I'm curious exactly how controversial it is both inside and outside of GL fandom, but I found Hal's journey into villainy quite compelling. The source of his grief and conflict with the corps - the destruction and attempted resurrection of Coast City - was very human. And the ring was used in such an interesting way - manifesting the desires of someone who experienced shocking loss and trauma.
That isn't to say that I regret his return, even with the parallax retcon. But I find this a thrilling chapter in DC history that I think would play out brilliantly in a well-directed film (even if just an animated one). Because sure, we have plenty of anti-heroes and anti-villains, but how often does a bona fide legendary hero go truly bad? The sheer boldness of having a founding JL member becoming a villain...in almost any other similar scenario I can think of, I'd find it a cheap stunt. But there's just something about willpower gone wrong that really appeals to me.
Now I'm fully aware that I can't fully grasp the consequences of this decision as A) I'm not a hardcore Hal Jordan fan, or even a particularly strong GL fan, and B) I started reading comics just as Hal was making his big comeback, having already accepted this incident as ancient history. I can't imagine what it was like reading it unfold.
I'm curious if any Hal fans, once Johns reestablished him as the premier Lantern, were able to look back on the story with a more forgiving lens now that it had been undone. (I imagine I
might feel similarly about Reverse Flash killing Nora Allen in Rebirth, should that ever be put right.) And how people feel about the subject in general.