"In
Brightest Day..."
The
Early Years (circa 1959-69)
*Hal Jordan, test
pilot for Ferris Aircraft, is abducted by a dying alien (Abin Sur) and given a
powerful weapon to fight evil. This green ring was to be powered by a green lantern
every 24 hours but had no effect against any thing yellow. Hal Jordan becomes
GREEN LANTERN! (Showcase #22, Sept-Oct 1959)
*Hal
would encounter Hector Hammond (GL #5), Sinestro (GL #6), Sonar
(GL #14), and many other villains repeatedly over his career.
*It
is revealed to Hal that there were 3599 other Green Lanterns who patrolled their
separate sectors of space. The Guardians were immortal beings who had lived for
five billions years and were extremely evolved (Who's
Who #87). They had located on the planet Oa, to establish the
Green Lantern Corps (GL #67).
*Hal
was one of the founding members of the Justice League of America, along with the
Flash, Black Canary, the Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman (JLA #9). Hal would soon
meet Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) through the JLA, who would later become one of
his closest friends (JLA #4).
*Hal
would also become good friends with the Flash (Barry Allen), on a mission in which
they would discover each other's secret identities (GL #13).
*Hal
discovers the truth about Guy Gardner (GL #59)
Who
is Hal Jordan?
He's
a thinking hero. Hal always had that yellow weakness to overcome, and he managed
to overcome it in some very clever ways. In one GL/GA back in the 70's Hal's ring
gets thrown out of an airplane - and Hal leaps out of the plane after it. This
is a hero who knew he'd come up with a plan on his way down!
Not
only that, but quite often people would attack him psychologically since the physical
attacks were generally ineffective - so his character really solidified in the
face of so many personal attacks.
Hal
was a man of honor. A man of duty. A man who would not hesitate to sacrifice himself
for the good of the human race or the good of the corps. And in Final Night he
did just that when he perished re-igniting the sun.
Hal
put up with a lot of crap from Carol, the Guardians, and certain fellow corpsmen
(ie GG) but he always tried to do the honorable thing.
He
was a fearless test pilot who was given a ring of cosmic power because he was
found worthy of the responsibility.
-Silver
Age Adam of the DC GL Board
"In
Darkest Night..."
The Social Issue Years (circa 1970-79)
*ENTER: Green Arrow -Ollie Queen
teams up with Hal (GL #76) in what's to be the best, (and most sought after
issue) in it's history, thanks to the team of Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams.
*Guy
Gardner is out of action due to injuries.
*John
Stewart is new back up.(GL# 87)
*Green
Lantern comic is cancelled (GL #89) (1972)
*After
four years of cameos and an interesting back up tale in the Flash, Hal again returns
to the comics! (GL #90) (1976)
*Guy
Gardner is again injured and now in a coma. (GL #116)
*The
Green Lantern/Green Arrow team breaks up (GL #122)
*
Green Lantern again solo! (GL #123)
"No
Evil Shall..."
The
Science Fiction Years (circa 1980-83)
* Hal is exiled to space for one
full year + (GL #150).
*
Hal returns to Earth (GL #172).
*The
Demolition Team nearly destroys the Solar Jet, were it not for the mysterious
Predator (GL #178).
*
An angry Carol confronts Hal. She asks him to choose between being a Green Lantern
and being with her. After asking Ollie, Barry and Superman for advice, Hal convinced
himself that he loved Carol more than he loved being a Green Lantern (a conclusion
he would later discover to be false) (GL #180).
*
Hal resigns as Green Lantern, guardian of space sector 2814. (GL #181).
"Escape
My Site..."
The
End of an Era Years (circa 1984-89)
* John Stewart becomes new Green
Lantern (GL #182)
*
The Predator & Star Sapphire are one and the same! (GL #191).
*Guy
Gardner is revived by renegade Guardians and chosen to wield a ring with an alternate
power source. This ring would work even though every other ring would not. The
renegade Guardians had passed up the chance to reinstate Hal, and instead chose
a morally bankrupt, brain damaged Guy Gardner (GL #195).
*Tomar
Re is killed, who passes his ring onto John, who passes his ring onto Hal, the
ring Hal had received from Abin Sur. Hal was Green Lantern, once more.
*Hal
was reinstated into the Corps by the 22 (tip of the hat here to Showcase?) remaining
Guardians (out of the 36 who were alive before the crisis).
*
The space sector system was abolished by Appa Ali Apsa, and the Guardians and
Zamerons then departed for their new plane of existence, surrounded by a swirl
of green and purple light (GL #200).
*John,
Hal, Katma and Arisia decided to all base themselves on Earth.
*Sinestro
is killed by execution (GLC #221). Sinestro's death set into motion a series
of events that would destroy the central power battery (the source of power for
all GL rings). The Guardians had made a pact centuries ago that would prevent
them from killing any man of Sinestro's race. This was because the Zamerons had
courted Korugan men after they had left Oa. In order to prevent the cold-blooded
murder of these men, the Guardians set the central power battery to self destruct
if any Korugan man was killed by the Guardians or their agents (GLC #222).
*
Yellow immunity of the battery is removed.
Who
is Hal Jordan?
