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Harold "Hal" Jordan is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero. He is the second Green Lantern and the most famous hero to bear that name. Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, he first appeared in Showcase #22 (October 1959).
The revamp of Green Lantern as Hal Jordan was one of many old DC Comics characters to emerge in the Silver Age of comics.
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Harold "Hal" Jordan is a fictional character, a DC Comics superhero. He is the second Green Lantern and the most famous hero to bear that name. Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, he first appeared in Showcase #22 (October 1959).
The revamp of Green Lantern as Hal Jordan was one of many old DC Comics characters to emerge in the Silver Age of comics. Controversy erupted among comic book readers in 1994 when Hal Jordan became supervillain Parallax and Kyle Rayner replaced him as the Green Lantern.
Jordan underwent a number of further changes in the 1990s including dying and later returning as a new incarnation of The Spectre. Hal Jordan returned to the role of Green Lantern in 2004's Green Lantern: Rebirth miniseries and is currently the protagonist of the current volume of Green Lantern.
Publication history
Recreated for the Silver Age
After achieving great success in 1956 in reviving the Golden Age character The Flash, DC editor Julius Schwartz looked toward recreating the Green Lantern from the Golden Age of Comic Books. Like The Flash, Schwartz wanted this new character to have a different secret identity, origin, and personality than his 1940s counterpart. A long time science-fiction fan and literary agent, Schwartz wanted a more sci-fi based Green Lantern, as opposed to the mystical powers of Alan Scott, the forties Green Lantern. He enlisted writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane, who in 1959 would reintroduce Green Lantern to the world in Showcase #22 (September-October 1959).
Like E.E. Doc Smith's Lensmen, the new Green Lantern was a member of an intergalactic constabulary made up of many different alien species who were given a device that provided them with great mental and physical abilities; however, both Broome and Schwartz have denied a connection between those stories from science fiction pulps and the Green Lantern comic book stories. Gil Kane drew from actor Paul Newman in creating Hal Jordan's likeness and redesigned the Green Lantern uniform into a very sleek form-fitting outfit of green, black, and white - quite the opposite of Alan Scott's red, yellow, green, purple, and black costume with a puffy shirt and cape.
The character was a success and it was quickly decided to follow-up his three issue run on Showcase with a self-titled series. Green Lantern #1 began in July-August 1960 and would continue until #84 in April-May 1972.
This creative team was responsible for introducing many of the major characters in Hal Jordan's life. First and foremost was Carol Ferris, Jordan's love interest. She was in charge of Ferris Aircraft, and as such, Hal's boss. While she preferred Green Lantern to Hal Jordan, she took an active role in trying to win him over, even going so far as to propose to him in the old Leap Year tradition. Although she gave Jordan some attention, her job and company always came first. Ferris was a strong-willed woman of authority at a time when this was rare, especially in comic books.
Another unique addition to Green Lantern's supporting cast was his best friend, Tom Kalmaku, who was both Hal's mechanic and the chronicler of his super-hero adventures. An Inuit (Eskimo) from Alaska, Tom's nickname was "Pie" or "Pieface", in reference to Eskimo Pie ice cream sandwiches. Like "Chop Chop" from the Blackhawk comics, this nickname is now understandably viewed as racist and has been downplayed by most modern writers. However, unlike "Chop Chop", Tom was actually a competent and intelligent character with a well-rounded personality, not a stereotypical buffoon. Despite the unfortunate nickname, Tom Kalmaku was among the first minority characters to be portrayed in this manner and broke new ground for mainstream comic books. Tom would later be followed by another trail-blazing minority character, John Stewart, the first African-American super-hero of the DC Universe.
Jordan's masters, the mysterious Guardians of the Universe, were physically based on David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, and were developed from an idea Schwartz and Broome had originally conceived years prior in a story featuring Captain Comet in Strange Adventures #22 (July, 1952) entitled "Guardians of the Clockwork Universe".
Schwartz and company also allowed Jordan to have a family, which was another rare thing at this time in superhero comics. While he didn't have a wife or children of his own, he had many interactions with his two brothers, Jack and Jim. The Brothers Jordan were primarily inspired by the Kennedy brothers, who rose to prominence during the sixties.
When compared to comics of the thirties, forties, and early fifties, Green Lantern broke new storytelling ground and can be seen as a precursor to the "Marvel Revolution" that would take place several years later. Whereas older comics treated each issue as a stand-alone with no real sense of temporal direction between issues, Green Lantern's issues followed the order of publication, with references within the stories to previous stories and adventures. Not only were references made, but subplots (such as Hal and Carol's romance, the marriage of Tom Kalmaku, etc.) were advanced showing actual growth in the character's lives. While these subplots rarely were given much notice in comparison to Marvel's storylines in the sixties and especially to today's modern stories, they were the first step toward this sort of serial storytelling instead of the episodic nature of older comics.
Likewise, Green Lantern was one of the first comics to be a part of a "shared universe". The Justice League of America united several superheroes that DC owned, just as the Justice Society of America had in the Golden Age. The crucial difference was that events occurring in the Justice League title were reflected and referenced in individual superheroes' titles (such as Green Lantern).
Also adding to the advancement of the medium was Gil Kane's use of dynamic art. Whereas previously, comics had mostly stuck with a six panel page consisting of six equal sized rectangles, Kane's panels changed in size and shape to offer a more emotional and visceral experience. The action and/or scene dictated the art instead of being forced into a rigid box structure. In addition, while there had been plenty of flying superheroes in the past, none flew quite like Hal Jordan. Kane’s art made Hal look more like he was gliding or swimming through the air than the usual leaping or bullet-like flying motion of other superheroes. His fluid poses made Hal a more graceful and, as a result, realistic-looking flying man.
John Broome seemed to come up with stories centered on a common theme and then run them together within a fairly short time. For example, Green Lantern #2-4 each contained stories involving the anti-matter universe of Qward, issues #12 and #15 featured "Zero Hour" stories , and issues #8 and #12 involved Hal being sent to the year 5700 AD in the guise of Pol Manning.
