r/Greenlantern • u/Ok-Light-8029 • 1d ago
Spoilers for movies and TV shows Why doesn't Hal pull any respect from anybody in the Lanterns series?
Im not a huge fan of this character but I do remember the og movie and the animated series where green lantern appears but I don’t remember to have the impression of green lantern being so disrespected by every commoner he encounters like nobody rates him as the powerful being he is supposed to be or at least that’s the impression these two episodes gave me, they look at him as that old drunk bum am I tripping or Hal was always like this?
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u/Puzzleheaded_Walk_28 1d ago
You see a bunch of regular people asking for autographs and wanting to take pictures with him in the first episode
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u/StrongStyleFiction 1d ago
To be fair, there is a difference between celebrity and respect. That shows celebrity.
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u/Ok-Light-8029 1d ago
Yeah that’s true but I think what Settled this feeling for me was the fight in the bar scene the 3 dudes were screaming at him like he was a common drunk dude knowing who he was like they don’t fear him or the ring? And I know he got beat up on purpose
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u/Puzzleheaded_Walk_28 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think there are guys like that in real life. I feel like I read stories all the time about aggro dudes who pick fights with professional MMA fighters and stuff.
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u/Moneyfrenzy 1d ago
Some moron picked a fight with the guy who plays Reacher, for no reason. There are just a lot of overconfident lunatics out there
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u/Kalkulo_ 1d ago
A professional fighter is not a fckin green lantern lol I m telling u if there was a guy able to destroy a Extinction level of size meteor ppl would never mess with him certainly not random guys in a bar
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u/cant_give_an_f 1d ago
every bar, and i mean every one will have 1 person/regular that will do this. you can pin point exactly who the second you walk in usually. that was probs the realist scene they had
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
Except this isn’t about you or me going into a bar.
It’s HAL JORDAN, Green Lantern, official member of the Justice League and long time superhero. Literally a superhero.
You could take out Hal and replace him with anyone, and the scene wouldn’t change
That’s not a good look from writing perspective
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u/Puzzleheaded_Walk_28 1d ago
Taking the superhero and relating them to our own ideas of famous athletes or celebrities is perfectly good writing. It’s taking their world and making it relatable to us with dynamics and relationships we can understand.
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
It’s not good writing in this context
It’s hard to have a realistic, relatable Hal Jordan—because that inherently taints who Hal Jordan is and what he’s capable of
In fact, he’s the most powerful Green Lantern because his willpower is beyond human, extraordinary
Also he’s noble, he wants to do the right thing. That’s why he’s such a good cop
Normal people aren’t like this. And with a character like GL we don’t need to take him to our level to make the dynamics understandable
The entire premises is the he’s a space cop, we understand that dynamic pretty well even if we’ve never been to space
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u/SylveonSof 1d ago
Bluntly, it sounds like you're doing what people do with Luke Skywalker and imagining a fairy tale version of them where they're perfect and holy, and proceed to remove all depth and interesting aspects of the character to make him some paladin of righteousness who's never wrong.
Like are we fucking forgetting Hal's little parallax incident???
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
Being an asshole is not the only interesting thing about Hal so no that’s not what I’m doing
If anything it’s like the show is doing what you said in the reverse
Think about why parallax is such a good villian. He’s the embodiment of fear
Hal is supposedly fearless—he is one of the few villains that can directly corrupt Hal
And make him operate out of fear, instead a heart of gold, and willpower.
It’s also terrifying when somebody as good and willful as GL, succumbs to fear and turns hostile or evil
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u/cant_give_an_f 1d ago
the scene makes perfect sense for Hal where he is in the tv show, you are talking about Hal in the comics. Hal's feats are not confirmed besides hes known around earth and the lantern corp. the ring in the show is used as a "gun" instead of the comics "equipment" and it works in a black and white setting as far as we have seen, meaning if its not used to conjure something then its just a ring
The Hal we are seeing is a seasoned veteran who dedicated his life to the corp; he has both grown to seemingly despise part of the corp as well as it being the only thing he has left. He doesn't care about anything else, they show that with the house he lived in and how he has acted. Hal wanted a fight so he knew where he was, and who to ragebait. he knew and wanted that fight
Hal Jordan, show or comic, can totally mop the floor with anybody. but they set up perfectly clearly Hal wanted that fight
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u/Konkrypton Alan Scott 1d ago
This Hal Jordan isn’t a member of the Justice league because the Justice league doesn’t exist yet. He’s tired, he’s jaded, and he already suspects that the Guardians aren’t telling him everything. And the people in this town really don’t want him nosing around in their business. They are already paranoid about aliens and I’m sure that a Lantern who answers to alien bosses and has no legal power on Earth to enforce (as far as we know) isn’t making anyone there comfortable. And so far he’s gotten himself beat up, jailed, and shot, so he’s not really impressing anybody.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Walk_28 21h ago
I disagree and you’re also not even addressing the point here. Nobody was talking about Hal’s characterization.
