Hal Jordan: Green Lantern Appreciation 2020

[Anthony Shaw]

Thank you for sharing this. I feel for George Floyd's loved ones in this difficult time. As far as Hal is concerned, I think the worst part is that DC eventually made him worse than Sinestro in that regard, space bug retcon and all. For a character like Hal who has seen everything there is to see and fought against any evil there was to fight, to even begin thinking about abusing his power no matter the circumstances, really shows the lowest point of this franchise in my mind. It's not even shock value for the sake of shock value, Emerald Twilight was an utter disgrace.

As much as I complain about Geoff, I thought his retcon was amazing. Sinestro was a disgraced cop who plotted the ultimate revenge against an honest cop.

Without fear, Hal did the right thing, and paid a terrible price. If being a hero was easy, then everyone would do it.

I thought Geoff ruined things by making them somewhat friends in the end. Hal has the best pals in the universe. All Hal needs Sinestro for is a face to plant his fist.

I totally get your frustration with the way Hal is often presented, especially outside of comics.

Many just don't understand the simple, yet amazing core of Hal's character. Hal is a fearless & honest man.

Hal is not the arrogant stud that needs to be taken down a peg; that's Guy Gardner.

Hal does the right thing without thinking twice of any consequences. His guilty pleasure is flying, not fame, money, or glory.

I do think of yellow lanterns when I think about police brutality.

[Frontier]

I thought Geoff ruined things by making them somewhat friends in the end. Hal has the best pals in the universe. All Hal needs Sinestro for is a face to plant his fist.

Friends who will probably always be in conflict with each other for one reason or another, hence the tragedy.

I do think of yellow lanterns when I think about police brutality.

I feel like the comparison would be more apt if the Sinestro Corps acted more like a police force, but other then when Soranik was running them they're pretty much more of an army at the command of a tyrant, be it Sinestro or Mongul.

[phantom1592]

I thought Geoff ruined things by making them somewhat friends in the end. Hal has the best pals in the universe. All Hal needs Sinestro for is a face to plant his fist..

Agreed. The idea of Hal and Sinestro being buddies is just... ughhh... I hate it. Sinestro is Space Hitler. That's where he thrives. I prefer my Sinestro to be BIGGER than just Hal Jordan. He's the big bad boogey man of the entire GLCorps... He's their hero gone evil. He wants revenge on ALL of them... Hal just gets his attention because A) it's his book.... and B) He's stopped him before.

In the silver age he was already gone before Hal Joined the corps... and I can almost tolerate Sinestro training him for a week or so in Emerald Dawn II... but Hal was never his 'friend'. They clashed from the beginning. One is all about Order the other... is not.

Forcing a long friendship there always felt wrong. They were trying to force that square peg into a round hole.

[Frontier]

Agreed. The idea of Hal and Sinestro being buddies is just... ughhh... I hate it. Sinestro is Space Hitler. That's where he thrives. I prefer my Sinestro to be BIGGER than just Hal Jordan. He's the big bad boogey man of the entire GLCorps... He's their hero gone evil. He wants revenge on ALL of them... Hal just gets his attention because A) it's his book.... and B) He's stopped him before.

In the silver age he was already gone before Hal Joined the corps... and I can almost tolerate Sinestro training him for a week or so in Emerald Dawn II... but Hal was never his 'friend'. They clashed from the beginning. One is all about Order the other... is not.

Forcing a long friendship there always felt wrong. They were trying to force that square peg into a round hole.

I think making it more personal really enriched the rivalry, for my money, and it separates Hal from the other Earth GL's.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I could very well be losing my mind with self-isolation comparing real life tragedy with comics.

Don't worry. We're all there with you.

By the way, I would love to see the planned sequel to GL Secret Origins that would have shown Hal turning on Sinestro. It was the one bit of unfinished business I wished Johns & Reis had gotten to before they finished their run.

I loved Emerald Dawn II, but it is marred by the dumbass drunk driving stuff, the pointless shoehorning in of Guy, and some inconsistent art. I really want to see Johns & Reis do a newer version of this tale that, as far as I know, has only been told once.

