How I think Gray Hair killed Hal Jordan

Like I said in my previous entry, I quite like Alan's eye patch, but it did get me thinking about character design changes that had much less favorable outcomes.

Specifically, I'm thinking of when Hal Jordan went gray. I firmly believe that it was those temples that did him in as a character. And made it so that it was necessary to turn him evil and kill him off, until so many years later Geoff Johns could fix him in Rebirth.

Okay, as a disclaimer, I have nothing against gray hair. I've nothing against superheroes aging. And one of the things I really like about the way they've been drawing Hal in the current Green Lantern run is that, to me, he looks like he's in his early forties. A very dashing, well preserved early forties, but he looks early forties to me. Which is how old, I'm pretty sure, he's supposed to be, so that's good.

I also have nothing against greying temples. I love Reed Richards after all. He's probably my favorite Marvel character after Pete Wisdom. I think the temples work for him.

Not so much for Hal and it killed his sales.

Seriously, I believe this was the big problem. And it has to do with image. Now, people who were and are huge Hal fans aren't going to mind the grey temples. For good reason. It's just a small change. He's still the same guy beneath. Some might even like it. It *is* dashing.

But to those that aren't big Hal fans? Casual readers of the series who liked the concept better than the character? Those kind of people? It was offputting, to say the least.

Part of it is Hal's demeanor. He's too...predatory in some sense. Playfully predatory, but still... Like in those old stories with Hal hovering over Carol, trying to get her to date him. Or the scene with the girl he couldn't remember the name of in this past GL (10). Or even Flight, in the Secret Files and Origins, which was a little suggestive...

Now, imagining those scenes with the massive grey temples...well, honestly, Hal looks like a creepy middle aged pervert uncle type.

Honestly, I'm not trying to be ageist here. Reed Richards is quite a bit older than Sue after all. And like almost all comic women, Sue is drawn to look in her late twenties, regardless of how old she's actually supposed to be. Reed looks a *lot* older. But it's fine with me. And it's because Reed is not a predatory person by nature.

Hal is, which isn't bad when you're in your thirties, and he's still wearing it well in his early forties, but with that hair he looked much, much older. And when he was making time with Power Girl...well, it didn't look good.

Basically, it's like on an episode of Wings way back when, when the ladies' man younger brother has this flash of what he'll be like as an old man still going to bars and chatting up women, and he's not happy. With that hair, Hal looked easily in his fifties, his conquests, like Sue, tended to be drawn in their early twenties, and well...it didn't look that good.

I mean, it's one thing to have a bit of a fetish for older guys, (Reed's very attractive, and the hottest guy on Buffy, IMO, was Giles) but when you combine it with that swooping eagle on high predatory style, well...it's off putting.

I mean sure, long time fans of the character know that Hal's more than just that aspect, he's actually a good guy and reasonably gentlemanly, and wouldn't take advantage of someone or push her into anything she wouldn't be happy with. But would the casual fan remember that, or would he/she just see the combination and be turned away.

Take the rivalry with Guy too. I've mentioned before how GLv3 tended to emphasize the childish aspects of his personality. And his character design tends to look younger than his age. (The bowl cut and the big boots and big gloves, the cut of the jacket...not so much in Recharge/GLC now. But then?) When Hal fought him before, they were still within 5-10 years of each other, so it was more like brothers fighting. With that hair making Hal look much older? Their relationship stayed the same sort of almost brotherly rivalry/antagonism, but Hal looked like a grown-up fighting a kid. Like a man who is more than old enough to know when to let something go.

He looked like a bully. And while long time fans would have known of the complicated relationship behind the rivalry/antagonism, and how Hal usually was the one provoked...the casual fan would find it hard to remember. Other antagonistic relationships start to look like this too...

So you have a character that long-time fans know as the same good guy as ever, the casual dabbling fan starts to see him as a lech and a bully. And who *really* wants to read about a lech and a bully as a hero? No *wonder* sales took a nose dive.

And there wasn't even any easy way to salvage him either...so they went the easy route: turned him evil, killed him off, and waited until the lech and bully stain is forgotten, and bring him back 12 years later.

Noticeably less gray. :-)