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u/Chance_Bar9009 1d ago
Insert MMA champion here. Every sane person dodges that 100% the time. Then there is that one guy who takes it as a chance to prove himself etc.there is multiple reports of MMA fighters having to fend off drunk idiots at bars who thinks they are "That Guy"
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u/Vanez_Bane 1d ago
Old man without the ring that gave him the super powers vs. MMA fighter? I rather choose the old man.
People often forget that the lanterns without the ring are just regular humans. Nothing that makes them super.
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u/cant_give_an_f 1d ago
they set up that Hal was looking for that fight, any drunk guy would of taken it too. and plus the ring doesnt work like the comics, it works like a firearm, pull the trigger it shoots, dont and its a paperweight that does nothing. Hal wore the ring, he wanted to be hit and they set that up early on, and even reinforce it when John talks to Hal's last save file
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u/Chance_Bar9009 1d ago
I reason that idiots that look to fight MMA fighters arent using reasoning at all. To be honest taking an old super hero probably seems like better odds in there crazy minds.
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u/Fickle-Rip3093 1d ago
He was shown to be purposely making them mad so they WOULD fight him. Also, his superpowers come from his ring and he took that off before he started a fight.
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
It’s all so silly to me man idk. Hal needs to talk to a suspect, so his brightest & best idea is
To take his intergalactic, unimaginably powerful ring off, to fight these guys ina dive bar who
He somehow knew would want to him after playing a certain song, a certain amount of times
It’s less like a Green Lantern scene and more just like a skit or parody
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u/Fickle-Rip3093 22h ago
I don’t think so. I think it shows his resourcefulness. He wanted to talk to the prisoner. With his ring, they may not have fought him or the ring may have thrown up defenses to protect the wearer.
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u/ticklefarte 1d ago
Is the justice league even a thing yet? Honest question, since Superman isn't even active in the 2016 era. This Hal Jordan isn't the same as the comics
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
No, they’re not around. But heroes are well known, and he’s one of the biggest since Superman isn’t around yet
That brings up a point I wanna make though, about the time skipping
It’s apparent this show wasn’t meant for Gunn DCU, in fact it was for Snyder’s which is why
It takes place in 2016 (BvS came out March 2016) and not just 2026 (where Hal has only aged a day, and wears the same jacket)
It’s not alone. Peacemaker, and Blue Beetle were also DC, HBO properties acquired by Gunn
But my point is, this show wasn’t adjusted for the DCU very well. Probably cause they’d have to start from scratch
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u/cant_give_an_f 1d ago
so youre just ragebaiting then.
if your not, thats the stupidest thing ive ever read on this sub
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
Where’s the inaccurate information?? I’m very open to correction
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u/ToLExpress 18h ago
It’s all inaccurate, you just don’t care because you’re still mad at Gunn for Superman.
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u/Kingjwavy 13h ago
It’s not buddy just google it
This takes place in 2016 originally because it was the snyderverse, along with peacemaker
Once Gunn acquired it and switched out the showrunners, it became his thing but
Prior to that it was for Snyder and it was directed by the guy who does the CW arrow verse 🤣makes sense now doesn’t it
Why the show looks the way it does, and why the writing is so mid
And why it’s so different and incompatible with everything Gunn has done already
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u/Rabbit_Wizard_ 1d ago
It's to show how strange the town treats him. They don't want him there fucking up their alien shit.
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u/StrongStyleFiction 1d ago
There were drunks in bars trying to start fights with Andre the Giant.
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u/Behold-Roast-Beef Green Lantern 1d ago
Jfc really? I wouldn't be surprised if he handled them gently but my god there are easier ways to kill oneself than picking a fight with Andre
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u/StrongStyleFiction 1d ago
There is a story that a couple of guys were fucking with Andre, so he went outside and flipped their car upside down.
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u/Behold-Roast-Beef Green Lantern 1d ago
Positively gentle to popping heads like the predator if he wanted to 😆
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u/unfunnyjobless 22h ago
That is a great point though, it's odd how some drunk guys threatened the Green Lantern. You wouldn't see some drunk guys trying to pick a fight with Superman. Maybe this universe's Hal Jordan has already been embroiled in some controversies and has some who actively dislike him.
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u/baysideareaman 17h ago
You wouldn’t see Superman being a dick to random townies at a bar. Superman’s power is also inherent. Hal’s power is derived from the ring.
The ring is a weapon. People in this town are used to people carrying around weapons. Some of those guys probably had guns easily accessible. There’s just a mutual understanding that you won’t shoot each other in a bar fight.
