Hey, newbie here.
I mean, I just made this account, but I've been lurking around the vine for a long time now. Anyway, recently I read a blog in the Hal Jordan page, which asked the question "What's so great about Hal Jordan?" Well, I can't speak for anyone else here at the vine, but I'll try to put into words why Hal is the greatest Green Lantern in my book, and one of my favorite superheroes, and why he does indeed deserve his place in the GL mythos as the mantlepiece.
Okay, so for starters, he was the first. Yes, I'm aware of Alan Scott, but he just had the name, he wasn't a member of the Corps, and we all know that Hal was the first human GL. To draw a comparison, there was an old Golden Age character called the Black Widow who bore no resemblance to the Natalia Romanova we now know, same case with an older incarnation of the famed Ghost Rider. So, technically speaking, yes, Hal was the first human Green Lantern, and he had the best origin story out of anyone who ever bore that name. You don't have a good origin, you have nothing. Hal's a classic, and people dissing his costume should remember that his was one of the most modern examples of superhero costumes at the time it was created. It still is. His look, his character, is as iconic as Superman's and has only recently mildly been robbed of his importance in the eyes of the non-comic reader population by the latest adaptations of the JLA to TV. Really, who are the others?
Guy? He's that other dude who would've been GL but wasn't, became an annoying jerk and only became a good character when Hal came back. John? He never grew a personality until they force-fed him to the world with the animated series. Kyle? The trademark replacement who'll never live up to the original standards. You wanna talk about bad protectors? He let his girlfriend get killed and only seems to have been affected by it from time to time. He even cracks jokes about it. I love the kid but he didn't even had enough willpower to beat Slade with the most powerful weapon in the universe.
Aquaman did that. Whilst blinded. With one strike. And fighting alone.
See here, Hal has that old school charisma that other heroes, even heroes older than him, like Superman and Batman, lack. He reminds me so much of Han Solo; here's a character that can sit in a bar having a regular day, and a few moments later, he's flying off to save the world. He punches the bad guys, saves the world, cracks a joke and kisses the girl, those characters just aren't common anymore. He is an everyman, and to me, one of the most relatable characters in the JLA. He's not a Godly alien, not an Amazon Warrior Princess, not a brooding dark knight or an Atlantean King. He's just a guy with the most powerful weapon in the universe and a good sense of humour. He didn't chose the life of a Green Lantern, he was chosen for it, and went from a ordinary airforce gruff to a Galactic Guardian. This of course is only one of Hal's faces. We all know he screwed up. Big time. He lost his city, his whole life, and went insane, but really people, could you judge a person for losing it under those circumstances?
What would Superman do if faced with the vision of Lois, Jimmy, Perry White, the whole of Metropolis turned into a smoldering crater? It was simply Hal's fate to be the one who lived through that. But he was never evil, he was simply lost in grief. There he was, the hero who had saved the planet and the galaxy countless times, and this was his reward? And even when he had crossed the line into becoming Parallax, he was still able to pull himself back and save the world yet again, sacrificing his life in the process.
Not only that, he became the Spectre and sought to right the wrong he had done in life. And after he was brought back, he faced his former friends, he faced his heir and the Corps, he took full responsability for what he had done and he never took anyone's forgiveness for granted, but worked hard to rectify what he had done and is still earning everyone's trust back. Is that being a coward? Anyone one of you who has ever done something wrong knows the guts it takes to face up to what you have done and try to make it right again.
Hal's story is one of courage, adventure, tragedy, darkness, redemption... amongst the GL's, he certainly seems to me the one with more dimensions to his character, and his flaws of character are not bigger or more important than those of his teammates. Not to be trusted? Everyone, even John and Guy trust Hal with his life. But Batman? He fights alongside you yet he has a plan for killing you hiding in his batbelt. Batman couldn't save Jason Todd, Aquaman couldn't save his child, Wonder Woman outright KILLED a man for the world to see, and not to mention what the JLA did with Dr. Light and others to protect their identities. Alcohol? Should I mention Tony Stark? Roy Harper? Mia Dearden? Hercules? That's actually why people can relate to him, he's not perfect! And yet he is the greatest Green Lantern, and I mean he's the best at doing what a GL does. His designs are simplistic, yes, but that is exactly what his character would do. He doesn't create architecturally accurate constructs or intricated pieces of art, because he doesn't need them. Hal gets the job done better than anyone else and with goes straight to the point. Not to mention his willpower is said to be the greatest in the universe, something which automatically makes him the most capable GL. After all, Guy was helpless against Doomsday and Kyle got his fingers broken by Deathstroke.
Hal is a true, classic hero, but one who also just happens to be human, and that makes him that much more appealing to me as a character, because its inspiring how, no matter how badly you've messed something up, no metter how far into the darkness have you gone, with enough courage and willpower, a man, a hero will always face up to what he's done, and seek redemption. A hero is a hero, through and through, wether its in the Brighest day, or in the Blackest night, you can bet Hal's light will keep shining.
Anyway, those are my two cents. What are yours? Does Hal deserve his legendary status? Do you think someone else is a better GL?
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