Hal Jordan

Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan as depicted in Green Lantern Gallery #1 (December 1996). Art by Gil Kane (penciler), Kevin Nowlan (inker), and Matt Hollingsworth (colorist).
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Showcase #22 (October 1959)
Created by	John Broome Gil Kane
In-story information
Full name	Harold "Hal" Jordan
Species	Human
Place of origin	Coast City
Team affiliations	Green Lantern Corps Justice League United States Air Force White Lantern Corps Justice League Europe
Partnerships	Flash (Barry Allen) Green Arrow Carol Ferris John Stewart
Notable aliases	Green Lantern Pol Manning Parallax Spectre Highball
Abilities	Trained aircraft pilot Skilled hand-to-hand combatant Use of power ring grants: Flight Enhanced strength, speed, and durability Energy projection Force field Generation of hard-light constructs Real-time translation of all languages Space travel Limited cellular regeneration

Hal Jordan, one of the characters known as Green Lantern, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created in 1959 by writer John Broome and artist Gil Kane, and first appeared in Showcase #22 (October 1959). Hal Jordan is a reinvention of the previous Green Lantern, who appeared in 1940s comic books as the character Alan Scott.

Hal Jordan is a former fighter pilot who works for Ferris Aircraft as a test pilot, a member and occasionally leader of an intergalactic police force called the Green Lantern Corps, as well as a founding member of the Justice League, DC's flagship superhero team, alongside well-known heroes such as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. He fights evil across the universe with a ring that grants him various superpowers but is usually portrayed as one of the protectors of Sector 2814, where Earth resides. His powers derive from his power ring and Green Lantern battery, which, in the hands of someone capable of overcoming great fear, allows the user to channel their willpower into creating all fantastic constructs. Jordan uses this power to fly, even through the vacuum of space, to create shields, swords, and lasers, and to construct his Green Lantern costume, which protects his secret identity in his civilian life on Earth. Jordan and all other Green Lanterns are monitored and empowered by the mysterious Guardians of the Universe, who were developed from an idea editor Julius Schwartz. Broome had originally conceived years prior in a story featuring Captain Comet in Strange Adventures #22 (July 1952) entitled "Guardians of the Clockwork Universe".^[1]

During the 1990s, Jordan also appeared as a villain. Emerald Twilight's storyline saw a Jordan traumatized by the supervillain Mongul's destruction of Jordan's hometown Coast City, adopts the name "Parallax", and threatens to destroy the universe.^[2] In subsequent years, DC Comics rehabilitated the character, first by having Jordan seek redemption for his actions as Parallax and later by revealing that Parallax was, in fact, an evil cosmic entity that corrupted Jordan and took control of his actions. Between the character's stint as Parallax and his return to DC Comics as a heroic Green Lantern once more, the character also briefly served as the Spectre, a supernatural character in DC Comics stories who acts as God's wrathful agent on Earth.

Outside of comics, Hal Jordan has appeared in various animated projects, video games and live-action. Jordan's original design in the comics was based on actor Paul Newman,^[3] and the character is ranked 7th on IGN's in the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes in 2011.^[4] In 2013, Hal Jordan placed 4th on IGN's Top 25 Heroes of DC Comics.^[5]

Hal Jordan made his cinematic debut in the 2011 film Green Lantern, played by Ryan Reynolds.