Hal Jordan
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Hal Jordan |
| Occupation: | pilot, superhero, Insurance adjuster (Previously), Toy Salesman (Previously) |
| Relationships: | Carol Ferris (love interest), Martin and Jessica Jordan (parents), Helen Jordan (niece), Jim Jordan (brother), Jack Jordan (brother) |
| Fandom: | Green Lantern, Justice League, DC Comics |
| Other: | appearance reportedly based on Paul Newman Green Lantern Hal Jordan by Magna-omega (2016) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Hal Jordan is a member of the Green Lantern Corps in DC Comics.
Canon
Hal Jordan first appeared in Showcase #22 (October 1959) by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane.
Comics
Hal Jordan becomes the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 after Abin Sur's death. Originally, he's a USAF captain who later becomes a test pilot stationed in Coast City. His initial brashness and defiance does not mix well with how the Green Lantern Corps is run at the time but he proves his usefulness to the Corps over the years. His relationship with his mentor and superior, Thaal Sinestro, is fraught with conflict that eventually leads to a fall-out and Sinestro becoming his sworn (albeit still secretly respected) enemy.
In the comic event 'Emerald Twilight' Hal, distraught by the loss of coast city, tries to recreate his hometown with his ring. Due to lantern rings not being allowed for personal use, his ring is deactivated and he is summoned to Oa (the Green Lantern Corps' planet of operation). This drives him insane and he goes on to kill the corps and steals their rings for himself. He then became the villain known as Parallax. One of the guardians of Oa called Ganthet escapes to Earth with the last ring and bestows it on Kyle Rayner.
Parallax was a greatly feared villain and would go on to defeat many of the great heroes and villains of the DC universe. He goes on to 'die' in 2 famous comic events. The first of which was 'Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!' in which he tries to recreate the universe to his own liking. He was stopped by his former friends and allies and then shot through the chest with an arrow by Oliver Queen (Green Arrow) who at the time was considered his best friend. His second (and more final death) was in the Final Night story in which he sacrifices himself to reignite the sun after in was consumed by a suneater.
After this he became the Spectre. After the previous Spectre (Jim corrigan) moved on the role of Spectre was up for grabs and seeing the damage done by people ill-suited for the role attempting to take it up, the heroes travel to purgatory 'the resting place for morally dubious heros'. Hal is chosen and he takes up the mantle. For a while he serves as the spectre and had a solo comic run as the Spectre in 2001.
In his Rebirth comic event his fall from grace and transformation into Parallax is retconned slightly so that it was not just grief and mental illness that caused his insanity but instead he was possessed by the parasitic Parallax entity (The fear corps entity). As well as this, he is brought back to life after the Spectre decides that he has moved on and that Hal had redeemed himself, giving him a second chance as the Green Lantern of Sector 2814 and as Hal Jordan although not all of the heroes are convinced of his redemption, most notably Batman.
He was also an important character in the first half of DC vs Vampires as he was the first core Justice League member to be turned.
Sexuality
Hal Jordan is often portrayed as a ladies man and classic 'straight' flyboy, however more recently in an interview Grant Morrison stated:
"with a whole universe of worlds at his disposal would tend towards a pansexual persuasion..."[1]
And it has been hinted in comics that he has hooked up with and dated a few non-humans and even some non-humanoids.
Religion
Hal's religion was a subject of debate for decades in the Green Lantern fandom. Most writers generally defaulted to portraying him as a not particularly religious Christian while other writers included references to his Jewishness. It wasn't until 2016 when writer Tom King addressed the issue in Justice League: The Darkseid War: Green Lantern and made it canon that Hal's mother was Jewish while his father was Catholic, thereby answering the question without explicit retcons.
What's more interesting though is the fans' involvement in the decision. As Tom King explained it to the Jewish Standard:
This was a story about God and will power, so prior to getting started, I researched the seemingly simple question of what was Green Lantern’s religion. There were quite a few (conflicting) answers, but I found some compelling blogs that argued that he was half Catholic and half Jewish, though this had never been explicitly stated. [...] I wrote this origin into the script and I never heard another word about it from editorial. I’m insanely proud that I got to add this to Hal’s legacy, though I think it’s important to note that the idea itself comes from the character’s history as culled together by his fans.
Other Media
Hal has been featured as the lead in various adaptations such as Green Lantern: TAS, Green Lantern: First Flight, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, and Green Lantern (2011). He also appeared in Young Justice, Super Friends, Justice League Unlimited, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, DC Super Hero Girls, Justice League Action,
Hal is set to appear an upcoming film in Green Lantern Corps (post 2025), set to be part of the DC Extended Universe.
Fandom
This article or section needs expansion. |
Shipping
The most popular pairings involving Hal are Hal Jordan/Barry Allen and Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne. Hal Jordan/Thaal Sinestro and Hal Jordan/Oliver Queen are moderately popular pairings. Oliver Queen/Dinah Lance/Hal Jordan is a threesome pairing with Oliver Queen and Dinah Lance.
Hal Jordan/Barry Allen
The most popular ship that features Hal is with his best friend Barry Allen (the Flash). The most common dynamic within works of this ship is friends to lovers. They featured opposite each other as a (platonic) duo within the comic series 'The Brave and the Bold' and are often paired together within other Justice League properties as best friends. Their friendship has endured both of their deaths and resurrections, so their romantic pairing in fandom resultantly is quite popular.
Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne
Due to their equally strong but opposing personalities this pairing makes for a compelling frenemies to lovers. The light and dark motif between them is a popular trope within fandom works of this pairing. The pairing was popularised in the DC animated film 'Justice League: War' as they shared multiple scenes together most notably the sewer scene which gained 23 million views on a single clip on youtube.
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfiction
- Shock the Monkey (The top Hal-centric fanfiction on AO3)
- Soul Mark (The top Hal Jordan/Barry Allen fanfiction on AO3)
- A Flashlight to See in the Dark (Hal Jordan/Barry Allen fanfiction on AO3)
- Trouble (The top Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne fanfiction on AO3)
- Sanctuary (Hal Jordan/Bruce Wayne fanfiction on AO3)
Fanart
- Hal Jordan in a 3-piece suit with a glass of champagne and a green flower in his buttonhole by AJ
- 'This is a fine place to have a mental breakdown' by mamulgogi
Zines
Meta
Archives & Fannish Links
- Hal Jordan at FFN (Green Lantern comics)
- Hal Jordan at FFN (Justice League comics)
- Hal Jordan at FFN (Green Lantern: TAS)
- Hal Jordan works tagged at Archive of Our Own