The Problem with POW

I'm going to preface this complaint with the disclaimer that I haven't gotten around to reading Green Lantern #14, so I honestly can't evaluate the storyline as it's currently being presented.

But that said, I think it's fair to say that I have a problem with this POW storyline. A big one.

I'm usually a big fan of Geoff Johns. I like his character moments and his ideas tend to be a lot of fun. I have nothing against real world issues being used in comic book storylines (though my personal preference is that if Green Lantern is involved in a POW experience, it should be with aliens, darnit!). But I have a real big problem with this. Because it relies on a plot point that simply does NOT make sense.

From what we've seen, (pre GL #14), the whole reason Hal got into this mess was that he didn't bring the GL ring on his mission.

I repeat, he DIDN'T BRING HIS RING.

Now, I've joked about how stupid Hal (hell, all Lanterns really) can be sometimes. And I've definitely blogged about Hal's self-absorption. But leaving behind his ring on a mission simply doesn't make sense even for Hal. Especially for Hal.

I'd imagine the leaving the ring behind is indicative of some sort of death wish. Which I can appreciate. Hal's been through a lot and is carrying a metric ton of guilt with regards to the whole Parallax experience. I didn't have a problem with the scene in Recharge with Hal flying without his ring.

In the Recharge scene, I got the impression that Hal was courting death. Certainly there are many ways fighter-piloting can go wrong. Without the ring, Hal's possibilities for survival decrease dramatically. But the reason that scene worked for me is that I was under the impression that it was a practice flight. Not a mission.

I have a big problem with Hal not bringing his ring on a MISSION. For one thing, it's incredibly irresponsible. Sure Hal himself may have a death wish, but he's not the only person on this mission. Cowgirl and the kid who's name had something to do with Rockets were there too. And there are many ways such a mission can go wrong. What if there was a mechanical failure? Or a freak supervillain attack (this IS the DCU after all)? Both innocent people on his team would be in danger!

What if someone needed saving on the way? Say...a weapon goes wonky and lots of lives are suddenly at stake. Or an attractive woman falls off a building. What if, since this is during the missing year, some sort of huge alien invasion kicks in? Clark, Bruce and Diana are gone. That leaves Hal as one of the heaviest hitters they've got left. Which means, he's basically an emergency room doctor, on call at any given moment. A mission is a LONG time to be incommunicado.

This changes things considerably. Recharge was before the Crisis. Before the worlds split and reformed. Before Clark, Diana and Bruce went AWOL. When there was a Justice League rather than a Lex Luthor funded band of misfit amateurs. Even ignoring the very likely event that a hero is needed on Hal's own mission, he's got a responsibility to the world.

And Hal might be occasionally stupid and an asshole, but he's responsible. His guilt and culpability in the Parallax Affair would, I'd think, make him MORE hypervigilant in an attempt to atone. Not less. (I'd have preferred to see Hal's death wish take the form of being TOO gung-ho with the superheroics. Biting off more than he can chew. Not calling for help when needed. That seems like a more organic way of utilizing a subconscious death-wish element)

Besides, while Hal is arrogant enough to assume nothing would ever go wrong on his own mission, he does have a huge ego and a savior complex. What if the WORLD needs him? What if something happened to everyone when he was incommunicado? (Considering that his own lack of vigilance could be considered to play a big part in the Parallax possession to begin with, it definitely doesn't make sense)

I usually love Johns's characterization of Hal but this seems like a serious misstep. It's completely illogical and feels like an contrived and ill-concieved attempt to shoehorn Hal into this new traumatic and angst-ridden storyline. And it'll have to be a damn good story to make up for that, for me.

I'm honestly not holding my breath. Sorry.

In Defense of the Space Bug:

While surfing around livejournal commnities, I came across a particular accusation regarding Geoff Johns's Green Lantern that I'd seen before.

The accusation was that through the retcons of Parallax and Arisia, as well as the resurrection of most of the dead Lanterns, Johns was robbing Hal of any sort of flaw or accountability of his actions. Stripping him down into some perfect fanboy-ish ideal.

Which is an accusation that befuddles me, for a number of reasons.

While I understand not liking Hal as a character, nor Johns's writing style (he does often have problems, I think, with pacing and dialogue), the complaint that Johns is removing all of Hal's flaws and mistakes simply doesn't fly with me.

Because Hal Jordan is not a ten year old character. Yes, retconning Parallax into a possession story, Arisia into an adult and restoring many of the lost Lanterns removes many of the character's more unappealing developments, to make the argument that it destroys who the character is completely ignores the fact that this is a character that had been in existance more than thirty years before Emerald Twilight.

And anyone who thinks that Hal was somehow a flawless character before then really needs to whip out Showcase and read again.

