All I can say is that it’s about damned time.

Warner Brothers announced this week that sometime after the Green Lantern movie launches on June 17, 2011, we will be seeing Green Lantern: The Animated Series on Cartoon Network.  (Some are saying Nov. 2011, but that isn’t official yet)  I can’t believe it has taken this long for this to happen.

After the success of Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series and Justice League Unlimited, you would have thought Green Lantern would be a natural to get his own series, but, as always, he gets bumped to second string status for some unknown reason.  This has to be one of the most “toy line friendly” properties in all of the DC Comics universe, and yet the whole franchise has been shoved aside for years.

I mean, lets be blunt here folks, all cartoons are about the merchandising, so lets run down some of the reasons this has always baffled me:

• The Green Lantern Corps – Hal Jordan is just one of 3600 Green Lanterns tasked with policing the universe … that’s 3600 different species of Green Lanterns … 3600 different characters/action figures you can create.
• Due to the ring’s ability to make anything a Lantern can imagine, core characters can be released endlessly with different accessories.
• Villains are also endless due to numerous species, Sinestro, a turn-coat former Green Lantern, uses a yellow ring with similar powers, so he can also be released with endless accessories.
• Hello … ring and lantern role-play items sized for kids … duh.
• Ring-generated vehicles.
• Main Power Battery of Oa (homeworld of the Guardians of the Universe who created the Corps) playset.

There ya go Mattel or Hasbro, I just created at least your first two waves of toys for you.  You’re welcome.

It’s the merchandising potential that always confused me why this character wasn’t getting more attention, but make no mistake, I want to see the stories.  This is a concept that has enthralled me since I was a kid that the ring chooses you based on the strength of your will power.  In theory, anyone with a strong will could become the next Green Lantern, and once you had the ring, you could conjure up anything you could imagine.  What kid wouldn’t love this concept?

Count me in as totally watching everything they make for this property.