Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join theGreen Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker. Jordan was created in the Silver Age of Comic Booksby John Broome and Gil Kane, and made his first appearance in Showcase #22 (October 1959) to replace the original Green Lantern Alan Scott from the Golden Age of Comic Books.[1]
In 1994, the story Emerald Twilight saw Hal Jordan turn into the supervillain Parallax. Later, in the Zero Hourminiseries, he attempts cosmic genocide. He was replaced by Kyle Rayner as the new Green Lantern for theModern Age of Comic Books. In 1996's crossover story "The Final Night", he attempted to return to his heroic roots by dying to save the Earth, and later returned as a spirit of redemption in the persona of the Spectre. Hal Jordan was resurrected in the 2004 miniseries Green Lantern: Rebirth, which revealed that Parallax was actually an alien parasitic entity that influenced his prior villainy. He subsequently returned to the Green Lantern Corps and became the protagonist of the subsequent volumes of Green Lantern.
Hal Jordan was ranked 7th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes in 2011.[2]
After achieving great success in 1956 in reviving the Golden Age character The Flash, DC editor Julius Schwartz looked toward recreating the Green Lantern from the Golden Age of Comic Books.[citation needed] Like The Flash, Schwartz wanted this new character to have a different secret identity, origin, and personality than his 1940s counterpart. A long time science-fiction fan and literary agent, Schwartz wanted a more sci-fi based Green Lantern, as opposed to the mystical powers of Alan Scott, the forties Green Lantern. He enlisted writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane, who in 1959 would reintroduce Green Lantern to the world in Showcase #22 (September–October 1959).
The character was a success, and it was quickly decided to follow-up his three issue run on Showcase with a self-titled series. Green Lantern #1 began in July–August 1960 and would continue until #84 in April–May 1972.
This creative team was responsible for introducing many of the major characters in Hal Jordan's life. First and foremost was Carol Ferris, Jordan's love interest. She was in charge of Ferris Aircraft, and as such, Hal's boss. While she preferred Green Lantern to Hal Jordan, she took an active role in trying to win him over, even going so far as to propose to him in the old Leap Year tradition. Although she gave Jordan some attention, her job and company always came first. Ferris was a strong-willed woman of authority at a time when this was rare, especially in comic books.
Another unique addition to Green Lantern's supporting cast was his best friend, Tom Kalmaku, who was both Hal's mechanic and the chronicler of his super-hero adventures, after succeeding in working out his identity. An Inuit(Eskimo) from Alaska, Tom's nickname was "Pie" or "Pieface", in reference to Eskimo Pie ice cream sandwiches. Like "Chop Chop" from the Blackhawk comics, this nickname is today understandably viewed as racist and has been downplayed by most modern writers.[citation needed] However, unlike "Chop Chop", Tom was actually a competent and intelligent character with a well-rounded personality, not a stereotypical buffoon. Despite the unfortunate nickname, Tom Kalmaku was among the first minority characters to be portrayed in this manner and broke new ground for mainstream comic books. Tom would later be followed by another trail-blazing minority character, John Stewart, the first African-American super-hero of the DC Universe.
Jordan's masters, the mysterious Guardians of the Universe, were physically based on David Ben-Gurion, the firstPrime Minister of Israel, and were developed from an idea Schwartz and Broome had originally conceived years prior in a story featuring Captain Comet in Strange Adventures #22 (July, 1952) entitled "Guardians of the Clockwork Universe".[3]
Schwartz and company also allowed Jordan to have a family, which was another rare thing at this time in superhero comics. While he didn't have a wife or children of his own, he had many interactions with his two older brothers, Jack, a district attorney, and Jim, a more comical figure. A reporter, Sue Williams, suspected Jim of being Green Lantern due to his appearance and his reputation of being scatterbrained.
Starting in issue #17, Gardner Fox joined the book to share writing duties with John Broome. The quartet of Schwartz, Broome, Fox, and Kane remained the core creative team until 1970.
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