Misconceptions of the Green Lantern

[Mr. Earle]

Oh please, Hal Jordan has about the least depth of any major character from either DC or Marvel.

And as Ace (or Remi) correctly put it, about the only thing which started to give him some depth was retconned away.

Hal Jordan has no depth... it seems dude is allergic to depth and the writers wanted to protect him from it.

I think you re overreacting.

Not at all. Hal, much like all other Silver Age heroes, was very stoic and serious. Modern Hal is more sarcasting, commits mistakes, feels guilt and, as much as haters don't like him, has depth.

Sounds good. Johns is a great writer and if anyone can write a good GL story, its him.

 

[Hound55]

I don't think I am overreacting.

Name a MAJOR character in either Marvel or DC with less depth to him/her than Hal Jordan.

 

[terry78]

The only character that was pretty carefree in his original incarnation was Flash. Batman, Superman and GL were all authoritative square jawed types who just liked to monologue about what was going on.

 

[dnno1]

The thing is that Jordan after "Emerald Dawn II" had a strike against him. He was convicted for a DUI. He has even punched his superior as seen in "Secret Origin". Hal is not so much the cardboard cutout boy scout as people think.

 

[protocida]

I give up. This is getting too (unnecesarily) hostile.

 

[Octoberist]

Silver Age and post-Rebirth Hal are practically the same though. Basically, Johns whole mission statement for the new GL status quo is "MOAR SILVER AGE!"

Good! It bring me happiness to my black heart!

 

[Octoberist]

I don't think I am overreacting.

Name a MAJOR character in either Marvel or DC with less depth to him/her than Hal Jordan.

Do you like Hal, or you p*ssed off that Kyle is no longer the 'main' GL?

 

[Anubis]

I give up. This is getting too (unnecesarily) hostile.

That's what happens. That's what Hal Jordan does.

 

[Webhead2006]

ok i dont read dc/gl books how is hal or john or other human gls just cardboard cutouts?

 

[Anubis]

Well....lets assume that you like Spider-Man. Now, what is it that you like about Spider-Man? I'm going to assume it's his personality. His whole, outlook on life. His quips, his brains, his never give up attitude (Which was great until that whole selling his marriage to the devil business, but that's a whole other can of worms). All that makes Spider-Man a good character. You know, depth.

Now, John and Hal? Have none of that. They're like, guys who are just kinda, there. No personality. Boring basically. Cardboard cutout.

 

[Hound55]

Do you like Hal, or you p*ssed off that Kyle is no longer the 'main' GL?

I don't particularly like Hal because he's got nothing to him and I resent that.

Kyle at least has a little friggin' personality.

I'm still not hearing any suggestions for "Major Mavel/DC characters with LESS depth than Hal". A more cynical man than myself might suggest that its because there are none...

 

[Webhead2006]

ok than if they are so plain jane why are they so popular and well liked?

 

[Hound55]

Because they like the concepts and Hal was "The Main one"?

I think Ace (Remi) is onto something when he mentioned "power over character" when it comes to Green Lantern.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Yea that is right. Hal is the epitome of "powers over personality". He's got cool powers, bad ass powers. The power to will anything into existence is awesome. But ya... that's all he's got going for him.

 

[Hound55]

It also would have been more plausible if Parallax were retconned into an entity of pure boredom or tedium rather than fear.

It would have made it far more understandable for why it targeted Hal...

 

[Ace of Knaves]

You're a funny guy!

Ah well, I'm getting bored of bashing Hal now. Ironically enough. lol

 

[Hound55]

This is what happens when people insult John McClane... I turn all prick and explode on people, even boring people.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

lol not saying you are boring me, just even talking about Hal Jordan bores me.

 

[Webhead2006]

well its sucks you guys do think these guys are so boring and all that. But to me seeing things as not a fan of the characters and just knowing little things here and there they dont seem to be bad characters at all.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

I don't think it sucks. Maaaaaan **** Hal Jordan

Like I said before, he's lucky he has someone like Ryan Reynolds playing him.

 

[That-Guy]

I personally don't see why so many people hate Hal Jordan... I've never found him boring or viewed him as a "cardboard cutout" type of character. Like I've said before, I've always viewed Hal as the DC Universe's version of James T. Kirk. Cocky and suave with the ladies but also a total hardass when he has to be and afraid of absolutely nothing.

I think a lot of people these days just hate him because they grew up knowing Kyle as the main GL. But guess what? Those of us who were around when Kyle took up the role were pissed and didn't like him at first. He grew on me eventually, but I was still a little irked that one of my favorite characters was first driven insane and switched sides... and THEN went completely overboard and tried to destroy the universe. Granted, I respected DC for making such a bold move but it never sat completely right with me.

Then Rebirth happened, and while some people might view it as a cop-out, it's probably the best cop-out I've ever seen. But of course, once Hal became the "main" GL again, all of the Kyle fans got pissed. I can sympathize, but I think you also need to take into account that when Kyle showed up, some of us were like "Who the hell is this guy? Why, out of all the Green Lantern characters out there, did you feel a need to create someone totally new and make him the central character?"

 

[Ace of Knaves]

My hate of Hal has nothing to do with Kyle. Truth be told, I'm not a massive fan of Kyle either. Personally, none of the human GLs are that brilliant characters. Guys my favourite because he is a parody/satirical character of that stereotypical over macho American *****e bag, but with a heart of gold.

But I maintain the belief that Hal Jordan is one of the biggest examples of "powers over personality"

 

[That-Guy]

I don't disagree with you, but couldn't the same be said for most superheroes? Would anyone care about Superman if he couldn't punch through walls and fly? Would we really love Spidey if he was just another nerdy teenager? At least when it comes to super-powered characters, the powers are the gateway to the audience loving the character. Their personality of course makes them more interesting... but the powers are what brought the audience there in the first place.

 

[Eddie Dean]

The best comparison for Hal I've heard is Jimmy McNulty from The Wire, I think Keyser Soze first mentioned it.

 

[Webhead2006]

yea as i said i am looking at things with an outside perspective on these character since i know very little on them. I dont think any suck at all. Though i have no love or hate to any of the earth lanterns. All i am hoping for is they treat the characters well and dont muck around with what is what for each character.