Green Lantern #2
Oh Hal. You simply never learn. As Sinestro points out...frequently.
When last we left our rumpled and slightly downtrodden hero, Hal had just been yelled at by Carol, and had been evicted from his apartment. His adjustment to real life isn't going particularly well. Heck, Guy did a better job of getting along without a ring than Hal is. But not to fear, because Sinestro just happens to show up at his doorstep with an...intriguing offer.
Hal of course completely over-reacts, and tries to attack Sinestro. Without a ring. Wearing a tie, no less. Sinestro of course, overpowers Hal without even working up a sweat. He DOES lift one eyebrow, as we go for a little bit of Hal Bondage. Then Sinestro offers Hal a ring...after pointing out that Hal never did too much with the ring the LAST time he had one. Naturally Hal accepts...and then tries to blow Sinestro's face off!
That...works about as well as you would expect it to. See, Sinestro only gave Hal as much power as HE wants him to have...and obviously has manufactured a ring that cannot harm him...just like he did with the Sinestro Corp rings. He does give the ring back to Hal, who immediately hears a siren and rushes off without hesitation, while Sinestro no doubt sighs. He does point out that Hal is as obedient as a dog...and half as smart, which made me laugh out loud.
A bridge has been hit by...something and is in danger of collapsing. People are falling, and naturally, Hal swoops in and rescues a Hot Babe. Oh, and one car. As Hal and the Hot Babe are gazing into one anothers eyes, Sinestro wanders by, and nonchalantly takes BACK Hal's power again. Then he tells him to watch and learn, as he effortlessly, saves the Hot Babe, the car, and the ENTIRE FRIKKIN'BRIDGE! All the while holding Hal by the throat. Sinestro is the King of Multi-tasking.
Naturally the people are all gibbering with delight and thanks for Sinestro who seems a bit nonplussed by their gratitude, and tells them to get back to their dully little lives, as he and Hal fly off. Sinestro wants Hal to come with him to Korugar, and help clean up the trash. He left the Sinestro Corps there, to guard his home world, but they apparently aren't behaving very well. And then they are attacked by a particularly loathsome member of that same Corps, who has decided that Sinestro is a traitor to the Light, and that if HE kills him...then he'll rule in his place.
That goes about as well as you would expect. Sinestro quite sternly tells him that he gave them a code of conduct to follow, and instead they are out giving in to their own sadistic urges. This is where I have to say that perhaps Sinesto was being just a tiny bit naive. You can't create a Corps built on the power to invoke FEAR, and just expect them all to behave nicely.
My only complaint is that this is where it ends, and I was all set for MORE! Mahnke's artwork is stellar as always, and Geoff Johns isn't the least bit afraid to make Hal look like an idiot. In fact, Hal pretty much looks and behaves like an idiot throughout the whole book!
There are some really nice touches. The look of triumph and glee on Hal's face, as he gets a ring back on his finger, is superb. Sinestro's world-weary sneer is a lot of fun. Sinestro is portrayed as being just so incredibly competent at what he does. No wonder Hal irritates him. And yet...Hal was the first person that he went to for help. Possibly to rub it in a little bit, that he's beholden to Sinestro for a ring again, but also I think because Sinestro just LIKES to get Hal riled up. He's a little bit like Guy in that respect. And dammit, Sinestro just looks so...suave.
This was a heck of a lot of fun. I just wish it hadn't seemed so short. But I am desperately looking forward to the next issue.
10 Comments:
Overall I liked it.
But even though Hal isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed and too impulsive for his own good, I felt like he was portrayed a bit too much like a dumbo there. I mean the guy has been a Lantern for like forever. He can't be quite that inept.
For some reason it seemed to me the art was a bit off in the early parts. (For GL standards). Maybe it was that Hal's hair is wet and didn't have its usual... buoyancy. ;)
I really liked Sinestro's portrayal however. The panel where he stands on the platform with a 'shield' in the form of his face in front of him and holding Hal by the scruff of his neck is gold. And the 'As obedient as a dog' - 'And half as smart' comment made me laugh, too.
