[Green Lantern] What'd I Miss? - GL Questions...

[Viking Bastard]

I think I'm the only guy on Earth who actually liked that title. It was cancelled too early IMO.

One of two, then. Of course, I didn't read the title until well, well
after it's cancellation. It was... wonderfully surreal.

 

[Felon]

The thing is, when Barry Allen was killed and Wally West took up the mantle of the Flash, it felt natural. Barry died saving the universe singlehandedly (for a while) in the largest epic comics have ever known. And when his heir apparent (for many years) took up the role, it was to honor the fallen hero. After dealing with feelings of unworthiness, Wally eventually became a better Flash than his uncle and, as the Titans Secret Files said, "the only sidekick to ever fulfill the promise (of replacing their mentors)".
Had Hal passed away in similar circumstances (as a hero instead of turning into a villain and remaining around), Kyle would have suffered of less backlash.

Yes, turning Hal into a psychotic killer was ridiculous. Explain to me again why he couldn't have stopped Killowog from pummeling him by trapping the big guy in a tried-and-true green bubble instead of exploding his guts all over the place? Oh yeah, that's right: no reason at all.

Worse yet, the ring is handed off to some dork who's pretty damned annoying with his quasi-Mathew Perryesque dialogue and constant Matt-LeBlancesque cluelessness. I could buy the everyman approach if I felt that a guy named "Kyle" was an everyman. Instead, he basically seemed like the kind of art-school prettyboy that I couldn't stand in college.

 

[Nuclear Platypus]

Possibly, but it still is a monumentally irresponsible maneuver. Here Ganthet has one of the most powerful pieces of jewelry in the universe - more powerful than Hal Jordan's ring - and he just gives it away to some guy on the street. No clue to his background, no training, no mission, nothing. "Hey buddy... here, take this ring. What? <sigh> Yes, I'm a blue dwarf in a red dress. Nevermind that now. Just take this. You can split atoms with it and fly around the universe. Oh... wait a sec. You're good, right? You are? Great. Thanks. See Ya!"

It could've been worse. Some schmuck that was frozen then thawed out a few centuries later could've gotten the ring and ran amok. Oh wait. Duck Dodgers did have the ring for awhile. He got it after a mixup at the drycleaners.

 

[Agamon]

One of the best Hal Jordan stories was during Crisis, when he quit the corps and had to lead an assault against the moon of Qward wearing (iirc) a yellow ring. During that story, Hal's best friend, the bird-faced Tomar-Re, was killed and in the end Tomar gave his ring to Hal, who returned to the Corps and the other Green Lanterns projected an infinity symbol over him (and Tomar-Re), proclaiming "Once a Green Lantern, Always a Green Lantern".

Plus, that oath is just too cool! "In brightest day..."

I started reading comics during Crisis. Green Lantern quickly became my favorite comic. That story arc was amazing.

 

[Filby]

It all makes sense?

By the way, concerning the poor use of Hal Jordan and him going nuts on the GLC and becoming Parallax... I've just recently learned that there may be an explanation.

Hal Jordan wasn't wearing his own ring by the time Emerald Twilight rolled around... he was wearing Lord Malvolio's.

I just came across this page during some idle web-surfing. Though clearly the actual writing of the Emerald Twilight arc was shoddy, ill-conceived, and just... generally below contempt... if DC ever took some time to think about it, they could do some retroactive explaining.

According to the above "Malvolio FAQ", in some story in the 70s, the evil Lord Malvolio had used his own semi-GL power ring (stolen from his GL father but apparently powered by his own force of will -- he believed that it would work for him and believed it to be greater than other power rings). He used this ring to destroy Hal's, and when Hal later defeated Malvolio, he took Malvolio's ring to replace his own. According to that story's author, that was Malvolio's plan all along -- he had planned to use it to follow Hal back to Earth by tracking his ring there, but this was never made explicit in the comics. Apparently, the writers and editors of the GL comics totally forgot about this fact, and Lord Malvolio hasn't been seen since.

It was suggested (again by the story's author, Malvolio's creator) that most GL rings are wired by the Guardians to shield their bearer's psyche, to prevent them from going mad with power or losing control when their power failed them. As the power of Malvolio's belief in himself powered his father's ring and his lack of knowledge of its weakness made it possible for him to affect yellow, perhaps those flaws acquired by the ring through its contact with Malvolio rubbed off on Hal Jordan. Perhaps he went on his rampage because his ring was the only one that couldn't suppress his ego and id, causing him to go nuts with power and kill off all the other GLs -- something that he would not have done had he still been wearing his original ring.

Though the writers seem to have forgotten the fact, Hal Jordan/Parallax wore Lord Malvolio's power ring right up until he bit the dust. If they did remember, they just might have an explanation (if not a justification) for Emerald Twilight, no?

Hope that all made sense... I'm just a little tired and kinda... addle-headed?

 

[WayneLigon]

Though the writers seem to have forgotten the fact, Hal Jordan/Parallax wore Lord Malvolio's power ring right up until he bit the dust.

Could be, but since every bit of continuity before 1985 was invalivated by Crisis and later Zero Hour, it's stretching it. They can have it be so, or not be so, as they wish.

 

[Klaus]

Plus. I don't think Hal was ever THAT connected to Coast City...

During his tenure on GL, he was famous for backtalking to the Guardians, who constantly chided him for his not-by-the-books approach. For a while, he had to exile himself in space for a time, as punishment, and he quit the corps at least once before.

And he didn't go nuts when his all-time girlfriend, Carol Ferris, turned out to be half of the entity called Star Sapphire. Or when he was injected with heroin. Or when he travelled around the US, seeing firsthand all the darker issues of modern society.

When Coast City went ka-boom, his best friend (Oliver Queen), his sidekick (Tom "Pieface" Kalmaku) and the love of his life (Carol Ferris) all survived. Hal was more level-headed than that...

 

[VorpalBunny]

It could've been worse. Some schmuck that was frozen then thawed out a few centuries later could've gotten the ring and ran amok. Oh wait. Duck Dodgers did have the ring for awhile. He got it after a mixup at the drycleaners.

Best. Duck Dodgers. EVAH.

 

[Filby]

Could be, but since every bit of continuity before 1985 was invalivated by Crisis and later Zero Hour, it's stretching it. They can have it be so, or not be so, as they wish.

Yep. That's what I'm saying... they have the option of having it be so. If they do, I will consider Hal at least partially exonerated.

However, I really don't have much faith in DC where this is concerned. They can opt for the Malvolio explanation, but I imagine that chances are slim.

 

[Viking Bastard]

Well, if anyone's going to take care of this, well, it's Geoff Johns. He's to the
DCU what Kurt Busiek is to the MU. The DCU's continuity cop. I mean, he was
able to bring back Hawk-who-and-what-the-heck-am-I-man. Bringing back Hal
Jordan should be a cakewalk.