Leading into the Blackest Night storyline, the Rage of the Red Lanterns storyline features Jordan making use of both Red and Blue rings.<ref name=GL36>''Green Lantern'' (vol. 4) #36 (December 2008)</ref><ref name=GL37>''Green Lantern'' (vol. 4) #37 (January 2009)</ref> Making him the only known character to use four different rings: green/willpower, yellow/fear, red/rage, blue/hope.<ref name=GL38>''Green Lantern'' (vol. 4) #38 (February 2009)</ref>
Leading into the Blackest Night storyline, the Rage of the Red Lanterns storyline features Jordan making use of both Red and Blue rings.<ref name=GL36>''Green Lantern'' (vol. 4) #36 (December 2008)</ref><ref name=GL37>''Green Lantern'' (vol. 4) #37 (January 2009)</ref> Making him the only known character to use four different rings: green/willpower, yellow/fear, red/rage, blue/hope.<ref name=GL38>''Green Lantern'' (vol. 4) #38 (February 2009)</ref>
In the Agent Orange story arc, Hal Jordan is briefly in command of [[Agent Orange]]'s power battery after he steals it in a battle. The light converses with him, his costume changes, and he becomes the new Agent Orange. However, [[Lafleezee]] quickly takes his power battery back from Jordan. Hal's light count is now at five: [[Green Lantern Corps|green]]/[[willpower]], [[Sinestro Corps|yellow]]/[[fear]], [[Red Lantern Corps|red]]/[[rage]], [[Blue Lantern Corps|blue]]/[[hope]], and [[Agent Orange|orange]]/[[avarice]].
Jordan is also a character of focus in the new ''Justice League of America'' series as a charter member of the revamped JLA. He is also involved in the first plotline of the ''[[Brave and the Bold]]'' monthly series, teaming up first with [[Batman]] and later [[Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)|Supergirl]]. When teamed with the fledgling Supergirl, Hal is very impressed with her cleverness, although he finds her flirtatious behavior somewhat unnerving.<ref name=BB2>''Brave and the Bold'' (vol. 3) #2</ref>
Jordan is also a character of focus in the new ''Justice League of America'' series as a charter member of the revamped JLA. He is also involved in the first plotline of the ''[[Brave and the Bold]]'' monthly series, teaming up first with [[Batman]] and later [[Supergirl (Kara Zor-El)|Supergirl]]. When teamed with the fledgling Supergirl, Hal is very impressed with her cleverness, although he finds her flirtatious behavior somewhat unnerving.<ref name=BB2>''Brave and the Bold'' (vol. 3) #2</ref>
The revamp of Green Lantern as Hal Jordan was one of many old DC Comics characters to emerge in the Silver Age of comics.
Controversy erupted among comic book readers in 1994 when Hal Jordan was turned into the supervillainParallax to boost sales and promote the new Kyle Rayner as the only Green Lantern.
Jordan underwent a number of further changes in the 1990s including dying and later returning as a new incarnation of The Spectre. Hal Jordan returned to the role of Green Lantern in 2004's Green Lantern: Rebirth miniseries and is currently the protagonist of the current volume of Green Lantern.
Publication history
Recreated for the Silver Age
After achieving great success in 1956 in reviving the Golden Age character The Flash, DC editor Julius Schwartz looked toward recreating the Green Lantern from the Golden Age of Comic Books[citation needed]. Like The Flash, Schwartz wanted this new character to have a different secret identity, origin, and personality than his 1940s counterpart. A long time science-fiction fan and literary agent, Schwartz wanted a more sci-fi based Green Lantern, as opposed to the mystical powers of Alan Scott, the forties Green Lantern. He enlisted writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane, who in 1959 would reintroduce Green Lantern to the world in Showcase #22 (September-October 1959).
Like E.E. Doc Smith's Lensmen, the new Green Lantern was a member of an intergalactic constabulary made up of many different alien species who were given a device that provided them with great mental and physical abilities; [2] however, both Broome and Schwartz have denied a connection between those stories from science fiction pulps and the Green Lantern comic book stories[citation needed]. Gil Kane drew from actor Paul Newman in creating Hal Jordan's likeness[3] and redesigned the Green Lantern uniform into a very sleek form-fitting outfit of green, black, and white - quite the opposite of Alan Scott's red, yellow, green, purple, and black costume with a puffy shirt and cape.
The character was a success and it was quickly decided to follow-up his three issue run on Showcase with a self-titled series. Green Lantern #1 began in July-August 1960 and would continue until #84 in April-May 1972.
File:Showc22.pngCover to Showcase #22 (October 1959), the first appearance of Hal Jordan. Art by Gil Kane.
