How Justice League Nods to Another Major DC Comics Superhero

Warning: spoilers for Justice League lay ahead!

After many months of anticipation, the world has finally been introduced to Justice League. There's a lot to go over between those disappointing Amazonian costume alterations and that game-changing postcredits scene. And while the actual quality of the film is up for debate (it does have a 37 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, FYI), it's still fun to indulge in some action-packed superhero dilly-dallying. And it's even more fun to pick out the little DC Comics Easter eggs that pop up here and there throughout the films.

Case in point: there's one pretty fun superhero reference in Justice League that barely lasts a moment. In one scene, Diana Prince (aka Wonder Woman) explains the significance of the three boxes that the main villain, Steppenwolf, is trying to attain. Basically, these three boxes — one protected by the Amazons, one protected by the Atlanteans, and one protected by mankind — combine to build a superpowerful weapon to destroy worlds. Diana tells Bruce about the war that was once fought against the wielder of this weapon. These three armies united to defeat the big evil in the universe.

During an epic battle sequence that features all these aforementioned armies, we also catch a glimpse of another hero who is immersed in the mix: Green Lantern! No, we're not really talking about the unfortunate 2011 Green Lantern starring Ryan Reynolds. Technically, the Green Lantern Corp. is an intergalactic brotherhood of warriors who wield the same mysterious green powers. They're just sworn to protect whatever realm they preside over. It's not entirely clear which realm this historic flashback sequence exits in, but the presence of one of the Green Lantern warriors is undeniable!

Sadly, we don't get a good look at this particular Green Lantern; there isn't even a credited actor on IMDb. (It's entirely possible that the character is entirely CGI, for the record.) Also, he dies almost immediately in the sequence, leaving his magical ring to tumble into the dirt, doomed to be a forgotten relic. You know, just like the unfortunate 2011 film starring Ryan Reynolds. But I digress. All joking aside, it's still a pretty cool nod to have in the film. And hey, maybe that means a future reboot of the Green Lantern franchise isn't entirely out of the question.