Jim Jordan's girlfriend convincing herself Jim was actually Green Lantern was one of my favorite aspects of Silver Age GL.
It makes sense for some heroes. It makes no sense for Hal. He is supposed to be one of a kind. It should not matter what type of parents he had. Hal was gonna turn out the way he did regardless. Every decision would have been his choice, and not influenced by others (unless he's saving lives). If you are worthy of a power ring, you gotta be unique, besides fearless & honest.
I think it's a stretch to say Hal's dad defined his entire character. It was one defining moment, but not the sum total of it.
Last edited by Mutatis_Mutandis; 06-20-2019 at 12:23 AM.
Sounds like the classic nature vs nurture debate. I think the general consensus is that it's a combination of both.
Hal is a very willfull guy by nature and would have done great things but his father had a huge impact on him as well and changed things.
My name is Wally West. I"m the fastest man alive. I"m the Flash.
Favorite Heroes - 1-Flash/Wally West, 2-Superman, 3-Green Lantern/Hal Jordan, 4-Nightwing, 5-Hawkman, 6-Firestorm, 7-Supergirl/Linda Danvers, 8-Zatanna, 9-Robin/Tim Drake
I certainly prefer that Hal and his dad had a good relationship. If anything, it's become an interesting counterpoint to Guy's relationship with his dad. I'm okay with Hal's dad's death having had a big impact on him, but nothing like Batman's parents' death in terms of defining him. If anything, the tension with his mom that came from him wanting to follow in his dad's footsteps doesn't get played up enough, because that's something he chose to do (at the cost of his personal relationships, which is certainly a theme in his life) rather than something that just happened to him.
During the Geof run, Hal said after watching his dad die, he had no reason to fear anything. The core trait of Hal is being able to overcome fear. For me, it works best for Hal as an innate trait, not born from some outside influence. Then, the various images posted here where it seemed Hal's world revolved around his dad. If Hal is struggling, here comes a ring construct of dad to encourage him.
I think Hal was born able to overcome fear. If Martin Jordan was an accountant, and lived a long life, would Hal still be able to overcome fear?
I think this is what makes Hal & Barry so great. I don't see the need to add any emotional stimuli to their backstories.
They were basically decent, heroic men from the start. Sure, they had their quirks, but nothing linked to tragedy. When they got powers, they decided to use them for good. Simple.