Starting in issue #17, Gardner Fox joined the book to share writing duties with John Broome. The quartet of Schwartz, Broome, Fox, and Kane remained the core creative team until 1970.
The Era of Social Conscience
Starting with issue #76, Dennis O'Neil took over scripting duties and Neal Adams took over as artist. This issue is one of the comics which is considered to have ushered in the Bronze Age of Comic Books. It is worth noting that Neal Adams actually drew his first cover in Green Lantern #63 in the late Silver Age. The collaboration of O'Neil and Adams produced the most famous and celebrated runs on Green Lantern. Julius Schwartz remained editor and hand-selected the two to revitalize the title, whose sales had been slipping. O’Neil and Adams had already begun preparation for the classic run in the form of their re-workings of another DC character: Green Arrow.
Green Arrow was a character originally created by DC in 1941 (then known as National Comics). He was a wealthy businessman named Oliver Queen who wore a green Errol Flynn-esque Robin Hood costume and shot “trick” arrows in his efforts to fight crime. His characterization was fairly basic (borrowing heavily from Batman but lacking the depth and tragedy of that character) and as such remained a second or third string hero throughout the Golden Age. However, the character managed to survive the fifties (during which most superhero comics were eliminated) by being a backup character in the Superboy comics. In 1961, DC added Green Arrow to the roster of the Justice League of America, but still remained in the background.
This changed in 1968 with Justice League of America #66. Written by Denny O’Neil, Green Arrow started to show resentment toward his fellow superheroes who wielded great power (as he himself, possessing exceptional skill but no actual super-powers, did not), but did little to help the ordinary people with ordinary problems. O’Neil continued to push Green Arrow’s tolerance for his peers, and a little less than a year later, Neal Adams (not working in any sort of cooperation with O’Neil) redesigned Arrow, giving him a goatee and a new outfit. Justice League of America #74 (still being written by O’Neil) introduced Black Canary as Arrow’s love interest and issue #75 left him broke, his company and fortune stolen from him. O’Neil wanted to recreate Green Arrow to better represent a modern Robin Hood, but felt a rich man would be a poor champion of the downtrodden.
Some time after this, Schwartz invited O’Neil to take over Green Lantern. Wanting to represent his own political beliefs in comics and take on social issues of the late sixties and early seventies, O’Neil came up with the idea of pitting Hal Jordan, who as an intergalactic cop stood for not only Law and Order but The Establishment, against Oliver Queen, who O’Neil had characterized as a profoundly outspoken liberal and stood for the Counter-Culture Movement. The first issue he wrote had Green Lantern capturing a street "punk" who was pushing around a man. All around him, people start throwing things at the bewildered Jordan. As he steps in to attack, he is stopped by Green Arrow, who explains that the man he defended was a slum lord "fat cat" and goes even further to show Lantern the conditions of the slum. At the roof, in a now famous scene, an elderly African-American man grills Jordan as to why he has not done much for the "black skins" of his own planet while helping out other different colored aliens of other planets.
Following Schwartz's approval of the story, Neal Adams was brought in to replace Gil Kane, much to the surprise of Denny O'Neil. And yet, the pair had already been working together on Batman (where Adams successfully reconstructed the character into a more dramatic "Dark Knight"), Adams had been the one to redesign Green Arrow's costume, and the artist had a growing reputation for one who did not back down and pushed for innovative, good ideas and therefore, was the perfect candidate to work with O'Neil.
The pair tackled a number of social issues including corruption, sexism, cults, consumerism, the environment, racism, poverty, and even (subtly) child molestation. However, none were more shocking and controversial than the issue explored in the famous "Snowbirds Don't Fly" issues #85 and #86. Neal Adams drew the cover, which showed Green Arrow’s youthful side-kick, Speedy, shooting heroin. Editor Julius Schwartz did not want it published. Neither did publisher Carmine Infantino. But over at Marvel Comics, Stan Lee had green-lit Amazing Spider-Man #96, which featured pills and presented an anti-drug message without the Comics Code Authority seal. Facing opposition and controversy, the Comics Code Authority revised its rules in regard to what could and could not be presented in comic books and, while still restrictive, became more lenient. As a result, DC approved Adams’ cover and O’Neil wrote a two-part story involving drugs with Speedy being hooked. Green Arrow, who was usually presented as being the more understanding and mentoring of the Arrow/Lantern duo, now had his world turned upside-down, not only unable to understand his own part in leading Speedy toward drugs, but even coming off as uncompassionate toward the troubled youth. With this story, Adams and O’Neil not only tackled a difficult social ill, but looked inward at the ways that their “champion of the everyman” could be wrong. New York Mayor John V. Lindsay wrote a letter to DC in response to the issue commending them, which was printed in issue #86.
Despite unprecedented mainstream media coverage, critical attention, awards, and apparent increased sales, Green Lantern/Green Arrow was canceled, one of many titles that ended publication under the reign of Carmine Infantino. Julius Schwartz had a reprint of an older story published for issue #88 and saw the comic he began back in 1959 come to an end in 1972 with issue #89. However, he had Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams do one last story together, stretched out over Flash #217-219 as a backup story.
Modern Era
In December 1989, following the cancellation of Green Lantern Corps at issue #224 (May 1988) (originally Green Lantern vol. 2 until the title was changed with issue #201 (Jun. 1986)), DC made Green Lantern and his adventures exclusive to Action Comics Weekly for a bit less than a year in 1988-1989. The origin of Hal Jordan was retold/retconned (in a similar manner to Frank Miller's Batman: Year One and John Byrne's The Man of Steel) in the 6-issue limited series Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn, written by Jim Owsley (issue #1), Keith Giffen & Gerard Jones (#2-6) with art by M.D. Bright and Romeo Tanghal. This story, published between the second and third volumes of Green Lantern is chronologically the first Hal Jordan story in the modern day post-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity. The story is followed by Emerald Dawn II. The six-issue limited series (released from April to September 1991, again by the Emerald Dawn I creative team of writers Keith Giffen & Gerard Jones and artists M.D. Bright and Romeo Tanghal).