[liwanag]

[j9ac9k]

In my mind, Hal would have (or a cop with his resolve). Hal would never have stood by, and let that situation get out of control.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. Since you mention Hal and this is the forum for that kind of discussion, it reminds me of those "Hard Traveling Heroes" stories where Ollie would get all preachy and Hal was made to represent "The Man", but you're right - the Hal we know and the hero we admire would stand up to the Guardians and always speak out against injustice. O'Neil chose to use Ollie for that, but that's really what Hal would have been about. Hal stands for freedom, one of the biggest of which is freedom from tyranny or abuse of power. Johns never gave us a retelling of how Hal turned on Sinestro and got him kicked out of the Corps, but a story of that nature, with the potential cultural relevance that it might have now makes me want to see it as how you imagine.

[liwanag]

[Frontier]

Don't worry. We're all there with you.

By the way, I would love to see the planned sequel to GL Secret Origins that would have shown Hal turning on Sinestro. It was the one bit of unfinished business I wished Johns & Reis had gotten to before they finished their run.

I loved Emerald Dawn II, but it is marred by the dumbass drunk driving stuff, the pointless shoehorning in of Guy, and some inconsistent art. I really want to see Johns & Reis do a newer version of this tale that, as far as I know, has only been told once.

Yeah, I really wanted to see Johns' take on it since it was such a central moment in his run that we only got, like, a one panel flashback too.

[liwanag]

[Johnny]

From #5. Sharp says the art in the issue is a Kirby/Steranko tribute.

[Shadowcat]

This might be the weirdest post from me yet.

Recently, a black man was died while in police custody in Minneapolis. The incident was recorded on video. One of the arresting officers literally had his knee on the man's neck. You can hear the man saying he can't breathe. For all intents, and purposes, the man died on camera.

All the officers involved were fired. The FBI is investigating.

What does this have to do with Hal Jordan?

A GL is a space cop. A cop taking authority to the extreme, and utilizing brutality on a helpless suspect is....well....how I view Sinestro. This is how I view his running his sector, and ruling his home world. This is part of why I feel disgust whenever I feel Sinestro is presented as something of an anti-hero (some of you have read my rants over the years).

Regarding the case in Minneapolis, none of fired officers on the scene intervened.

In my mind, Hal would have (or a cop with his resolve). Hal would never have stood by, and let that situation get out of control.

Some people are actually showing more sympathy for the cops losing their than the man who died in their custody. Some people were rationalizing his death, and justifying the behavior of the officers involved. I'm like: what kind of Sinestro sh!t is this?! Some view Sinestro as a not so bad guy. I see Sinestro giving those cops yellow rings.

On a side note, DC should have way more Earth-born Yellow Lanterns than Green Lanterns, imo.

I've had a few run-ins with law enforcement in my life. A cop drew his gun on me as I was waiting for AAA assistance with my girlfriend at the time (after midnight). My gal freaked out, but I already had previous run-ins with abusive cops, and maintained my cool. A seemingly mundane event can turn deadly depending on the mind-set of some cops.

Anyway, I always appreciated Hal reporting Sinestro to the Guardians after he visited Korugar. I also appreciated the resolve Hal showed when Sinestro made him the focus of his rage afterwards. It takes a lot to go against the grain, and do the right thing. Hey, that's what heroes do, as MCU Thor would say.

Hal was my favorite watching Superfriends. As I grew up, I really appreciated Hal more as a character, particularly when it comes to law enforcement. This case in MN made me think if Hal & Sinestro.

I could very well be losing my mind with self-isolation comparing real life tragedy with comics.

I do the same thing, conceptualizing current events into comic storylines and how characters would react. A great comic can give you an allegory referencing current events, and spin it into a light that you wouldn’t normally think to go in that direction. I try not to close my mind to other ideas, but my family fled Nazi Germany in the 30’s after my great-grandmother was taken to the camps when she went grocery shopping. If my great grandfather hadn’t fled with my great-aunt and grandfather, I wouldn’t be here. The rise in fascism and making white supremacy more mainstream is absolutely terrifying for me.

I’m stuck here just outside of Detroit, and my heart aches for his family, and the protesters getting gassed for asking for fair treatment.

[Johnny]

[j9ac9k]

From #5. Sharp says the art in the issue is a Kirby/Steranko tribute.

I still like the series, but Morrison and Sharp are getting a little too self-indulgent in season 2.

[Anthony Shaw]

Friends who will probably always be in conflict with each other for one reason or another, hence the tragedy.

I feel like the comparison would be more apt if the Sinestro Corps acted more like a police force, but other then when Soranik was running them they're pretty much more of an army at the command of a tyrant, be it Sinestro or Mongul.

I just interpret Sinestro policing through fear. It was part of his silver age, and post crisis origin.

It never made sense for Hal to want to be friends with someone like that, but that's just me.