Whatever Happened to Uncle Titus?
Oh sure, you all remember him...Hal's rich Uncle Titus. They used to have Jordan Family reunions at his swanky estate back in the old days. The men would all swan around wearing dinner jackets, while the women wore designer cocktail dresses. They drank a lot of martinis. Usually something untoward would happen, and Hal would slap on the old Green Lantern duds, and clean up the mess, and afterwards blame it all on poor Jim.
Jim's wife Susan was completely convinced that he was actually the Green Lantern. It never occured to her to look at the large and extremely flashy piece of jewelry that was adorning her brother-in-law's hand of course. Hal cheerfully made full use of this little brain fart on the part of his sister-in-law of course. Heck,he had poor Jim so confused, the guy thought occasionall that he WAS the Green Lantern! Then they all went out and beat up their hippie cousin who crashed the party.
Those were the days! What hi-jinks! Now of course, Geoff John's retelling of Hal's origin, and the subsequent disclosure to baby brother Jim that HAL is actually the Green Lantern has probably done away with all those old stories. Which, while I enjoyed the recent retelling, would indeed be a shame. Because Hal was just having so much FUN being a playboy in those stories. He could get away with practically anything, with a wink and a nudge to the reader. And he looked pretty damned suave in a dinner jacket.
But what I want to know, is whatever happened to rich old Uncle Titus? Do they still have those incredible Family Reunions? Do lesser Jordans still show up and try to get in on the party? Does Hal still wear a dinner jacket? Do they bring along Jim's kids? Is Hal in Uncle Titus's will?
posted by SallyP @ 9:41 AM
8 Comments:
Haw! Good ol' Uncle Titus. :-D I imagine he and the equally-crotchety Uncle Jeremiah Jordan are both dead now -- perhaps blown up with the rest of Coast City. :-( Jim did say not too long ago that he and Hal are "the only Jordans left." Sad. Those Jordan family reunions were always a hoot and a half, and it was NICE, and RARE, to see a super-hero with such a huge extended family.
The last time I saw them in a comic was at a Christmas family reunion not long after the death of Superman. I forget the issue, but Hal brought Carol along to the reunion, and she was rather horrified by the, er, boisterous and colorful natures of the Jordan clan (especially with Jim's kids hanging all over Hal, and uncles Titus and Jeremiah very loudly arguing politics over glasses of brandy). Then, of course, Dr. Light (the bad one) showed up to crash the party -- and Hal made everyone think Jim was Green Lantern, as usual.
Not being as well versed on pre-1990 Hal Jordan lore, I've always wondered what happened to little Helen Jordan after her uncle lost The Spectre.
So much of that family was lost, I'd imagine any Jordan who survived would be important to the rest. I wish they'd find her.
I killed Uncle Titus. It had to be done.
I think Hal's stupidity must be inherited (and contagious to innocent bystanders like Susan), because it seems a little silly that even his own family couldn't see that Hal was Green Lantern and not Jim. I mean, I could see it if GL was just some stranger, but if you already suspect he's in the family, why on Earth would you pick poor Jim and not the guy with a giant green ring who looks, talks, and acts exactly like Green Lantern? And who already has a reputation for doing ridiculously dangerous things?
Secret identities are silly and more trouble than they're worth. And it makes me wonder if Hal and Kyle aren't the only Lanterns in the universe who have them. Other Lanterns from other planets seem proud to let their identity be known, and their planets are proud of them, too (mostly).
I do have to wonder just how much Hal and Kyle really think that they are fooling people with their "secret" identities. After all, Kyle has a habit of answering to his own name, while in costume, for heaven's sake!
If Uncle Titus is indeed gone to a better place, I would be sorry. It is possible of course that Doctor Polaris merely killed a glowing green CONSTRUCT of Uncle Titus. I mean, it IS possible.
As for Hal's niece Helen, I'm beginning to think that she may have been just a figment of Hal's Spectre/Parallaxed imaginings. Hal wasn't exactly dealing with a full deck at the time.
Presumably Susan is by now, over her delusions. But it DOES make me wonder if Jim dresses up as a Green Lantern after the kids are in bed for a little...role-playing.
Heh.
The two working theories on Helen Jordan are:
1. She was a Parallax construct designed to keep Hal on his toes when he was the Spectre -- especially since she was supposedly Jack's daughter, and Jack's daughter was actually named Jennifer ("Helen" was actually the name of Lawrence Jordan's wife -- Lawrence being the original Air Wave, and Hal's great-uncle.)
2. When Hal lost control of the Spectre, Helen was taken by Materna Minx to be raised among The Risen. This would also explain Helen's fairly recent appearance in a Superman tale, in which a grown Helen becomes Green Lantern upon the death of Hal Jordan.
Hmph. I suppose anything is possible. It could have been another one of Jordan's family members. I wasn't paying all that close attention at the time. I know I killed somebody that day...
You're probably remembering the time you killed Hal himself, Doc. Unfortunately, those pesky people from the future who were always abducting him "fixed" things. Good thing the Zero Hour took care of them...
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