HAL JORDAN : Greatest GREEN LANTERN

HAL JORDAN : Greatest GREEN LANTERN HAL JORDAN : Greatest GREEN LANTERN

"I've always done what I truly believed was right. At first, people called me a hero for it... and then a villain. As the memory of what I've done -- and been -- fades, I hope I will be seen... in a different light." --HAL JORDAN
With a looming GREENLANTERN movie in the horizon, it's best to brush up everything we need to know about the Greatest of them all - HAL JORDAN.

Feature Opinion
By PollMaster - Apr 13, 2011 12:04 PM EST
Filed Under: Other
Source: DCMU




Who is HAL JORDAN?
HAL JORDAN is a test pilot. The succesor of Abin Sur as GREEN LANTERN in sector 2814 and the first earthman ever inducted into the GREEN LANTERN Corps. He is a hero, member of the Justice League. Then was disgraced as the villain, Parallax . He began his redemption in the form of Spectre. Rebirthed once more to the hero he truly is, The GREEN LANTERN.

Harold "Hal" Jordan is a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the GREEN LANTERN moniker. HAL JORDAN was created in the Silver Age of Comic Books by John Broome and Gil Kane, and made his first appearance in Showcase #22 (October 1959).

What are his powers and abilities?


HAL JORDAN posseses no superhuman powers, but with his GREEN LANTERN Ring , he can do many things that a normal human cannot; like fly, create solid light constructs, forcefields, and anything the ring and his imagination will allow him to do.

Indomitable Will

Abilities
GREEN LANTERN Ring Mastery: Jordan's constructs are among the most powerful. When he creates them, one often witnesses an "afterburner" behind Jordan of all his stray thoughts unconnected to the job at hand.

Skilled Boxer

Expert Pilot

Strength level
Class 100+; while using constructs created by the ring Hal is effectively able to lift/move tremendous weights far heavier than 100 tons with little effort Without the ring Hal possesses the strength of a man his age,height and build who engages in regular exercise making him capable of press lifting at least his own weight.



What are the changes he underwent?

1. GREEN LANTERN
Early appearances:
Showcase (1959 - 1960)

HAL JORDAN was a recreation of DC's Golden Age GREEN LANTERN with a changed secret identity, origin, and personality than his 1940s counterpart. HAL JORDAN's GREEN LANTERN is sci-fi based as opposed to the mystical powers of the Golden Age GREEN LANTERN, Alan Scott. This 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. Paul Newman was the basis for HAL JORDAN's likeness, and redesigned the GREEN LANTERN uniform into a sleek form-fitting green, black, and white outfit.

Paul Newman basis of HAL JORDAN's likeness


The Brave and the Bold (HAL JORDAN appeared in this series sporadically from 1960 - 1981)

Note: the minor change on the LANTERN symbol on his chest, previously the LANTERN had a circular white in the middle of the logo, now the LANTERN is solid green.

GREEN LANTERN Vol. 2 (1960-1986)



Costume-wise there is not much change throughout the series. Only that minor detail again on his LANTERN symbol that reverted to having a circular white within the LANTERN, on the later part of the series.

Justice League of America (1960 - 1987)



GREEN LANTERN was one of the first characters to be part of a "shared universe". HAL JORDAN being one of the founders of the Justice League of America, had him united with several other superheroes. Though their precursor the Justice Society of America already had done this in the Golden Age of comics. The crucial difference was that events occurring in the Justice League title were reflected and referenced in individual superheroes' titles.

GREEN LANTERN Corps (1986 - 1988)

HAL JORDAN for a time quit being a GREEN LANTERN but not for long as he took up the ring again and join a revitalized GREEN LANTERN Corps. Seven members of the corps were residing on Earth at that time, including several aliens. The alien LANTERNs took a more direct hand in human affairs, a fact not appreciated by human governments. Eventually, the Earth corps broke up and returned to their home sectors.

