Green Lantern, a new film about a superhero who wields--you guessed it--a magical green lantern, is based on the comic book of the same name. It was first published in 1941. In the comic’s July 1960 issue, artist Gil Kane (real name: Eli Katz) first depicted Green Lantern's bosses, the Guardians of the Universe.
The Guardians are aliens, a tribunal of tiny blue-skinned men. They are depicted with protrusive noses, massive foreheads, and horseshoe-shaped patches of hair around their ears and the back of their head. Kane has said that he designed them in tribute to Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel.
The Guardians have not always been a positive force. Their goal is to combat evil and establish peace throughout the universe, but they've been portrayed as authoritarian, absolutist, and occasionally dictatorial. Though the Guardians all look more-or-less alike, they're constantly fighting among themselves, giving grandiose speeches, and trying to pass laws that nobody actually obeys...much like actual politicians.