Hal is a test pilot, he lives for the thrill, he is fearless, he
drives a convertable with the top down, he listens to good jazz, he is competitive
but not obssesive, he is a risk taker but not a gambler, he is popular with women
and a good buddy at the same time, he is polite but has a bit of an attitude at
the same time. Most of all, he thinks on his feet and Hal understands what it
means to be a hero. He is selfless above all else.
-Can1 of the DC GL Board
"Let
Those Who Worships Evils Might..."
The
Beginning of the End Years (circa 1990-92)
*The end of the Green Lantern Corps
as we know it and all GL rings are destroyed except for Hal's, Guy's, Ch'p's and
Gnort's. (GL #223)
*Green
Lantern comic is cancelled -AGAIN! (GL #224)
*Action
Comics Weekly starts with Green Lantern as it's main star, unfortunately, the
stories are lame...
*Interesting
story involving a power mad, insane Green Lantern named Lord Malvolio, who fights
with Hal and destroys his ring. Hal then takes Malvolio's ring to escape. Malvolio,
thought dead, simply laughs and says his plan is underway... Think about it
folks, Hal was wearing Mal's ring when he went mad and became Parallax. Malvolio
was one step away from being a Parallax like character, perhaps this was indeed
the evolution of Mal and simply used Hal's body as a sort of Avatar, thus creating
Parallax. (ACW #632-635) [more
here]
*Action Comics
Weekly cancelled, again stranding our hero without a book.
*New
Green Lantern series following disappointing Action Comics Weekly series (NOTE:
I simply cut all the GL stories out of this worthless series and stapled them
into 5 different books using the five GL covers from that series, discarding the
rest.)
"Beware..."
The
Graying Years (circa 1992-94)
* Hal returns with new look - a
man in his 40's almost overnight, and with graying temples in his hair.
*Appa
, the last Guardian goes insane and is killed by the Guardians, for which John
Stewart is now assigned to watch over the Mosaic (what Oa had become when Appa
put pieces of planets on Oa). Guardians decide a new Corps must be recreated.
(Boy insanity is catchy in the GLC)
*Hal
is to recruit new members for the new GLC (GL(2nd) #8).
*
Hal would start his own airline company and get back together with Carol.
"My
Power..."
The Parallax Years (circa
1994-99)
*Coast
City is destroyed causing Hal to loose his sanity while attempting to revive the
former metropolis with his own power ring.(GL(2nd) #46-48)
*Hal
goes to Oa to get more power to hopefully revive Coast City. (GL(2nd) #49)
*Hal
kills or maims most of the new Green Lanterns, stealing their rings in the process.
He finally reaches Oa after dealing with most of them (GL(2nd) #49).
*
The Guardians, in a desperate last attempt to stop Hal Jordan, resurrect Sinestro
(?) and the two duke it out. Hal Jordan snaps his neck. Kilowog is also
killed. These are the only two deaths caused by Jordan in his rampage.
*Hal
Jordan becomes Parallax, an insane, twisted and extremely powerful
villain hungry for more and more power to aid him in his quest to revive Coast
City.
*The Guardians,
instead of stopping Jordan by shutting off his power or transporting him away,
commit mass suicide, and pour their remaining energies into Ganthet.
*Ganthet,
the last guardian, takes a piece of Hal's ring (or should I say Lord Malvolio's
ring) that Parallax crushed and no longer needed forms a new one from it. He then
flew to Earth and literally picked a man off the street (Kyle Rayner) and gave
the new ring to him (GL(2nd) #50) with no instructions or power battery.
*Parallax
is killed saving the solar system, while re-igniting the sun and killing the sun-eater,
a final blow to a great legend. (Final Night #4)
*Hal
Jordan is given a hero's funeral (GL(2nd)#81).
*Time
traveling Kyle helps Hal in 1961, in the classic issue #9 duel (GL(2nd)#99-100)
with Sinestro.
*Hal,
from the past is again alive in 1998, but he must face people for something
he hasn't even done yet! (This is only for a short period of time) (GL(2nd)#101
-106.) Hal returns back to 1961, but leaves Kyle Rayner a duplicate ring
in hopes he would try to restart the Corps!
*Kyle
botches job on Corps restart and again, no GL Corps...
"Green
Lanterns Light!"
The Spectre Years (circa 1999 - 2004?)
*When the fallen angel Asmodel
stole the power of the Spectre, Hal Jordan was rescued from purgatory to help
stop this new threat. Earth's Day of Judgment was stopped and the soul
of Hal Jordan was bonded with the Spectre force to become the new Spectre. (See
Day of Judgment #3 - 5) As the Spectre, Hal Jordan has begun to walk the path
of redemption.
*Adjusting
to his new role as Spectre, and joined by Abin Sur in ghost form, Hal Jordan encounters
Caul, an ex-CIA mystic who desires to destroy the Spectre and the world itself.
Spectre learns new things and defeats Caul and restores the world. (LOTDCU
#33-36)
* Hal returns,
uncomfortable with his new role, and unsure of his responsibilities. He and Abin
Sur travel to Hell to get some answers. The devil (or maybe God- it could all
be lies), suggests that he should be redeeming souls rather than condemning them.