This creative team was responsible for introducing many of the major characters in Hal Jordan's life. First and foremost was Carol Ferris, Jordan's occasionally ditzy love interest. She was in charge of Ferris Aircraft, and as such, Hal's boss. While she preferred Green Lantern to Hal Jordan, she took an active role in trying to win him over, even going so far as to propose to him in the old Leap Year tradition. Although she gave Jordan some attention, her job and company always came first. Ferris was a strong-willed woman of authority at a time when this was rare, especially in comic books.
Another unique addition to Green Lantern's supporting cast was his best friend, Tom Kalmaku, who was both Hal's mechanic and the chronicler of his super-hero adventures. An Inuit (Eskimo) from Alaska, Tom's nickname was "Pie" or "Pieface", in reference to Eskimo Pie ice cream sandwiches. Like "Chop Chop" from the Blackhawk comics, this nickname is today understandably viewed as racist and has been downplayed by most modern writers[citation needed]. However, unlike "Chop Chop", Tom was actually a competent and intelligent character with a well-rounded personality, not a stereotypical buffoon. Despite the unfortunate nickname, Tom Kalmaku was among the first minority characters to be portrayed in this manner and broke new ground for mainstream comic books. Tom would later be followed by another trail-blazing minority character, John Stewart, the first African-American super-hero of the DC Universe.
Schwartz and company also allowed Jordan to have a family, which was another rare thing at this time in superhero comics. While he didn't have a wife or children of his own, he had many interactions with his two brothers, Jack and Jim. The Brothers Jordan were primarily inspired by the Kennedy brothers, who rose to prominence during the sixties.
When compared to comics of the thirties, forties, and early fifties, Green Lantern broke new storytelling ground and can be seen as a precursor to the "Marvel Revolution" that would take place several years later.[citation needed] Whereas older comics treated each issue as a stand-alone with no real sense of temporal direction between issues, Green Lantern's issues followed the order of publication, with references within the stories to previous stories and adventures. Not only were references made, but subplots (such as Hal and Carol's romance, the marriage of Tom Kalmaku, etc.) were advanced showing actual growth in the character's lives. While these subplots rarely were given much notice in comparison to Marvel's storylines in the sixties and especially to today's modern stories, they were the first step toward this sort of serial storytelling instead of the episodic nature of older comics[original research?].
Likewise, Green Lantern was one of the first comics to be a part of a "shared universe". The Justice League of America united several superheroes that DC owned, just as the Justice Society of America had in the Golden Age. The crucial difference was that events occurring in the Justice League title were reflected and referenced in individual superheroes' titles (such as Green Lantern).
Also adding to the advancement of the medium was Gil Kane's use of dynamic art.[citation needed] Whereas previously, comics had mostly stuck with a six panel page consisting of six equal sized rectangles, Kane's panels changed in size and shape to offer a more emotional and visceral experience. The action and/or scene dictated the art instead of being forced into a rigid box structure. In addition, while there had been plenty of flying superheroes in the past, none flew quite like Hal Jordan. Kane’s art made Hal look more like he was gliding or swimming through the air than the usual leaping or bullet-like flying motion of other superheroes. His fluid poses made Hal a more graceful and, as a result, realistic-looking flying man.[citation needed][original research?]
John Broome seemed to come up with stories centered on a common theme and then run them together within a fairly short time. For example, Green Lantern #2-4 each contained stories involving the anti-matter universe of Qward, issues #12 and #15 featured "Zero Hour" stories[clarification needed] , and issues #8 and #12 involved Hal being sent to the year 5700 AD in the guise of Pol Manning.[5]
Starting in issue #17, Gardner Fox joined the book to share writing duties with John Broome. The quartet of Schwartz, Broome, Fox, and Kane remained the core creative team until 1970.
The Era of Social Conscience
Starting with issue #76, Dennis O'Neil took over scripting duties and Neal Adams took over as artist. This issue is one of the comics which is considered to have ushered in the Bronze Age of Comic Books[citation needed]. It is worth noting that Neal Adams actually drew his first cover in Green Lantern #63 in the late Silver Age. The collaboration of O'Neil and Adams produced the most famous and celebrated runs on Green Lantern[citation needed]. Julius Schwartz remained editor and hand-selected the two[citation needed] to revitalize the title, whose sales had been slipping. O’Neil and Adams had already begun preparation for the classic run in the form of their re-workings of another DC character: Green Arrow.
