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thebigapricot (thebigapricot) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-08-03 11:43:00

Entry tags:

char: green arrow/oliver queen, char: green lantern/hal jordan, publisher: dc comics, title: cry for justice

Hey, guess what one of James Robinson's fantasies is?
Cry for ~~Justice~~ a Threesome! BoP fans get ready.

From DC's The Source

WTF? At one point I was actually excited for this book. Stop messing with my BoP, sir.

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	jlbarnett 2009-08-03 11:05 pm UTC (link)
	what's really so dull about Hal? Anymore so than any other comics character. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	kd_the_movie 2009-08-03 11:31 pm UTC (link)
	I think it's due to the fact that his biggest personality trait (fearlessness) is something of a moot point since every DCU hero in existence does insane, balls to walls feats of bravery every day. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	scottyquick 2009-08-03 11:47 pm UTC (link)
	For the life of me, I can't think of anything interesting about Hal that is: a) To do with his character b) Unique enough to stand out. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	kagome654 2009-08-04 12:42 am UTC (link)
	I feel that way about a lot of characters, yet they don't seem to get badmouthed as often as Hal for it. Am I the only one who finds the Young Avengers (with the exception of Eli) painfully bland? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	scottyquick 2009-08-04 12:59 am UTC (link)
	That's because Hal pushed aside John, Kyle, Guy & Alan, all of whom are interesting characters, to be the star in Green Lantern. Hal's also being pushed as ZOMG, THE BESTEST LANTERN EVER, and he's just so freaking dull. AND YOU MOST DEFINITELY ARE (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	04nbod 2009-08-04 01:04 am UTC (link)
	I thought Geoff was pushing Sodam Yat as the greatest green lantern? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	scottyquick 2009-08-04 01:08 am UTC (link)
	IDK, mostly just following it from previews. (Reply to this) (Parent)

kagome654
2009-08-04 03:34 am UTC (link)

He's almost always been considered one of (if not the best) Green Lanterns, it's hardly a new thing. 'Honored greetings to the noblest of us all!' and all that.

I don't see Hal as any less interesting than Kyle. Both are archetypes (Kyle pretty much is/was Peter Parker), and both follow rather predictable paths as characters. I think you can find one personally more enjoyable than the other based on what appeals to you more, but I don't see why that means you (general 'you') have to shit all over the other guy. Hal's 'pushing aside' of Kyle is SUBSTANTIALLY more gentle than what heralded Kyle's time as being 'the one and only Lantern,' and sometimes I think fans would do good to remember that before they start complaining about how neglected Kyle is, only getting to co-star in a consistently well written book.

Guy benefits from being an antagonistic and often contrary character (and that certainly makes him interesting to read), and John is the sort of understated character that isn't given as much attention as he should, but he wasn't faring all that much better when Kyle was Lantern.

Hal is suffering, I think, from Geoff Johns' interpretation of the character being the only one we've really seen in a while. I do like his Green Lantern (generally) but I'm liking his Hal less and less as he goes along. I find Johns wants to write him as a generic action character, delivering witty one liners and talking beautiful babes into bed. Frankly I think one of the reasons people find him so dull is because Johns is afraid to make him look a little goofy (Hal can be stupid sometimes, it's part of his charm). He always wants Hal to be cool when sometimes I think Hal should be overwhelmed by sheer wonder. Well, characters like that can be boring (incidentally that's also why I can't get into Wonder Woman, 'Ms Practically Perfect in Every Way!', at least Hal has flaws). I'd love to see more stories like 'JLA: Year One' and 'Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold'.

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thehefner
2009-08-04 05:55 pm UTC (link)

WORD to all the above!

Seriously, it's like folks don't at all remember what it was like to be a Hal fan in the 90's, where every scrap of GL lore was whitewashed in the name of KYLE IS THE ONLY GREEN LANTERN NOW AND FOREVER LOVE HIM LOVE HIM LOVE HIM. Kyle fans have it *way* better today than Hal fans did then, because if they don't like Hal, shit, they at least have *options.*

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thehefner
2009-08-04 05:53 pm UTC (link)

Except he's *not* dull, though, in the hands of the right writer. You say he has no character, but dude, haven't you been reading stuff posted here recently like the Speedy-on-drugs stuff, or the Itty saga, or FLASH/GL: THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD? Hal is a character who can be charming, cocky, and smartassed, and is also perhaps the only superhero out there to be something of a dope but still a good guy who does right in the end. His dopiness is one of his most charming and unique factors!