Meanwhile, Carol and Jack realise that Hal has returned. (Spectre (4th)#1)
*
Hal attempts to take this new path, trying to guide Mankind into a new age of
spiritual enlightenment. The Wrath which he cast out in the LOTDCU story, has
been captured by an entity known as Mistos. It escapes, seemingly destroying Hal
on goes on the rampage. (Spectre (4th)#2)
*
Mistos recaptures the Wrath, and frees Hal. She reveals that she plans to (effectively)
destroy the world in order to save it. Superman, Batman, and Zuariel interfere,
with Hal seemingly unsure of what to do. (Spectre (4th)#3)
*
Hal takes on the Wrath, while Batman and Superman fight Mistos. Hal is able to
transmute the Wrath (with willpower ?) into 'the Logoz' (?)- basically a part
of God. They defeat Mystos, by showing her that she'd trapped herself on Earth
by believing that she was stuck there. The implication was basically that your
beliefs change the world around you. This is another way of looking at what Hal
was doing as GL, and there's the threat that 'the Logoz' might revert back to
the nasty ol' spirit of vengeance if Hal is weak.
(Spectre (4th)#4)
*
Hal tries to help Two-Face by splitting off his darker side. It's a mistake, and
he reintegrates them again. Yeah we create out own destiny, but in setting up
that every soul decides how it's going to move forward be it by doing good or
evil, it means that the Spectre really doesnt have anything to do. He can just
sit on his ass and say it's all Gods will. Why *allow* them to do evil ? Why *allow*
them to hurt the innocent ? He can prevent it, he can punish, he can teach- He
*should* be doing something. It's so weak. At least (going by the last page) this
seemed to be 'the Spectre/ Logoz's will rather than Hals, but it doesn't make
for great superheroics. (Spectre (4th)#5)
*
Hal tries to spend some time with his family. He sets up a new HQ, and there's
some nice conflict with Abin about what he should be doing as the Spectre. A new
bad guy (Monsieur Stigmonus) appears (with an interest in Hals' niece) and is
seemingly the exact opposite of how Hal chooses to see his role as the Spectre.
Hal is thrown and asks the Risen for guidence. He's taken to earth 1000 years
in the future, and finds it in ruins. Apparantly mankind can't be redeemed. (Spectre
(4th)#5)
Re:
THE SPECTRE #6 - circuitous path
(special thanks to destinedforDC
for the following:)
The
thing that made Hal's reunion with his brother in SPECTRE #6 even more enjoyable
than I thought it would be was the surprise role that Hal's niece, Helen, played
in the story. Like most children in J.M.'s work, she was the absolute embodiment
of innocence and, as such, was gifted with a perception that the adults around
her did not share. She can "see" these otherworldly beings and she seems
to know instinctively, as we saw in her meeting with Stigmonus at the end, which
beings can be trusted and which are to be feared. Simply put, she has the faith
of a child.
This entire issue, in fact, was about faith. No sooner does Hal
establish a home for himself in the desert, when along comes Stigmonus, whispering
all sorts of doubts and fears into Hal's ear, trying his best to shake Hal's faith
in humanity. Pages 15 through 17 were loaded with very powerful arguments and
images -- those both in favor of Man's ascendance out of his own ignorance and
on to a higher being, and those against it. Although Hal eventually denounced
Stigmonus for the self-interested hatemonger that he was, it was perhaps too late.
The damage to Hal's faith had already been done.
It will be interesting to
see how those in The Nameless Land help Hal to find his own "highest wisdom."
Having read J.M.'s work for as long as I have, I know it won't be easy. Considering
the often-circuitous path that we all put between ourselves and our own goals
in life, I guess you could say that it never is.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #7 - limited visions aside
If
there is one absolute truth that I believe in and never tire of hearing J.M. DeMatteis
espouse, it is that we all create our own reality, our own destiny, and that collectively
we create the world. I wholeheartedly agreed with the way Augera, in issue #7,
defined The Spectre's mission: "You must dream your highest dreams. You must
manifest your highest future. But you must also help humankind to manifest theirs!
Be their guide. Their friend."
These words and those that followed were,
to me, more than just storytelling. They were encouragement of the highest order.
Because of the terrible things he did in the past, Hal still clings to a limited
vision of himself, but step by step he is learning to let go of that limitation,
to feel deserving of the power and the redemption it can bring. The trick for
Hal is to let the goodness inside of him come out. Stigmonus is a terrific foil
in this regard because he represents Hal's inner demons personified. He speaks
Hal's fears aloud and thus gives Hal an opportunity to combat them.
The expanding
role of Hal's niece, Helen, is also intriguing because J.M. has fast-forwarded
to show us just how important the adult Helen may or may not be to the future
of all humanity. To me, what J.M. is really saying is that we are all Helen --
we all started out innocent and we all make choices everyday that define what
sort of a world we want to live in. For good or bad, it's up to us.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #8 - it doesn't have to be that way
It
seems that every issue of THE SPECTRE contains at least one phrase that perfectly
sums up the battle fought within its page. The words that stuck with me after
reading issue #8? "To co-create with God."