Action Comics (1967 - 2010) HAL JORDAN has appeared sparsingly in this series, but he prominently appeared here in 1988.

Until this point we still do not see any significant change on HAL JORDAN himself and his GREEN LANTERN costume.

Emerald Dawn I & II(1981 - 1991)
In this series HAL JORDAN's origin story is re-told. The role of the GREEN LANTERN Corps in his origin is expanded and the series 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.




GREEN LANTERN Vol. 3 (1990 - 1991)

This is where we start see the fall of HAL JORDAN. (Visually indicated by the strips of white hair on the sides of his head, Hal's getting old fast from the stress of being a GREEN LANTERN).

2. Parallax
First appeared as Parallax GREEN LANTERN Vol 3 #50 (March, 1994)

Grief stricken by losing the city he protects, HAL JORDAN went insane and transformed into Parallax. He left a path of destruction and slaughter throughout the universe all the way to the GREEN LANTERN Guardian's homeplanet of Oa.

As Parallax he attempted to rewrite history. But was defeated by a gathering of heroes. In the Final Night miniseries and crossover storyline, Jordan returns and sacrifices his life to reignite the Sun, which had been extinguished by the Sun-Eater.

Later on in GREEN LANTERN: Rebirth, Parallax was revealed as an alien parasitic entity that caused HAL JORDAN's turn to villainy. Since then, this entity has found new hosts in other GREEN LANTERNs as well as rebonding with HAL JORDAN.
parallax_rebirth_041311

3. Spectre
In the 1999 mini-series Day of Judgment, after the first Parallax incident, Jordan becomes the newest incarnation of the Spectre. Soon after assuming this mantle, Jordan chooses to bend his mission from a spirit of vengeance to one of redemption.


4. Rebirth
HAL JORDAN is then separated with the Spectre, and is now "reborn" as a GREEN LANTERN. Knowing now that his turn as Parallax was due to an alien parasitic entity. He still have to prove himself to the superhero community that indeed he has returned to their side.


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.

Changes in his GREEN LANTERN costume is still minor, the GREENpart of his costume now does not extend all the way to his crotch area but now ends on the waist. The GREEN LANTERN logo on his chest sometimes is depicted as embossed. GREEN LANTERNs now adds a little light construct of their logo flashing a few inches out of their chest as sort of a beacon.

5. Changing Colors
With the introduction of other colored LANTERN Corps, HAL JORDAN on few occassions have worn this other rings.

Red LANTERN:


Blue LANTERN:


Orange LANTERN:


Black LANTERN:


White LANTERN:

Most of these transformations does not last long.

HAL JORDAN in Live Media
1. Howard Murphy
The first live appearance of GREEN LANTERN was way back in 1979 in Legends of the Superheroes TV specials. This version of GREEN LANTERN is HAL JORDAN and he was portrayed by Howard Murphy.


2. Ryan Reynolds
Ryan Reynolds plays HAL JORDAN in a 2011 Martin Campbell directed GREEN LANTERN movie.






sources: http://superherouniverse.com/wiki/Hal_Jordan/index.html : http://www.comicvine.com/hal-jordan/29-11202/ : http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Green_Lantern_(Hal_Jordan) : http://stars.ign.com/objects/924/924014.html : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Jordan : http://www.dcuguide.com/glcorps/profile.php?name=GREEN LANTERN2 : http://screamsheet.wordpress.com/2011/02/16/superhero-makeovers-hal-jordan-the-green-lantern/ : http://www.hyperborea.org/flash/hal.html : http://www.comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=35 : http://www.comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=71 : http://www.comicbookdb.com/character.php?ID=72



Article requested by:

spider1489
HAL JORDAN PLEASE!! and once again great article! i love these


This is the 24th article in my Know Your CBM Character series. Any requests and suggestions for an article for this series write it down in the comment section BELOW.