Green Arrow was a character originally created by DC in 1941 (then known as National Comics). He was a wealthy businessman named Oliver Queen who wore a green Errol Flynn-esque Robin Hood costume and shot “trick” arrows in his efforts to fight crime. His characterization was fairly basic (borrowing heavily from Batman but lacking the depth and tragedy of that character[original research?]) and as such remained a second or third string hero throughout the Golden Age. However, the character managed to survive the fifties (during which most superhero comics were eliminated) by being a backup character in the Superboy comics. In 1961, DC added Green Arrow to the roster of the Justice League of America, but still remained in the background.
Three panels ushering in the O'Neil/Adams run in Green Lantern #76.
This changed in 1968 with Justice League of America #66. Written by Denny O’Neil, Green Arrow started to show resentment toward his fellow superheroes who wielded great power (as he himself, possessing exceptional skill but no actual super-powers, did not), but did little to help the ordinary people with ordinary problems. O’Neil continued to push Green Arrow’s tolerance for his peers, and a little less than a year later, Neal Adams (not working in any sort of cooperation with O’Neil) redesigned Arrow, giving him a goatee and a new outfit. Justice League of America #74 (still being written by O’Neil) introduced Black Canary as Arrow’s love interest and issue #75 left him broke, his company and fortune stolen from him. O’Neil wanted to recreate Green Arrow to better represent a modern Robin Hood, but felt a rich man would be a poor champion of the downtrodden[citation needed].
Some time after this, Schwartz invited O’Neil to take over Green Lantern. Wanting to represent his own political beliefs in comics and take on social issues of the late sixties and early seventies, O’Neil came up with the idea of pitting Hal Jordan, who as an intergalactic cop stood for not only Law and Order but The Establishment, against Oliver Queen, who O’Neil had characterized as a profoundly outspoken liberal and stood for the Counter-Culture Movement[citation needed]. The first issue he wrote had Green Lantern capturing a street "punk" who was pushing around a man. All around him, people start throwing things at the bewildered Jordan. As he steps in to attack, he is stopped by Green Arrow, who explains that the man he defended was a slum lord "fat cat" and goes even further to show Lantern the conditions of the slum. At the roof, in a now famous scene, an elderly African-American man grills Jordan as to why he has not done much for the "black skins" of his own planet while helping out other different colored aliens of other planets.
Following Schwartz's approval of the story, Neal Adams was brought in to replace Gil Kane, much to the surprise of Denny O'Neil. And yet, the pair had already been working together on Batman (where Adams successfully reconstructed the character into a more dramatic "Dark Knight"), Adams had been the one to redesign Green Arrow's costume, and the artist had a growing reputation for one who did not back down and pushed for innovative, good ideas[citation needed] and therefore, was the perfect candidate to work with O'Neil[original research?].
The pair tackled a number of social issues including corruption, sexism, cults, consumerism, the environment, racism, poverty, and even (subtly) child molestation[citation needed]. However, none were more shocking and controversial[citation needed] than the issue explored in the famous "Snowbirds Don't Fly" issues #85 and #86. Neal Adams drew the cover, which showed Green Arrow’s youthful side-kick, Speedy, shooting heroin. Editor Julius Schwartz did not want it published[citation needed]. Neither did publisher Carmine Infantino[citation needed]. But over at Marvel Comics, Stan Lee had green-lit Amazing Spider-Man #96, which featured pills and presented an anti-drug message without the Comics Code Authority seal. Facing opposition and controversy, the Comics Code Authority revised its rules in regard to what could and could not be presented in comic books and, while still restrictive, became more lenient. As a result[citation needed], DC approved Adams’ cover and O’Neil wrote a two-part story involving drugs with Speedy being hooked. Green Arrow, who was usually presented as being the more understanding and mentoring of the Arrow/Lantern duo, now had his world turned upside-down, not only unable to understand his own part in leading Speedy toward drugs, but even coming off as uncompassionate toward the troubled youth. With this story, Adams and O’Neil not only tackled a difficult social ill, but looked inward at the ways that their “champion of the everyman” could be wrong[original research?]. New York Mayor John V. Lindsay wrote a letter to DC in response to the issue commending them, which was printed in issue #86.
Due to losing sales Green Lantern/Green Arrow was canceled, one of many titles that ended publication under the reign of Carmine Infantino. Julius Schwartz had a reprint of an older story published for issue #88 and saw the comic he began back in 1959 come to an end in 1972 with issue #89. However, he had Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams do one last story together, stretched out over Flash #217-219 as a backup story.
In 1994, the Green Lantern books were becoming less profitable, so DC Comics decided to do away with Hal Jordan, hoping to replace him with a new character Kyle Rayner, in order to attract new readers to the failing title. The "Emerald Twilight" storyline began in Green Lantern (vol. 3) #48 (January 1994). Following the complete destruction of his home town Coast City by the villain Mongul, Hal Jordan descends into madness. Jordan went on a rampage, destroying the Green Lantern Corps, killing his friend Kilowog and all of the Guardians except for Ganthet.