The fact that Stigmonus
could not perceive the paradise that Hal led him to made perfect sense. After
all, if Stigmonus could see the goodness all around him, he could no longer serve
as the embodiment of all humanity's pain and suffering.
Thus far, Hal's relationship
with his niece, Helen, has been used to full effect. Now that her parents are
gone, she will most likely take center stage in Hal's life, and no doubt become
the embodiment of innocence in Hal's world -- the one who reminds him what all
the struggle is about, why he's fighting everyday to become a better, stronger
person. She's a terrific creation.
It seems that some of your other readers
feel that Hal's battle is "going nowhere", or that he keeps fighting
the same inner battle every issue with the same, inevitable, positive outcome.
But isn't that what we ourselves do everyday? There are demons in our own thoughts
and they can, if we let them, ruin even the most perfect of moments. The battle
that Hal is fighting is of paramount importance because J.M. DeMatteis is seeking
to show us, through Hal, that it doesn't have to be that way. We can all change
the world, if only our vision is strong enough.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #9 - which will it be?
In
doing what he always does, in writing about the big subjects, J.M. DeMatteis has
once again made his work relevant, current, and yet timeless as well, applicable
to all human situations. Hal's suffering over the loss of his only remaining family,
his rage, his desire to undo even death itself all made very real emotional sense.
Yet it was only when Hal saw through his surface rationalizations that he realized
the selfishness at the core of his actions, realized that he was focusing solely
upon his own needs, his own loss. To my mind it seemed that he had temporarily
lost faith in the greater sense of the universe. Only after he took "some
time to think" did he then regain himself and begin to truly accept what
had occurred. Abin Sur's subsequent decision to stay with Hal was a touching one.
As was the final scene showing Hal watching over the blissfully-slumbering Helen.
J.M. has once again successfully put forth the proposition that everything happens
for a reason -- and that only through an understanding of ourselves can we begin
to grasp the big picture, how we fit in with the world around us, why we live,
and why, eventually, we choose to die. It is imperative that we understand this
creative power that we all wield. Like Helen's parents, like Abin Sur, we all
have the ability to create heaven -- or hell -- here on Earth. It's up to us to
choose which it will be.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #10 - a wiser, nobler hero
Back
in 1994 in LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT #65-68 J.M. DeMatteis told one of the most
powerful Joker stories I have ever read. He scripted the Joker not merely as a
force of ultimate madness and evil, but as a person -- someone with actual feelings
behind his every malevolent act. In defining the characters in his stories J.M.
never takes the easy way out. SPECTRE #10 showed us a version of Hal that was
perhaps more frightening than Parallax had ever been. At least when he was Parallax,
Hal had a method to his madness -- a desire, no matter how twisted, to do good,
to set the universe right. But this Jokerized version of Parallax seemed to exist
solely to torture Hal, to remind him of the dark side of his nature, his past
crimes, and to instill in him the crippling fear that he could all-too-easily
become such a hurtful person again. Thankfully, Hal has learned from his past
arrogance. He is a wiser, nobler hero now.
Hal's brief journey into "All
That Is" pushed him yet another step closer to true understanding, to a world,
as Hal said, "where we can all realize that there are no mistakes."
Through Hal's struggle J.M. showed us that even the Joker is not a mistake. He
exists for a reason, and not just as the devil personified. As Hal did with Parallax,
we all create exterior representations of our interior demons. And, as Hal learned,
the real trick is in remembering that the evil we encounter is not truly within
others, but within ourselves.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #11 - mere human beings
The
Phantom Stranger is one of my favorite characters in all of comics. J.M. DeMatteis
is one of my favorite writers in all of comics. Put the two together and you get
a brilliant story like "The Mission" in SPECTRE #11. I was not disappointed.
Through Hal's visits to Webber Morrisey, Arkham Asylum, and Abdulla Khan, we got
to see the Spectre at work, making a real difference in people's lives. This is
when this comic is at its strongest -- when it is doing nothing more than cataloguing
the intricacies of human suffering and offering each of the sufferers the knowledge
that they have within themselves the power to change. In today's world I much
prefer stories of redemption to those of vengeance.
Power is something we
hear a great deal about in the world of comics. Many heroes and villains use their
power to try to change the world. But as Hal pointed out to Abdulla Khan, it is
only by changing ourselves that we change the world. The very essence of the Spectre's
mission is to affect people on an individual level, to help them one by one. That
is his power. He can open people's eyes. He can persuade them. But in the end
each of the characters had to make a choice, just as each of us has to make a
choice everyday as to how we live our lives. We are all responsible for the world's
problems, and, like Hal, we must all work toward knowing ourselves and becoming
better human beings. Hal doesn't wait around for someone else to save the world.
Neither should we.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #12 - hope incarnate
Out
of all the comics within which one might find a heartwarming Christmas tale, THE
SPECTRE seemed the least likely choice. And perhaps that is why J.M.'s tale of
childhood wonder rekindled resonated so deeply within me. By experiencing both
the best and the worst the season had to offer, Hal was able to use one of Mankind's
greatest gifts -- the power of laughter -- to melt the hearts of those frozen
in misery and sorrow.
