Hal Jordan: The Green Lantern Appreciation 2023

[Mantis-Ray]

I'll say Hal is very handsome here.

Xermanico really gives him a badboy swagger.

[Mutatis_Mutandis]

What I loved the most in Morrison and Sharp run was how Hal was competent as a Green Lantern, apparently Adams will be keeping that going on, but show a less efficient Hal on his civilian life, and as long as it don't go to Spider-Man or Daredevil levels of disastrous I'm fine.

As Frontier said, Hal in *The Green Lantern* was very main character in procedural cop show, I liked to imagine his voice like Raylan from Justified, here I think Adams is aiming more into Kirk and Maverick.

Definitely my own personally preferred voice over the Maverick one but I quite like Adams' take on this, which, I feel, is also sufficiently nuanced (unlike Venditti's or the second half of the Johns/New52 run) and will lead to some character growth on the page.

[Frontier]

I wonder if Adams is writing Hal's voice with Josh Keaton in mind.

[j9ac9k]

I wonder if Adams is writing Hal's voice with Josh Keaton in mind.

I know I hear his voice in my head when I read Hal's lines. (the fact that I'm rewatching GL:TAS at the moment might also have something to do with it...)

[Vordan]

Cowgirl looks like an obvious choice for me here.

That’s why I was asking where she was, she’s the most obvious other choice.

[Stanlos]

What I loved the most in Morrison and Sharp run was how Hal was competent as a Green Lantern, apparently Adams will be keeping that going on, but show a less efficient Hal on his civilian life, and as long as it don't go to Spider-Man or Daredevil levels of disastrous I'm fine.

As Frontier said, Hal in *The Green Lantern* was very main character in procedural cop show, I liked to imagine his voice like Raylan from Justified, here I think Adams is aiming more into Kirk and Maverick.

When has Hal ever NOT been competent as a ringslinger? A lot of what I have collected proposes that he numbers among the best in Corps history. Are we sure we're not thinking of Guy or maybe Kho (she's pretty new and in training but still she would not rank high in a discussion of competence compared to other seasoned ringslingers)

[Frontier]

That’s why I was asking where she was, she’s the most obvious other choice.

I feel like the last time she was referenced was Morrison but the last time she physically appeared was in a Metal tie-in.

[j9ac9k]

I feel like the last time she was referenced was Morrison but the last time she physically appeared was in a Metal tie-in.

Yeah - she was in TGL Season2 #3, flying an experimental plane with a teleport engine for the Air Force. What was her Metal tie-in appearance?

[Frontier]

Yeah - she was in TGL Season2 #3, flying an experimental plane with a teleport engine for the Air Force. What was her Metal tie-in appearance?

I think it was in the Batman fuses with Superman one? I can't remember exactly off the top of my head. I think it was the issue that all these DC government officials talking to each other.

[Ra-El]

I always viewed Hal as one of those extraordinary people that excels at one thing most people could never do, but struggles with everyday life, almost like you see with people that are geniuses or rock stars or something like that. He has such a restless, stubborn, unique spirit that it makes him amazing as a superhero, but he just cannot get it together in the real world. Those kinds of extreme personalities are always interesting to me and I always found Hal to be like that. If he didn't become GL, he'd probably dead or at the bottom of a bottle somewhere by now.

But a very fun, very entertaining issue. I'm hoping Adams has a long run here.

Funny, I see Hal as one of those guys who are good at almost everything they try.

You know, the handsome, popular athlete we thing is just a jock, but then we find out they are really smart and barely needs to study.

That's how I see Hal, as the guy who could have done basically everything he wanted, and he chose one of the most exclusive and difficult jobs out there, he was a test pilot and engineer, something that requires a high physical and mental capacity, he got that.
Part of his recklessness may come from that, he have been successful in basically everything he tried, kind like Sterling Archer.

[j9ac9k]

That's how I see Hal, as the guy who could have done basically everything he wanted, and he chose one of the most exclusive and difficult jobs out there, he was a test pilot and engineer, something that requires a high physical and mental capacity, he got that.
Part of his recklessness may come from that, he have been successful in basically everything he tried, kind like Sterling Archer.