Jordan's origin was revamped again in 2008, this time by Geoff Johns in the fourth volume of Green Lantern. This story, Secret Origin, is Hal Jordan's New Earth origin in the post-Infinite Crisis continuity, and also features a new villain, Atrocitus, who will appear in 2009's GL crossover The Blackest Night[citation needed].
Fictional character biography
Green Lantern History at Large
It is important to note that Green Lantern is something of an anomaly in the greater DC Comics universe. While most titles were "rebooted" with the 1980s Crisis on Infinite Earths, Green Lantern's continuity remained (for the most part) intact with relatively few exceptions (the only rule being, if a future issue contradicted something that came before, the subsequent issue would have precedence).
The second Green Lantern is Harold "Hal" Jordan, who in comics published in 1959 was a second-generation test pilot (having followed in the footsteps of his father, Martin Jordan) who was given the power ring and battery (lantern) by a dying alien named Abin Sur.[6] When Abin Sur's spaceship crashed on Earth, the alien used his ring to seek out an individual to take his place as Green Lantern: someone who was "utterly honest and born without fear" (which would be later retconned in Green Lantern vol. 4 as someone instead who would "overcome great fear").
The Beginning
Hal Jordan had a longtime on-again off-again love affair with his boss, Carol Ferris. He fought colorful 1960s-published villains such as Star Sapphire (a mind-altered Ferris), Hector Hammond, and the rogue Green Lantern, Sinestro. He was also a founding member of the Justice League of America in The Brave and the Bold #28 (1959), where he became friends with the Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen. Later, Hal became friends with Barry's nephew, Wally West, the third Flash (then known as Kid Flash).
Near the end of the sixties, Hal decided to finally propose to Carol only to discover that she'd already agreed to marry another man named Jason Belmore. Heartbroken, Hal quit his job as a test pilot at Ferris Aircraft and began traveling around America in a series of different jobs including a commercial pilot, an insurance investigator and a traveling toy salesman (where met and began dating Olivia Reynolds). The lack of interest led to diminishing sales on Green Lantern, prompting a startling new direction...
Hard Traveling Heroes
Green Lantern vol. 2, #76 (April 1970). Cover art by Neal Adams.
In comics published in 1970, torn between dealing with the intergalactic problems of the Guardians and his individual, personal issues on Earth, Jordan traveled across the United States with fellow hero Green Arrow in a "search for America," highlighted by tensions between the pair due to their different outlooks on life. One memorable scene from this period saw Green Lantern confronted by an elderly black man, who noted that the Green Lantern had done much for aliens with fantastic skin colors, but asked what he had done for the "black skins".
The Guardians assigned one of their own to accompany the pair for a time, while temporarily reducing the power of their insubordinate Lantern's ring[citation needed]. Meanwhile, a new character was introduced named John Stewart, who was designated by the Guardians to assume the role of the Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814 should Jordan ever become unable to perform his duties. John was chosen for this task when Jordan's previous back-up, Guy Gardner, was injured saving a young girl during an earthquake. Gardner later recovered, but was left a vegetable when his Power Battery exploded and hurled him into the Phantom Zone and the Anti-Matter Universe of Qward.
During this period, Hal had fallen in love with psychic Kari Limbo, whom he met following Gardner's presumed death. When Gardner was discovered alive on Hal & Kari's wedding day, Kari left Hal at the altar to care for Gardner, now in a coma. Soon afterwards, Hal dissolved his partnership with Green Arrow and returned to Ferris Aircraft to work as a test pilot once again.
The 80s Exile
In comics published in the early 1980s, Jordan was exiled into space for a year by the Guardians in order to prove his loyalty to the Green Lantern Corps, having been accused of paying too much attention to Earth when he had an entire "sector" of the cosmos to patrol. When he returned to Earth, he found himself embroiled in a dispute with Carol Ferris. Faced with a choice between love and the power ring, Jordan chose to resign from the Green Lantern Corps. The Guardians called upon Jordan's backup, John Stewart, to regular duty as his replacement.
In 1985, the Crisis on Infinite Earths saw Jordan once again take up the mantle of Green Lantern, even as the Guardians withdrew from his dimension for a while to consort with their female counterparts, the Zamarons. The new Corps, with seven members residing on Earth, including several aliens, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner. For a while, Jordan was romantically involved with an alien Lantern named Arisia. The alien Lanterns took a more direct hand in human affairs, a fact not appreciated by human governments. (Kilowog helped create the Rocket Reds for the Soviet Union). Eventually, the Earth corps broke up, several members returning to their home sectors. The Guardians soon returned to this dimension, and Jordan worked with them to rebuild the fractured Corps.