Jordan's origin was revamped again in 2008, this time by Geoff Johns in the fourth volume of Green Lantern. This story, Secret Origin, is Hal Jordan's New Earth origin in the post-Infinite Crisis continuity, and also features a new villain, Atrocitus, who will appear in 2009's GL crossover The Blackest Night.
Fictional character biography
Green Lantern History at Large
It is important to note that Green Lantern is something of an anomaly in the greater DC Comics universe. While most titles were "rebooted" with the 1980s Crisis on Infinite Earths, Green Lantern's continuity remained (for the most part) intact with relatively few exceptions (the only rule being, if a future issue contradicted something that came before, the subsequent issue would have precedence).
The second Green Lantern is Harold "Hal" Jordan, who in comics published in 1959 was a second-generation test pilot (having followed in the footsteps of his father, Martin Jordan) who was given the power ring and battery (lantern) by a dying alien named Abin Sur. When Abin Sur's spaceship crashed on Earth, the alien used his ring to seek out an individual to take his place as Green Lantern: someone who was "utterly honest and born without fear" (which would be later retconned in Green Lantern vol. 4 as someone instead who would "overcome great fear").
The Beginning
Hal Jordan had a longtime on-again off-again love affair with his boss, Carol Ferris. He fought colorful 1960s-published villains such as Star Sapphire (a mind-altered Ferris), Hector Hammond, and the rogue Green Lantern, Sinestro. He was also a founding member of the Justice League of America in The Brave and the Bold #28 (1959), where he became friends with the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen. Later, Hal became friends with Barry's nephew, Wally West, the third Flash (then known as Kid Flash).
Near the end of the sixties, Hal decided to finally propose to Carol only to discover that she'd already agreed to marry another man named Jason Belmore. Heartbroken, Hal quit his job as a test pilot at Ferris Aircraft and began traveling around America in a series of different jobs including a commercial pilot, an insurance investigator and a traveling toy salesman (where met and began dating Olivia Reynolds). The combination of this change in status quo and new competition from less idealized heroes published by Marvel Comics led to diminishing sales on Green Lantern, prompting a startling new direction...
Hard Traveling Heroes
In comics published in 1970, torn between dealing with the intergalactic problems of the Guardians and his individual, personal issues on Earth, Jordan traveled across the United States with fellow hero Green Arrow in a "search for America," highlighted by tensions between the pair due to their different outlooks on life. One memorable scene from this period saw Green Lantern confronted by an elderly black man, who noted that the Green Lantern had done much for aliens with fantastic skin colors, but asked what he had done for the "black skins".
The Guardians assigned one of their own to accompany the pair for a time, while temporarily reducing the power of their insubordinate Lantern's ring. Meanwhile, a new character was introduced named John Stewart, who was designated by the Guardians to assume the role of the Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814 should Jordan ever become unable to perform his duties. John was chosen for this task when Jordan's previous back-up, Guy Gardner, was injured saving a young girl during an earthquake. Gardner later recovered, but was left a vegetable when his Power Battery exploded and hurled him into the Phantom Zone and the Anti-Matter Universe of Qward.
During this period, Hal had fallen in love with psychic Kari Limbo, whom he met following Gardner's presumed death. When Gardner was discovered alive on Hal & Kari's wedding day, Kari left Hal at the altar to care for Gardner, now in a coma. Soon afterwards, Hal dissolved his partnership with Green Arrow and returned to Ferris Aircraft to work as a test pilot once again.
The 80s Exile
In comics published in the early 1980s, Jordan was exiled into space for a year by the Guardians in order to prove his loyalty to the Green Lantern Corps, having been accused of paying too much attention to Earth when he had an entire "sector" of the cosmos to patrol. When he returned to Earth, he found himself embroiled in a dispute with Carol Ferris. Faced with a choice between love and the power ring, Jordan chose to resign from the Green Lantern Corps. The Guardians called upon Jordan's backup, John Stewart, to regular duty as his replacement.
In 1985, the Crisis on Infinite Earths saw Jordan once again take up the mantle of Green Lantern, even as the Guardians withdrew from his dimension for a while to consort with their female counterparts, the Zamarons. Jordan helped organize the new Corps, with seven members residing on Earth, including several aliens, John Stewart, and Jordan's slightly-unbalanced "other backup," Guy Gardner. For a while, Jordan was romantically involved with a younger alien Lantern named Arisia. The alien Lanterns took a more direct hand in human affairs, a fact not appreciated by human governments. (Kilowog helped create the Rocket Reds for the Soviet Union). Eventually, the Earth corps broke up, several members returning to their home sectors. The Guardians soon returned to this dimension, and Jordan worked with them to rebuild the fractured Corps.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn
As Hal Jordan is testing a new flight simulator, the machine suddenly seems to tear itself free of its moorings and begins to fly through the air. Hal lands near a crashed alien spacecraft occupied by a fatally injured alien who tells Hal that he is this sector's Green Lantern. The dying man, Abin Sur, chose Hal to be his successor, using his Green Lantern power ring to bring him to the crash site. The alien calls Jordan a "man without fear" and gives him the power ring.
Though treated on Earth like a superhero, Hal Jordan soon learns that Abin Sur was a member of an elite force of intergalactic police called the Green Lantern Corps, who work for the Guardians of the Universe.
