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  1. #1
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    Default When Green Lanter became a villain

    What was your reaction to Hal Jordan becoming a villain in the 90s??

  2. #2
    Ultimate Member j9ac9k's Avatar
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    Badly written, out of character, editorially-mandated "event" based solely on shock value to boost sales.

  3. #3
    Ultimate Member Johnny's Avatar
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    Destroyed a good character for no reason. Could've just retired him, but instead they chose to tarnish him for the sake of shock value 'cause apparently it was the cool thing to do in the 90s. And if he somehow managed to survive that, then a moronic movie studio finished the job in 2011. Poor Hal, apparently good publicity will never be one of his many accomplishments.

  4. #4
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    I didn't like it at all, but it passed in time.

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  5. #5
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    I had a friend who introduced me to it in the late 90s. Or, actually it was probably the early 00s. We were both little kids. I was hardcore into Spider-Man, and one day he asked me if I ever heard of Green Lantern. I was familiar with the character a little bit from Kingdom Come and Superfriends. We both thought Parallax was awesome. He looked cool and was just a great villain. And the fact that he was the legit main character of the title for decades made the whole thing all the more fascinating and epic.

    It's not like my friend didn't like Hal Jordan, though. His favorite story was probably when Kyle got sent through time and met the Legion and his descendant, and then he met a young Hal Jordan after that.
    Last edited by Vampire Savior; 06-13-2019 at 08:48 PM.

  6. #6
    It sucks to be right BohemiaDrinker's Avatar
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    The story came to Brazil around 1995, so I guess I was about 14.

    I didn't like it.

    I never liked Hal Jordan and was ok with him removed from the DCU, but the story rang false. Seemed illogical. And although I didn't like Jordan I saw no point in the destruction of the corps.

    Fun fact is: I never saw Hal Jordan as a villain.

    I remember reading Zero Hour as a kid and thinking "guys, he's trying to fix ****. LET HIM FIX ****!"
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  7. #7
    Ultimate Member j9ac9k's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by BohemiaDrinker View Post
    Fun fact is: I never saw Hal Jordan as a villain.

    I remember reading Zero Hour as a kid and thinking "guys, he's trying to fix ****. LET HIM FIX ****!"
    I agree that if he hadn't been presented as a power-mad, cackling sadistic villain he actually presented a compelling argument. It reminded me of "X-Men v Alpha Flight" where the teams split when Loki offered paradise at the expense of a few lives, but of course that was LOKI - if Hal had been presented as Hal and not a crazy villain, I could see some heroes actually backing his play to make things right again.

  8. #8
    Three Legged Member married guy's Avatar
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    I didn't have the emotional attachment to Hal, so although I wasn't keen, and the story DID come out of nowhere, I enjoyed the ride.
    There was a lot of great stuff to come out of Emerald Twilight.
    The Final Night one-shot was really well written and showed Hal as a multi faceted character, not a one-note, square jawed infallible super-hero.
    Kyle is damn near my favourite GL and the story of his progression was great.
    "My name is Wally West. I'm the fastest man alive!"
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  9. #9
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    I thought he was kinda boring before. Became mildly more interesting as Parallax, then the Spectre. Hated the giant yellow space cockroach. Pretty indifferent about him now with the exception of Darwyn Cooke's portrayal in New Frontier. TBH, that the only version that's ever really grabbed me.
    Keep in mind that you have about as much chance of changing my mind as I do of changing yours.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by j9ac9k View Post
    Badly written, out of character, editorially-mandated "event" based solely on shock value to boost sales.
    Aye....

    Quote Originally Posted by Johnny View Post
    Destroyed a good character for no reason. Could've just retired him, but instead they chose to tarnish him for the sake of shock value 'cause apparently it was the cool thing to do in the 90s.
    ....and Aye again!

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Buried Alien View Post
    I didn't like it at all, but it passed in time.
    But it took a lot longer than it really needed to--and in the meanwhile Rich Morrissey (DC super-fan and leader of the movement to restore Hal's honour) passed away, as did John Broome, Gil Kane and Julius Schwartz (the men who created Hal Jordan). For their sakes, I'll never be okay with how DC man-handled Mr. Jordan.