Message to the CBM community:To those who are making requests, check first [here] because I might have done an article on the character already. If I have not please be patient, I will get on it as soon as possible (but consider the fact that I spend hours writing one of these articles). Try to limit your request to characters that already have been adapted to live media, so that the feature will at least be relevant to the site – Comic Book Movie(though I include TV characters). Characters in Manga or Anime’, I am not particularly familiar of, I am not discounting these characters but it will probably take some time before I write a feature on them because I have to read up on these characters. Thank you for reading these articles! If there are errors on the feature article above, blame it on my age, humanity and ignorance. Just be sure to check the comment section for the corrections, any error I made will surely be pointed out and corrected by much bigger geeks (because there will always be a bigger geek out there). -This has been PollMaster inviting you to the geekside. MABUHAY CBM and Godspeed!
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1 2
nuck82
nuck82 - 4/13/2011, 12:21 PM
WellDrawn
WellDrawn - 4/13/2011, 12:22 PM
I figured out what's wrong with the new costume. The suit itself is fine, my problem is with the mask.
It's much too thick toward the bottom edges. The bottom of the mask needs to be gradually slanted upwards, towards the sides.

I did a quick photoshop so that you can see what I mean:

The way it looks now -


The way it SHOULD look -


Here's a look from a different angle:

Before -


After -
Knightfall1103
Knightfall1103 - 4/13/2011, 12:24 PM
I love these editorials you do about superheroes, thanks for doing them
nuck82
nuck82 - 4/13/2011, 12:24 PM
GL blows big yellow dildos ; ) your welcome gusto lol
PaulRom
PaulRom - 4/13/2011, 12:34 PM
Deadpool would be freaking awesome. :P
I'd also love to see Green Goblin, Harry Osborn, and War Machine in the future.
JoshJones
JoshJones - 4/13/2011, 12:35 PM
DEADPOOL?!?!?!
Destroyer14
Destroyer14 - 4/13/2011, 12:41 PM
I'd like to see one done on Ultron.
luffycapri
luffycapri - 4/13/2011, 12:42 PM
This is not the best green Lantern.
TorturedXGenius
TorturedXGenius - 4/13/2011, 12:53 PM
Hal Jordan is NOT the greatest Green Lantern....that's Sinestro. Great article though.
George88
George88 - 4/13/2011, 12:57 PM
Great article Pollmaster, thought you did Hal already lol! Btw the second pic of Green Lantern reminds me of James Franco. Hmmmmm.
LibertySeaOtter
LibertySeaOtter - 4/13/2011, 12:58 PM
You guys never heard of wikia have you?
VictorHugo
VictorHugo - 4/13/2011, 1:03 PM
Grif: You must read "The Blackest Night" in its entirely. It´s outrageous comic book gold.
George88
George88 - 4/13/2011, 1:06 PM
P.S. Have you done Spidey? I would also like to see Green Arrow, Judge Dredd, Spawn and Black Panther.
IonGL2814
IonGL2814 - 4/13/2011, 1:07 PM
There has to be one about Kyle Rayner... In my opinion he is the greatest green lantern
golden123
golden123 - 4/13/2011, 1:08 PM
@SeaOttersRodgers: Yeah, but you don't go over the whole changes they underwent part which, in my opinion, is the best part. Also wikia doesn't cover the live-action appearance really well.
golden123
golden123 - 4/13/2011, 1:09 PM
Oh and please do a Lex Luthor one.
drfate
drfate - 4/13/2011, 1:16 PM
You're ALL wrong fanboys: John Stewart is the Greatest Green Lantern, don't bother arguing, you'd just be wrong again!

Yeah, Welldrawn, you're totally correct about the mask, I can't believe they botched that up.
VictorHugo
VictorHugo - 4/13/2011, 1:21 PM
Dr.Fate, you´re fatidically wrong. Although the Green Lantern mythology was always great, Hal Jordan was always universally dumb, always depending on Green Arrow to fix him up.

Ron Marz kicked things up and created a much better Lantern, Kyle Ryner.

