Mark Hoback ponders the supervillains coming out of Iraq. In particular, he's fascinated by Rahib Taha, whom he idetifies as "the secret identity of... Doctor Germ," and Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, a.k.a., Mrs. Anthrax. What bothers Mark is that , as a supervillain monicker, "Mrs. Anthrax" seem to him flatter than day-old Coke; not what you you'd like people to realize when they should whisper your name in dread. In Mark's own words:

Good Lord! Doctor Germ sounds almost cool by comparison. Iron Man versus Doctor Germ. Right, pare [sic] her off with one of the lesser super-heroes. Maybe Green Lantern...

Huh?

This reaction made Mark reach for his researcher beanie (he calls it his "journalist cap," but, c'mon...) and hit the street in search of more information on the now-intriguing Lantern. According to him, what he found "shocked and disturbed" him: Green Lantern (whose civilian name is Hal Jordan) received his powers from a race of superior aliens—the Guardians of the Universe, last known address, the planet Oa—who, apparently, took pity on lesser life-forms like us earthlings. These powers were contained on a ring which allowed its wearer to do neat things like flying, passing through walls, et cetera. What really got Mark's attention was GL's ability to create objects out of thin air with the ring.

Still, Mark wonders: what's the big deal?

With all this power, one has to wonder why Hal Jordan never made the big time. Was he dumb? Possibly. Incompetent? Well, he was no earthshaker, that's for sure.

OK, so Green Lantern was the Guardian's trained monkey, but you've got to consider, Mark, that when Hal Jordan asked himself the same questions as you have... well, let's just leave it at "things turned nasty." I like the "dumb, incompetent" GL better.

And I still say Red Tornado is a better choice for minor hero.

Green Lantern and the Guardians © DC Comics, cartoon © Fred Hembeck