New Green Lantern writer HATES Hal Jordan. Thoughts?

[Will Evans]

Here’s an odd take. Aspects I liked for Hal: getting drunk in Emerald Twilight, getting with Arisia when he shouldn’t have, getting grey hair to show his age. Even becoming Parallax. All made me like Hal as he wasn’t flawless or white bread.

But they spent the last 15 years retconning each and every one of those aspects.

Post-Rebirth Hal is almost like a different person. As different as Spectre Hal.

[Johnny]

I never targeted Hal fans specifically, and I am one. Hal's cool. Don't be so defensive. This isn't really about Hal Jordan anymore, but the knee-jerk reaction to instantly trying to make it about Hal again instead of how fans are being excessively harsh to a creator before even one printed page has seen the light of day is reminding a lot of the overzealous days of HEAT.

Across multiple places, I've seen Thorne come under fire for engaging in fan behavior when he was strictly a fan. He clarified and yet it's still being brought up. At this point, yes, it's all the worst stereotypes of comic book fandom being validated.

I don't get this part, the disparaging comments made were about Hal, so how is it "making it about Hal again" when he was the one who was being bashed in this situation which prompted people to speak up in the first place.

I've never stumbled upon HEAT and I tend to have mostly cordial disagreements with fellow comic fans, so I can't speak about that, I can only say that while there's unfortunately rotten apples in every fanbase that tend to speak the loudest, this isn't the kind of toxic fan behavior I usually happen to observe, whether by Green Lantern fans or anyone else.

[Johnny]

Btw. even if Hal had stayed evil, the main Lantern would still be Kyle and not John.

John has afaik never really been the "main Lantern" for a longer time in the comics.

And in most of his appearences in main continuity Justice League comics (I'm not reading the much Green Lantern Comics) he was also kind of "card board cutout" and in many cases you could have probably exchanged him for Hal of Kyle, without changing much.

The DCAU Version had more personality, but that never really translated to the comics imo.

I think they really had no clue what to do with Kyle by 2004. They would've likelly still given the spotlight to someone else if Hal stayed bad or dead. Considering that aside from Kyle, John was the only active GL at the time and Guy was still Warrior, John would've been the most obvious choice.

[Sodam Yat]

I'm sure John would've been the obvious choice, but I think DC at that time would still be hesitant on letting a black character leading the franchise (because of worrisome of sales). Not only this, but you would have to find a writer that's willing to invest a lot into the character.

[Noodle]

Is he writing Hal? No, so what's the problem?

[lemonpeace]

Is he writing Hal? No, so what's the problem?

there is none, outrage machine, you know how it is. I actually feel kinda bad for OP, they didn't know about the specifics to the drama or how annoying the discourse on the topic had gotten on the site, now people are still shitting on the topic 6 pages deep LOL

[WebLurker]

Is he writing Hal? No, so what's the problem?

Guess people who like the character were worried that he would dunk on the character in his writing or something. Kind of a non-issue, when you get down to it.

[OopsIdiditagain]

Here’s an odd take. Aspects I liked for Hal: getting drunk in Emerald Twilight, getting with Arisia when he shouldn’t have, getting grey hair to show his age. Even becoming Parallax. All made me like Hal as he wasn’t flawless or white bread.

This Hal sounds like a trainwreck, I like it.

[The no face guy]

That wasn't what got it shut down. It was due to Janelle Asselin getting harassed over an article she wrote criticizing a Teen Titans cover.

I think you are mistaken, the DC comics message forum was shut down long before the Janelle Asselin controversy, (as at least as I knew it, you couldn't post after 2012)

As a huge Superman fan, I'll never understand the need to have him be faster than DC's premier fast guy. Why even have The Flash if he can't be the fastest?

I agree lol, it's a shame that they shut it down over a nerd flame war of all things.

https://www.wired.com/2011/03/dc-com...erd-flame-war/

I have to say that the DC comic message boards was poorly moderated, but in a way that's what made it so fun, it was like the wild wild west....I confess I was part of the bring back Hal brigade.