1990s
During this time, the character's origin story is re-told and expanded in two limited series by Gerard Jones, Emerald Dawn and Emerald Dawn II. The first series expanded the role of the Corps in his origin and also provided more details about his childhood and his relationship with his father and brothers, while the sequel detailed the role of Jordan in the downfall of Sinestro.
In the 1994 Emerald Twilight storyline in Green Lantern vol. 3, #48-50, the villainous alien Mongul comes to Earth in a plot to take advantage of the death of Superman. Jordan defeats Mongul, but not before Coast City (Jordan's former home) is destroyed and all of its inhabitants murdered. He tries to use his ring to recreate the city, but the Guardians condemned this use of the ring for personal gain and demand that Jordan come to Oa for trial. Angered at what he saw as the Guardians' ungrateful and callous behavior, Jordan goes insane and attacks Oa to seize the full power of the Central Power Battery, destroying the Corps in the process. He then renounces his life as Green Lantern, adopting the name Parallax.
As Parallax, he initiates the Zero Hour: Crisis in Time, attempting to rewrite history to his own liking, but he is eventually defeated by a gathering of heroes. Jordan is replaced by Kyle Rayner as the Green Lantern of Earth when Rayner comes into possession of the last power ring, created from the shattered remains of Jordan's. In the 1996 Final Night miniseries and crossover storyline, Jordan returns and sacrificing his life to reignite the Sun (which had been extinguished by the Sun-Eater).
During the Emerald Knights storyline, when Kyle Rayner went on an accidental time-traveling trip, in the he ended up unintentionally drawing a past version of Hal into the present where Hal was shocked to learn of the crimes his future self had committed as Parallax. [7]
In the 1999 mini-series Day of Judgment, Jordan becomes the newest incarnation of the Spectre. [8] Soon after assuming this mantle, Jordan chose to bend his mission from a spirit of vengeance to one of redemption, also making other appearances through some of DC's other storylines, such as advising Superman during the Emperor Joker storyline (Where the Joker stole the reality-warping power of Mister Mxyzptlk) and erasing all public knowledge of Wally West's identity as the Flash after his terrible first battle with Zoom. A new Spectre series based on this premise, however, lasted only 27 issues before cancellation due to poor sales.
2000s
Following up on the Green Lantern: Rebirth miniseries, DC Comics subsequently began a new Green Lantern (vol. 4) series starting with issue #1 (July 2005), with Hal Jordan once again the main character. Trying to rebuild his life, Hal Jordan has moved to the nearly deserted Coast City, which is slowly being reconstructed. He has been reinstated as a Captain in the United States Air Force, and works in the Test Pilot Program at Edwards Air Force Base which is called unrealistic by some readers. The series introduces new supporting characters for Hal, most notably a man from Hal's past, Air Force's General Jonathan "Herc" Stone, who learned Hal's secret as Green Lantern during a battle with the Manhunters and acts as his ally. He also begins to develop a romantic attraction with his fellow pilot, the beautiful Captain Jillian "Cowgirl" Pearlman.[9][10][11] The returning characters also include Carol Ferris, Tom Kalmaku, and Hal's younger brother James Jordan with his sister-in-law Susan and their children, Howard and Jane.
Hal helps briefly with the attack of the OMACs and Brother Eye.[15] He also fights alongside a group of heroes against the Society, defending Metropolis. Guy Gardner, leads the Green Lantern Corps attack against Superboy-Prime with Hal appearing in the group.[16]
As part of DC's retconning of the entire universe, as of Green Lantern vol. 4, #10, the book has skipped ahead one year, bringing drastic changes to Hal Jordan's life, as with every other hero in the DC Universe. It is revealed that Jordan spent time as a P.O.W. in an un-named conflict and has feelings of guilt from his inability to free himself and his fellow Captives.[17]
A new account of Green Lantern's origins was released in the (2008) Green Lantern series. In this new origin, Hal Jordan, is working as an assistant mechanic under Tom Kalmaku himself, barred from flying due to his insubordination while in the U.S.A.F. and his employers lingering guilt about his father's death in the line of duty, when Abin Sur, fighting Atrocitus of the Five Inversion, crashes near Coast City.[18][19]
Leading into the Blackest Night storyline, the Rage of the Red Lanterns storyline features Jordan making use of both Red and Blue rings.[22][23] Making him the only known character to use four different rings: green/willpower, yellow/fear, red/rage, blue/hope.[24]
In the Agent Orange story arc, Hal Jordan is briefly in command of Agent Orange's power battery after he steals it in a battle. The light converses with him, his costume changes, and he becomes the new Agent Orange. However, Lafleezee quickly takes his power battery back from Jordan. Hal's light count is now at five: green/willpower, yellow/fear, red/rage, blue/hope, and orange/avarice.
