Whatever "It" is...!

What exactly is "it"? That special spark, that thing, that makes you irresistable, that appeal...? Whatever it is...it seems as though Hal Jordan has it. Even people who can't STAND Hal...and there are a LOT of them, should concede that the very act of hating Hal makes him...interesting.

I am speaking of course, of the newest Green Lantern books, by Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke, which have been pairing up Hal and Sinestro, in a particularly entertaining fashion. Love him or hate him, Hal does seem to have a way of making OTHER people more interesting, simply by being around. I don't know how he does it. As much fun as it is to pair up the other Lanterns, still, the primo gig seems to be getting to star with Hal.

Right now of course, Hal is more or less Sinestro's bitch. He was stripped of his ring by the Guardians, who were appalled that he was able to apparently kill Krona. They thought that they had finagled things so that a Lantern could never kill a Guardian...because they are also big chickens. In their infinite wisdom, instead of trying to figure out HOW he was able to do such a thing, they simply took his ring back,and dumped him on earth. What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

Except that Hal of course is a magnet for trouble. He's having a rough time cutting it in the real world, because for Hal, he's an action junkie, and a hero to his fingertips...he simply can't cope in the mundane existance occupied by the rest of us. And seriously...do you think that Batman or Superman or Green Arrow, or any of the rest of them would necessarily do any better? Guy and John discovered that for themselves, when the tried to GET jobs in the real world...and since they have been outed from the beginning, there really isn't any place for them...other than doing what they are doing. Still, they've managed to cope...which is something that Hal has been having trouble achieving.

So, when Sinestro shows up with a ring and a promise, Hal JUMPS at it. He doesn't even stop to think...which is typically how Hal acts all of the time anyway. Even though the ring isn't as powerful as a regular ring, even though he has to do more or less whatever Sinestro tells him to do...he is so hungry for that power, for that rush, that he does it. Willingly. Eagerly.

But that's Hal. What I am also finding quite fascinating, is how he is playing off of Sinestro. Sinestro is a BAD man, there is no doubt about that. Yet...Geoff Johns is doing a superb job of making him a bit more relatable and certainly more interesting than merely a villain. Besides, in Sinestro's mind, he isn't a villain...he's a hero. All he wants is to take care of Korugar, and by extension the Universe. He has admirable ambitions...it is just the WAY that he does it, that is so reprehensible. Not that the Guardians are doing a particularly better job, at least lately.

It's fun to see Sinestro using his ring with such ease and skill, and incidentally showing up Hal by comparison. Sinestro is right of course, Hal SHOULD be able to do more with the ring than he does, simply because he doesn't think as big as he should. But as much as I am enjoying Sinestro, it wouldn't be nearly as much fun, without having Hal around for him to bounce off of. A sole Sinestro book wouldn't really work.

Just like putting Guy with Hal, makes for some of the very best Green Lantern stories, just like putting him with Kyle or John. In the new Justice League book, Hal makes the rest of them look pretty good!



And he does it all with style. And showing off his ass-ets.