Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION Dr. Gym'll's Cultural Rarities Green Lantern: Rebirth (#6... Finally!)

Whether you're a GL fan or not, this series is worth reading almost for the sole reason of seeing if Johns can believably rebuild Hal Jordan after all the crap he's been through. This is almost as big a challenge as making sense of Legion continuity after Superboy was ripped out of its continuity.

I for one think Johns is starting out on the right track. He's acknowledged several key elements in the various GL's pasts, treated them with respect (even if some of them are in dire straits at the moment) and seems to have done his research, which will be key in getting fans to accept this tale.

Specifics of issue #1 (SPOILERS):
-- nice nod to the past (Abin Sur) with Kyle crashing to earth in a spaceship.
-- Very nice to see Johns deal with John Stewart's *big* issue - the destruction of Xanshi from "Cosmic Odyssey". Looks like Johns will have John deal with and finally get over this chapter of his life and hopefully leave it behind.
-- Great to see him treat Guy with respect as the maverick he is, rather than a "one punch" joke.
-- John standing up to Batman - priceless.
-- Hal and Carol reuniting at Ferris. yeah, it's been done to death, but as a big Hal fan, I loved seeing it.
-- Big kudos to Johns for acknowledging the GL ring that Ollie recovered in "Archer's Quest". Will this be the ring that Hal ends up with?
-- Johns seems to be rebuilding the entire GL mythos rather than just Hal Jordan which scores major points with me since one of the biggest crimes of "Emerald Twilight" wasn't just getting rid of Hal, but the GL corps and its place in the DCU.

Sounds interesting... how was the art?

I am not too keen on the entire Rebirth thing. Just like the Legion they angered me by blowing up the old, but I liked the new so I stayed positive, now they try to return the old.

I know Hal has many fans so I don't want to upset them but I am not happy about his return.

Jorge

I loved it. It was better than I had hoped it would be. And I can't wait to see Hal back as Green Lantern.

I'm a fan of all ages, Golden, Silver, Bronze, & Modern. Creators have made some big mistakes in the past with some really outstanding characters (Legion anyone?), I'm enjoying seeing things set right and going forward.

That's very hopeful to see some of those very old plots tied up, especially if they're done well. This sounds great! I'm afraid Hal Jordan is the only "real" Green Lantern for me, so I'm glad to see him brought back (I think).

Awesome. Reminded me of "Identity Crisis".

Btw, considering how much research Johns has done and how he's mentioned key points in the past, it wouldn't surprise me if the thing Kyle brought back from the sun was Lord Malvolio, the thing that merged with Hal to make him Parallax.

Great issue. Art and story. Top notch.

I won't go into the story, i will leave that to others, but it holds the history true, and yet seems to be finding the elements needed to restore the greatest GL of all.

I would have to say that story was great but the art work just blew me away. So rich and detailed and natural. The artist on the book stepped up a couple of notches becasue it looks awesome!

I do hope that Kyle does not die and remains as a GL. The Corps needs members!

What, G'nort ain't enough for ya?!

does hal (or even green lantern for that matter) have a huge audience (i'm talking 50,000+) that are clamoring for this?

from all reports from the Justice League cartoon folks, John was REALLY well-recieved as Green Lantern in the Justice League soooo *what* is the point of Hal's return? (are people at DC and fans really that uncomfortable with a Black man as one of their key icons?)

i mean, Emerald Twilight SUCKED -- Hal killing all his old buddies (and some cool Green Lanterns) and stealing the big Oan Battery to recreate life in Coast City?
(the image of loony Hal with 10-rings adorning his fingers? it was almost like one of those joke "What If???" issues -- like "What If Hal Jordan was a Tweaked Out Speed Freak?")

but it did happen

Ollie, Hal... hell, why not Barry?
bring back the original Kara! Sue Dibny! Helena Wayne! Wildcat II and Dr. Midnite II! the dead Suicide Squad members!

why is it necessary?
it just turns me completely off from anything GL-related -- the final nail for that coffin for me
(the only GLs I ever liked: Alan Scott when i was a kid, Katma Tui & Arisia when I first saw the GL Corps, and John Stewart every time he appeared)

I'm also not fond of this rebirth idea. I hate to see Kyle go and I can't yet figure out how Hal can be forgiven for his misdeeds. But reviews seem favorable, so I might give it a shot.

Hmmm.I was never a fan of Hal Jordan so I dropped the book with last issue after what appeared to be the end of Kyle. Maybe I'll try to track it down.

I cant wait to read this...I have not made it to the shop yet.

I made it to the shop but it was sold out. I guess I'll have to wait.

No, Andy, it has nothing to do with John being black.

