A Green Lantern ring might be powerful, but the Flash and his connection to the Speed Force might be what’s needed to put the power in “Power Ring.”
The great thing about the Justice League is that every hero on the team usually has a distinctive source of power of their own. Superman has godlike strength from his Kryptonian DNA and Wonder Woman channels the powers of the gods themselves. But one of the most mysterious powers of any Leaguer is the Flash’s Speed Force. Not only does it enable the Scarlet Speedster to move at lightning speed, the Flash can travel through time, traverse dimensions, and deliver punches that are stronger than Superman’s. Even Green Lantern, whose Power Ring is limited only by the imagination of its user, can’t compete with the powerful force that’s aided the Flash Family.
But Barry Allen was able to show how a Green Lantern’s ring could be put to good use in The Flash Annual #2 by Brian Buccellato and Sami Basri. Green Lantern and Flash find themselves transported to an alien battleground called “Arena World” where they are forced to compete in a fight to the death. Despite facing some powerful warriors, Green Lantern and Flash fight valiantly and make it to the last round of the tournament. However, only one of them is allowed to face Arena World’s champion. Green Lantern is rendered useless, but he gives Flash a fighting chance by giving him his ring. With little time to act, the Flash channels the Speed Force into his brain and runs through an infinite number of scenarios with the ring. The ring targets a weakness, allowing Barry to briefly construct a blaster to shoot his opponent in the crotch.
Attacking someone in the crotch might seem obvious, but it’s what the ring said. And again, the Flash used the Speed Force to cycle through a countless number of scenarios because Barry knew he wouldn’t be able to wield the ring for long. While Barry’s time with the ring was brief, he managed to use a Power Ring in a way that would leave any Green Lantern hanging their head in shame.
Willpower and imagination might be the most crucial things to wielding a ring, but the Green Lantern Corps has thousands of beings who can operate one. Far, far fewer, however, have the brain processing speed to pull off the stunt that Barry Allen did. A Flash’s connection to the Speed Force can allow them to push themselves far beyond physical limitations, and allowed Barry to communicate with the ring faster than any Lantern. Creative thinking is a big part of the job for Green Lanterns, but when dealing with intergalactic threats, making a construct is what most tend to do. The Speed Force allowed Barry to use the ring in a way not seen often from Lanterns, and it worked out perfectly. The Flash may not be an official Green Lantern, but with the Speed Force, he’d make a great addition to their ranks.
