Odds are if you know a Green
Lantern, it’s probably Hal Jordan. Much like one of his best friends Barry
Allen, Hal was created to revive the Green Lantern series. And, much like
Barry, Hal was a big enough hit to help DC comics become one of the two comic juggernauts.
Enough gushing about Hal…well, not really. Let’s get to it.
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| Brightest Day doesn't mean blinding people Hal! |
Harold “Hal” Jordan was born the
middle son of Martin and Jessica Jordan. Also, oddly enough, he’s the only one
of the three Jordan boys whose first name doesn’t start with a J. It’s not
important, it’s just a weird tidbit. Martin Jordan was a test pilot for Ferris
Aircraft before his tragic death in a plane crash. Hal, I’m assuming much to
his mother’s horror, decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. Like
literally, Air Force as soon as he turned 18, and then joining Ferris Aircraft
as a test pilot when his tour of duty was over. There’s honoring your father’s
memory, and then there’s Hal Jordan. He quickly became Ferris Aircraft’s ace
test pilot, and started charming the boss’s daughter Carol. The man lives
dangerously. Or he’s an idiot, dealer’s choice.
A few years later an injured Green
Lantern named Abin Sur crash landed near Hal’s home, Coast City. Knowing that
he was dying, Sur took his Lantern Ring and ordered it to find a new host from
amongst the populace. The Ring flew straight to Hal. Apparently the whole
conquering his greatest fears by following his Dad’s path exactly earned him
points with the quasi-magical instrument. The ring brought him back to Sur, who
explained a bit about the Green Lantern Corps before dying of blood loss. The
ring filled in the rest of the details.
He was later transported, in some
versions basically abducted, to the Green Lantern homeworld of Oa. His greeting
was less than warm. This was due in part to him replacing Abin Sur, who was
considered one of the greatest Green Lanterns and beloved by the Corps, you try
and win friends in that environment. Also, most of the other Corps members and
the Guardians have a dim view of humanity. Apparently they were unimpressed
with WWI and II, Slavery, the Crusades, the Trail of Tears, the Spanish Inquisition,
Apartheid, the other general bad and cruel things humanity has done, and the Twilight
Movies…. Okay, that last one is untrue. But I doubt those books/movies helped
earn us points. Despite the general misgivings around Hal, apparently they can’t
kick you out of the Lantern Corps because you come from a less than stellar
planet. Hal received strict training under the Green Lantern Drill Sergeant
Kilowag. You ever been trained by a seven foot tall man-hippo? Not pleasant. He
was also mentored by the new most respected Green Lantern, Sinestro. After some
rough patches, Hal earned the respect of the better part of the Corps. Then he
learned something awful.
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| How does that mask fool anyone? It covers like ten percent of his face. |
Hal learned that Sinestro, at this
point a trusted colleague and mentor, was abusing the power of the Green
Lantern Corps in his sector, most specifically his homeworld of Korugar.
Apparently he’d deposed the leaders of Korugar and set up a puppet government
that he controlled in the shadows. He reported his findings to the rest of the
Lantern Corps and the Guardians. He was placed on the team in charge of
apprehending Sinestro and the former Master and Apprentice waged a fierce
battle. In the end, Hal was victorious, Sinestro was stripped of his Lantern
ring and banished to the anti-matter universe, and Hal earned the respect of
the rest of the Corps. It seems that the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 is
destined for greatness. Oh, and Sinestro eventually returns, forms his own
Lantern Corp that uses the yellow light of Fear and swore everlasting vengeance
upon Hal Jordan, his Green Lantern successors, his heirs, and the human race in
general. Damn, with anger like that, Sinestro should have tried out for the Red
Lantern Corps. They use hate.
Hal gained his power from the power
ring of the Green Lantern Corps. With it, he can create hard-light constructs,
fly, create protective barriers around himself and others, translate any known
language, and make his costume. His powers are limited only by his imagination.
Certain functions, like the protective barrier that encases him when he travels
into space or beneath the ocean, are automatic. In space Hal can flight close
to the speed of light. In terms of personal talents, he’s an ace pilot and has
an indomitable even by Green Lantern standards.
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| Hit the deck! |
Also, fun fact, Hal has been part
of the most Lantern Corps. At one time or another he’s been part of the
Sinestro (Yellow, Fear), Orange (Avarice/Greed), Red (Rage), Blue (Hope), White
(Life) and Black (Death) Lantern Corps. The only two he’s never been a part of
are the Star Sapphires (Violet, Love) and the Indigo (Compassion) Tribe. The
man likes to try different colors.
Despite being one of the first and
most popular Lanterns, Hal’s appearances have been rather sporadic in other DC
media. That is until about ten years or so ago.
In the animated universe (1992-2006)
he only appears once, and is referenced one other time. His first “appearance”
was in Superman: The Animated Series.
In this version, the fourth human member of the Green Lantern Corps, Kyle
Rayner, is depicted as being the first. While fighting Human Lantern arch
nemesis Sinestro, Rayner crashes into Hal’s plane. His only on screen appearance
was in the Justice League: Unlimited episode
“The Once and Future Thing.” In this episode, a time-traveling villain screws
with time leading to time becoming “fluid.” A number of random changes occur,
chiefly that Justice League GL John Stewart was temporarily replaced with Hal
Jordan. Apparently his ring brought him “up to speed” so there was no need to
waste time explaining things. When Jordan is returned to wherever-he-was-before
with a bewildered looking Stewart dropped back into place and exasperated
Static tells him to “Make up your mind!” And that’s it. Arguably the greatest
human Green Lantern, two mini-cameos. They could have at least had him as a
background character in that episode I mentioned where the Amazo Android “destroys”
Oa. Would that have been so hard?
