I watched the first episode of Lanterns last night, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. I am looking forward to seeing where this goes.
On my Discord server this morning, I noted that I approve of any GL adaptation that shows what an utter asshole Hal Jordan is.
This prompted one of my friends to ask:
Was Hal always an asshole, or is that a retcon from around the Death of Superman time, and it has since been decided that he may have been depicted as good, but we will say he was always an asshole underneath?
To be clear: I have been a Green Lantern fan since at least 1970, and read pretty much every issue from 1982 to 2016 (including the run in Action Comics Weekly in 1988-1989). Green Lantern has long been and still remains my favorite superhero.
Just not Hal Jordan.
So here is what I said:
In the 1960s, Hal was depicted in a Strong-Jawed Two-Fisted Hero manner that, in retrospect, reads very assholish by modern standards. When Dennis O'Neil took over the book in the '70s, Hal became the Center-Right Authority Figure Straw Man who was Always Wrong, teamed up with Oliver "Green Arrow" Queen's Center-Left Liberal Straw Man who was ... well, usually less wrong, and still pretty much an asshole as well.
When Death of Superman/Emerald Twilight happened, and people bitched about how it was "out of character" for Hal, my friend Vox and I both agreed that that it was the logical next step after the story arcs of the '70s and '80s. Hal's civilian life had fallen apart since taking up the ring, and since he was the type to never bend, it only made sense that at some point he'd snap.
(Frankly, if all the people complaining about Hal's fall had actually been buying and reading Green Lantern over the years, it wouldn't have been repeatedly canceled throughout the '70s and '80s.)
One of the big arcs of the '80s was Hal resigning from the Corps for a year and a half to "find himself," and learn who he is without the ring. John Stewart took over as GL of Sector 2814, and as the main character of the Green Lantern comic book, but Hal's story was always the B-Plot and sometimes an A-Plot. When it finally resolves, Hal decides that Being Green Lantern is his One True Destiny and Who He Really Is. This is supposed to come off as some Triumphant Revelation, but since his alleged goal was to find out who Hal Jordan was without Green Lantern, it just comes off feeling ... hollow.
Who is Hal Jordan without Green Lantern?
Lost.
Meanwhile, all this was happening during Crisis on Infinite Earths, so Hal Jordan had no significant involvement DC's biggest storyline ever, despite the key role that the Oans and the Corps play in it. That's all John Stewart.
So, in short: Death of Superman/Emerald Twilight was the first time Hal was depicted as a villain, but being kind of an asshole was a long-established facet of the character.
I have a lot of additional thoughts about Happy Hal, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and the Ryan Reynolds movie here:
https://athelind.dreamwidth.org/1007959.html
Honestly, Lanterns comes surprisingly close to following the blueprints I laid out there.
Cross-posted to my Tumblr, Athelind Speaks.
