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If the wielder of a Green Power ring has enough willpower, can they read minds and/or alter memories of an individual using their ring?

If yes, are there any such instances?

4
  • Is there some reason you think it might? I’m not super familiar with Green Lantern, but I’m not seeing how creating physical constructs out of hard light implies mental manipulation. Apr 23, 2018 at 15:26
  • @Thunderforge Actually yes. I vaguely remember reading something of that sort a very long time ago in Action Comics (but i don't remember the issue number).
    – Shreedhar
    Apr 23, 2018 at 15:29
  • @Thunderforge A green power ring can do a lot more than that-- translate languages between its wearer and others, provide air and pressure enough to let its wearer survive in space, travel much faster than light, etc. But as for the question at hand, no I'm not aware of any such instances. Apr 23, 2018 at 15:29
  • The scope of the ring powers have drastically reduced over time. In the 60's, the answer was unequivocally "Yes". It also is shown manipulating magnetism and I think even producing Kryptonite radiation. More recently, however, the powers seem to be a bit more defined; it's basically just hard light constructs, force fields, translation, and communication with other Green Lanterns. Oh, and the travel that @PlutoThePlanet mentions, though that tends to be handwaved pretty hard (they travel at whatever speed is most convenient for the plot.)
    – Tin Wizard
    Apr 23, 2018 at 18:43

2 Answers 2

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Hal Jordan has shown the ability to alter someone's mind.

According to CBR's "Green Lantern: 15 Things You Never Knew His Ring Could Do" article, in 1966's Green Lantern #57 (wrongly quoted in the article as #47) Hal Jordan erases Major Disaster's memory and puts in mental blocks to stop him from revealing The Flash and Hal's identities.

Hal alters Major Disaster's memory
The full comic can be cough read cough by googling "Green lantern 1960 #57 online"

Another example from a later comic, 1989's Action Comics #642 (as pointed out by @Shreedhar in the comments) shows Abin Sur dying on Earth and found by Clark Kent, however as Clark is not native of Sector 2814, he cannot be its next Lantern, and his memory must be wiped.

Abin Sur stating he needs to wipe Clark Kent's mind

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  • @Edlothiad thanks! this is cool. Anyways, I found the actual one that I was looking for. Action Comics # 642 where Clark Kent finds Abin Sur's crashed ship. In that issue there is a panel where Abin Sur mentions about mind-wiping Clark.
    – Shreedhar
    Apr 23, 2018 at 17:24
  • @Shreedhar I will include that in the answer as well, if you don't mind. I was struggling to find other examples and had only read about the possibility
    – Edlothiad
    Apr 23, 2018 at 17:58
  • Sure please add it. IT would be better for others to look for in the future.
    – Shreedhar
    Apr 23, 2018 at 17:59
  • Just wondering, but did Clark submit to it?
    – Rivasa
    Apr 23, 2018 at 18:42
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    It's unclear from the next panel whether Abin Sur had the will power to do it, but he does try and believes he can. The comic seems to suggest Abin Sur was successful, but I didn't get too far through.
    – Edlothiad
    Apr 23, 2018 at 18:45
1

Silver Age Green Lantern's power set indeed contained psychic-related abilities (in fact, much like most 60s comics, the super weapon could do almost literally anything, and the sillier the better). For instance, in Green Lantern #2 (1960), Hal Jordan used the ring to probe his mechanic's memories of a map. At the end of the issue, "Pieface" discovers that Hal Jordan is Green Lantern and offers to have his mind wiped. Hal refuses, and does not refute that the ring could do such a thing.

Hal Jordan prompts a memory of a map from Pieface's mind

Later, in Showcase #24 (1960), the ring enables him to read his own memories in order to locate some lost plans.

Hal Jordan focuses his green beam on his forehead to remember a memory

It's not exactly mind reading or memory alteration, rather a "state of mind" alteration, but earlier, in Showcase #23 (1959), Hal Jordan used the Green Lantern ring to put someone in a state of deep concentration.

Hal Jordan makes a scientist exclusively focused on a formula by using the green light

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