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| Two of the best they've ever had. Bet that helped change the Guardian's tune. |
He along with several other Justice
League members appeared in The Batman fifth
season. In the episode “Ring Toss” Hal stops by to visit the Batcave and
impress young Robin. On his flight home he’s assaulted by Sinestro. The two get
into an intense battle, ending with Hal sending his ring off rather than let
Sinestro steal it. The Ring is supposed to get to Batman, but is instead
intercepted by The Penguin. He gets to use it for some reason, despite never having
been shown to have exceptional willpower. Damn poor writers. Batman eventually
gets the ring and saves Hal. All’s well that ends well.
Hal had one major role in an episode
of Batman: The Brave and the Bold, entitled
“The Eyes of Despero!” Hal’s the only one to overcome Despero’s mind control,
and opts to “destroy” the Lantern Corps and the Guardian’s rather than let them
be Despero’s slaves. The ring travels to Batman, who rounds up the three
remaining Lanterns and saves the day. It’s revealed that Hal merely sealed
everyone into his ring and waited for Batman to break Despero’s control of the
Lantern Corps. And that’s about it. He has a few non-speaking cameos, the rest
of the Lantern appearances were focused on his successor Guy Gardner.
In Young Justice Hal was one of three Lanterns shown. He is largely a
background character, he helps fellow Lantern John Stewart transport
Blockbuster at the end of the first episode, and his one line of the entire
series is when he and John aggressively shoot down Barry Allen’s suggestion
that the League should extend an invite to Guy Gardner. Double Lantern “NO!”
twice, a strong objection indeed.
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| New look, same old Hal. |
Hal Jordan is the protagonist of
the TV series Green Lantern: The Animated
Series. In it, Hal and former drill sergeant and friend Kilowag travel to the
outermost regions of Lantern territory to investigate a Lantern Killer. In classic
Hal style, they steal the GL’s fastest ship, the Interceptor, to get there when
the Guardian’s shoot down his investigation idea. A Lantern traveling under
their own power would take a year and a half to reach the Lantern Frontier. It
was supposed to be a quick mission, but it turned into a life or death mission
to stop the evil Atrocitus and the Red Lantern Corps from invading Lantern
territory. A mission made more difficult by the fact the Interceptor’s high
speed “Transwarp Drive” is damaged in the second episode. Along the way they
recruit a rogue Red Lantern named Razor, and their ship’s AI Aya gets her own
body, making it a group of four verses thousands. No pressure. As the show goes
on they introduce other well-known Lanterns like the fishy Tomar-Re, the
squirrel like Ch’p, the jerky Guy Gardner and the colossal Mogo. They name drop
John Stewart in one episode and reference Alan Scott in another. If the show
had continued we might have seen those guys, too. But no, cancelled for ANOTHER
Batman show. Just about everyone loves Batman, but we could use some time
apart.
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| Nathan Fillion really gets into his parts. |
Green
Lantern: First Flight was a movie adaptation of Hal’s origins. The major difference
being that Sinestro gains his Yellow Ring before being banished. He’s voiced by
Christopher Meloni, you know from Law and
Order: SVU. This is what the Green Lantern Live action movie should have
been. Check it out.
He’s a central character in both Justice League: Doom, The Flashpoint
Paradox, War and Throne of Atlantis. There’s too much to cover, just check
them all out. He is portrayed by Nathan Fillion in JL Doom, Flashpoint Paradox, and Throne of Atlantis. In my opinions he's the best voice of Hal.
His live action movie sucks, don’t
waste your time.
I really enjoy Hal Jordan. He’s one
of those characters that is a good mix of comedy and seriousness. The best
example of this occurred in Green
Lantern: TAS. He makes a crack about being “80% certain (he) charged it
this time” when his and Kilowag’s rings cut out in a fight. In a later episode Kilowag
was attempting to have a serious meeting in the Interceptor, and during it Hal
was playing Pong with by himself with his ring. There’s a reason why he and
Barry Allen get along real well, they’re both wisecracking, semi-serious
characters with at least one parent that died tragically. The recipe for a
really fun character. And despite his most jerkish tendencies he’s shown to be
a real leader in crisis situations, particularly against monsters like Parallax,
and Darkseid, and just plan dicks like Sinestro and Atrocitus. And despite the
lackluster 2011 film I look forward to his next foray onto the silver screen.
Unless he gets passed over for Guy or John, then I’ll have words. He’s the
Emerald Knight, Hal Jordan. Next time, the Ginger Green Lantern, Guy Gardner.
http://greenlantern.wikia.com/wiki/Green_Lantern_%28Hal_Jordan%29
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Hal_Jordan_%28Earth-16%29
http://greenlantern.wikia.com/wiki/Hal_Jordan_%28Batman:_The_Brave_and_The_Bold%29
http://greenlantern.wikia.com/wiki/Green_Lantern_Corps_%28Young_Justice%29
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Hal_Jordan_%28War%29
http://funny-pictures.picphotos.net/geek-god-nathan-fillion-from-cult-hero-to-tv-star-nathan-fillion-on/nathanfillion.org*wp-content*uploads*1147-COVER_300-225x300.jpg/
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