Marvel vs DC · Cosmic
Green Lantern vs Iron Man
A billionaire who builds anything he needs meets a pilot who imagines anything he needs.
Tale of the tape
| DC | Universe | Marvel |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmic | Tier | City to planet |
| A power ring that turns willpower into any construct he can imagine | Strength | Armour that adapts mid-fight, repulsors and a genius building upgrades on the fly |
| The ring is only as strong as his focus | Weakness | Arrogance and a habit of improvising |
| 2–0 | Record on Versus | 1–2 |
The Arena
Tony Stark’s new portal experiment opened above Coast City, and a Green Lantern came to investigate the strange machine hovering over his hometown. Hal Jordan floated up to the armoured figure, his ring glowing. “You’re not from around here.” Tony’s faceplate slid open. “Neither is that ring. What’s it run on?”
Hal grinned. “Willpower.” Tony raised an eyebrow. “That’s not a power source, that’s a motivational poster.” Hal’s grin widened. “Want to find out?” Tony closed his faceplate. “Always.” FRIDAY’s voice whispered in his ear: Sir, I am reading energy levels from that ring that I cannot measure.
Tony smiled behind the mask. He loved things he could not measure.
Round One
Tony fired repulsors, and Hal blocked them with a green shield. Tony launched a swarm of micro-missiles, and Hal built a giant green baseball bat and knocked them all out of the sky at once. Tony laughed. “Okay, that was cool.” He switched to the unibeam, a blast powerful enough to punch through a tank.
Hal built a green mirror. The unibeam bounced back and hit Tony square in the chest. He tumbled through the sky, systems flashing, and caught himself just above the ocean. “FRIDAY,” he said, “please tell me we have something better.” FRIDAY answered: Working on it, sir.
Tony began rewriting his suit on the fly, the way he always does.
The Turn
Tony scanned the ring’s constructs and found their frequency. He reconfigured his repulsors to match it and fired, and the next green shield shattered like glass. Hal blinked. Tony fired again, and a green jet fighter Hal had built exploded in mid-air. “Gotcha,” Tony said.
Hal frowned, focused, and imagined something new: not a shield, not a weapon, but a green fist the size of a building, with every ounce of his will behind it. Tony’s new frequency cracked it, but not fast enough. The fist hit him and drove him into the ocean.
Tony burst out of the water, adapting again. Hal imagined again. It went on for an hour, two geniuses of different kinds, each answering the other.
The Finish
Eventually Tony’s suit began to run low on power. He had built it to last, but not forever. Hal’s ring was running on willpower, and Hal Jordan had more willpower than almost anyone in the universe. As long as he believed he could win, the ring would keep going.
Tony’s final shot cracked Hal’s last construct, and Hal answered with a simple green cage around the armour, imagined with absolute certainty. Tony pushed against it, and his systems failed one by one. FRIDAY’s voice: Sir, I recommend we concede. Tony sighed. “Yeah. Okay.”
Hal dropped the cage and caught the powered-down armour before it fell into the sea. Tony popped the faceplate. “Willpower,” he said, shaking his head. “I’d love to take that ring apart.” Hal laughed. “It doesn’t work like that.” Tony grinned. “Everything works like that, if you take it apart enough.” They argued about it over dinner until midnight.
The verdict
Green Lantern wins
Iron Man adapts brilliantly and even cracks the ring’s constructs, but his armour runs on a finite power source, while Hal’s ring runs on willpower, and Hal has more of it than almost anyone.
- WillpowerThe ring never runs out while Hal believes.
- CreativityHal imagines a new answer to every adaptation.
- EnduranceTony’s suit eventually runs out of power.
How the rematch could go differently: A Tony with time to study the ring and build armour around its frequency from the start could win before Hal’s imagination caught up.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between Green Lantern and Iron Man?
Green Lantern wins. Iron Man adapts brilliantly and even cracks the ring’s constructs, but his armour runs on a finite power source, while Hal’s ring runs on willpower, and Hal has more of it than almost anyone.