Jordan is also a character of focus in the new Justice League of America series as a charter member of the revamped JLA. He is also involved in the first plotline of the Brave and the Bold monthly series, teaming up first with Batman and later Supergirl. When teamed with the fledgling Supergirl, Hal is very impressed with her cleverness, although he finds her flirtatious behavior somewhat unnerving.[25]
Other versions
As with other characters published by DC comics, many alternative universe versions and analogues of the character have appeared within both the Green Lantern series and other titles. In Action Comics #856, a Bizarro version of Hal, called Yellow Lantern, is featured. Yellow Lantern possessed a Sinestro Corps ring and used to inflict fear among Htrae's inhabitants.
In the DC/Marvel Company crossover series Amalgam, there appeared to be two amalgams of Hal. The Iron Lantern was the amalgam of Hal Jordan and Tony Stark. His identity was know as Hal Stark. Another unknown amalgam of Hal Jordan appeared in Speed Demon #1, in which the Speed Demon killed him, as apparently this Jordan had committed a horrible crime.
Hal Jordan is a character in JLA/Avengers, which featured a crossover between DC and Marvel Comics. Despite the fact that both teams travel to both of their respective universes, this is one of the few comics featuring multiple universes that remains in (DC) continuity.
An alternate version of Hal Jordan also appeared in the Pocket Universe Earth created by the Time Trapper. He, along with various other heroes who had no superpowers in this reality, teamed up with a good version of Lex Luther to stop three evil Kryptonians who had escaped from the Phantom Zone. Hal Jordan piloted an advanced jet craft that was easily destroyed by the Kryptonians.
Hal Jordan made his first cartoon appearance in 1967 in an eponymously-titled segment of The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure cartoon by Filmation. In it, he fought evil with the aid of a blue-skinned, pointed-eared sidekick Kairo, Hal's Venusian Helper. It is revealed that Hal is a member of the JLA. In these cartoons, Hal Jordan was voiced by Gerald Mohr.
Green Lantern was featured as a 'guest hero' in The All-New Super Friends Hour. Unfortunately, his powers were consistently misrepresented, including the introduction of a "Lantern Jet" (it could be "materialized by his power ring"), which he used to fly-ignoring the fact that the power ring granted him that ability. Also, whenever Green Lantern would use his ring to create something, such as a life raft or a double-bladed transport helicopter, the final product would often be shown with its appropriate colors, instead of the same green shade as the power beam.
Around the same time, a two part mini-series of live-action films featuring The Justice League and their villains The Legion of Doom was produced under the title Legends of the Superheroes. It featured Howard Murphy as Hal Jordan.
In the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Once and Future Thing Part II: Time Warped" Hal Jordan appears when time becomes fluid and John Stewart is changed into Hal, or rather is replaced by Hal. He introduces himself as "Hal Jordan. Another timeshift, I'm up to speed, carry on." Later as the assembled heroes close in on the time-warping villain responsible, Hal reverts back to John. Hal was voiced by Adam Baldwin in this episode. Jordan is not seen again after this.
In the fourth season finale of The Batman, "The Joining", the Justice League was introduced. Hal Jordan was included among its members, in a non-speaking cameo. He and the other members of the League play a role in the show's fifth season. He appears in the episode "Ring Toss" voiced by File:Duck dodgers Hal Jordan.jpgHal Jordan in Duck DodgersDermot Mulroney.
Hal Jordan also appeared in a 2003 episode of the Duck Dodgers animated series entitled The Green Loontern, in which Duck Dodgers is mistakenly given a Green Lantern uniform by his dry cleaners. Donning it, he meets the Corps and fights Sinestro before meeting Hal (voiced by Kevin Smith), who is wearing Dodgers' too-small uniform.
Hal Jordan is a playable character in the video game, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. His Game Ending has him and the other Green Lanterns becoming aware of a giant pyramid (from MK: Armageddon) emerging. Realizing Sinestro could try and take the pyramid's secret, he and the Green Lantern Corps try to stop him.
Hal Jordan appears in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode The Eyes of Despero, voiced by Loren Lester. He is first seen leading many other Green Lanterns into battle against Despero, only to have them be turned against him by Despero's mind control. Releasing a discharge of power from his ring, he seemingly perished in the blast alongside his fellow Lanterns, with his ring going across the universe in search of another wielder. It makes its way to Batman, sending him to space. Hal, the missing in action Lanterns, and the Guardians of the Universe were revealed to be alive and in the ring near the end.