The flashback on page 16 to Hal's most miserable --
and most wonderful -- childhood Christmas offered each of us an opportunity to
reflect upon our own joy, or lack thereof, during this most emotionally-magnified
time of year.
Although this month's story seemed a great deal more lighthearted
than any of J.M.'s previous work on this series, I believe this was just the point:
to help us all to see that sometimes, if we can allow for it within ourselves,
life can become so much easier, so much freer and rewarding. Sometimes we just
need that little reminder, as Hal did this issue, that our own happiness should
never be considered too simple a thing to really enjoy.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #13 - metaphorical specificity
The
title alone -- "Eternity in an Hour" -- sounded awesomely inspiring,
pregnant with the sort of storytelling possibilities that a master of the metaphysical
like J.M. DeMatteis can't help but explore and then illuminate for the rest of
us.
How difficult it is to explain all the levels upon which J.M.'s work touches
me -- the deeper truths he uncovers, the notion espoused once again this month
that time and space are but representative concepts dreamed up as ways to help
us comprehend the reality we've created around ourselves.
All of these mind-boggling
truths are a part of J.M.'s work, but they would mean very little without that
final, essential ingredient -- the heart and soul he pours into every line, every
word. This story was as eloquent in exploring the ways and means of the human
heart as any short story I have ever read.
In fact, I would say that a story
of this magnitude, this scope, demanded to be told, as it was, on a metaphorical
level. And while J.M. skillfully avoided the temptation of including any sort
of mundane specificity, he was at the same time always crystal clear in describing
the powerful emotions of the participants. The story took place everywhere --
and nowhere. Our imaginations did the work, creating individual interpretations
from the framework provided. And that's the way it should be.
Superhero comics
are by nature iconic and larger-than-life, but here J.M. doubled this concept
back upon itself. He used the Forever Woman's journey as a means to represent
all our journeys through life. Like James Cameron's "Titanic", he told
an eternal, timeless love story that everyone could understand and relate to.
His words spoke to the essence of every human heart -- our boundless capacity
for joy, for giving, for evolution.
SPECTRE #13 was a masterpiece and an inspiration,
and I thank J.M., Ryan, and all those involved in its creation. Here's to hoping
that the worlds we all imagine for ourselves are as vivid and as enriching as
those realized every month within these pages.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #14 - a ways to go
Like the previous issue,
THE SPECTRE #14 represented a real departure from all that had come before it.
J.M. DeMatteis and artist Craig Hamilton used to full effect the storytelling
tools that only comic books possess -- the haunting, ethereal quality of page
1, repeated again on page 17; the succession of images drawing us in on page 3,
pushing us away on page 5; the tiny recap on page 16 -- a visual synopsis just
prior to the story's climatic moment. All throughout "The Silver Room"
the 9-panel grids were effective in making us feel the trapped, static, and repetitive
nature of Jonah's existence, then widening into the liberation he experienced
on pages 18-21. In this way, the art really brought to life the emotional arc
of the story.
The Spectre, relegated to guest star status, did not, for once,
act out of doubt, nor drown himself in endless questions of self, as he had in
earlier issues. At first it seemed a glimpse into the future, to a time when Hal
would conduct himself with more confidence, be more comfortable in his own skin.
For a time he was truly and solely an instrument of redemption for Jonah.
Yet I can't help but feel that the return to the grid on page 22 and the expression
on Hal's face in panel 4 were somehow meant to convey, in a very subtle way, his
ongoing sadness. As is almost always the case in life, Hal was giving advice to
Jonah that he himself would do well to heed. The way the ending was structured
was as if to say that, yes, Jonah had been liberated from his self-made prison,
but perhaps Hal feels, in this particular regard, that he himself still has a
ways to go.
Then again, don't we all?
Re:
THE SPECTRE #15 - the most real
Not
unlike Mr. DeMatteis I believe that the next evolutionary step for Mankind will
be a metaphysical one, and so I was thrilled with THE SPECTRE #15, particularly
Hal's conversation with Helen on pages 7 and 8 wherein J.M. boils it down to a
remarkably simple formula: "Each of us is a part of everything and, yet,
at the same time, we are everything."
The "army of lunatic Spectres",
as Abin called them, was yet another of J.M.'s clever storytelling turns. It just
made so much sense who they were, how they'd been corrupted, and how very imperative
it was for Hal to reclaim them as the undeniable part of himself they represent.
The soul mirrors, the division of Hal's consciousness, all were used to maximum
advantage, as was the appropriately moody art of Mr. Breyfogle, whose figures
are always slanting and flowing, reaching off the page, just "solid"
enough to be human, but not, as J.M. might say, "trapped in their forms."
As was the case with the crystalline beings, most everything in this comic is
a manifestation, a collective memory, every language is musical, all is transmutation
and transfiguration, energy and thought-emotion, higher planes and psychic battles.
Every story explores far beneath the surface and encourages the reader to draw
intimate connections between Hal's struggles and our own.
