In Loving Memory...Hal Jordan, Green Lantern
An eternal flame in memory of Hal Jordan...
hero of Coast City, Green Lantern.
At the end of the Final Night, Hal Jordan, known to the world's heroes as Parallax,
reappeared on Earth. In what seemed to be Earth's final hour, the former Green Lantern
marshalled his power's one more time, on behalf of humanity, and saved the Earth from heat
death, at the mercy of the feared Sun-Eater. The Sun-Eater consumed Hal, but not before
he re-ignited the Sun, and saved the Earth from total destruction.
At the end, Kal-El of Krypton, Metropolis' own Superman, said simply that, "I'll always
feel Hal died a hero."
In my youth, Hal Jordan, Green Lantern, recited the above oath while charging his ring...and was
a symbol of courage, heroism, and honesty. Any one could be Green Lantern, and many people were
over the years of comics publication...but there was only one Hal Jordan, best and brightest.
We are sorry to see the character leave the active world of comics, here at the League. In short...
We'll all miss you, Hal.
In the month of October, Hal Jordan, Parallax,
used the green power of the Guardians for one FINAL time...and saved the Earth from heat death due to an extinguished
sun. Many fans of the League, the GL Corps, and Hal Jordan as a character are frightfully upset by
this, and with good reason. I personally like the idea of Parallax somehow atoning for the destruction
of Oa, the Guardians, the Corps, and the near termination of the universe. The Idea of Hal as such
a cosmic scale villian was disturbing to me at best---I always looked up to the character, and loved him
as a kid.
Bio: Hal Jordan was working as a test pilot in his home town of
Coast City, when he was chosen by a dying alien named Abin Sur to weld a powerful ring because of his courage and
fearlessness. This ring could create anything the welder desired, limited by the will of the bearer. Its only weakness is that it
could not affect anything yellow. However, the ring had a time-dependent charge and had to be reenergized by means of a
"battery."
Abin Sur was only one of 3600 members of a corps of Green Lanterns, commanded by a race of aliens called the Guardians
of the Universe. The Guardians provided power to the main power battery on the planet Oa from which all the rings derive their
energy. The Guardians immediately sent Hal to bring in Sinestro, a renegade Green Lantern who used his power ring
for personal gain, a violation of Guardian's rules. Sinestro was brought down by Hal and subsequently stripped of his ring
and banished to the Anti-Matter Universe. Sinestro, while exiled, came upon another power ring which gained its powers from other
Green Lanterns. This power ring was yellow and used yellow-shifted energy instead of green. Over time, Sinestro and Hal
fought on several occasions, until Sinestro was imprisoned in the main power battery on Oa.
Meanwhile, Hal became a superhero, mainly concentrating on his home town of Coast City, and joined the Justice League of
America. Hal also teamed up with Oliver Queen, aka the Green Arrow, and travelled the US with him. He had many
romantic connections, including Carol Ferris of the Ferris Aircraft Company.
The Green Lantern Corps broke up several times and Hal lost his ring about just as many. The Guardians were very strict in
their laws, and Hal became frustrated after years of service. All this came to a head in Green Lantern #48.
In Superman #80, Coast City was destroyed by the intergalactic conqueror Mongul and the Superman imposter later known
as the Cyborg. Seven million people died. Hal, in grief, used his power ring to resurrect Coast City. When his ring's 24-hour
charge expired, Jordan asked for more power from the Guardians. The Guardians, from a holo-projection, said no and instead
ordered him to relinquish his ring. Jordan refused and proceeded to Oa for more power. Along the way, he encountered many Green Lanterns and defeated every one of them, killing some and maiming
others. When he reached Oa, the Guardians released Sinestro against Jordan. Jordan killed Sinestro and absorbed all the
power from the main battery, simultaneously draining the Guardians of their own Green Power, to lethal effect.
One Guardian survived and escaped, known as Ganthet...and he presented the last Ring to Kyle Rayner on Earth.
Jordan then went on a quest for more power, in order to achieve his ends, which involved the prevention of all wrongdoing or
injustice, throughout time and space. Calling himself Parallax, he absorbed some chronal energies leftover
from the Crisis of Infinite Earths and proceeded to rewrite the universe in his image.
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