Hal Jordan is a character that is arrogant and egotistical. He believes he knows what is best and his confidence unshakable, even in the face of wiser/more knowledgeable people's disapproval. He is controlling with power issues. He is occasionally blind and presumptive, and completely self-centered. And he doesn't tend to learn from his mistakes until they're slapped in his face more than once. He can be really freakin' stupid. Also, karma visits him on his bad behavior by hitting him in the head. A Lot.

Despite a history of questionable judgements, Hal Jordan continues to defy his superiors at any given moment when he believes he knows what is best. He'll lie to co-workers and friends to ensure they come on career-risking missions with him (and it doesn't matter if Guy would have come along anyway and knew Hal was lying. It doesn't change that Hal lied.) He immediately believes that Batman's legitimate misgivings about a mind-controlling entity are expressions of personal dislike. He even presumed to make a "perfect world" hallucination for his friend...one that was lacking because he didn't truly understand him. He also lacks the trust enough to get close to any of his military co-workers, instead choosing meaningless empty one night stands in an effort to drown out his problems rather than deal with them. And he ends up banging his head on the Batmobile because he's too damn dumb to strap in (or, for that matter to keep his ring on a military flight.)

I'm not condemning the character, but when I read those examples over, I see Hal Jordan. It's the same man who used his sexual attraction to Carol to try to make her do what he wanted, who played endless games with his identity because it gave him an edge over her. He recruits an acquaintance as a successor/partner, without ever revealing his own identity, insuring that they'd never be on equal footing. It's a man who presumed John Stewart's passionate disagreement was an expression of personal dislike. That Guy Gardner's injury related insanity was the same sort of thing. He's a man who drowned out grief and guilt through marrying another man's fiancee. He's a man who drifted from job to job, girlfriend to girlfriend, directionless, rather than truly face his real problems with the military, with Carol, with anything else.

Even just taking this tiny handful of events, altogether, I'd say that we're looking at the same man here. A flawed, even occasionally dislikeable man who really doesn't learn from his mistakes. But has charm and genuine feeling for the people around him.

His succumbing to Parallax was one event, his dating of Arisia also one event, and I'm not sure how changing those really alters the whole.

Especially when the Parallax retcon does NOT actually absolve Hal Jordan of guilt of anything but the worst atrocities. The idea portrayed in the comic book is that Parallax begin influencing him somewhere around the time he got the grey streaks, but it did not take full control until HAL JORDAN destroyed his Oan battery prison. That means that as much as Parallax might have been a voice whispering in his ear, Hal was still responsible for everything that happened until that point.

Which is enough, honestly. The other Lanterns' suspicion of him is warranted. He's a man that lost control. Hell, the Parallax retcon actually exposes Hal as the weakest of the Lanterns. Parallax was in that prison for millions of years and the only person it could influence enough to actually release him is Hal Jordan. Hal gave in. Hal was the ONLY person to give in, in millions of years. That's what I find fascinating.

If anyone came out of Rebirth or Green Lantern with an elevated, exalted status it's Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner. Kyle for being the only one to never succumb to the influence of a demon that when freed could possess a Guardian. And Guy for being the one who forgives. In exchange for Hal's obvious lies, he follows the man into the void and after all's done, he covers for Hal and takes punishment in his place.

I think it's pretty obvious who shines as the better man here, and it's not the star of the book.

The resurrection of the Lanterns doesn't actually take any guilt off Hal's head either. Hal believes he killed them, remembers killing some of them. And they seem to remember that as well. And even if you don't look at it that way, he's still not absolved, as these characters' capture and torture by the Manhunters is something that he, at least indirectly, bears some responsibility for.

The thing is though, the two major retcons, Parallax-as-possession and Arisia-as-adult are incredibly necessary if one is to keep Hal Jordan as a hero. Because, Guy and Kyle aside, what he'd done as Parallax was pretty close to unforgivable and it's debatable how functional Hal could be as a hero without the background circumstances changed. The gray-hair signifying growing influence also allows us to smooth away other occasions which took Hal above and beyond his usual flaws into an outright hateable human being.

And as for Arisia. We had a hero dating a hyperaged 13 year old girl. Which is A Problem. No matter how you spin it. This way, it's much cleaner and Hal can get the borderline-pedophile stain off his character.

Hal isn't flawless. The narrative actually calls him on this. Hal's being placed in the underdog position as a consequence of his own actions and it makes for fascinating reading because he's never been in that situation really. Ever.

The past isn't being ignored and Hal isn't being idolized. Kyle's still around, Guy's still around, and solicits promise that John not only will be around but will have a damn good reason for being absent.

It's a good time to be a Lantern fan. :-)