Initially, Jordan uses the ring for personal entertainment, until the arrival of an evil alien known as Legion. Legion appears unstoppable, and Hal finds out about his power ring's one flaw, a vulnerability to yellow, the color of Legion's entire body. Jordan resorts to detonating the engine of Abin Sur's ship to cause a nuclear explosion to kill the enemy. Although this move seems successful, Jordan realizes that he is out of his depth using the ring. To address the problem, Jordan asks if he can meet another member of the Green Lantern Corps for help and the ring takes him to Green Lantern Tomar-Re. Upon hearing of Jordan's concerns, Tomar-Re suggests that Jordan go to Oa for the Corps' optional training program. Jordan takes his new friend's advice and undergoes a rigorous training regime on Oa under the strict tutelage of the Green Lantern, Kilowog.
The conflict escalates when Legion attacks the Guardians at the Green Lantern Corps headquarters on Oa. The full might of the Corps suffers heavy losses, trying to neutralize the adversary. Jordan devises and implements a plan to defeat Legion that impresses the Guardians of the Universe. Jordan then returns to Earth to face the consequences of the mistakes he has made in his personal life, accepting a 90-day jail sentence resulting from his drunk-driving incident. After serving his time, he emerges to continue as Sector 2814's Green Lantern.
Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn II
The story begins 90 days from the conclusion of the original Emerald Dawn. The Guardians of the Universe determine that Hal Jordan's training requires the expertise of another Green Lanterns. Jordan is paired with Sinestro of Korugar, who reportedly has the most orderly of all Green Lantern Corps-controlled sectors. Sinestro grudgingly agrees to further train Hal Jordan, and immediately appears in Hal Jordan's prison cell. Jordan uses his ring to conceal his absence from jail during his training with Sinestro. During the training, Sinestro is unable to establish contact with his homeworld, he takes Hal Jordan along to investigate. Sinestro and Jordan find Korugar in turmoil, the citizens apparently rebelling against Sinestro, revealed to be a stern dictator. Responding to the crisis, Jordan contacts to Green Lantern Corps. The Corps arrest Sinestro and sentence him to the Anti-Matter Universe planet, Qward. Hal Jordan returns to Earth and serves the remainder of his sentence.
Secret Origin
A new account of Green Lantern's origins was released in the (2008) Green Lantern series, re-tooled from the Emerald Dawn series. In this new origin, Hal Jordan, no longer jailed for driving drunk, is working as an assistant mechanic under Tom Kalmaku himself, barred from flying due to his insubordination while in the U.S.A.F. and his employers lingering guilt about his father's death in the line of duty, when Abin Sur, fighting Atrocitus of the Five Inversion, crashes near Coast City. Hal Jordan, reminiscing about the scrapped remains of his father's last plane, is called by Abin Sur, and given a training suit and the power ring of the Corps, that quickly uses to save a test pilot of his company from a crash, gaining the attentions of Carol Ferris, new owner of the aircraft company, and the enmity of Hector Hammond, jealous boyfriend of Carol. With his last breath Abin Sur leaves instructions to Sinestro about his final fate and his choosing. Jordan is taken to Oa, where he trains in a group of new recruits (among them Ch'p) under Corps trainer Kilowog. The new recruits initially consider Jordan's human heritage somewhat humorous, echoing a similar scene from an early issue of the current series.
Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale
In the 1992 prestige format graphic novel Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale (ISBN 1-56389-026-7) (story by Larry Niven, script & art by John Byrne), Hal Jordan first encounters Ganthet, one of the Guardians of the Universe. He asks Hal to help Ganthet battle a renegade Guardian, Dawlakispokpok (or Dawly, for short) who has attempted to use a time machine to change history. In the early era of the planet Oa, a character named Krona attempted to use a time-machine to see the beginning of time. In the process, Krona somehow accidentally 'bled' the universe of a billion years of life. Dawly intends to use his own time machine to thrust Krona to the end of time, preventing him from following through on his plan. During the battle, however, it turned out that Dawly is (or becomes) responsible for the mishap that caused the universe to be 'born old'. When Dawly's family is brought before the Guardians, Ganthet prevents the others from seeing his thoughts, allowing Hal to retain his memory of one of the biggest secrets of the Guardians.
Emerald Twilight and Zero Hour
In the controversial 1994 Emerald Twilight storyline in Green Lantern vol. 3, #48-50, the villainous alien Mongul comes to Earth in a plot to take advantage of the death of Superman. Jordan defeats Mongul, but not before Coast City (Jordan's former home) is destroyed and all of its inhabitants murdered. He tries to use his ring to recreate the city, but the Guardians condemned this use of the ring for personal gain and demand that Jordan come to Oa for trial. Angered at what he saw as the Guardians' ungrateful and callous behavior, Jordan seemingly goes insane and attacks Oa to seize the full power of the Central Power Battery. The Green Lantern Corps attempt to defend Oa, but the enraged Jordan overwhelms them, crippling his fellow Lanterns (even cutting off the hand of Boodikka and reducing Kilowog to bone and ashes) and the Guardians. He then renounces the Central Power Battery to his life as Green Lantern, adopting the name Parallax.
As Parallax, he initiates the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time, attempting to rewrite history to his own liking, but he is eventually defeated by a gathering of heroes. Jordan is replaced by Kyle Rayner as the Green Lantern of Earth when Rayner comes into possession of the last power ring, created from the shattered remains of Jordan's. During the same storyline, Alan Scott gave up his ring upon the death of members of the original Justice Society of America, and this ring is later crushed by Parallax. Alan Scott soon renounces his "Green Lantern" identity and begins to use the codename "Sentinel". This leaves Kyle Rayner as the sole bearer of the mantle of "Green Lantern."
Final Night
In the 1996 Final Night miniseries and crossover storyline, Jordan returns to his heroic roots, sacrificing his life to reignite the Sun (which had been extinguished by the Sun-Eater). Many super-heroes, including Superman, view this sacrifice as Jordan's redemption, one final heroic act. Batman is unconvinced, saying that one act couldn't make up for the evil that Hal had committed. It was later revealed that, prior to his sacrifice, Hal had resurrected his old friend Oliver Queen (Green Arrow), who had died while he was away from Earth and Hal regretted his failure to be there for his friend.