Hal Jordan is only receiving praisings due to "Superfriends" nostalgia brought by Alex Ross.
cfho83
cfho83 - 4/13/2011, 1:28 PM
@seaotterrodgers, they do cover the changes, but not the media appearances, i mean they do, but not with video.
from past experience friend, let that idea die. pollmaster is opening the doors for ppl that don't know about the characters, and if they want to know more after reading his/her post,then they can go to wikia. just let it go man.
marvel72
marvel72 - 4/13/2011, 1:38 PM
intresting pollmaster,probably my favorite dc character.

well its close between hal jordan & the flash.

howabout doing

-nova
-deadpool
-spider-man
spider1489
spider1489 - 4/13/2011, 1:39 PM
POLLMASTER!

YOUR AWESOME I LOVE THESE!! even the days when the news are slow i can always look foward to these!! keep them coming!!
number10
number10 - 4/13/2011, 1:40 PM
agreed deadpool and hey give us some cap britian :D
Ted494
Ted494 - 4/13/2011, 1:43 PM
@VictorHugo I would say Hal Jordan is getting praise based off Johns run and expansion of the GL universe

Also Sinestro is the greatest Green Lantern
PapaEmeritus
PapaEmeritus - 4/13/2011, 1:51 PM
Wrong!!! He's not... Guy Gardner is the greatest!
Kishin
Kishin - 4/13/2011, 1:52 PM
Am I wrong in thinking that pollmaster only does posts on characters who have been in movies or TV shows? Has Nova ever been?
Corpse
Corpse - 4/13/2011, 1:56 PM
I agree with Gusto on both accounts actually. Hal Jordan is my favorite character of all time. He is also the coolest, being a wildcard, rebel and authoritan. He is everything a space-cop should be. He also is one of the first silverage characters that really defined sci-fi. Hal Jordan is awesome!

@Pollmaster - I don't know who've you've done or not but you should do a Superman named "Superman: The Greatest Superhero." But it would be cool if you took on Orion.
JosePetrelli12
JosePetrelli12 - 4/13/2011, 1:56 PM
@TorturedXGenius - Sinestro WAS the greatest Green Lantern, but Hal Jordan IS the greatest Green Lantern... with John Stewart and Kyle(Ion) close on his heels.
kookevin3
kookevin3 - 4/13/2011, 2:01 PM
Finally Hal Jordan!!! Thanks

@Pollmaster, Are you only doing these articles on characters that have had Live Action appearances

And again.... DR.DOOM PLEASE!!!
vermillion
vermillion - 4/13/2011, 2:02 PM
Definitely my favorite Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner is cool too.

DarkKnight4ever
DarkKnight4ever - 4/13/2011, 2:03 PM
I have been reading GL since the intro in Showcase days. One somewhat minor change in the costume you overlooked is the first few years had the black portion of the arms extend over to about midway between the neck and shoulder. It was changed (probably around the Neal Adams era)to the green covering the entire shoulder area to the tops of the arms. Otherwise great stuff including the Paul Newman reference. Gil Kane modeled several of his other characters back then after well know actors like Robert Taylor and Efrin Zimbalist Jr.
nuck82
nuck82 - 4/13/2011, 2:06 PM
nuck82
nuck82 - 4/13/2011, 2:09 PM
agreed with dark on this one, the o.g. is the best of all gls, if i had to pic one, they need to bring him into more of there story lines
DeadpoolDan
DeadpoolDan - 4/13/2011, 2:16 PM
Awesome! Well done pollmaster, I feel educated.

@welldrawn- agreed, just a little off the mask makes a big difference.

@number10 - agreed, Deadpool please and Cap Britain what what.
AgentVenom
AgentVenom - 4/13/2011, 2:33 PM
JasonTodd please
CeltiC527
CeltiC527 - 4/13/2011, 2:59 PM
Great article!!!

And yes Hal Jordan is the greatest GL and always will be!
ClarKent
ClarKent - 4/13/2011, 3:20 PM
Awesome Stuff! Keep it up, I love reading 'em!
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