Could This Be Our New Green Lantern for the DCEU?

So, hopefully by now you've watched Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Regardless of your opinion of it, we're finally being introduced to the bigger story of the Justice League and personally that excites me.

Let's cover what we've seen so far:

• We've seen the older, darker and more cynical Batman as portrayed by Ben Affleck.

• We've found a slightly wiser Superman, who is starting to question his actions and the effect he has on the world as portrayed by Henry Cavill.

• We've been introduced to the fierce, seemingly ageless warrior Wonder Woman as portrayed by Gal Gadot.

Then there's the quick shots below:

• We saw a quick flash of the scarlet Speedster, The Flash, as portrayed by Ezra Miller.
• We've discovered the King under the Sea, Aquaman, as portrayed by Jason Momoa.
• We've even witnessed the birth of the cybernetically augmented man, Cyborg, as portrayed by Ray Fisher.

But where's Green Lantern?

With all these introductions we are still left wondering, where's Green Lantern? Outside of the rumor that Dan Amboyer was portraying Hal Jordan in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we don't really know much at all about how Green Lantern ties into the bigger story of the Justice League, and the DCEU in general. I tend to lean towards the possibility that Amboyer truly is playing Hal Jordan, but I don't think that Hal Jordan will be leading the pack when it comes time to reveal the Lantern Corps.

We already know that DC and Warner Bros are planning on rolling out the Green Lantern Corps in 2020, and it's expected to focus on several characters rather than a singular Lantern such as Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner or Kyle Rayner. So it seems that we're set to see the much more universal side of DC with the Lantern Corps rather than focusing on an earth-bound singular character.

So I'm starting to wonder what DC is up to because ultimately Hal Jordan is a character we already know fairly well. John Stewart is another fan-favorite that deserves his chance to shine. Yet, we don't have any mention of either of these characters through the entire film even though we saw a certain database of certain super-powered individuals. You would think that there would be at least a little more than a possible Easter egg cameo by Dan Amboyer, which is why I believe there is more to the story and Warner Bros/DC are trying to introduce us to something genuinely unique.

Here's what I'm thinking. I believe that the DC announcement on Twitter that introduced their new major initiative called Rebirth was more than just coincidentally timed with the release of Batman V Superman. If you've followed any of the announcements and teasers so far this year, you've seen that we're going to get quite a few new story arcs for the characters you'd expect: Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, the Bat-family, Flash and the Green Lantern Corps led by Hal Jordan.

Yet, the interesting piece to consider with Rebirth is that although Hal Jordan is appearing, we're also set to see Simon Baz return and train his new recruit, the Earth's first female Green Lantern; Jessica Cruz.

Who is Jessica Cruz?

Her comic backstory is fairly complex, but the gist of it is this: Jessica Cruz was an ordinary young girl, who was out on a hunting trip with friends, that happened upon a group of mobsters burying a body. Unwilling to leave any witnesses, the mobsters shot and killed Jessica's friends, while Cruz herself managed to escape. She was traumatized, and after another aggravated assault unrelated to the mobsters, Jessica locked herself away for years. During the rule of the Crime Syndicate, she was chosen as an unwilling individual to wear the Ring of Volthoom. Her body was taken over by the power of the ring, and through an intervention from Batman, she was able to overcome the influence of the ring and gain control again.

Now, I believe that Jessica may take center-stage along with Simon Baz in the Justice League movie for a couple reasons:

She's a bad-ass female characte

Based on how well-received Wonder Woman was through her brief appearance in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, I would be incredibly surprised if DC/WB doesn't try to roll with the progressively more badass female characters throughout comic book based movies. Recent years have seen a shift towards a more gender diverse fan base as well as a rise in importance of the female characters themselves: Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and even Black Widow. All of these female characters are stealing the show when they appear on screen, (sans Captain Marvel since she hasn't actually appeared yet, but I anticipate Marvel doing her justice) and I can't imagine that DC/WB doesn't notice the rise of the female character.

Jessica Cruz can be added to the bad-ass collection of female characters quite easily, I mean just look at her backstory: she witnessed a group of mobsters and escaped, and although she was haunted by it she made sure she was never a victim. Then consider that when she had her body taken over by the ring of Volthoom, she was fully aware of everything that she was doing. Being aware of the fact that you're not in control of your actions has got to harden your soul a bit, and then the fact that Batman was the only hero who could reach her adds to the realization that she is a bad-ass character.

She would bring a fresh story to the universe

Now most likely her backstory would be altered a bit, since I don't see the Crime Syndicate taking over Earth any time soon. But regardless; her earning a green ring would bring a new story to to the forming world of the DCEU. I know the argument is that the DCEU is utilizing stories from the past, the tried and true narratives, but I think bringing in a newer character may actually allow the DCEU to rise up out of the dark and grit a little. The rise out of the darkness is a part of why Suicide Squad is now doing some last minute re-shooting to add a little more 'lightness' to their story. Now I'm not saying that Jessica Cruz's inclusion would be all fluffy unicorns and cotton candy, but it would allow the movies to lighten up a bit at least.

Adding another female to the Justice league lineup, and a newer character in general could add a new dynamic to the team and possibly revitalize the DCEU as it moves into the remainder of its movies. Jessica Cruz would allow for a unique experience in the cinematic universe by being a young, new character and would bring a stark contrast to the aged characters that we have already in Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Aquaman.

She'd also introduce a little ethnicity to the DCEU

Diversity has always been an issue when you try to transfer characters created 50+ years ago by a generation of artists that filled the pages with white characters. When you attempt to bring them into a cinematic universe, it's hard to justify having a cast of solely white male characters when the fanbase watching wants characters who look like & represent them. Now, I'm not advocating changing the ethnicity of every character for the sake of equality and diversity. But when you have a character that was introduced as having a different ethnicity, I don't see why you wouldn't try to utilize that character. As Jessica comes from an Hispanic background, her inclusion would add a little extra diversity to a cast that is primarily caucasian.

If Jessica Cruz does show up as the Earth's Green Lantern as a part of the Justice League, it could be really interesting to see where DC/WB takes the story that's developing.