Publisher DC Comics gave the world a lot of superheroes. The most popular comic book characters such as Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Arrow, Aquaman are all DC Comics creations. Among the many comic books of this publisher, the series about the adventures of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic organization of defenders of the universe, was very popular.
Over the years, an important role in the work of this community was played by various Green Lanterns: Alan Scott, Abin Sur, Kyle Rainer and others. But the most beloved reader was a hero named Harold Jordan.
History of the Green Lantern Corps
This powerful organization appeared a very long time ago. Initially, on a distant planet called Malthus lived a race of incredibly smart and noble creatures. Once, due to an unfortunate mistake, they caused a great evil. In order to somehow correct their deeds, the Malthusians left their home and settled in the center of the universe on the planet Oa. Here they organized the Green Lantern Corps, whose task was to save all living things in the universe.
The founders of the Corps were men from Malthus, but the female half of the inhabitants of the planet reacted negatively to this organization. Therefore, women organized their own Emotional Spectrum Corps, consisting of bold warriors, better known as Star Sapphires.
The sphere of influence of the Green Lantern Corps includes three thousand six hundred sectors of the Universe. Each of these sectors is overseen by a specific Green Lantern. A total of 7200 Corps members are known, but not all of them are Green Lanterns.
The source of strength of each Lantern is its personal green ring, nourished by the willpower of its carrier. The stronger the hero, the more powerful the structures created by him with the help of the ring of power. The power of this artifact is not limited, it all depends on the imagination of its carrier.
Despite its incredible power, the power ring must be constantly recharged from the Green Energy Battery , which is located in a small flashlight. In this case, you need to pronounce the standard oath.
For some members of the Corps, it may differ due to the characteristics of the sector they patrol.
Initially, the rule was made to recharge the ring once a day, but due to various unforeseen circumstances, few of the Lanterns adhered to this.
The main enemies of the Lantern Corps
Over the three billion years of its existence, the Corps has faced many opponents, often being itself guilty of their appearance.
In addition to the Green Lantern Corps (willpower), there are eight others. These are the Corps of Blacks (death), Orange (greed), Reds (anger and rage), Blue (hope) and White (life) Lanterns, as well as Sinestro Corps (fear), Indigo Tribe (compassion) and Star Sapphires (Love). At different times, there was a different relationship between these organizations. Often they fought with each other. But periodically they had to unite in the face of a stronger enemy.
One of the most powerful opponents of the Green Lantern Corps was Parallax, an incredibly ancient parasitic demonic entity. Being, in fact, pure fear, Parallax for many centuries forced entire races and planets to destroy each other.
Green Lanterns at the cost of incredible efforts managed to defeat this demonic parasite. However, they could not completely destroy it, but simply brought the entity into a state of suspended animation and hid it inside the Central Battery of Power on the planet Oa. Information about this was kept secret and after a few thousand years everyone forgot about Parallax.
Unfortunately, after millions of years this monster was destined to break free, and an earthling named Hal Jordan helped him in this, not wanting to.
Hal Jordan's life before turning into the Green Lantern
Before becoming a Green Lantern, Hal was an ordinary average American. His real name is Harold Hal Jordan. He was born and raised in a huge city called Costa City, in California.
Following in the footsteps of his deceased father, the guy also became a military test pilot at Ferris Aircraft. In his free time, he was fond of boxing, and also talked with his nephews.
But once, during the next test of the aircraft, Hal Jordan's life changed irrevocably. He was chosen as a successor by the ring of power of a dying Green Lantern named Abin Sur.
Abin Sur - Hal Jodan's predecessor
At one time, Abin Sur was a legendary hero. Originally from the planet Ungara, this character as a Green Lantern managed to commit many great deeds and was an example for many young Lanterns.
Several times he was on Earth and defended it from various threats. But somehow, during the execution of the next task, Abin Sur was wounded by enemies and, anticipating death, landed on a nearby planet to find a successor and give him his ring. Such a planet was human Earth.
At first, Clark Kent recognized the Abin Sura ring as the most worthy candidate, but due to the fact that he was a Krypton, the choice fell on a bold earthling named Hal Jordan.
Jordan in the Green Lantern Corps
In addition to the ring, Jordan also inherited the Green Lantern costume from Abin Sura. By joining the Corps and learning how to control the power of the ring, the new Green Lantern became the curator of Sector 2814, which also included its home planet Earth. Performing the duties of the Green Lantern, Hal hid his identity from almost all his friends and relatives, except his best friend Thomas Kalmaki. And for cover, he continued to work for Ferris Aircraft.
With the advent of the Justice League of America, Jordan also became an active member. Here, his friend became another DC Comics superhero - Flash (real name Barry Allen).
One of Hal's mentors in the Corps was Sinestro. However, he considered Jordan unsuitable for such a great mission. During one of his travels, Hal Jordan accidentally found out that on his planet Sinestro had become a cruel tyrant, oppressing his people and demanding worship of himself as a deity.
To help the unfortunate inhabitants, Jordan, risking his freedom, raised a rebellion on the planet and overthrew Sinestro. After the incident, the tyrant was forced to leave the Green Lantern Corps. In spite of their former colleagues, the exile organized his own Sinestro Corps, using the power of fear in his yellow rings. In addition, the villain vowed revenge on Hal and after a while he had such an opportunity.