I might get the second to last panel where Sinestro destroys the yellow ring as desktop background. Really liked that one and it's time to replace the Birds of Prey cover with Lady Shiva ^^
Yes, Hal is pretty much portrayed as being a complete dolt in much of this issue. Yet, I think that perhaps we could cut him a little bit of slack. But only a tiny bit.
He's been without the ring for a couple of months apparently, and isn't reacting well. He's down on his luck, and he's too proud to ask for help...although he DID ask Carol to cosign a loan for him, when she thought he might be proposing. Actually...proposing would probably solve a LOT of his problems! Carol is rich!
But you can tell that he misses that green ring something fierce, and he's becoming increasingly desperate. On the other hand, he's just so used to Sinestro being HIS villain, that he reacts instinctively. And fairly stupidly. One of Hal's major characteristics is that he is a bit Pavolvian in his reactions. He ALWAYS reacts first, and thinks later...which is one of the reasons that he's always getting in trouble and driving Batman just crazy.
But I agree with you about the hair. Hal's hair is usually wavy and bouncy and just gorgeous. Having it all wet and lank on his head is another way that he looks down at heels.
Well, I was going to ask if perhaps Hal attacked Sinestro because he wanted to test what limitations were built into the ring, but it sounds like the consensus is that's too clever for Hal. I guess it does sound more like something John would do (or Alan Scott for that matter), but it just seemed so strange that Hal's response to someone giving him the ring he wants to badly is to try and kill them with it.
I'm a little surprised Sinestro wasn't enjoying the adoration of the public after he saved the bridge. I'd think that would appeal to his ego. Plus it would tweak Hal a little, which I know Sinestro would enjoy.
Maybe he just doesn't care about Earthling's appreciating him?
I think that maybe he's just not USED to anyone thanking him!
I heard about this in a review I watched recently. The reviewer continues to praise JLI but when this came up in this weeks' review he kept mentioning how dumb Hal was and how Guy is less impulsive than him. So I was naturally curious to see what you thought.
Are we sure Hal didn't get the brain damage in the "New 52" continuity instead of Guy?
Getting humiliated by Sinestro a couple more times would probably help as much as proposing.. hurts more however. ;)
Gods, please no brain damaged Lanterns again. But it looks just like gross stupidity induced by PTSD and ring withdrawel. Junkie Hal! I mean next to him in this issue Killer Croc looks like Einstein.
But maybe dynamics have changed a bit. Guy was very composed in GLC.. not so much in JLI though.
Agree with Sally on Sinestro. He just doesn't seem used to getting thanked. No wonder there for the 'Hitler of Korugar' and leader of the fear corps.
I don't think that Hal is brain-damaged, Face. But I DO think that he's in a lot of mental turmoil at the moment. Hal is SO used to being top dog, the handsome and charming hero to millions. He's used to being able to do just about anything that he wants...and getting away with it, because he's Hal Jordan!
He used to get away with stuff that would have gotten any other Lantern tossed out. He quit a couple of times, couldn't hack it, and begged to be let back in...and GOT back in.
Hal...isn't used to being without power, without backup, without all his buddies in the Corps and in the League. He can't just instinctively jump into action anymore...last time he tried it, he got tossed in jail. He's not handling civilian life well at all.
I'm pretty sure that Sinestro expected Hal to try and blast him...and may have even been quietly amused by it.
Erin, I think that Guy has toned down the impulsiveness from the OLD JLI days. He's a lot smarter now. Although Jurgens seems inclined to make him a bit more obnoxious than he's portrayed in the Green Lantern books. On the other hand, he's probably a lot more comfortable with Lanterns. He knows them, he lives with them, he can calculate their level of training and powers. The JLI bunch is a lot more confusing and untried...at least at the moment.
I can understand why Guys' annoying in JLI. He has reason to be, he's even mentioned that he has the experience to lead and he thinks that Booster is failing because of the news. I trust Jurgens, I think he's rather fond of Guy.
I do have faith in Dan Jurgens. And I can perfectly understand WHY Guy is being a bit cranky in JLI, because actually, he's RIGHT!
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