I honestly think they used the Superman/Flash flame war as an excuse to get it shut down, people were getting to critical of the writers and artists on the forum...not good for their bottom line.

[9th.]

Is he writing Hal? No, so what's the problem?

It's a non-issue since he hasn't written anything yet, it'd be a different story if he we had some books where Hal was being sidelined and embarrassed.

[SJNeal]

Agreed and co-signed....but there was one writer who did great work with John. Sometime around the middle- to - tail end of Nu52.

Van Jensen.

He had a lengthy run on the New52 Green Lantern Corps title, and it was pretty damn good stuff.

[SJNeal]

Here’s an odd take. Aspects I liked for Hal: getting drunk in Emerald Twilight, getting with Arisia when he shouldn’t have, getting grey hair to show his age. Even becoming Parallax. All made me like Hal as he wasn’t flawless or white bread.

But they spent the last 15 years retconning each and every one of those aspects.

Post-Rebirth Hal is almost like a different person. As different as Spectre Hal.

Hal as an elder-statesman-with-baggage was an approach that I really liked, but editorial pivoted after a relatively short period of time - hence "Emerald Twilight".

I'm not sure why readers (and apparently creators) were so receptive to a similar take on Green Arrow (roughly 1988-2001) but soured on GL being presented as such.

[Agent Z]

Speaking as a black fan who is apathetic to Hal, let me ask a question: would those of you who think he was better as Parallax have accepted it if it was a character you liked in that role?

[SiegePerilous02]

Is he writing Hal? No, so what's the problem?

there is none, outrage machine, you know how it is. I actually feel kinda bad for OP, they didn't know about the specifics to the drama or how annoying the discourse on the topic had gotten on the site, now people are still shitting on the topic 6 pages deep LOL

Guess people who like the character were worried that he would dunk on the character in his writing or something. Kind of a non-issue, when you get down to it.

Speaking from my experiences in the Hal Jordan appreciation thread, there was really only one poster who was getting up in arms about it to an unreasonable degree and got banned. Beyond that, we expressed concerns (why wouldn't we in that thread?) but nothing like calling for the creator's head or demanding the book be cancelled or anything. There have been non-fans of Hal coming into that thread with thinly veiled disses and some bashing in the general Oa thread, so there is some pushback from that. Also some pushback for reasonable concerns being expressed being conflated as "acting crazy."

after the Morrison run, I'm satisfied with Hal shuffling out of the lead spot for a bit and taking the writer on his word that he won't even use Hal anyway. But a lot of the more vocal Hal bashers blame him for everything under the sun and wear it like a bad of honor, so it comes off as obnoxious and leads to pushback. Our hackles are already up in certain instances.

[lemonpeace]

Speaking from my experiences in the Hal Jordan appreciation thread, there was really only one poster who was getting up in arms about it to an unreasonable degree and got banned. Beyond that, we expressed concerns (why wouldn't we in that thread?) but nothing like calling for the creator's head or demanding the book be cancelled or anything. There have been non-fans of Hal coming into that thread with thinly veiled disses and some bashing in the general Oa thread, so there is some pushback from that. Also some pushback for reasonable concerns being expressed being conflated as "acting crazy."

after the Morrison run, I'm satisfied with Hal shuffling out of the lead spot for a bit and taking the writer on his word that he won't even use Hal anyway. But a lot of the more vocal Hal bashers blame him for everything under the sun and wear it like a bad of honor, so it comes off as obnoxious and leads to pushback. Our hackles are already up in certain instances.

I see where your coming from, I started to notice the pattern myself as the "story" has circulated. it's usually a one or two bad faith agitators getting people riled up, people get defensive and everyone starts tripling and doubling down and thread hopping and then it's just a headache. let's go back to just assuming everyone who is concerned, is only mildly so and won't hold it against John and just enjoy when looks like it could be a great start to a fun run for John.

like I said early on when the tweets dropped, any Hal fan who will be so intensely outraged enough to take it out on the book likely weren't going to pick it up anyway. we're all just here to be entertained.