Emerald Knights
When Kyle Rayner went on an accidental time-traveling trip, he ended up unintentionally drawing a past version of Hal into the present where Hal was shocked to learn of the crimes his future self had committed as Parallax. Determined to stop Parallax's crimes from taking place, Hal remained in the future, even fighting alongside Connor Hawke to deal with the return of the terrorist group who had killed Oliver. (Ironically, they were working with the rogue pilot whose actions had led to Hal leaving the Air Force in the first place.) However, Hal was forced to leave after Parallax discovered his past self, the two Hals confronting each other in Coast City after Parallax took Hal back in time to the moments before Coast City was destroyed in an attempt to win him over to his point of view. After a brief fight, the two Hals were convinced to return to their own times by Kyle, who acknowledged that Hal was needed as Parallax in order to save Earth from the Sun-Eater. Working together, the three Green Lanterns ensured that events would play out the way they had in the past; Hal's ring stripped his and Parallax's memories of their future, Kyle's ring gave Hal's whatever extra power it needed, and Parallax sent all three of them back to wherever they needed to be. Before leaving, Hal made a copy of his ring for Kyle, in hope that his successor would use it to restart the Green Lantern Corps and undo the damage he knows he's going to make.
The Spectre, Spirit of Redemption
In the 1999 mini-series Day of Judgment, Jordan becomes the newest incarnation of the Spectre. Soon after assuming this mantle, Jordan chose to bend his mission from a spirit of vengeance to one of redemption, also making other appearances through some of DC's other storylines, such as advising Superman during the Emperor Joker storyline (Where the Joker stole the reality-warping power of Mister Mxyzptlk) and erasing all public knowledge of Wally West's identity as the Flash after his terrible first battle with Zoom. A new Spectre series based on this premise, however, lasted only 27 issues before cancellation due both to poor sales and continued calls amongst comics fandom to return the character to his sci-fi roots as Green Lantern. Jordan was forced to return, temporarily, to the Spectre's mission of vengeance, following a confrontation between the new Justice Society and the Spirit King, who had managed to 'resurrect' the ghosts of all those the Spectre had damned to Hell.
Green Lantern: Rebirth
Hal frees himself, the Spectre and the remaining Green Lanterns, from the control of Parallax, following the revelation that Parallax, the yellow impurity of the Green Lanterns, had overtaken and possessed Jordan's soul. Free of the influence of the yellow fear creature, Jordan is resurrected and rejuvenated, again taking his place as a Green Lantern.
JLA/Avengers
Hal Jordan is a main character in JLA/Avengers, which featured a crossover between DC and Marvel Comics, joining his teammates in battle to restore reality even though he knows he will die when history was restored. Despite the fact that both teams travel to both of their respective universes, this is one of the few comics featuring multiple universes that remains in (DC) continuity.
Green Lantern (Vol. 4)
Following up on the Green Lantern: Rebirth miniseries, DC Comics subsequently began a new Green Lantern (vol. 4) series starting with issue #1 (July 2005), with Hal Jordan once again the main character. Trying to rebuild his life, Hal Jordan has moved to the nearly deserted Coast City, which is slowly being reconstructed. He has been reinstated as a Captain in the United States Air Force, and works in the Test Pilot Program at Edwards Air Force Base. Hal is given the nickname "Highball" by his fellow Air Force pilots. The series introduces new supporting characters for Hal, most notably a man from Hal's past, Air Force's General Jonathan "Herc" Stone, who learned Hal's secret as Green Lantern during a battle with the Manhunters and acts as his ally. However, both Hal and General Stone has no friendly term within this alliance, as the general previously discharged Hal from the Air Force fifteen years ago after he flew a F-16 without authorization, which Hal retaliated it by giving the general a punch (this is contradicting what has established on Green Lantern: Emerald Knights storyline, as it told that the reason behind Hal's discharged was because of his failures to stop fellow pilot Vincent Hardy and saving an experimental aircraft). He also begins to develop a romantic attraction with his fellow pilot, the beautiful Jillian "Cowgirl" Pearlman.
In his new title, he faces revamped versions of his Silver Age foes Hector Hammond, The Shark and Black Hand. He and Batman team up to fight a new version of the Tattooed Man, at the end of which Batman finally comes to terms with Jordan's return as a hero and they begin to rebuild their past friendship.
Hal also takes Kyle to Edwards Air Force Base shortly after his resurrection. He bribes the guard, a family friend named Johnny, in order to take Kyle on a joyride with one of the base's jets. Afterward, a close bond begins to form between the two, as Kyle finally learns how to truly fly.
Infinite Crisis and 52
Hal helps with the decimation of the OMACs and Brother Eye, rescuing Batman from Brother Eye at the last minute, reaffirming Batman's newly regained trust in the metahuman population. He also fights alongside the world's heroes against the Society, defending Metropolis. Along with Guy Gardner, Hal leads the Green Lantern Corps attack against Superboy-Prime.
Along with John Stewart, Hal is involved in one of the first post-Freedom of Power Treaty confrontations. After a battle with the Great Ten and Black Adam, Stewart and Jordan are escorted to Russian airspace by the Rocket Reds.
One Year Later
As part of DC's reimagining of the entire universe, as of Green Lantern vol. 4, #10, the book has skipped ahead one year, bringing drastic changes to Hal Jordan's life, as with every other hero in the DC Universe. Over the "missing year", Hal shipped out as part of the United States Air Force's first operational F-22 Raptor squadron, assigned to bomb terrorist training camps. The details of this event are vague, with no reason given for the assignment. Hal, along with fellow pilots Shane "Rocket-Man" Sellers and Jillian "Cowgirl" Pearlman, are shot down somewhere over the former Soviet Union where they were captured and held as prisoners of war for months. Hal is unable to escape as Green Lantern because he never carries his power ring with him when he flies. Hal has repeatedly encountered the Russians and their Rocket Red patrols while chasing intergalactic criminals as Green Lantern. Because of these encounters, Russia once issued a statement that they would not hesitate to use force against him if Checkmate failed to uphold the metahuman treaty legislation prohibiting metahumans from entering foreign air space. Hal's defense is that as the Green Lantern of Earth, he is not acting as an American when he crosses international borders. Among those threatening Hal are a new form of The Global Guardians.
