Out of all the high-profile of the Justice League, compared to Superman or Batman, Green Lantern may be the most underestimated. As far as power levels are concerned, the Green Lantern Corps are viewed as powerful but rarely written as being quite in the same league as DC's Trinity of heroes, as least in of strength. Superman alone is often credited as being one of DC's stronger superheroes, if not the strongest depending on how he's written in a given moment.
Theoretically, anyone who wields a Green Lantern ring should be viewed as being just as powerful, if not more so, as their strongest peers in the Justice League. On paper, the power of the Green Lantern Power Ring is limited only by the wielder's imagination as the wielder can conjure up anything that springs to their mind. For example, when he had suddenly sprouted evil tendencies as Parallax, Hal Jordan used his ring to recreate a version of Coast City, including manifesting versions of its fallen inhabitants. It is during this period where an unhinged Jordan—wielding the full power of virtually everyone in the Green Lantern Corps—is able to show readers the full extent of a Green Lantern Power Ring's strength, particularly during a confrontation against Superman.
In Green Lantern #64 by Ron Marz, Darryl Banks, and Mark Bright, after Hal confronts Kyle Rayner to take back his Power Ring, the Justice League intervenes. Surprisingly enough, Hal is able to take everyone out, most notably by knocking out Superman using a bomb he created using his ring. Although Hal Jordan is under the influence of Parallax and even though he is using almost the full power of the entire Corps, this is enough to confirm that Green Lantern energy is enough to beat Superman on its own merit.
Don't Underestimate The Power of Green Lantern
Keep in mind that Superman has many weaknesses. Kryptonite, solar radiation, and to a small extent, magic. He's powerful but not invincible, and there are ways to stop him. Hal Jordan, on the other hand, did not need any of these means to beat Superman. Instead, he uses the pure strength of the Green Lantern Corps, proving that a Green Lantern alone is powerful enough to defeat Superman. As it turns out, one of the more overlooked of the Justice League may need a second evaluation from readers and critics.
But why do so many underestimate Green Lantern, to begin with? Perhaps when readers see a Green Lantern use their imaginations to manifest sillier constructs from their Power Ring, like a race car, for example, critics stop taking Green Lanterns seriously. However, here he creates a weapon of terrifying destruction to eviscerate Superman, and it works. This proves that when a Green Lantern uses the full extent of their power in a way that can be taken seriously, they can believably topple even the mightiest of men like Superman.
