including his susceptibility to the color yellow [1]. For consistency's sake, I will focus on the classic incarnation of Clark Kent as Superman [2].

From here, I will focus solely on my opponent's contentions, as doing will clearly exhibit Superman's superiority.

Powers & Abilities

Superman's powers make him a Class 17 entity on the Super Hero Database [3], just shy of cosmic-level characters. A full list of his abilities reads like an essay [2, see: Powers and Abilities], but there are a few outstanding characteristics to point out:

• Strength: Superman's strength is currently incalculable, though it is certain that he can lift in excess of 1 million tons. Note his ability to destroy entire moons [4] and planets [5] with his base hands.

• Speed: Superman can fly, run, and react at speeds far exceeding the speed of light. In addition to classic examples of catching bullets [6] and engaging enemies with super speed [7], he has shown the ability to escape black holes, which is capable of capturing light itself [8][9].

• Durability: Superman can easily withstand blows from god-like villains, blasts powerful enough to destroy solar systems, and the power of an exploding sun [2, see: Invulnerability].

Combine these with numerous other abilities (including, but not limited to, heat vision, ice breath, super human senses, and advanced healing) and Superman is easily one of the most powerful characters in any comic universe.

Hal Jordan, on the other hand, is only a Class 11 entity on the SHDB [10]. Without his power ring, he has the strength, speed, and durability of a fit human male [1]. With his ring, these attributes are heightened, but nowhere close to Superman's levels. For example, while the device does grant him flight, it does not improve his reflexes and there is no evidence of Hal exceeding light speed. Furthermore, the power ring has not often been seen lifting more than roughly 100 tons, let alone planetary objects. Thirdly, Hal's durability is nowhere near that of Superman and he has suffered numerous battle injuries, even while behind shielding [11][12].

These limitations are due entirely to the fact that the ring's abilities are based entirely on the will and imagination of the user. It can create innumerable objects and do great damage, but its capabilities are inherently and unavoidably limited to the mental weaknesses and ignorance of a human mind. Superman has no such limitation.

Battle

Pro believes that Green Lantern would hold an advantage over Superman in battle. This view is incorrect for three primary reasons.

First, as mentioned previously, Superman's physical and mental reaction time is superhuman to the point of nigh-instantaneous. Thus, at his discretion, Superman is able to formulate and execute battle plans before mortal combatants can form a thought, let alone counter-attack. For all of his ring's powers, Hal Jordan is human and his ring can only operate as quickly as human thought and will-power allow. During a standard combat scenario in which both characters wish to defeat the other, Superman would be able to disarm (i.e. remove Hal's ring), incapacitate, or simply destroy his mortal opponent before a single neuron has the opportunity to fire within Hal's brain.

Second, the ability to create kryptonite does not guarantee victory over Superman. If such was the case, the numerous kryptonite-clad villains in Superman's rogues gallery (e.g. Lex Luthor, Metallo, Titano) would have destroyed him long ago. Kryptonite may hurt Superman and reduce his powers, but he largely retains his invulnerability and general abilities [13, see: Green Kryptonite]. Given the extreme power difference between these two characters, Superman would remain more than a match for Green Lantern while in a weakened state.

Third, the incarnation of Hal Jordan presented by my opponent is weak against the color yellow. Considering Superman sports this color in his costume, he could effectively and harmlessly negate any ring attacks with a simple flick of his cape [14, see: Limitations]. Combined with his incredible reaction time, this built-in shielding against Green Lantern's attacks essentially eliminates Hal's chances for success.

Jurisdiction

I must admit that I do not understand this argument. To start, Superman has battled entities and saved countless planets throughout known space and across the multiverse [2]. Indeed, his record of lives saved dwarfs that of Hal Jordan, who eventually became a super villain and mass-murderer [1, see: Parallax]. Regardless of this fact, I am lost as to how the concept of "jurisdiction" indicates any sort of superiority. I ask my opponent to elaborate on this point.

Conclusion

My opponent has presented no evidence or argument which successfully proves Green Lantern superior to Superman in any way. Not only does Superman possess nearly all of the abilities Pro listed, but he also exhibits them to a far greater extent. The one primary draw for Green Lantern - his ability to use a power ring to create objects - is unimpressive when one considers that Superman can still match or exceed the actions of these constructs with ease. Green Lantern is an interesting and unique character, but in he end he is only a man, not a Man of Steel.