All of this reminds
me once again of the true service that Mr. DeMatteis provides for his readers
-- expanding our minds. Hardly any of Hal's reality is real, yet all of his illusions
are. This forever twisting, turning, intermingling of dream and reality makes
them nearly indistinguishable, and I believe this is one of J.M.'s main messages
-- that everything we experience is only as real as a dream, and yet our dreams
are, in fact, where we feel the most real.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #16 - upon metaphysical organs draped
Hal's
assertion in SPECTRE #16 -- "I have changed! I don't have to solve problems
with my fists anymore! Not when I have other ways!" -- spelled out for me
what this comic is all about: the examination of a super-hero, a noble soul, in
transition from the standard old beat-up-the-bad-guys routine into something more
evolved. Hal, as the Spectre, inspires me every bit as much as when he was Green
Lantern, only now it is Hal's inner struggle that I respect and admire and relate
to my own.
Hal's visit to the energy planet further defined what his life
is currently all about -- expanding his consciousness, coming to understand that
his soul is not just some metaphysical organ stuck inside his chest, but is instead
his true self, his essence, and that his physical form is merely draped upon this
essential being to give "the psychological and emotional reassurance that
the illusion of form provides," as his guide told him on page 8.
It's
interesting to note that from the heroic perspective we're used to, the energy
beings' refusal to aid Hal could be seen as uncaring or self-involved or even
cowardly, but perhaps it is merely the case that they are evolved so far beyond
the need for struggle that it is Hal's behavior which is a disappointment to them,
his need to still participate in such foolish conflict.
There is no doubt
in my mind that this story is one of the most important that J.M. has ever told,
because it speaks through Hal of the evolution of our entire species into a golden
age of our own making, and more importantly assures us that unlike the course
of human history to this very day, this new evolution need not involve suffering
or violence or destruction. All it really takes is a change of heart.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #17 - new age, new methods
"For
a New Age -- there had to be new methods!"
These words, proclaimed by
Hal in SPECTRE #17 meant a great deal to me. It seems that Hal is learning the
most important lesson of peace -- that it cannot be achieved through war or violence
of any kind, that it cannot be achieved at all until each individual is ready
to accept it into themselves.
The way in which Hal on pages 12-16 shed his
fear of reprisals from the Quoex and demonstrated his faith was truly inspirational.
He was willing to be struck down, willing to sacrifice himself, although he knew
that if his faith was strong enough this would not be necessary. For Hal it was
prayer that opened the doorway, not just to a new galaxy, but to himself.
Here we had a wonderful example, beautifully illustrated, of what Hal wishes for
our own world -- an inner transformation, the ushering in of a new Golden Age
in which everyone would share the gift of that "latent, untapped energy"
that Hal experienced by becoming one with his greater self.
Here's hoping
that the day will soon come when we'll all have earned such a reward for our faith
in life, in each other, and in ourselves.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #18 - accumulated diversity
SPECTRE
#18 gave us two narratives, equally interesting, carefully balanced, but essentially
telling different aspects of the same story -- Abin Sur's journey back into the
universe as we know it, and Helen's first supervised journey out of it.
Materna
Minxx -- a cosmic Mary Poppins who's somehow gotten hold of Aladdin's flying carpet
-- made an important point when she instructed Helen: "You're trying to understand
this realm instead of becoming it." By traveling into the heart of the sun,
or as Materna put it, the "far more subtle and elegant layers of being and
seeing," Helen began to see the difference between the material universe,
science as we understand it, and all that exists just beneath our notice. Although
Materna joked about Helen becoming "one with the universe," that is
essentially where the journey is taking her -- toward the perception of herself
as both an individual and as part of a greater whole.
Abin Sur's journey brought
him to exactly the same truth, only along a different path. His attempts to deny,
on page 7 and again on page 16, the truth of his existence made perfect sense
given the enormity of the concepts he was facing. Reincarnation, "descending
into form," Karamm-Jeev -- do any of us really wish to consider the possibility
that our lives here are only a small fraction of our true selves? Abin was afraid
he would lose his identity, and it took the wisdom of all his accumulated lifetimes
to convince him otherwise. It was only after he was confronted with the wonder
and diverse joy of his many selves that Abin's fear vanished and he was able to
finally surrender who he was today in order to become who he will be tomorrow.
The tear Helen shed in her sleep, the change in her blissful expression, provided
Abin with a touching farewell to his current life, as did the final scene with
Munni Jah and Ruch Ehr, giving Abin a new and beautiful way to forever bond with
two of his closest friends. His rebirth on page 22 as Lagzia completed the cycle
we saw on pages 10 and 18 -- one into many, many into one -- showing us that we,
like Abin and Helen, are all very much alike, if we're willing to look beneath
the surface.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #19 - freedom and its horrors
I
was a tremendous fan of John Ostrander's work on the previous Spectre series,
so I was glad to welcome him back, particularly with a story as morally complex
and psychologically interesting as "The Equations of Light and Darkness."
The idea that Darkseid is a necessary evil, a balancing force in the cosmos has
been suggested many times before, but rarely has Darkseid's position been so well
elucidated. That he cannot allow hope to exist in any form on Apokolips makes
sense, of course, but the part I found truly fascinating was the way in which
he twisted what would otherwise be considered an act of mercy and forgiveness
toward the girl, Anomalie, into what seemed through his eyes a fate worse than
death. The phrase "freedom and all its horrors" was a chilling exclamation
point in regard to Darkseid's views about our "squalid planet."