Simply put, Hal is the GL i grew up with. He was the guy i wanted to be most like. The mask was more like a badge to him. Yeah, it hid his identity, but really, if he had to, you always got the sense that he would load up his silver bullets, saddle up, and ride on to the next job.

He was a "ranger" of space. One man, one job. He also combined the non-whiney, non-byronic hero with the coolness of being a bit of an adventurer.

John used to be an angry with a reason man driven by historical outrages. Somewhere he became just another guy in a suit. Then he became an emotional cripple. Then a physical cripple. Then he was healed. And now he is just a guy.

Hal has a rich and storied history. John has helmed what...maybe fifty solo stories at most?

That's why. It has nothing to do with the red herring of his skin color.

At least, it doesn't for me.

I don't think it has anything to do with skin colour for anyone.

After all John Stewart wasn't Hal Jordan's replacement. Kyle Rayner was - a white man (well, Latino if you go by Judd Winnick's revelation about his father but when has he ever been drawn to reflect that?). So its one white man returning to take the place of the white man who replaced him. John Stewart doesn't lose anything in all of this. He's staying a Green Lantern and staying in the Justice League.

So it's not really fair to suggest that those people who are happy to see a rich character like Hal Jordan return, and who have been clamouring for his return all over the internet for more than a decade now, feel that way because they are "uncomfortable with a black man as one of their key icons".* They just want to see their fave character back.

* Disclaimer - However this is not to say there is not a lot of racism in comics fandom (whether realised or unrealised). I just don't think the charge is warranted in this case.

WEll said, Blacula.

Does anyone have a theory about why Alan Scott was thirsty?

One possible theory is that Hal really is bringing back the past and that aside from Guy's Vuldarian side rejecting itself, Alan is reverting back to human, thus his need for water ... just a guess.

maybe i came off too strong about race in GL

let me clarify:
Sure, I bet TONS of Hal fans want his return without even considering John Stewart's GL-ness in Justice League

(it is ironic to me that they ask for the bell to be un-done for Hal Jordan -- how many are sticklers for continuity? is it only continuity that they like? )

but i think John Stewart's race is an issue, even if it effects his relative value in DC Comics' imagination

Birds of Prey, Lois & Clark, Batman, Superman, Smallville, Justice League, Teen Titans...
in how many other cases did DC Comics change the comics to match the liscenced product?

and even with a successful cartoon attached, john never got central staging for very long in GL ... how long does anyone think John gets to stay GL in JLA? bets?

1 storyline or 2?

The fact that Kurt Busiek is going to be taking over JLA (I think there's one other storyline by another writer after his Injustice League story then he takes over (last I read)) heightens the possibilty that Hal will be in the JLA lineup, but it'll ultimately depend on what Johns establishes a status quo for the various GL's. I actually think they'll keep John in JLA for awhile in an effort to spread the GL's around rather than spread any one of them too thin.

ahhhh, glS
i used to love the Green Lantern Corps
that legendary first one with tomar re and katma tui

after they destroyed it, it never quite felt the same with the dozen or so characters hal brought in

Totally agree Andy. The original GLC rocked!

Every member (even the ones that we never got to know but only ever saw as regular background GLs) seemed to have their own individual look and presence, not to mention personality and background for the more fleshed-out ones. There was nothing more visually pleasing to me back then than a cool GLC group shot.

And yes - Hal's latest series recruits didn't cut it with me either. They were all just too humanoid and boring looking. Nothing about any of them interested me in getting to know them better. (Except Chaselon but he was an original GL anyway.)

The really sad thing though, is that none of the cool original GLC are likely to make a comeback either as nearly all of them have been killed off by hack writers (particularly Ron Marz) at one point or another -

Katma Tui
Arkkis Chummuck
Ch'p
Chaselon
The Green Man
Medphyll
Salakk
Galius-Zed
Tomar-Re
Arisia
Hollika Rahn
Eddore
Xax

- all cool alien Lanterns... and all dead! Its ridiculous. The only pre-Crisis Lantern that I can think of who's still alive is Mogo, and that's only because Judd Winnick ret-conned his death out.

My hope is that Hal Jordan isn't the only classic GL to see a 'rebirth' in this new series.

At the very least I hope we get other members from some of their races as an homage to the old corps. If not that, then new and interesting non-humanoid corps members (I'm still holding out hope that the GL/ALiens thing was out of continuity and Salakk and the Green Man are still around)

Was the Green Man in Green Lantern/Aliens? I thought he was eaten by a Durlan during Invasion years ago?

So much for reading...the shop I go to sold out.
Guess I will have to wait for the reprint on this one.