Also in Green Lantern #10, while Hal is receiving a P.O.W. medal, an alien ship crashes to Earth and reveals to Hal an alien Green Lantern named Tomar-Tu, whom Hal had supposedly killed while under the control of Parallax. In Green Lantern #11, Hal discovers that the Green Lanterns that he had supposedly killed as Parallax are all still alive, and he and Guy Gardner go to rescue them, only to be attacked by Cyborg Superman.
After returning to Earth, Hal is then attacked in Russia by a series of bounty hunters (including brainwashed Global Guardians under the Faceless Hunter's control) in an attempt by Amon Sur, son of Abin Sur, to reclaim his father's power ring. The attack results in the death of 23 people; in response, the Rocket Red Brigade attack Hal. When they fight each other to a standstill, the Justice League of America and Alan Scott arrive at the scene and resolve the conflict. ("Green Lantern" vol. 4, #14 and #15). After Hal rescues his fellow pilot Jillian "Cowgirl" Pearlman from her attacker, she recognizes the hero as her fellow pilot and friend. As they are about to share a passionate kiss, Hal is captured by Amon Sur, and forced to exhume Abin Sur's remains. John Stewart arrives to rescue Hal, leading to a confrontation with Amon Sur, who turns out to be the son of their predecessor, Abin Sur. During the fight, Amon receives a ring from the Sinestro Corps and vanishes. Hal brings Abin's body home and reinters him with a new tombstone. After Hal leaves, a yellow light appears in the sky; presumably Amon has arrived to visit his father's grave.
Hal visits Jillian in her room at the base hospital, where she is being treated for injuries she has suffered. Before he leaves, she tells Hal that they need to talk about his double life and their feelings for each other.
After a few days, Jillian recovers enough to leave the hospital, and joins Hal on a date at Pancho's, a bar outside Edwards Air Force Base. At the same time, Star Sapphire, still obsessed with making Hal her mate, possesses Carol Ferris again, knowing Carol's history as Hal's former love. She attacks Hal at the bar, and during the fight, senses Hal's affection for Jillian. Star Sapphire leaves Carol's body to possess Jillian.
Carol joins Hal in an attempt to rescue Jillian from Star Sapphire, and the two manage to defeat it and free Jillian. However, the Zamarons appear, demanding that Hal choose a mate. Thinking quickly, pretends to passionately kiss one of Zamarons, leading the gem to immediately possess her. The Zamarons retreat to their world in order to free their sister, after which they take the Star Sapphire and forge it into a "sapphire" power ring. The next 2 page spread shows the Zamarons in a room with a green, a yellow, and a "sapphire" lantern. Each lantern is displayed on one of three pedestals; a fourth stands empty. This may have undetermined future implications. Meanwhile, Hal visits Ferris Air and he finds out from Tom that Carol has divorced her husband Gil.
Aside from his own monthly title, Jordan is also a character of focus in the new Justice League of America series as a charter member of the revamped JLA. He is also involved in the first plotline of the Brave and the Bold monthly series, teaming up first with Batman and later Supergirl. His relationship with Batman appears to have fully recovered from his turbulent history, as the two are very professional and respectful of each other. When teamed with the fledgling Supergirl, Hal is very impressed with her cleverness, although he finds her flirtatious behavior somewhat unnerving.
Because of his full time status with both the League and the Green Lantern Corps, Hal calls upon his sector partner John Stewart to rotate the JLA's need for a Green Lantern between the two of them.
Sinestro Corps War
Hal and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps find themselves at war with Sinestro and his army, the Sinestro Corps. During the battle, Hal, along with Guy Gardner, and John Stewart are captured by Parallax and taken to the world Qward. Hal attempts to flee Qward after being overwhelmed by Parallax. The Sinestro Corps begin to attack him until help arrives from the "Lost Lanterns". The combined efforts of the Lanterns holds off the Sinestro Corps before they are attacked by Parallax, who forces them to confront their fears. Hal manages to free his friends, while the Lost Lanterns recover Ion. Jordan and friends return to Earth, only to find that New Earth, as the center of the Multiverse, is the Sinestro Corps' next target.
The Sinestro Corps invade Earth. Hal confronts Parallax, only to be absorbed inside the entity. Jordan with help from Kyle Rayner is able to expel Parallax from Rayner's body. The fear entity is then contained by Ganthet and Sayd within the Power Batteries of Hal, John, Guy, and Kyle. Ganthet gives Kyle a new Power ring and asks Kyle to become a Green Lantern again, which he agrees to. The four men then take their Lanterns and hearing the Sinestro Corps oath, recite the classic Green Lantern oath, and the issue ends with a shot of Sinestro and the other Sinestro Corps members with Hal saying: "Now let's go save the universe".
As the Sinestro Corps attacks Coast City, the citizens set up green lights in support of Jordan and the Green Lanterns. Following the defeat of the Cyborg Superman and the Manhunters, Jordan and Rayner are able to defeat Sinestro.
Later, Hal's family and friends relax over dinner and hear a news broadcast about the newly repopulated Coast City, which is now referred to as "The City Without Fear".
Final Crisis
As a Green Lantern native to Earth he was among the first at the scene of Orion's death. He went home early letting John Stewart to handle most of the work. When Stewart is viciously attacked by a Green Lantern member, he is placed under arrest by the Alpha Lanterns who strip him of his ring. It is soon revealed that one of the Alpha Lanterns is under the influence of the spirit of Granny Goodness. The possessed Alpha Lantern is ultimately found out and is prevented from stealing the energy from the Central Power Battery on Oa. Jordan is immediately cleared of all charges, and he and the Green Lantern Corp play a role in the final battle.
