Hal Jordan: A Burden on the (DCU's) American Taxpayers

Recharge.

Captain Harold "Highball" Jordan, USAF. Former employee of Ferris Aircraft. Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814. He's been called the Greatest of the Green Lanterns and the scourge of the universe. He. Is. Awesome.

Ryan Reynold's outfit? Not so much.

Since he was a young boy, all Hal Jordan wanted to do was fly. Even witnessing his father's death in an experimental plane demonstration as a boy, Hal's will to conquer the skies never wavered.

Unlike Speedy's need to ride the H-train.

He ran away from home the day he was old enough to join the Air Force. Never being one to quit, he got himself kicked out because he wanted to see his mother on her deathbed. He was late. Tragedy number 2. Ostracized by half of his remaining family, Hal had nowhere to go, not even the skies. That is, of course, until Carol Ferris needed a pilot that didn't care what others thought.

It was the birth of a great love story.

But like all things in Hal's life, it too would not last.

Love hurts. Sometimes a whole lot.

Luckily, there's been a shining beacon in his life for a long time: the eternal flame of the Green Lantern Corps and the blinding green light of his power ring. While working for Ferris Air, Hal was summoned to the desert to take the mantle of Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814 from a dying Abin Sur. He was then brought to the planet Oa, center of the universe & home to the Guardians of the Universe and Green Lantern Corps. There he was taught to "ring sling" by Kilowog, the awesomest dude ever.

He's the ginormous boar-looking dude.

But Hal only really started to excel as a Lantern when he was taken under the wing of his predecessor's protege, the (at the time) Greatest Green Lantern: Sinestro.

King Kong ain't got $#!* on him.

Time goes on, and Hal exposes Sinestro as a tyrant who is ruling his sector with an iron fist. Sinestro is banished from the Corps, but more importantly, his bromance with Hal is dunzo. Also: he gets a yellow power ring. Another also: at this point in time, GL rings were ineffective against the color yellow. You can see how this could be a problem.

Unlike Green Arrow's boxing glove arrow.

It only works against your dignity.

Aaaaaand glass jaws.

More time goes by. Hal & Oliver Queen road trip and are social conscious. Superman bites it. In the wake of that, a group of false Supermen arose. Well, here's the thing: apparently, if you say you're Superman, people aren't very skeptical. They totally should have been. The Cyborg-Superman (not to be confused with Cyborg, the Teen Titan) teamed up with Mongul (an intergalactic warlord who has crossed paths with the GLs and Superman in the past) and destroyed Hal's hometown of Coast City. Millions of people, friends, family. Gone in an instant. And, for the first time since Hal's father died, he felt fear. And Parallax made his move.

Like Cassius Clay, he's a bad man.

Infected by the yellow (read: Fear) entity Parallax, Hal pretty much decimated the Green Lantern Corps and was pretty much just a pain in everybody's ass. After basically screwing over everybody in the DCU, Hal's true self broke through the entity's hold on him, and he sacrificed himself to reignite the sun.

As comic book characters rarely stay dead, Hal came back, but not as a Green Lantern. He became the host of God's Spirit of Vengeance, the Spectre.

Even as an ethereal wraith, he still couldn't drop the Lantern schtick.

Hal's tenure as the Spectre was relatively short, and, in fact, tried to turn the Spectre's mission of vengeance into one of redemption. Ultimately, the Spectre entity purged Parallax from Hal's soul. Thusly, Hal rejoined the land of the living...somehow. Still searching to atone for his sins, he helped rebuild the GL Corps. He fought in the Sinestro Corps War, survived the Blackest Night, and is in the midst of his Brightest Day.

Well, not the brightest outlook.

So, why the Hell did I call this article "A Burden on the (DCU's) American Taxpayers"? For one simple fact, that brings this article full circle: Hal Jordan is a member of the USAF. What does that mean? Salary. Healthcare. Government supported housing. So many other things. Plus, the destruction of oh so much public property. Who pays for it? I'll tell you who: John Q. Public, that's who! The GLC doesn't shell out the ducats to cover damage done while fight intergalactic beings on Earth. The Guardians of the Universe aren't spackling ring construct sized holes in buildings. Sure, the four GL's from Earth sometimes help with the reconstruction, but construction workers (who I'm sure have ties to shady government officials. I blame the unions.) are still involved, who get fat contracts from Uncle Sam. What's worse, is that Hal Jordan's superior knows he's a Green Lantern. He lets Hal take off for extended periods of time, without ever bringing up suspension of pay and benefits. Hal Jordan is suckling from the teet of the American public. Yes, he provides a great service to the world, but so does the Martian Manhunter, Superman, et all. They aren't getting kickbacks from the US government.

Thief.

PS - After Barry Allen, Hal Jordan is my favorite.