A nod to Hal Jordan was made in Ninja Turtles (2003) 7th season episode "The Super Power Struggle". The character in reference was Al Gordon, The Green Mantle. An emerald cape gives him super powers, however it is not triggered by will power. The character lost the cape after a fight with his arch nemsis, Mechazar. A kid found it and kept it as a collectible for more than 25 years. The character in modern day looks like Hal Jordan from 1990 to 2004 with the gray steaks of hair. He reclaims the cape and repairs it to resume the identity of The Green Mantle.
Hal Jordan first appeared in Showcase #22-24 (September 1959 – February 1960, DC Comics). After that, he was given his own series. Over the years, it has been renamed, canceled, and rebooted several times. His “core” series have been:
Green Lantern (vol. 2) #1-75 (July 1960 – March 1970, DC Comics). Renamed following issue #75.
Flash (vol. 1) #217-246 (August 1972 – January 1977, DC Comics). Hal’s stories were a backup feature which stopped following his own title’s return.
Green Lantern/Green Arrow #90-122 (August 1976 – November 1979, DC Comics). Renamed following issue #122.
Green Lantern (vol. 2) #123-200 (December 1979 – May 1986, DC Comics). Renamed following issue #200.
Green Lantern Corps #201-224 (June 1986 – May 1988, DC Comics). Canceled following issue #224.
Action Comics Weekly #601-635 (24 May 1988 – 17 January 1989, DC Comics). Hal’s stories were one of several characters featured in the series. Canceled following issue #635.
Green Lantern Special #1 (1988). Tying in with the stories from Action Comics Weekly.
Green Lantern Special #2 (1989). Concluding the story plots from Action Comics Weekly, after the anthology series' cancellation.
Green Lantern (vol. 3) #1-50 (June 1990 – March 1994, DC Comics). Following issue #50, the character Kyle Rayner took over this series.
The Spectre (vol. 4) #1-27 (March 2001 – May 2003, DC Comics). Hal Jordan's adventures as the Wrath of God. Canceled following issue #27.
Justice League of Europe #39-61 (June 1992 – February 1994, DC Comics). At the time of joining, Hal took leadership of this team, but left for “personal reasons” following the destruction of Coast City.
JSA #19-20(February 2001 - March 2001), 60-62 (June 2004 - August 2004), JSA: All Stars #1 (July 2003), 8 (February 2004). After becoming the Spectre, Hal aided The Justice Society of America on several different adventures.
JLA #35 (November 1999), 115-120 (August 2005 - January 2006). While he was The Spectre, Hal aided the JLA on one case. After becoming Green Lantern once again, Hal rejoined and aided the JLA on their final case before breaking up once more and attended the gathering to announce the official dissolving of the JLA.
Justice League of America (vol. 2) #1- (October 2006 – , DC Comics). Hal had been chosen by Superman, Wonder Woman, and (reluctantly) Batman to be a part of the new incarnation of the League.
Collected editions
Hal Jordan's stories have been collected into a number of volumes:
Volume 1 (collects Showcase #22-24 and Green Lantern (vol. 2) #1-5, 201 pages, ISBN 1-56389-087-9)[28]
Volume 2 (collects Green Lantern (vol. 2) #6-13, 210 pages, ISBN 1-56389-566-8)[29]
Volume 3 (collects Green Lantern (vol. 2) #14-21, 208 pages, ISBN 1-56389-713-X)[30]
Volume 4 (collects Green Lantern (vol. 2) #22-29, 209 pages, ISBN 1-56389-811-X)[31]
Volume 5 (collects Green Lantern (vol. 2) #30-38, 240 pages, ISBN 1-4012-0404-X)[32]
Volume 6 (collects Green Lantern (vol. 2) #39-47, 240 pages, ISBN 1-4012-1189-5)[33]
The Green Lantern Chronicles (color, softcover):
Volume 1 (collects Showcase #22-24 and Green Lantern (vol. 2) #1-3, DC Comics, May 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2163-7,[34]Titan Books, June 2009, ISBN 1848562241)
Volume 2 (DC Comics, December 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2499-7)
Emerald Knights (collects Green Lantern (vol. 3) #99-106 and Green Arrow #136, ISBN 1-56389-475-0)[44]
Flashbacks:
Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold (collects 6-issue limited series, 2001, ISBN 1-56389-708-3)[45]