I agree that he could have, but I also think he needed/still needs(?) that thing to be physically challenging, and push him to his limits. He needs an outlet for that willpower or he'll get bored. Some people need a sharpening stone to constantly rub against to stay sharp or they'll get dull, so Hal will go looking for one if he's not in a position where they're constantly presented to him.(as we saw this issue with him running off to fight "Steel Fury")

[Frontier]

I agree that he could have, but I also think he needed/still needs(?) that thing to be physically challenging, and push him to his limits. He needs an outlet for that willpower or he'll get bored. Some people need a sharpening stone to constantly rub against to stay sharp or they'll get dull, so Hal will go looking for one if he's not in a position where they're constantly presented to him.(as we saw this issue with him running off to fight "Steel Fury")

Even if he can fly with his ring there's a part of him that will always be at home and most comfortable in a cockpit. It's in his blood.

[Ra-El]

I agree that he could have, but I also think he needed/still needs(?) that thing to be physically challenging, and push him to his limits. He needs an outlet for that willpower or he'll get bored. Some people need a sharpening stone to constantly rub against to stay sharp or they'll get dull, so Hal will go looking for one if he's not in a position where they're constantly presented to him.(as we saw this issue with him running off to fight "Steel Fury")

Exactly, school was probably easy for him, most things was feel risk free and easy.

That's what I loved about Morrison's take on Hal, he went for a very difficult and rewarding career to a salesman, once he become a Green Lantern piloting most have lost the place it had on his life before, he still loved to do fly, but he didn't need it as a source of challenge anymore he have his superhero life for it.

[Refrax5]

Funny, I see Hal as one of those guys who are good at almost everything they try.

You know, the handsome, popular athlete we thing is just a jock, but then we find out they are really smart and barely needs to study.

That's how I see Hal, as the guy who could have done basically everything he wanted, and he chose one of the most exclusive and difficult jobs out there, he was a test pilot and engineer, something that requires a high physical and mental capacity, he got that.
Part of his recklessness may come from that, he have been successful in basically everything he tried, kind like Sterling Archer.

I'm mostly referring to the fact that while Hal is exceptional at flying and being a GL, his personal life has long been a disaster and he's shown signs of depression and really self-destructive behavior when he doesn't have a way to live up to his potential. He's bad at living an ordinary life. When he doesn't have direction, he's pretty unstable. That's been a part of his character for a long, long time.

I feel like that contrast makes him interesting. If he's just someone that's good at everything and successful no matter what, that's pretty boring.

[StarSpangledMan]

Here’s two new interviews with PKJ and Adams that I found really enjoyable:

https://aiptcomics.com/2023/05/09/gr...023-interview/

https://www.looper.com/1280751/phill...n-1-exclusive/

How important was it to give Hal Jordan the focus again?

Adams: As an uber-nerd, I love it. I love the push and pull of characters. I love the fact that Hal hasn't been around because that gives me an opportunity to reintroduce them to new readers, but also have this mission statement of, "I want people to like Hal." I want people to like Hal because I did see this weird ... People are like, "Ugh." He's a bit of a bland character sometimes where people can't say anything meaningful about him. He's the guy that shows up in "All-Star Batman" in a yellow room where Batman and Robin are like, "Ha, loser." I wanted him to be somebody cool. When Geoff Johns was doing "Green Lantern" and Peter Tomasi was doing "Green Lantern Corps," that was a huge, huge run for me. I remember going, "Oh my gosh. I could read each of these."

The fact that Hal is stationary on Earth gives a little different flavor. My goal is always to do something new or something that is slightly askew than what you've seen before. But more than that, I want people to get invested in Hal as a person. If we can do that, if I am successful at that — luckily, I have Xermanico. His characterizations are 1,000% better than I can write. But if people can get invested in that, then when you tell the stories and take them through a journey, it's going to mean so much more because we'll know who that person is rather than a caricature or, "He's tough guy Hal Jordan." I want some of that internal monologue. I want him to feel human and vulnerable in some ways.

Me rn:


I'm excited for the character focused push in the Green Lantern book.