Rage of the Red Lanterns
Later while Sinestro is being transferred by some members of the Green Lantern Corps, Hal Jordan included, to his home planet of Korugar for execution, the Sinestro's forces came to his aid and a fight between the two corps began only to be interupted by the arrival of the Red Lanterns Corps who also came to take Sinestro. The Red Lanterns began killing both the Sinestro Corps members and the Green Lanterns without discrimination.
Eventually Sinestro is captured and taken to Ysmault for execution and Hal Jordan who faced Atrocitus would be one of the casualties if not by the arrival of the Blue Lanterns who needed Hal's help to recover Sinestro.
Hal Jordan arrives on Ysmault to free the crucified Sinestro from Atrocitus' Red Lanterns, and bring him back to Oa for execution. There, Jordan is ambushed and drained of power by Atrocitus and several other Red Lanterns, including former Green Lantern, Laira. With his power drained, Jordan is crucified next to Sinestro. Atrocitus prophesies to Jordan that he is full of rage and that he will "become renegade [to the Guardians] once more." That the Guardians will take away his greatest love, and Jordan will revolt. Sinestro claims Atrocitus' prophecies to be reverse psychology, and that Atrocitus used his prophecies to instill fear in Abin Sur, causing him to lose trust in his own power ring. Atrocitus unleashes Laira to kill Jordan when a small group of Sinestro Corps, lead by Romat-Ru, stop her and free Sinestro. Shortly after, the Blue Lanterns free Jordan and recharge his ring, now pitting Blue, Green, and Yellow Lanterns against the Red Lantern Corps. Laira attacks Jordan, and Hal promises Laira that he will help her, causing her to take pause and plead "help me." A blast of Yellow energy from Sinestro eviscerates Laira, killing her, and causing her ring to find a new host. Sinestro claims he saved Jordan's life, which leads to Jordan lashing out in full rage, trapping Sinestro in an electric chair made of Green energy. The Red ring of Sector 2814, which had formerly belonged to Laira, senses his rage, and affixes itself to Jordan's left hand (his Green ring is on his right), turning him into a Red Lantern.
Shortly after succumbing to the effects of the Red Lantern ring, Jordan begins to make constructs from the Red energy in order to attack the Blue Lanterns and Sinestro Corps. The only other Red Lantern known to create Red energy constructs is Atrocitus himself. Saint Walker attributes this to the strength of Jordan's will. Jordan activates his electric chair construct, now made of Red energy, in an attempt to kill Sinestro. In an effort to stop Jordan and save Sinestro (in order to bring him back alive to Odym), Saint Walker places on Jordan's hand a Blue Lantern ring (created by Walker's own ring), not knowing the effects it would have. The Blue ring identifies the presence of the Red ring, purges it's effects on Jordan's body, and destroys the Red ring altogether. This allows Jordan to retake control of his actions. Now wearing only two power rings, the powers of the Blue and Green rings merge unexpectedly, even merging the uniforms of both corps. Shocked at the development, Jordan asks Walker what he did to him, to which Walker claims "I... do not know." Meanwhile, Sinestro and his Corps retreat to the Antimatter universe of Qward.
Other versions
As with other popular characters published by DC comics, many alternative universe versions and analogues of the character have appeared within both the Green Lantern series and other titles. In Action Comics #856, a Bizarro version of Hal, called Yellow Lantern, is featured. Yellow Lantern possessed a Sinestro Corps ring and used to inflict fear among Htrae's inhabitants. The Green Lantern of Earth-5 is shown to be the Hal Jordan of Captain Marvel's world.
The character has also appeared in and been the focus of many Elseworlds titles such including JLA: Age of Wonder, DC: The New Frontier, Superman: Red Son, JLA: The Nail, Green Lantern: Evil's Might and the John Byrne penned Superman & Batman: Generations 2 and a key part of the Frank Miller Dark Knight universe, appearing in All Star Batman and Robin and Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again.
In the DC/Marvel Company crossover series Amalgam, there appeared to be two amalgams of Hal. The Iron Lantern was the amalgam of Hal Jordan and Tony Stark. His identity was know as Hal Stark. Another unknown amalgam of Hal Jordan appeared in Speed Demon #1, in which the Speed Demon killed him, as apparently this Jordan had committed some horrible crime.
Hal Jordan is a main character in JLA/Avengers, which featured a crossover between DC and Marvel Comics, joining his teammates in battle to restore reality even though he knows he will die when history was restored. Despite the fact that both teams travel to both of their respective universes, this is one of the few comics featuring multiple universes that remains in (DC) continuity.
Other media
- Hal Jordan made his first cartoon appearance in 1967 in an eponymously-titled segment of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure cartoon by Filmation. In it, he fought evil with the aid of a blue-skinned, pointed-eared sidekick Kairo, Hal's Venusian Helper. It is revealed that Hal is a member of the JLA. In these cartoons, Hal Jordan was voiced by Gerald Mohr.
- Green Lantern was featured as a 'guest hero' in The All-New Super Friends Hour. Unfortunately, his powers were consistently misrepresented, including the introduction of a "Lantern Jet" (it could be "materialized by his power ring"), which he used to fly-ignoring the fact that the power ring granted him that ability. Also, whenever Green Lantern would use his ring to create something, such as a life raft or a double-bladed transport helicopter, the final product would often be shown with its appropriate colors, instead of the same green shade as the power beam.
- Hal Jordan and his archnemesis Sinestro were also regulars in Challenge of the SuperFriends which aired 1978–1979. One notable episode featured a re-telling of Hal's origin in which the dying Abin Sur passes on his ring. The character would continue to be brought back for the subsequent Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians shows. Michael Rye voiced the character for all three shows.
