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As I'm sure you've all heard Hal Jordan is coming back into the fold as Green Lantern. The question is, will he be coming back as A Green Lantern or THE Green Lantern? I'm pretty excited about this Green Lantern: Rebirth series, but mostly because I want to see how the situation is handled, not because I'm interested in seeing Hal come back. I have put forth the fact that I like Kyle multiple times, mostly because I identify with him to a degree. Of course, my favorite hero since the days of the Superfriends cartoon has been Green Lantern, and at that time it was Hal Jordan. He had his ring and a cool voice to boot. Overall I've simply just been interested in the concept of a Green Lantern since I was a kid.
Anyway, the question that will soon be answered is what role will all the various incarnations of Earth's Green Lantern have? We've had two of them running around recently, Kyle in space and John working with the JLA. Actually it's three if you count Alan Scott, but for some reason people don't seem to think of him. That's OK, it's their loss.
Since this news broke I've been thinking about what I would like to see. It hasn't been easy at all. Hal was the GL that I grew up with, Kyle was a GL I could identify with and I who I saw develop over time, and John…well, John is in the current Justice League cartoon so he's a great connection for what could be a new generation of comic readers. Alan isn't in the equation because he was the first, is the first, and is still kicking tail no matter what the current versions of the Green Lantern namesake are doing.
For me it has come down to a question of, "Does Hal coming back makes sense?" I'm talking in the context of a story here, not financial matters. Some would argue that it makes perfect sense since he never should have gone down the road he did. I disagree with that point though. I do have a number of old Green Lantern comics and the Hal Jordan in those comics is an excellent candidate for someone who would blame others for his problems, and that's exactly what Hal did when he went "crazy." Hal was a hotshot "fearless" test pilot. It wasn't his fault the Guardian's chose being fearless as a requirement for being a GL at the time. That was a bad decision on their part to begin with. If people are fearless they will make mistakes, plain and simple. When the Guardians allowed Hal to become GL all they did was give him an out to be even more reckless with his life. Looking at all the things I have regarding Hal I don't think he was fearless, I think he simply wouldn't face fear…because to do so was to admit failure was possible.
Finally, one day Hal had to face failure, the destruction of his home city and people he cared about. Was it his failure? No, but he took it as such. Of course, failure wasn't an option for Hal. So he did what he thought he had to in order to fix things and the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe paid the price. Again, this wasn't an unexpected response if you looked at Hal's personality. How many times did he go off to do the Guardian's bidding when he thought he should stay on Earth? What did he do when Guy Gardner was brought in to become the Green Lantern of Earth? He threw hissy fits and went into denial mode. An example of a fearless hero? No. Definitely an example of a human hero though.
I see Hal's trail down the path of insanity as one a person can go down when their faith is challenged. A challenge to your faith will shake up your world. It will toss you, it will turn you and it will throw you to the ground with no regard for what you are. After that you have a choice. You come back stronger than you were before or you abandon all that you were. Hal abandoned all that he was, plain and simple. He isn't the first "person" to do it and he won't be the last. Have you ever talked to someone who has recently abandoned their faith? They're more than happy to drag you into their new reality and how "unfair" it all is.
Now, Hal has the opportunity to truly redeem himself. He has the opportunity to come back and be the hero he should have been, a hero with humility. He has the opportunity to see fear, and confront it and deal with it as Kyle, John and Guy all did. Oh, they knew fear, each of them just dealt with it differently. So, do I think Hal coming back makes sense? Only if he makes the choice to be human. Besides, the whole Spectre thing wasn't really working for me either.
I'm not sure exactly what will happen, but I'll be willing to find out by reading Green Lantern: Rebirth. With Geoff Johns as the writer the story should definitely be interesting and I can't think of a better person to handle the return of Hal Jordan. For my two cents here is what I would like to see come of the various Green Lanterns of Earth (not including Alan Scott):
- Hal Jordan - The old/new Green Lantern of Earth, and Earth alone, not Sector 2814.
- Kyle Rayner - A break to remember himself out of the guise of Green Lantern and then a return to Oa to help Kilowog train new Green Lanterns and also act as Green Lantern of Sector 2814. He gives support to Hal and John when necessary.
- John Stewart - The Green Lantern of the Justice League of America. His primary focus is to work with them and give support to Hal and Kyle when/if necessary and available.
- Guy Gardner - Accepts the offer of a GL Ring but only on the condition that he answers to no Guardians or Corps. He is there to help when he wants and how he wants. His condition is accepted and he goes into action when he thinks things get too rough for the other Earth-based GLs. He is the "last line of defense" for Earth's GLs. The vest and boots are back!
A little overkill? I don't think so. Earth is always at the center of things it seems, so there should always be protection there and I think Hal is just the man for the job. Kyle is the unintentional "father" of the next generation of the Corps and he has a great understanding of learning how to carry on the GL legacy, which a new Corps will need. John should stay in action because the JLA needs a dedicated GL (and he has that connection to the show). Guy…is Guy. He would never admit he cares about the others or the Corps, but he does and he has shown his will to give all he has to protect others on plenty of occasions.
The biggest impact of all of this? I have something I'm REALLY looking forward to in the world of comics. I've been dying for something to anticipate besides JSA and this should definitely fit the bill. Once it's all said and done I'm sure I'll have plenty to say, good or bad. As with so many other things in life everything old is new again. For better or worse, it's time to say "Welcome back Hal."
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