Storyline Emerald Twilight: Jordan's Conversion to Paralax
For a long time, Sinestro and his Corps fought with the Green Lanterns. Ultimately, the villain was locked in the Central Battery of the Force, where Parallax had been for many millions of years. Sinestro's yellow ring, using the energy of fear as a force, helped Parallax to wake up from many years of sleep, and the demonic parasite began to look for a new carrier. Wanting revenge, Sinestro convinced him that Hal Jordan would be the best for this purpose.
Meanwhile, Costa City was destroyed, and all its inhabitants, including Hal's family, were killed. Jordan was unable to cope with grief and tried, using the strength of his ring, to restore his hometown and revive all its inhabitants.
However, the strength of the Jordan ring was not enough. Moreover, for such arbitrariness, the Green Lantern Corps sent a group of its representatives to stop and punish Jordan. But the hero was so furious that he destroyed all the friends and colleagues who fell in his way.
Sinestro also becomes his victim (as Hal and others thought, but in reality it was just a villain's trick).
Having overcome all obstacles, he enters the Central Battery of Power to charge the ring and restore the hometown of Hal Jordan. Parallax, who had long been waiting for him there, took advantage of the fury of the Green Lantern and took possession of his mind and body. Hal has now become the new Parallax.
Jordan Spectrum
Being Parallax, Hal Jordan managed to do a lot of evil. However, in the end, his willpower was able to control the demonic parasite and, saving the Earth, he sacrificed himself and died heroically.
But the hero’s soul, because of everything that he accomplished, was not accepted either in hell or in paradise. So he became the master of the spirit of revenge called Spectrum. In this capacity, Jordan was able to finally get rid of the residual influence of Parallax and eventually returned to his body - he again became the Green Lantern.
Hal Jordan Character Description
Like most superheroes who successfully hide behind a mask of their identities, Hal's appearance was typical of an American military pilot. He was an athletic physician with a brown-eyed brunette. Jordan's growth did not reach a little two meters (182 cm, according to other sources - 190 cm), however, as well as the weight to a centner (91 kg).
As for character, Hal was always fearless (this is one of the reasons why Abin Sura’s ring chose him). In addition, Jordan categorically did not know how to lose. Feeling the proximity of defeat, he always looked for a way to avoid it, often committing acts unexpected for his opponents. So, to stop the destruction of the Earth, Hal sacrificed himself and died, but was later resurrected.
However, the character description of Hal Jordan will be incomplete, if not to mention his shortcomings. Above all, Jordan was extremely emotional for Green Lantern. Having played this, Sinestro was able to use Hal to resurrect Parallax. Jordan was also characterized by arrogance.
Jordan's relationship with Carol Farris
Hal was not indifferent to the fair sex. He often made fleeting novels, while still a simple pilot. And having become the owner of superpower, sometimes he did not stop indulging this weakness of his.
However, the chief interest of his company was Carol Ferris. That's just the girl was a strict boss, not allowing the thought of an affair with an employee. At the same time, the heart of the harsh beauty was given to the hero hiding under the mask of the Green Lantern. In love with the heroic image, Carol did not even suspect that her beloved was very close to her.
Hal and Carol might have a future, but Star Sapphires chose her as their queen and, under the influence of hypnosis, led her to believe that her beloved Green Lantern was her enemy.
After the alleged death of Jordan, Carol married another man, but her family life did not work out. When Hal was resurrected, she quietly divorced, not even telling her lover about it, and continued to suppress all his attempts to establish a relationship.
Hal Jordan character in film and television
Back in the fifties, DC Comics began making films based on their comics, creating the DC movie universe. Despite the incredible popularity of Hal Jordan (ranked seventh in the ranking of superheroes), a full-length film about him was shot only in 2011, although before that he had occasionally appeared in animated series and individual cartoons. On the screen, this image was embodied by the American actor Ryan Reynolds.
The plot of the film “Green Lantern”, although it tells about the transformation of Hal Jordan into a Green Lantern, as well as his fight against Parallax, at the same time contains many departures from the canon of comics. As a result, the film barely covered the costs spent on its creation, and received negative reviews. At the same time, although there are rumors that a sequel will be shot in 2020, the film will be dedicated not only to Hal Jordan, but to the whole Green Lantern Corps.
Recently, the successful television series about another hero of the DC Comics universe called Arrow has been extended for the new season. In the comic books Green Arrow and Green Lantern quite often collaborated, however, the hero of Jordan is not yet involved in the television series. At the same time, attentive fans nevertheless noticed how Hal Jordan appeared in The Arrow. This happened in the first episode of the fourth season, when the main character recalled his stay in Costa City. In the background, someone in green clothes flashed with the Jordan patch.
In another superhero series in this series called Flash, there are also references to Hal Jordan. So, in one of the series it is shown that the main character on the speed dial in the phone under the second number has the name Hal, and, as you know, Flash and Green Lantern are close friends.
Soon, two films about the activities of the Justice League, where Hal Jordan will be played by Dan Amboyer, will also be released.
Hal Jordan is an amazing hero in the DC Comics comic book universe. He owes his appearance to the fact that the series about the Green Lantern Corps began to lose its popularity, and the appearance of a new character was to attract the interest of readers, which happened. However, in the mid-nineties, in connection with the next crisis, it was decided to replace Jordan with another Green Lantern. In this regard, a storyline was invented with Parallax, where, in the end, Hal Jordan died. But readers are so fond of this character that, at their urgent request, Jordan was resurrected and is still one of the main characters in the DC comic book universe.