- Around the same time, a two part mini-series of live-action films featuring The Justice League and their villains The Legion of Doom was produced under the title Legends of the Superheroes. It featured Howard Murphy as Hal Jordan.
- In the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Once and Future Thing Part II: Time Warped" Hal Jordan appears when time becomes fluid and John Stewart is changed into Hal, or rather is replaced by Hal. He introduces himself as "Hal Jordan. Another timeshift, I'm up to speed, carry on." Later as the assembled heroes close in on the time-warping villain responsible, Hal reverts back to John. Hal was voiced by Adam Baldwin in this episode. Jordan is not seen again after this.
- In the fourth season finale of The Batman, "The Joining", the Justice League was introduced. Hal Jordan was included among its members, in a non-speaking cameo. He and the other members of the League play a role in the show's fifth season. He appears in the episode "Ring Toss" voiced by Dermot Mulroney.
- Hal Jordan also appeared in a 2003 episode of the Duck Dodgers animated series entitled The Green Loontern, in which Duck Dodgers is mistakenly given a Green Lantern uniform by his dry cleaners. Donning it, he meets the Corps and fights Sinestro before meeting Hal (voiced by Kevin Smith), who is wearing Dodgers' too-small uniform.
- Hal Jordan is one of the main characters featured in Justice League: The New Frontier. He is voiced by David Boreanaz, while Carol Ferris is voiced by Brooke Shields.
- Hal Jordan is a playable character in the video game, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. His Game Ending has him and the other Green Lanterns becoming aware of a giant pyramid (from MK: Armageddon) emerging. Realizing Sinestro could try and take the pyramid's secret, he and the Green Lantern Corps try to stop him.
- Hal Jordan appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode The Eyes of Despero, voiced by Loren Lester. He is first seen leading many other Green Lanterns into battle against Despero, only to have them be turned against him by Despero's mind control. Releasing a discharge of power from his ring, he seemingly perished in the blast alongside his fellow Lanterns, with his ring going across the universe in search of another wielder. It makes it's way to Batman, sending him to space. Hal, the missing in action Lanterns, and the Guardians of the Universe were revealed to be alive and in the ring near the end.
- A nod to Hal Jordan was made in Ninja Turtles (2003) 7th season episode "The Super Power Struggle". The character in reference was Al Gordon, The Green Mantle. An emerald cape gives him super powers, however it is not triggered by will power. The character lost the cape after a fight with his arch nemsis, Mechazar. A kid found it and kept it as a collectible for more than 25 years. The character in modern day looks like Hal Jordan from 1990 to 2004 with the gray steaks of hair. He reclaims the cape and repairs it to resume the identity of The Green Mantle.
- Christopher Meloni voices Hal Jordan on Warner Premiere animated feature Green Lantern: First Flight.
Bibliography
Ongoing Series
Hal Jordan first appeared in Showcase #22-24 (September 1959 – February 1960, DC Comics). After that, he was given his own series. Over the years, it has been renamed, canceled, and rebooted several times. His “core” series have been:
- Green Lantern (vol. 2) #1-75 (July 1960 – March 1970, DC Comics). Renamed following issue #75.
- Green Lantern/Green Arrow #76-89 (April 1970 – May 1972, DC Comics). Canceled following issue #89.
- Flash (vol. 1) #217-246 (August 1972 – January 1977, DC Comics). Hal’s stories were a backup feature which stopped following his own title’s return.
- Green Lantern/Green Arrow #90-122 (August 1976 – November 1979, DC Comics). Renamed following issue #122.
- Green Lantern (vol. 2) #123-200 (December 1979 – May 1986, DC Comics). Renamed following issue #200.
- Green Lantern Corps #201-224 (June 1986 – May 1988, DC Comics). Canceled following issue #224.
- Action Comics Weekly #601-635 (24 May 1988 – 17 January 1989, DC Comics). Hal’s stories were one of several characters featured in the series. Canceled following issue #635.
- Green Lantern Special #1 (1988). Tying in with the stories from Action Comics Weekly.
- Green Lantern Special #2 (1989). Concluding the story plots from Action Comics Weekly, after the anthology series' cancellation.
- Green Lantern (vol. 3) #1-50 (June 1990 – March 1994, DC Comics). Following issue #50, the character Kyle Rayner took over this series.
- The Spectre (vol. 4) #1-27 (March 2001 – May 2003, DC Comics). Hal Jordan's adventures as the Wrath of God. Canceled following issue #27.
- Green Lantern (vol. 4) #1-present (July 2005 – present, DC Comics). Currently written by Geoff Johns with various artists.
Team Series
Hal Jordan was a founding member of the Justice League of America, which first appeared in Brave and the Bold #28-30 (February 1960 – July 1960, DC Comics).
- Justice League of America (vol. 1) #1-200 (October 1960 – March 1982, DC Comics). Hal was exiled to space by the Guardians following this and the League was disbanded by Aquaman later in Justice League of America Annual #2 (November 1984).
- Justice League of Europe #39-61 (June 1992 – February 1994, DC Comics). At the time of joining, Hal took leadership of this team, but left for “personal reasons” following the destruction of Coast City.
- JSA #19-20(February 2001 - March 2001), 60-62 (June 2004 - August 2004), JSA: All Stars #1 (July 2003), 8 (February 2004). After becoming the Spectre, Hal aided The Justice Society of America on several different adventures.
- JLA #35 (November 1999), 115-120 (August 2005 - January 2006). While he was The Spectre, Hal aided the JLA on one case. After becoming Green Lantern once again, Hal rejoined and aided the JLA on their final case before breaking up once more and attended the gathering to announce the official dissolving of the JLA.
- Justice League of America (vol. 2) #1- (October 2006 – , DC Comics). Hal had been chosen by Superman, Wonder Woman, and (reluctantly) Batman to be a part of the new incarnation of the League.
See also
External links
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