It was also a nice reversal to have Anomalie's ability to create such extraordinary
beauty be the reason she felt so useless in Darkseid's ugly world. I thought it
a bit depressing, however, showing only the "dark side" of her life
on Earth -- a life where we humans appear no more accepting of her gift than those
on Apokolips. I hope that this was merely Darkseid's version of her future --
all struggle and no reward -- but I would've preferred a more positive statement
by Hal to refute those images on page 21, something to tip the scales on the side
of personal achievement, rather than leaving us with the notion that the universe
makes us all feel small and powerless and thereby equal.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #20 - heaven in front of us
As
someone who has, these past few months, watched nearly every episode of Rod Serling's
"Twilight Zone", I have to tell you that "My Perfect Life"
in SPECTRE #20 was every bit as brilliant and compelling as any of those black-and-white
masterpieces.
Robert Carol's plight -- trapped in circumstances he can't control
or comprehend, trying to decipher the shifting realities only to discover in the
end that it was he himself who had created the situation for a very specific purpose
-- is one that many Serling protagonists have faced. In this case J.M. DeMatteis
gave us a man whose self-imposed inability to recognize his own death represented
his unwillingness to move on, his fear that this life was the only one he would
ever have. I found it very comforting the way Hal explained to him that "all
the universe is a dream... it's just that most of us don't realize it."
Even though, to those left behind, it may seem as if Robert's life ended in tragedy,
he himself is shown the deeper truths of his existence, thus proving that no one's
life is irredeemable (just ask Hal). It didn't matter that Robert was born poor,
that his mother died and his father was abusive, that he himself gave in to alcoholism
and lost his family. Hal showed him that these were mere obstacles and that he
did in fact overcome them, that all his struggles were not in vain.
"We
think we're limited... we think we're lonely" -- I could quote nearly every
line on the last few pages, but the real message, I think, is that we should all
enjoy the time we have and not worry about what comes after -- that, like Hal,
our work right now is here on Earth, and our heaven is always right there in front
of us, just waiting for us to find it.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #21 - an unnatural happiness
When
a man wants to feel despair, as Hal so obviously did at the beginning of THE SPECTRE
#21, it is easy for him to callously and bitterly disregard the joy of those around
him. Trapped in his present form, Hal seems to be concentrating only upon what
he has lost, feeling sorry for himself, and denying the opportunity which exists
for joy within each moment.
Playing the role of the jealous ex-boyfriend
rendered Hal entirely susceptible to "the perfect life" he was then
offered with Carol. Too many times when our heroes are shown in these situations,
their reasons for denying themselves this better life make little sense. They
struggle against what seems to them an unnatural happiness, and they are always
all too relieved to be thrown out of paradise as a result. The idea that Hal gave
himself over so willingly and so completely, praying that nothing would ever change,
felt to me like a much more human response, seeking, as it were, a mind-numbing
bliss, and never realizing, as Hal no doubt eventually will, that such bliss can
never be attained from an outside source, but only through one's own internal
manifestation of it.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #22 - collapsing hatred, unfolding joy
By
showing us, in the beginning of THE SPECTRE #22, Hal's life as it might have been,
and then having Stigmonus remind us that all our lives are merely dreams unraveling,
J.M. DeMatteis set the stage for what would be, as the cover implied, a dizzying
descent through layer after layer of the dream, each reality shifting yet maintaining
just enough inner truth to explain and to justify both its existence and Hal's
participation in it.
I was pleased to see Hal clinging so steadfastly, for
yet another entire issue, to the love he once shared/could still share with Carol.
With Hal so distantly removed from "real" events, this story is really
more Stigmonus's, providing us with disturbing insight into his nihilistic perspective,
although I do believe that even this will, as Stigmonus himself said of Hal's
fantasy, "collapse on its own soon enough." As we've witnessed in the
past with both Hal and Sinestro, hatred burns out its receptacle at an amazing
speed. Only joy is self-sustaining.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #23 - a true transformation
The
rather mind-blowing events witnessed in THE SPECTRE #23 both suggested and reinforced
concepts that J.M. DeMatteis has spoken of many times in the past in his work,
yet took them in new ever-expanding directions, most notably Stigmonus's insistence
that the "dream Hal" was living in a holographic universe, which, by
story's end, was shown to be quite indistinguishable from our own.
It's one
thing for comic book and science fiction authors to write about holograms being
used as entertainment or as a new type of menace gone out of control, but when
one begins to consider, as J.M. obviously has, the bigger picture, as it were,
holograms take on a whole new significance. They are, in essence, thought and
energy given form. Who is to say that we ourselves are any different?
On one
level it is easy to claim that Stigmonus was doing nothing more than playing games
with Hal and with Materna and with the readers, too, through his monologues, but
there was far too much truth in some of his statements -- "Longing is the
key to creation" -- for them to be dismissed so out of hand.
In much
the same way that Stigmonus was venting his seesawing emotions upon Materna, Hal's
battle with Sinestro allowed him the opportunity to at last shout out loud some
of his own pain and confusion to someone who was actually there in the old days,
the anti-GL, the man who went wrong long before Hal's own fall from grace. If
Sinestro was indeed "cosmic spite" wrapped up in a "convenient
container", then Hal must in turn be thought of as "cosmic compassion".
