A crucial part of the Green Lantern Corps just so happens to be inspired by a classic war movie. The hard-nosed drill instructor of the Corps, Kilowog, learned the ropes from a Lantern inspired by Full Metal Jacket's most infamous character.
For those lucky enough to be welcomed into the Corps, there's a few things they have to go through before they become fully deputized Green Lanterns. Namely, they need to pass the intense classes on ring-slinging taught by Kilowog, the toughest teacher in the Corps. Charged with training the "poozers," as he calls them, the Green Lanterns' Kilowog is an expert at helping rookie Lanterns grow into experienced Corps members. Though he's got a reputation for being quite stern, Kilowog is hard on his trainees to bring out the best in them and make sure that they have the tools they'll need to take on the universe's most deadly threats.
As it turns out, even Kilowog was a novice once and his trainer was even more hardcore than he is. And who better to mold the Green Lantern than the most intense drill instructor in all of fiction? Fans got a look at Kilowog’s origin with the Green Lantern Corps in the story "New Blood" by Peter J. Tomasi and Chris Samnee from Blackest Night: Tales from the Corps #3. The story is set when Kilowog was a rookie Lantern still undergoing training to become a full-fledged Green Lantern. Serving in the role as the Corps' drill instructor is Lantern Ermey, which any movie fan could peg as a reference to beloved actor R. Lee Ermey. Lantern Ermey puts Kilowog through an even more intense treatment than Kilowog would apply to his own recruits. But in doing so, Kilowog learns what it takes to be a leader.
The Green Lantern Corps might think Kilowog is tough, but they have it easy compared to how Ermey trained his rookies. R. Lee Ermey was known for playing some pretty intense military characters in movies and television and actually was a drill instructor in the United States Marine Corps. The addition of Lantern Ermey doesn't just work as a fun cameo for movie buffs but as a tribute to an actor that left his mark across an entire landscape of media.
The Green Lantern Corps is no stranger to honoring influential people. Writers and artists have become a part of DC history by having Green Lanterns named after them. But that doesn't mean that among the thousands of members, there isn't room to honor non-comic related figures. The Corps is, after all, an authority that fights the worst villains in the universe. It makes sense to honor someone like R. Lee Ermey and his lauded role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket as Kilowog's predecessor. The poozers of the Green Lantern Corps may not have dealt with the real-life drill instructor, but his spirit lives on through the teachings of Lantern Ermey and Kilowog.
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