Hal Jordan: Green Lantern Appreciation 2020

[Tzigone]

Some will adamantly say they are legacies, but no I don't think Hal or Barry qualify as such the way we think of the term today. They were legacies in-canon for periods, but that was only after COIE retcons.

I agree with this. I kinda think bringing the JSA into their reality wasn't a good thing. I mean, it didn't hurt them, give how established they already were (though Barry dead), but it did (I think - haven't actually read any tales of origins for them published after) make Ray and Barry people who took the code names of others without consent, which really doesn't work for me. Though this isn't the case with Hal, given that there's an actual Corps and they all have that title.

[j9ac9k]

I am in the "no" camp. Silver age Flash and Green Lantern (among others) were total reboots/complete reinventions. Hal's GL also had almost nothing to do with Alan once he was reintroduced. There has to be more of a connection passed down than the name and (kindof) similar powers to be called a legacy, imo.

[Frontier]

I don't view the GL's as a direct legacy compared to other identities, but I think there are some of the trappings of the concept.

Some will adamantly say they are legacies, but no I don't think Hal or Barry qualify as such the way we think of the term today. They were legacies in-canon for periods, but that was only after COIE retcons.

Kyle maybe shouldn't be a legacy either since multiple GLs had long been established by the time he came around, even if he was meant to be the last one at the time.

Kyle basically succeeded the whole Corps., so I think he counts. He was very much supposed to be the "main GL" after Hal and treated as a legacy like Wally was.

I agree with this. I kinda think bringing the JSA into their reality wasn't a good thing. I mean, it didn't hurt them, give how established they already were (though Barry dead), but it did (I think - haven't actually read any tales of origins for them published after) make Ray and Barry people who took the code names of others without consent, which really doesn't work for me. Though this isn't the case with Hal, given that there's an actual Corps and they all have that title.

Well, retroactively it became less of a consent issue and more of a way of honoring the heroes that came before them, though now that I think about it I don't recall Ray and Al Pratt ever being together on-panel.

[phantom1592]

Kyle maybe shouldn't be a legacy either since multiple GLs had long been established by the time he came around, even if he was meant to be the last one at the time.

I dont' see any way to remove the legacy from Kyle. He took over Hal's book with the same numbering, he wore the same costume when he started... and he was actually using Hal's exact ring. not to mention everyone coming up and comparing him to Hal the whole run... He's more legacy than anyone

[maxax]

Well, retroactively it became less of a consent issue and more of a way of honoring the heroes that came before them, though now that I think about it I don't recall Ray and Al Pratt ever being together on-panel.

Al appeared in Ray's Silver Age series a few times, and I think they also interacted in the first JLA/JSA crossover. Ray has a conversation with Jay at some point about wishing he had the same kind of relationship with Al that Hal has with Alan and Barry has with Jay, and Jay says Al was proud of him. I don't think it's ever explained why they aren't close.

[Frontier]

Al appeared in Ray's Silver Age series a few times, and I think they also interacted in the first JLA/JSA crossover. Ray has a conversation with Jay at some point about wishing he had the same kind of relationship with Al that Hal has with Alan and Barry has with Jay, and Jay says Al was proud of him. I don't think it's ever explained why they aren't close.

I remember a moment in Johns' JSA run where Ray infiltrates Atom-Smasher's ears and talks to him in his head to try and pull him back from going off the deep end with Black Adam and eventually tells him Al Pratt would be disappointed in him.

[SiegePerilous02]

Kyle basically succeeded the whole Corps., so I think he counts. He was very much supposed to be the "main GL" after Hal and treated as a legacy like Wally was.

I dont' see any way to remove the legacy from Kyle. He took over Hal's book with the same numbering, he wore the same costume when he started... and he was actually using Hal's exact ring. not to mention everyone coming up and comparing him to Hal the whole run... He's more legacy than anyone

I guess there is also the fact that by the time Kyle came around, Hal had been retconned into living in the same universe as Alan and being more of a legacy than he was before. So they retconned in a precedent for Kyle being a legacy, but I still wouldn't say Hal's creation as originally presented qualifies as a legacy in the same way.

[Gaius]

Kyle is the only time I think GL every really existed as a legacy character and given even before bringing Hal back they tried to find ways to bring back the Corps and the Guardians, I think that shows even DC thought "one and only one" GL had a limited shelf-life compared to what could be offered before.

[Johnny]

Hal can be considered to represent legacy but not in the way we know nowadays. To me it's not just about the completely different mythology he introduced, as compared to what Green Lantern was during Alan's era, it's that Hal wasn't even remotely connected to Alan at all. The only similarity was the name Green Lantern since it was a rebooted version of the GL property. Legacy characters don't need to be related to the previous character or serve as their sidekick or partner or anything of sorts, but in my mind they still need to have some kind of story connection to them. There's no connection like that between Alan and Hal. If Hal's origin story was the same but was called anything else than Green Lantern, the argument about him being a legacy character wouldn't have any credibility at all. So he could be seen as a legacy mantle from a brand standpoint, but from an in-universe standpoint he's no legacy character since the previous protagonist was no predecessor to Hal and his story to establish any legacy connection between the two.

[Gaius]

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I view Hal as Abin Sur's legacy and I believe Hal views himself that way as well. I think neither Alan nor Hal view the other as a continuation of Alan's legacy. That would be Jade & Obsidian.

I do think that Barry absolutely sees himself as continuing Jay's legacy though.

[liwanag]

how do we define a legacy character?

[liwanag]

[Frontier]

how do we define a legacy character?

Probably depends who you ask...

[Vordan]

I view Hal as Abin Sur's legacy and I believe Hal views himself that way as well. I think neither Alan nor Hal view the other as a continuation of Alan's legacy. That would be Jade & Obsidian.

I do think that Barry absolutely sees himself as continuing Jay's legacy though.

This. Barry is absolutely tied to Jay, Jay figures into his origin story for example. Hal is completely unconnected to Alan, he doesn’t call himself GL because of Alan, their powers are different, Alan didn’t train him or choose him at all, etc. GLs are like the Jedi from SW, it’s not really a “superhero name” it’s a job title.