Green Lantern Party Play Set
Submitted by: Kevin Chertkow

The word "Superhero" is not a word used lightly in my house. It's so much fun watching my League of Little Heroes (the LLH) run around in costume of their favorite heroes fending off imaginary evil doers with their imaginary super powers. I know I can rest easy when the pint size do-gooders are on the scene. It's a challenge to keep the fanboy bottled up within me as all the superhero movies hit the big screen. It breaks my heart when they beg me to go see the movie when I know the movie is not going to be age appropriate. Even though they may not get to go see their heroes in live action movie form, they do get their superhero fix from kid friendlier cartoon versions.

When it was announced that a Green Lantern movie was about to hit the theaters, my house changed from Marvel heroes to DC heroes. For a month now, I've eaten breakfast with Green Lantern, I gave Batman a bath, and had a glorious time singing and dancing with Wonder Woman. I even had the pleasure of changing Superman's diapers.

With all this superhero action going on, I was very excited when I was contacted by the fantastic people from MomSelect/BSM Media and Mattel to throw a Green Lantern party for the kids and their friends. They sent me a box filled with Green Lantern toys free of charge so I could host a Green Lantern party and let the children play with toys that haven't even hit the stores yet. Okay, I'll admit I'm not sure who was more excited, them or me.

The folks at MomSelect/BSM Media had thought of everything to help me put this party together. All I had to do was supply the kids. It worked out great because my son was just turning six, so I themed his birthday a Green Lantern birthday. I even turned his cake green by adding a bit of food coloring to the batter and frosting. The stage was set -- Green Lantern cake, Green Lantern toys, and MomSelect/BSM Media added four pages of Green Lantern themed activities and recipes to enhance the party even more.


The toys and games went over in superhero fashion. The kids each picked out an action figure and I couldn't get them opened fast enough. Then it was off to save the house and backyard with their Green Lantern power rings. The biggest hit was the Green Lantern Colossal Cannon. I had colored the Green Lantern emblem on some Styrofoam cups marked them with a number for points and put them around the house. It was a blast watching them take turns hunting them down and shooting them.

One of my favorite moments was when the boys went outside to play with their action figures. My daughter (who just turned seven) and her friends who had stayed the night, tried not to seem interested in what they called "the boy toys." As the coast was clear, they came out and took over the colossal cannon. They took turns shooting at the Styrofoam targets, having just as much fun as the boys. At the end of the party, everyone got to take home a Green Lantern action figure and power ring. All in all, everyone had a super time.

So, here is a quick review of the toys that will be coming to stores soon. Maybe you could throw your own Green Lantern party.

The Colossal Cannon -
The colossal cannon was the big hit of the party. When you reach into the cannon and pull the trigger, the chamber spins and lights up while making sounds like a gun firing. Then a small disk shoots out and flies across the room. The distance is pretty good so you'll need to keep an eye on where the disks fly off to so you're not vacuuming them up later. The cannon is packaged with ten disks so don't lose count.





Hal Jordan Battle Shifter Blade Attack & Battle Fist -













The Hal Jordan action figure is modeled after Ryan Reynolds who is taking on the role of Green Lantern in the upcoming Green Lantern movie. The concept of the instantly transforming accessory that comes with the action figure is pretty cool. The Blade Attack will automatically transform into a mini rail gun when activated. It comes with a plastic green plasma bolt, which shoots from the little cannon. The Battle fist is an interesting concept. It is supposed to represent the infamous green hand than Green Lantern always uses to fight off bad guys. When activated, the battle fist leaps into actions and throws a little green disk to knock over its target. The transforming accessory can be a little hard to close back up to transform again, but it does spring into action nicely. The blade attack was easier to use and understand than the Battle Fist.



Tomar-Re Battle Shifter Scorpion Assault -
Tomar-Re is a member of the intergalactic Green Lantern Police Corp. and a friend to Hal Jordan. Tomar-re is also a character that will be seen in the upcoming Green Lantern movie. This action figure is ready to defend the galaxy with his instantly transforming scorpion. Mattel has done a great job of boosting a child's imagination by adding the auto transforming accessories which is supposed to represent the power of the Green Lantern's ring. The transforming accessory was easier to close but a little more challenging on how to do it correctly but still it sprang into action nicely.





Green Lantern Secret Origin Graphic Novel -
This is a nice hard bound graphic novel with great artistry. The graphic novel goes into detail on how Hal Jordan becomes Green Lantern. I selfishly looked it over for... "quality control" and immediately realized that this would not be suitable for my younger children, so I'll hang onto a copy until they get a bit older. I did let my now 12-year-old and a couple of his friends have a copy and they enjoyed it immensely. Not knowing much about Green Lantern before, they now cannot wait for the movie to come out.





Green Lantern First Flight DVD -
I received this DVD in the Green Lantern Party package, which was really cool. I had gotten this DVD for my kids a while back. I did make the mistake of not watching it first. Instead I watched it with them. "It's Green Lantern, how bad could it be?" I thought to myself at that time. It's a great cartoon that explains how Hal Jordan becomes part of the Green Lantern intergalactic police corp., however there are a few words my kids could have done without but what bothered me most was when one of the characters on the Green Lantern team is killed in a bloody mess. It wasn't until then, did I read the box and saw that the movie was rated PG-13. I'll chalk that one up in the "Parents make mistakes, too" pile.