Resources

1. http://dc.wikia.com...(Hal_Jordan)
2. http://dc.wikia.com...(Clark_Kent)
3. http://www.superherodb.com...
4. http://media.animevice.com...
5. http://i658.photobucket.com...
6. http://i658.photobucket.com...
7. http://i658.photobucket.com...
8. http://img367.imageshack.us...
9. http://img367.imageshack.us...
10. http://www.superherodb.com...
11. http://2.bp.blogspot.com...
12. http://1.bp.blogspot.com...
13. http://superman.wikia.com...
14. http://en.wikipedia.org...(DC_Comics)

Thanks to my opponent for the entertaining debate. I am always up for a good superhero throw down.

Powers & Abilities

My opponent does not dispute any of Superman's abilities. This is a devastating concession, as Superman's collective powers essentially make him god-like and an overwhelming powerhouse when compared with Green Lantern. To reiterate, Superman sports one of the most impressive arrays of abilities in all of comics, including the capability to destroy planets, survive galaxy-destroying events, and out-fly light itself.

Green Lantern is simply a man with a power ring. While this ring is capable of great power, Pro has presented no evidence of Hal Jordan or any other Green Lantern using it in any manner approaching Superman's abilities. As Hal Jordan possess all the innate frailties and insecurities of a human, there is no reason to believe he is capable of anything near what Pro speculates.

Pro doubts the validity of the Superhero Database, which lists Superman as far superior to Green Lantern. Basically, Pro believes that because Doomsday is ranked beneath Superman and Doomsday once defeated Superman, the ranking system is flawed. First of all, Doomsday is not superior to Superman. During their first battle, Superman killed Doomsday with his bare hands and then fell into the kryptonian equivalent of a coma [1, see: Death and Return]. Since that time, Superman has defeated the creature with ease [2]. Secondly, this argument is irrelevant. Until Pro can provide some evidence that Green Lantern, not Doomsday, is superior to Superman, the resolution stands negated.

Battle

Pro has not attempted to prove that Green Lantern can defeat Superman in battle. The closest thing to an argument he presents is his questioning of whether Superman's speed advantage really matters. To say it does would be an understatement; Superman could very literally obliterate Green Lantern a dozen different ways before his adversary could lift his ring finger, let alone use his weapon in any way. Not even a Green Lantern ring and the full extent of its power are worth a thing if its user is not given the time or opportunity to use it. Remember, the use of a power ring requires time and concentration by its user, both of which are luxuries Hal Jordan would not be afforded in this battle.

My opponent is also uncertain if the yellow in Superman's cape would be effective against Green Lantern. Considering I have provided evidence in favor of Green Lantern's weakness to yellow and Pro has presented nothing to the contrary, we must assume that it would be effective. Keep in mind, this tactic would be unnecessary; Superman would easily defeat his adversary before any counterattack could be formulated.

Jurisdiction & Other Topics

Pro reiterates his statement that Green Lantern is superior because he covers a wider area of space on a more regular basis. Not only is this not necessarily true (Green Lantern's home base is also Earth and Superman travels throughout the universe constantly), but it is irrelevant. One's general area of operation has no impact on their quality as a character and Pro has never explained why this issue matters.

As I touched on last round, the issue of jurisdiction is far less important than the issue of lives saved. Hal Jordan once went mad and became a murderous villain [3, see: Emerald Twilight]. While he later resumed his role as a Green Lantern, such actions forever soiled his reputation as a hero or role model. Superman and his history as a hero remains comparatively unsullied. Pro admits that Superman should be considered more "moral and incorruptible" than Green Lantern, which are necessary and highly valued traits of any noteworthy hero.

Conclusion

In every category discussed, Superman has been shown to be undoubtedly superior to Green Lantern. Superman holds that name for a reason; his abilities and character traits are universally recognized as top notch. Alternatively speaking, not a single impressive feat of Hal Jordan has been presented, nor has a single successful battle strategy for that character been formulated. Pro has failed to uphold his burden in any way and the resolution has been negated.

Thanks for reading!

References

1. http://dc.wikia.com...(Clark_Kent)
2. http://i658.photobucket.com...
3. http://dc.wikia.com...(Hal_Jordan)