Green Lantern: Willworld (graphic novel, hardcover, July 2004, ISBN 1-56389-782-2)[46] softcover, January 2004, ISBN 1-56389-993-0)[47]
As Spectre:
The Power of Ion (collects Green Lantern (vol. 3) #142-150, May 2003, ISBN 1-56389-972-8)
Green Lantern: Brother's Keeper (collects Green Lantern (vol. 3) #151-155 and Green Lantern Secret Files #3, December 2002, ISBN 1-4012-0078-8)
On his return:
Green Lantern: Rebirth (collects 6-issue limited series, hardcover, DC Comics, January 2005, ISBN 1-4012-0710-3,[48] Titan Books, December 2005, ISBN 1845761316, softcover, DC Comics, January 2008, ISBN 1-4012-0465-1)[49]
Green Lantern: No Fear (collects Green Lantern (vol. 4) #1-6 and Green Lantern Secret Files and Origins #1, hardcover, DC Comics, April 2006, ISBN 1-4012-0466-X,[50] softcover, Titan Books, June 2008, ISBN 1845762045, DC Comics, May 2009, ISBN 1-4012-1058-9)[51]
Revenge of the Green Lantern (collects Green Lantern (vol. 4) #7-13, hardcover, November 2006, ISBN 1-4012-1167-4,[53] softcover, October 2008, ISBN 1-4012-0960-2)[54]
Wanted: Hal Jordan (collects Green Lantern (vol. 4) #14-20, hardcover, August 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1339-1,[55] softcover, January 2009, ISBN 1-4012-1590-4)[56]
Green Lantern Corps: To Be a Lantern (collects Green Lantern Corps (vol. 2) #1-6, May 2007, ISBN 1-4012-1356-1)[57]
Green Lantern Corps: The Dark Side of Green (collects Green Lantern Corps (vol. 2) #7-13, April 2008, ISBN 1-4352-5617-4)[58]
Volume 1 (collects Green Lantern (vol. 4) #21-23, Green Lantern Corps (vol. 2) #14-15 and "Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special" one-shot, hardcover, February 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1650-1,[59] softcover, May 2009, Titan Books, ISBN 1845767837, DC Comics, ISBN 1-4012-1870-9)[60]
Volume 2 (collects Green Lantern (vol. 4) #24-25 and Green Lantern Corps (vol. 2) #16-19, hardcover, July 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1800-8,[61] softcover, Titan Books, July 2009, ISBN 1845768795, DC Comics, June 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2036-3)[62]
Tales of the Sinestro Corps Wars (collects "Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special", "Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Ion", "Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Parallax", "Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Cyborg Superman", "Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman Prime", "Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps Secret Files" and back-up stories from Green Lantern #16-20, hardcover, July 2008, Titan Books, ISBN 1845768965, DC Comics, ISBN 1-4012-1801-6)[63] softcover, July 2009, ISBN 1845768973, DC Comics, June 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2326-5)[64]
Green Lantern Corps: Ring Quest (collects Green Lantern Corps (vol. 2) #19-26, Titan Books, January 2009, ISBN 1848561164, DC Comics, December 2008, ISBN 1-4012-1975-6)[65]
Green Lantern: Rage of the Red Lanterns (collects Green Lantern (vol. 4) #26-28, 36-38 and "Final Crisis: Rage of the Red Lanterns", 176 pages, hardcover, July 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2301-X)[66]
Green Lantern: Secret Origin (collects Green Lantern (vol. 4) #29-35, hardcover, Titan Books, January 2009, ISBN 1848560494, December 2008, DC Comics, ISBN 1-4012-1990-X)[67]
Green Lantern Corps: Sins of the Star Sapphire (collects Green Lantern Corps (vol. 2) #27-32, Titan Books, July 2009, ISBN 1848563183, DC Comics, June 2008, ISBN 1-4012-2273-0)[68]
Green Lantern: Agent Orange (collects Green Lantern (vol. 4) #39-42, hardcover, 128 pages, November 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2421-0)
Daniels, LesDC Comics: Sixty Years of the World’s Favorite Comic Book Heroes. Boston, MA: Bulfinch, 1995. ISBN 0-8212-2076-4
O'Neil, Dennis "Introduction by Dennis O'Neil". Green Lantern/Green Arrow Volume One. Ed. Robert Greenberger. New York, NY: DC Comics, 2000. ISBN 1-4012-0224-1
Giordano, Dick "Introduction by Dick Giordano". Green Lantern/Green Arrow: More Hard-Traveling Heroes. Ed. Robert Greenberger. New York, NY: DC Comics, 1993. ISBN 1-56389-086-0
Lawrence, Christopher "Neal Adams". Wizard. Sept. 2003.