In the end Sinestro was not beaten with force of will or even with kindness. In
fact, he was not beaten at all, but instead forced to confront something that
was for him infinitely more painful than losing in battle -- that is, the inevitability
of his own redemption.
After Hal said to Stigmonus in their final scene together,
"I can feel how much your heart breaks for this world" it has now become
for me clearer than ever what J.M.'s true purpose has been for Hal's character
-- not merely redemption for all of his horrible crimes against others and against
himself, but rather a true transformation into a man of understanding and almost-unfathomable
kindness -- a man representative of Humanity's future.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #24 - imagining heaven
What
THE SPECTRE #24 lacked in seriousness, it made up for in character development,
particularly in the way the story was told from Helen's perspective. Although
the old I-forgot-your-birthday-SURPRISE! trick was employed, it was done so sincerely,
and Helen's reaction to the Justice League, and to Ollie in particular, was priceless.
It was quite startling to see Materna call Diana's beliefs "separative, sexist
nonsense". This was a good reminder for all of us that life is not about
taking sides, but rather about embracing your individuality, even as you live
among others.
The scene that followed, where Superman gave Helen the wooden
dolls he made, was without a doubt one of the most powerful to appear in this
comic, maybe because it was so personal for so many of us who played with (or
still play with) these "action figures", and through them live out the
adventures in our own heads.
If heaven is, as Zauriel said, "Not a place...
but a state of being", then I'd say that books like this, which open the
imagination and free the spirit, will be the ones that help get us there.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #25 - a more humane perspective
Sometimes
the hardest stories to tell are those which would invoke from us sympathy for
those who are entirely unsympathetic. But that is exactly what J.M. DeMatteis
set out to do with "Crime & Punishment" in THE SPECTRE #26.
Miklos Karis could, by another man's definition, be considered a victim. However,
our protagonist in this story, Agent Franco, made it very clear right from the
start where she stood on that subject -- "Maybe a thousand other people could
have had that treatment and come out docile as puppies. Maybe there was something
in Karis's own psyche that made him a monster."
It is only after Karis
is cured and transformed into "the world's most adorable mass murderer"
-- and after the question of his responsibility for his actions is raised and
then defeated by Karis himself -- that Agent Franco is at last moved to doubt
her position on his monstrosity.
It was clear that, for her, the truth --
that Karis's soul chose this path "lifetimes ago" -- was crippling to
behold. But the point, I think, is that it set her upon her own path to personal
enlightenment and a broader, more human(e) perspective.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #26 - enabling belief
It
was quite fitting that for the penultimate issue of this magazine J.M. DeMatteis
presented us with a tale of personal redemption that was among the most powerful
he has told in these pages.
"The Path" gave us Abdulla Khan -- a
man who had committed reprehensible acts, then paid for them, then moved beyond
all of that to a place where he understood a truer existence and the value of
embracing life, the inner rewards achieved when one can "Let the god within
guide your actions", as Hal told him.
Awaiting every man of peace are
those moments which try his soul, and Khan's fate was no different. It was a powerful
scene that unfolded at that school, not because of the terrorists or the threat
of death that hung over it all, but because of the humanity present, the simple
truths spoken by those in the audience who found the courage to enable their beliefs.
It was immensely satisfying to see The Spectre's gift to them -- revealing himself
in all his celestial glory -- achieve its intended effect: to inspire all those
who witnessed it and to provide them with the means to inspire others.
Re:
THE SPECTRE #27 - one soul at a time
"To
question the need for suffering -- no matter how lofty its purpose."
Out of all the beautiful words written in THE SPECTRE #27, these were the ones
that echoed most deeply within me. I've been amazed and humbled by J.M. DeMatteis's
stories, his perspectives and realizations, so many of which mirror my own, and
it is only fitting that here, at "the beginning of the beginning", he
should present to us the core idea of what this title has been all about.
As Hal reviewed his journey through life and death and the afterlife, he kept
coming back around to the same troubling notion of his own unworthiness, not to
be The Spectre, but simply to be. His struggles to view himself as a true parent
for Helen were no different than his struggles to believe he was worthy of the
gifts he had been given, either as GL or as The Spirit of Redemption. In order
to help others, Hal has had to first find the faith within to help himself.
It was very clear that, although J.M. was speaking through Hal, his message was
intended directly for us -- "Make the choice. Shape the dream." And
so we shall.
Here's hoping that we all call forth the best universes we could
ever imagine....
For
a complete list of Hal Jordan appearances,
click [here]
and for Parallax appearances
[here]
Also,
vist this page on the history of the Jordan family
In
2005, DC finally brought back Hal Jordan as the "star"
Green Lantern of Earth, and redeemed his image with the
miniseries Green Lantern: Rebirth, written by Geoff Johns,
and pencilled by Ethan Van Sciver, in which it was revealed
that Parallax was actually an ancient demonic parasitic
entity dating back to the dawn of time, that actually was
the sentient embodiment of fear, and which traveled from
world to world, feeding off the fear of sentient beings,
and causing entire civilizations to destroy themselves out
of paranoia.