Don't make me set up a reading list for you, because I so will.

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	scottyquick 2009-08-04 11:06 pm UTC (link)
	See, but what you're saying is a completely different Hal then the one I've read. Aside from Darwyn Cooke, I've never seen any interesting Hal in the Justice League, previews/reviews/scans of Green Lantern, Superman, Final Crisis, or ANYTHING. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thehefner
2009-08-04 11:14 pm UTC (link)

He's a character with a ton of untapped potential--and Johns is not the person to tap it, pardon the choice of words--to essentially be the James T. Kirk of the DCU, but those character moments have been there over the years.

But really, not even the Hal of FLASH/GL intrigues you even a teeny weeny bit? Not the well-meaning dope who has his whole world turned inside out by Ollie Queen? Nor the dork who becomes best friends with an alien starfish and flies into trees on purpose?

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	scottyquick 2009-08-04 11:19 pm UTC (link)
	That's what I'm guessing, but everyone I know who likes Hal seems to LOVE Johns on Hal, so I just figured he wasn't the guy for me. Haven't read FLASH/GL, slightly interested in the Hal of GA/GL, and VERY VERY interested in the last Hal. I need some reading recs nowah. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

thehefner
2009-08-04 11:45 pm UTC (link)

Oh heck, speaking as someone who loves Hal and loves Johns' work on GL, his Hal is seriously lacking. His Hal Jordan is one of my least favorite aspects of his GLC mythos, which is a bittersweet thing to admit.

Ultimately, people like what they like, so Hal may never be interesting to you. But damn if I'm not gonna try! Here're some highlights I found on the "Hal Jordan" tag:

The Saga of Itty (the starfish one): http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/720642.html

And if you like that, behold this fancomic: http://hoosierinanity.blogspot.com/search/label/My%20Pal%20Itty

It really does appreciate the unexplored aspect of Hal as not being all that bright, but lovably and heroicly so. Another aspect of that, done in a less comedic way, is his stuff with Ollie, where Hal is a tool of the establishment and Ollie is... well, Ollie. The GL/GA stuff is incredibly heavy-handed, but there was some surprising character depth to be found for both characters. I myself had no really understood this until I read this post a couple weeks ago:

http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/656698.html

The comments make some fascinating observations about both characters, particularly how Hal is actually the true liberal of the pair, and why his handling of Roy's addiction was the best thing he knew he could have done.

Plus, he can actually be pretty hardcore even without the ring!

http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/379852.html

I like our esteemed kagome's comments about how poor Kyle, in the same situation, might just be wandering in circles for an hour.

Next, you have Hal, Barry, Jay, and Alan go camping: http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/171702.html

That's from FLASH/GL, which is the series that really made me go, "Man, THAT'S the character I want to see returned from the dead and redeemed, because he is just too much fun!" Sadly, Johns has other ideas. But at least he's still around, and hopefully other writers will finally tap into those aspects.

And if you ever think Hal is overly liked by too many people, feel free to refer back to "Hal Jordan Has No Friends": http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/536010.html

Hope that helps even a weeny bit!

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	scottyquick 2009-08-04 11:51 pm UTC (link)
	Hehehe, Itty is adorable. Man, THAT'S the character I want to see back in Blackest Night! Not as a Black Lantern. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	thehefner 2009-08-05 12:00 am UTC (link)
	Hal loves his li'l starfish buddy! But yeah, I'd be afraid to see Itty return, for fear of messing up a happy ending, which are rare things indeed in comics. Unless, of course, it was something like the whole starfish family showing up to save the day. DEUS EX ITTY! (Reply to this) (Parent)

toasty_fresh
2009-08-04 01:06 am UTC (link)

Not painfully bland, but still pretty personality-less (and I say that as a huge YA fan). Hulkling and Wiccan get the brunt of it, imo, with Speed and Patriot having the most character, and the rest being somewhere in the middle.

Of course, fanon has pretty much come to an agreement as to what their characters should be like, so we can basically ignore the actual blah on the page, project our ideas onto the characters, and still complain when they're being "OOC" ;)

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	scottyquick 2009-08-04 03:05 am UTC (link)
	Heh. Yes, I think Young Avengers is a fandom where I genuinely do not know where fanon ends and canon begins. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	btravage.livejournal.com 2009-08-04 01:18 am UTC (link)
	The thing is, he does have an interesting past, how many other Superheroes tried to unmake the Universe? It's just shoved under the rug to absolve him of his sins. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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