InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "oops!"

kagome654 (kagome654) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-06-16 14:23:00

Current mood:	cheerful
Entry tags:	char: green arrow/oliver queen, char: green lantern/hal jordan, char: green lantern/john stewart, char: superman/clark kent, creator: christopher priest/james owsley, creator: tod smith

The List (Aka: Hal Jordan has no friends)
A while ago I posted Neil Gaiman's 'Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame'. I prefaced the entry by saying it was a continuation of sorts of an older story known as 'The List' (published in Action Comics Weekly #606). I've finally decided to post part of that story, which depicts a surprisingly vulnerable Hal Jordan and (even more surprising) an uncharacteristically rude Alfred Pennyworth.

First, a little background-
Hal Jordan has just returned from space. He's recently been held captive in another galaxy, is on the outs with his girlfriend, is homeless (his apartment having been destroyed), jobless, directionless and totally miserable. To make matters worse people on Earth seem to be afraid of him.

He decides to contact John. Unfortunately as bad as Hal's life is at the moment...well, poor John's is ten times worse.

I think it was emotionally mature for Hal to realize that he needs support and advice. He could have just as easily decided that he needs to work out his problems alone...which would have lead to a lot of ineffectual angst.

I'm a little less impressed by his lack of judgment when it comes to determining who would be the best to talk to about such things. If you're looking for emotional support and guidance Wayne Manor should NOT be your first stop....

Believe it or not, Bruce let him down easily compared to some...

One of the sequels to this story involved him talking to Dinah about his problems. Apparently someone finally remembered they were actually fairly good friends (which makes his treatment of her in 'Cry for Justice' all the more irritating) and it, unsurprisingly, went a lot better than this. Unfortunately I don't have that issue, so I can't post anything from it.

So, we're off to see everyone's favorite archer (Haha...ha).

...Ouch. Someone remind me why these two are friends again?

Anyway, I really liked this story. I don't mind Johns' characterization of Hal as much as some, but he does seem to have a limited emotional range. He always seems to be either full of righteous indignation, talking like a quippy action hero, or angsting in a very macho sort of way that seems oddly shallow. I miss the occasionally goofy Hal, the who is not embarrassed to be a little vulnerable and emotional and can (and has!) 'weep/ed openly and without shame.'

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	sistermagpie 2009-06-16 02:41 pm UTC (link)
	Did Hal do something to warrant this cold shoulder, or is he just now seeing all at once that he's got no relationships? (Reply to this) (Thread)

kagome654
2009-06-16 03:02 pm UTC (link)

It's mostly due to the fact he hasn't maintained the relationships he did have. He's spent a lot of time with the Corps and off planet, and he has sort of drifted away from the other Earth based heroes, including Ollie...which sucks for him when he wants a little 'human' advice and moral support. Though I doubt he expected Ollie to react so negatively, even if they hadn't really spoken in a while.

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	domino_blue 2009-06-16 03:23 pm UTC (link)
	I think it has something to do with the Mike Grell run of Green Arrow while good it was like everything just had to realistic with no superpowers or trick arrows, a good example was the loss of Black Canary's power set. so maybe that scene was made to break the connection with Green Arrow so he would not show up in Grell's run, despite being such a classic team. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	jlroberson 2009-06-16 07:19 pm UTC (link)
	Yeah, by torturing her. God damn you, Mike Grell. I am never going to wash that series out of my mind. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	jlbarnett 2009-06-16 06:10 pm UTC (link)
	that's no damn excuse for being that cold. THose people are supposed to be heroes. They didn't act like it. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	kagome654 2009-06-16 06:19 pm UTC (link)
	Oh, I agree. It's no surprise that two subsequent stories were written in an attempt to 'correct' this one (at least in Clark's case, apparently we are meant to accept that Ollie and Bruce are just lousy friends). (Reply to this) (Parent)

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