Who Else Misses This Version of Green Lantern and Flash?
Hal has always been the cocky (a-hole) pilot. It's his archetype. He's the top gun guy.
Yes and no. it was the archetype he was created under and the one he's most well known for today. If you read some of the older Hal stories, you'd realize that the cocky, jackass part of him really didn't return until around Keith Giffen's and Gerard Jones Emerald Dawn series. but there have been several mainstream interpretation that divulge from this archetype. Under Denny O'Neil, Hal was the good cop who had gotten a little too subservient to the Guardians. He was the lawful type, choosing to try and talk things out with people or try a more peaceful solution as opposed to Green Arrow's more extreme style of Justice. for example, during a rather trying case involving a Native American reservation and a racist land developer, Hal chooses to go over the heads of said land developer and contact an investigator whereas Ollie dresses up like a Scooby Doo villain and tries to scare the racists away (which of course doesn't work). He also shows considerable restraint with his first meeting with John, when they both were listening to the racist senators speech, both are visibly disgusted but Hal remind himself and John that the man is still entitled to free speech. i dont know about you but that sort of reminded me of the JL episode "Eclipsed" with the whole John/Wally Godfrey thing
Under Alan Moore Hal was the head honcho, the archetypical Green Lantern who in his own mind was nothing special and really just part of the gang.
during part of the eighties he was the lost, depressed guy desperately trying to figure out how to fix his life. he was manically depressed after having been abandoned by his friends (specifically Batman, John, Ollie, and Clark) and ostracized by the public, he was unemployed and homeless with nothing but a GL ring to his name.
Under Keith Giffen/Gerard Jones, he was sort of a hybrid. He was a man who was finally taking back his life, he restored his friendship with John, got his beat as GL of 2814 back (he was a recruiter for a while),settled the score with Guy Gardner,became leader of the Justice League, and was starting his own company.
Under Ron Marz he was the broken, mentally unstable, demigod. trying to desperately make things better . his womanizing was explained as subconscious self sabotage and self loathing (is dad was apparently a bit of an asswipe in this continuity, and Hal greatest fear was ending up like him. Don't quote me on it)
Eventually under Karl Kessel, J.M Dematteis, and Geoff Johns Hal was brought back to sanity and had finally achieved the redemption and clarity he had been seeking for years. he sacrificed himself to save the planet, became the Spectre and turned it into a force to save rather than condemn souls. served as a friend and mentor to Kyle Rayner, Greta Hayes,and became a parent to his niece Helen. He rebuilt Oa after Kyle was forced to blow it up, he restored Johns ability to walk, resurrected Green Arrow. he had truly grown as character and as a person.
and then Geoff Johns came back....... and destroyed most if not all of that progress and with constant retconning.
Cartoon John is clearly War Machine/John in his first appearance. War Machine was one of the few Black heroes in the 80s to have his own title and not be a stereotype. That had to have an effect on Dwayne McDuffie.
hmm, i did not take the War Machine part into account. The most i've read of Rhodey was the Iron Man:War Machine which mainly took place during his second tenure as Iron Man (when Tony faked his death and all that),and some recent Initiative stuff. that would make sense
although i wouldn't really compare cartoon John to first appearance comic John. he seemed hot tempered, arrogant, and a bit racist but i suppose that does fall into the aggressive category.
anyway, at the end of the day, opinions are like buttholes and everyone has one. not everyone has to agree with each others, all i really wanted was for mine to be understood i guess. no hard feelings?
@zeeguy91: That's nice.
i have the horrid feeling this is partially my fault, i wasn't even completely serious when i made my initial statement. i'm truly sorry bout this.
@avenging_x_bolt: Thanks for your response. These things get heated from time to time and I'm sorry for my contribution to that. I hope that all is well on your end. While e don't see completely eye-to-eye, I admire your passion/knowledge on these things.
@avenging_x_bolt: Thanks for your response. These things get heated from time to time and I'm sorry for my contribution to that. I hope that all is well on your end. While e don't see completely eye-to-eye, I admire your passion/knowledge on these things.
no problem. we both got a little out of hand. i completely understand how you can get pissed off due to all the shit John takes. i love both characters dearly. Justice League was beloved part of not simply my childhood but my life as a whole, its what cemented my love for DC comics as a whole. i fell in love with John Stewart's character from the beginning. he was my hero and role model and will always carry a special place in my hert, s will the entire GL corps. i wish John and Hal nothing but popularity and success so that they both stay around for a long time.
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