Hal Jordan: The Green Lantern Appreciation 2021

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Yeah, whenever I read about putting characters on these multiverse teams it always comes off as kind of a "kicked upstairs promotion" vibe to it.

I think it's a bit of both. With Barry, it's clearly a case of DC wanting to do right by Wally fans, who've been treated terribly for more than a decade now, but also wanting to give that character something meaningful to do that suits his roots as the character that first introduced the DC Multiverse.

For Hal, it's a trickier matter because, unlike the Flashes, there's far more than one protagonist vying for the spotlight. I think Barry & Hal both being on Justice League Incarnate works due to their past experiences without overshadowing President Superman, who is a strong enough character in his own right. Putting him side by side with A-listers only bolsters his status as one of DC's next big deals in my view. Clearly, there's plans for Hal, but they can't talk about them yet, which makes me suspect he'll be a part of the Infinite Frontier event, but I could be wrong.

I am pretty satisfied with how Morrison/Sharp gave Hal a grand finale (while also keeping him available whenever a great creative team wants to use him), but I don't know where he necessarily fits within the larger DCU at this exact moment. He's got a large enough fanbase that the character is money in the bank for DC (which is all AT&T cares about at this point), but I wouldn't be surprised if Hal Jordan disappears for a little while. I'm sure he'll pop up in the next big event and make occasional guest appearances and cameos, but I think DC will be putting him on the back burner so that the other Lanterns don't get overshadowed and to generate anticipation for whatever they do with Hal next.

It's an old trick with geek properties. Withhold giving fans what they want so that when you give it to them, it feels like a bigger deal than it is. I can only hope that whatever DC does do with Hal next, it isn't a disappointment because Morrison & Sharp have raised the bar substantially. I don't think anyone in the industry is particularly interested in trying to follow that up given how poorly it went for Venditti when he tried to follow up Johns.

[Mutatis_Mutandis]

Why not have Hal, Ollie and Dinah (along with others, maybe) hit the road again? You can tell some pretty cool stories that way while keeping them separate from the main DCU shenanigans.

As for following up Morrison's run (I agree entirely that the bar has been set extremely high), I think a good choice would be to scale down. Maybe focus on Hal and his relationship with his friends on Earth for a change and tell simple character-based stories.

[Vordan]

Could also have Hal be the protector of Coast City again. He hasn’t done anything meaningful there since, damn, Sinestro Corps War?

[Gaius]

I think it's a bit of both. With Barry, it's clearly a case of DC wanting to do right by Wally fans, who've been treated terribly for more than a decade now, but also wanting to give that character something meaningful to do that suits his roots as the character that first introduced the DC Multiverse.

For Hal, it's a trickier matter because, unlike the Flashes, there's far more than one protagonist vying for the spotlight. I think Barry & Hal both being on Justice League Incarnate works due to their past experiences without overshadowing President Superman, who is a strong enough character in his own right. Putting him side by side with A-listers only bolsters his status as one of DC's next big deals in my view. Clearly, there's plans for Hal, but they can't talk about them yet, which makes me suspect he'll be a part of the Infinite Frontier event, but I could be wrong.

I am pretty satisfied with how Morrison/Sharp gave Hal a grand finale (while also keeping him available whenever a great creative team wants to use him), but I don't know where he necessarily fits within the larger DCU at this exact moment. He's got a large enough fanbase that the character is money in the bank for DC (which is all AT&T cares about at this point), but I wouldn't be surprised if Hal Jordan disappears for a little while. I'm sure he'll pop up in the next big event and make occasional guest appearances and cameos, but I think DC will be putting him on the back burner so that the other Lanterns don't get overshadowed and to generate anticipation for whatever they do with Hal next.

It's an old trick with geek properties. Withhold giving fans what they want so that when you give it to them, it feels like a bigger deal than it is. I can only hope that whatever DC does do with Hal next, it isn't a disappointment because Morrison & Sharp have raised the bar substantially. I don't think anyone in the industry is particularly interested in trying to follow that up given how poorly it went for Venditti when he tried to follow up Johns.

I don't disagree, if Hal takes a backseat for a while I'd be content for a bit with my Hal content on my shelf.

Can't really imagine at the moment what team could follow up on this unless it's a team that would do something as different from Morrison as Morrison was to what Johns did.

[Anthony Shaw]

Why not have Hal, Ollie and Dinah (along with others, maybe) hit the road again? You can tell some pretty cool stories that way while keeping them separate from the main DCU shenanigans.

As for following up Morrison's run (I agree entirely that the bar has been set extremely high), I think a good choice would be to scale down. Maybe focus on Hal and his relationship with his friends on Earth for a change and tell simple character-based stories.

I completely agree.

Could also have Hal be the protector of Coast City again. He hasn’t done anything meaningful there since, damn, Sinestro Corps War?

This, too.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I will continue to bang the drum of a Hal/Ollie/Dinah book with a wild card, like Jess, thrown in for fun.

At least do a mini in that Truth & Justice anthology.

[Frontier]

Could also have Hal be the protector of Coast City again. He hasn’t done anything meaningful there since, damn, Sinestro Corps War?

It's been my headcanon that Coast City has gone insane without a dedicated GL to protect it.

It's like the one major Superhero city where the hero is too busy in space to actually be there for more than five minutes .

[Mutatis_Mutandis]

It's been my headcanon that Coast City has gone insane without a dedicated GL to protect it.

It's like the one major Superhero city where the hero is too busy in space to actually be there for more than five minutes .

I mean for a significant portion of his publication history, Hal barely stayed in Coast City. So it's not all that weird.

[Anthony Shaw]

I will continue to bang the drum of a Hal/Ollie/Dinah book with a wild card, like Jess, thrown in for fun.

At least do a mini in that Truth & Justice anthology.

Don't forget cameos from Roy.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Don't forget cameos from Roy.

And John Stewart. We so rarely get to see him interacting with the Hard-Travelling Heroes altogether.

[silly]

So The Green Lantern was some of the best kind of insanity I've seen in comics in recent memory, and that's coming from someone who is relatively ignorant about pre-Geoff Johns Green Lantern comics. Grant and Liam did this character justice. The omnibus of this run will look marvelous.

Man, Grant and Liam had an amazing run.

[HsssH]

Maybe collected omnibus should be called All-Star Green Lantern?

[j9ac9k]

That last issue was maybe the greatest GL story where Hal essentially stands in one place during the whole climactic battle. Seriously, it was enjoyable even though it ended with a lot of talking and all the action happened with talking and willpower. I did really like the sword-swinging before that and I felt he had a lot more camaraderie and a more interesting group of friends than his whole "Renegade" arc. If Hal had been adventuring in a ship with those guys during that run, I'd have been much happier.

[Frontier]

I mean for a significant portion of his publication history, Hal barely stayed in Coast City. So it's not all that weird.

Poor Coast City .

[Gaius]