  12. #12
    Incredible Member Adset's Avatar
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    I'll zig where most others are zagging: I liked it.

    I thought Hal had grown stale by the mid-90s, and the franchise was treading water. Emerald Twilight was a seismic change of direction, and I understand the outrage from longtime Hal fans, but I thought the editorial mandate was salvaged for two reasons:

    1. Kyle Rayner was a pretty great character, and his solo title worked;

    2. I didn't feel Hal was wasted -- Parallax was far more interesting as a character up through his sacrifice in Final Night than Hal had been for quite some time.

    That's why I thought it worked as opposed to, say, Bart Allen briefly taking over for Wally in Flash: Fastest Man Alive. Bart's title was horrible, and Wally was wasted in limbo, so I felt the sting of losing Wally more than Hal.

    I know this is a minority opinion. But I also have a hard time seeing Status Quo Hal Jordan's title being as good as what we got with Marz and Winick's GL runs, which bridged the gap between Emerald Twilight and Geoff Johns taking over the franchise.

  13. #13
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    The editor at the time, Kevin Dooley, didn't do himself any favours by insulting any fans that were critical of the change and essentially telling them to go away, because they were yesterday's readers and this was for the new kids. So we took his advice. [Funny this--looking up his birthdate now, I see that he was older than the majority of us--so if we were too over the hill to still be into comics, what was he?]

  14. #14
    Incredible Member Hol's Avatar
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    I thought it was great actually. I never had any attachment to Hal and didn't much care for him. Emerald Twilight, Zero Hour and everything in between made him really interesting to me. And I didn't really see him as a villain. I thought it was really a wasted opportunity bringing him back. That all being said I did love GL Rebirth.

  15. #15
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    I'll be honest, it was a wild story to read at the time. December 31, 1993 I, as a kid, go into Walgreens back when they sold comics and managed to get the first part of Emerald Twilight, GL v3 #48, and just by the cover I knew something was going to happen and it didn't look good. Now this was big for me as Death and Return of Superman and Knightfall had happened and I missed the start of those two events. So as a collector this was nice to be there at the start, but as a fan of Hal Jordan it was tough. I though the story was ok, but then again I was 10...looking back at it, it was for sure rushed. What helps me when I go back to read that story is to read this longer version: GL v3 46-47, Superman v2 #83, GL v3 48-50. Those extra three issues really show the stages of grief and give more depth to the story.

    Hal was acting out of character, but then again how many times did Coast City get destroyed? Plus Hal was in space for the Trinity event and he comes to this after saving all of creation? Who wouldn't lose it? The next two issues were major for me as to see Hal's anger, grief, and sorrow take hold of him it was nuts. Now back then we didn't know that Parallax would stay a thing...maybe Kyle would be a temporary GL or be another GL, not just the sole GL...but there it was in the letters page that this change was permanent. Superman could die and Batman would be broken, but they would return...not Hal.

    Now I followed Hal into all the stories where he made an apperance, Zero Hour was crazy, I mean he made sense but it was just too much...so it was starting to look like insanity took hold. Then again if you read Zero Hour make sure to read GL v3 #0 as it gives the story a great epilogue. Final Night was a tough read as I knew this was going to be Hal's swan song but they gave him a good finish and the funeral issue was nice.

    Emerald Knights was refreshing and bittersweet. It was nice to have Hal back again, but then to see his reaction to what his future holds was just so much emotion. That issue GL v3 #106 is one of my favorite speeches in a comic book, Hal knowing what he has to do and WILL do it. Day of Judgement was great because Hal was back and it was an interesting journey for him to go on towards a redemption. I'll admit it was very heady, but when it all ended to make way for Rebirth that made it worth it.

    So long story short, yes I like Emerald Twilight because it put Hal Jordan on an Epic that lasted us fans 10 years. From Green Lantern to Parallax to Spectre and back to GL it was a hell of a ride. I'm glad it gave Pete Tomasi, Geoff Johns, and Ethan Van Scriver a chance to make Rebirth, as that is the ultimate redemption story and did so much for the Green Lantern Mythos. Think I'm gonna start that reread again! Thanks guys

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