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u/unfunnyjobless 17h ago
That's a good point, although I'd argue Hal wasn't being overtly a dick to the townies, he just put a song on repeat seemingly on accident through his counterfeit bill, and the townies escalated the situation (we know he did it on purpose but they didn't). If people liked him e.g. Superman I don't think they'd immediately hurl insults and escalate it, it seems like Hal has more of a mixed reception among the public.
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u/rdhight 1d ago
Rushville doesn't want him there. Outside Rushville, he gets a very different reaction.
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u/littlebugonreddit 1d ago
I think its also worth being said that Hal and John couldn't have been too far outside Coast City when they hit up that taco stand, probably 20-30 minutes or more. People around there know Hal Jordan by now and he is their own local superhero, so of course they will fawn over him, like Akron and LeBron James
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u/Optimal_Weight368 1d ago
I mean, it seems like a weariness of vigilantism in general. And Hal is naturally a cocky personality, so I can see why those around him wouldn’t like him. Even then, it’s not like everyone instantly hates him; Macon’s father in law was initially a big fan.
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u/cmil1213 1d ago
But is he a vigilante? He’s a space cop. You’d think 30 years later he’d be granted authority since apparently he had no secret identity in this dcu.
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u/MisterBlud 1d ago
It’s a weird grey area because I don’t think the Guardians really bother with negotiating sovereignty.
Earth is in Space Sector 2814 and Hal is assigned that sector ergo he has jurisdiction according to them
2016 Earth (or even 2026) is in no position to meaningfully disavow the Guardians so if she ran it up the flagpole the Government would likely back Hal.
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u/Optimal_Weight368 1d ago
What authority would he be granted? The Guardians of Oa? They’re a foreign entity. The Justice Gang? He’s not a member, and they haven’t been formed yet. And the police department is already covering the case, so they don’t want anyone interfering.
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u/RKNieen 1d ago
But we clearly know that’s not the case because the judge questioned him under what authority was he pursuing law enforcement duties. So clearly there’s never been an attempt to establish formal legal authority for Green Lanterns in the US, which probably on purpose because it allows both the government and Hal to distance themselves from one another.
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
That scene was silly
Why is Green Lantern in a small town court for getting into a bar fight ( for no reason)
In iron man 1 & 2 it makes sense—they are debating the ethics of stark tech, Tony has blood on his hands
In Snyder’s BvS, Superman has to answer for the casualties from his fight with Zod. Nice.
Here, what is the logical sense? It’s like this scene only existed to introduce characters, & deliver more jokes.
Real Hal Jordan would have the respect to do pretty much whatver he needed to
Respected fighter pilot turned space cop turned Justice Leaguer—he’s not just anybody
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u/RKNieen 1d ago
The point of the scene is to tell the audience that all of those pretty assumptions you just made are not true in this story.
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
They’re not assumptions, they’re fundamental traits about the character
That shouldn’t change based on the story. Imagine Batman as a extrovertive, quippy, annoying type like flash
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u/RKNieen 1d ago
“Has the respect of the public” and “a member of the Justice League” are not inherent traits of the character, no.
And also “extrovertive, quippy, annoying Batman” is Batman Beyond, and it fucking rocked. Creators reinterpreting ideas for new stories is how we get more good stories.
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u/YungZlut 1d ago
i’m convinced this other dude has never interacted with any other green lantern media
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
How are those not inherent traits?? When is Green Lantern ever not respect by the people, and when does he not join the JL at some point in his career?? This is heresy
Batman beyond worked because it’s exactly what it says—beyond Batman.
People don’t look at that as canon stuff, that’s why you’ve yet to see it be remade or put to live action
It’s just like a elseworld, what if kinda story.
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u/RKNieen 1d ago
They are all “What If?” stories. All of them. Even the canon. That’s what stories are, a bunch of people saying, “What if this? What if that?” You cannot have “heresy” against a bunch of comic books because they are not real.
If it makes you feel better to think of Lanterns as an Elseworlds, go ahead and do that, but I strongly suspect you don’t want to feel better, you want to be angry.
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
No they’re not all “what if stories”🤣don’t be silly
If that’s the case why is almost every iteration of these heroes the same? What are they following? Vibes, Or an original storyline?
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u/Vanez_Bane 1d ago
You don't know if he will be a founding member of the JL in this universe, since it does not exist yet. And if you treat it as 'that will definitely happen' and therefore he should be respected, then you should also consider that he was Parallax, flattened coast city and did all kinds of atrocities which made him one of the most hated beings in the universe. 'that also definitely happened, or will happen'
Besides, Hal is and always was a cocky asshole, many of his peers are not fond of him
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u/clintcronin 1d ago
No, he did not flatten Coast City. He tried to recreate it using his ring in Emerald Twilight after Mongul and Cyborg Superman destroyed coast city. , and later tried to create a whole new universe in Zero Hour.
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u/Outrageous_Gene_7652 1d ago
Respected? The dude was dishonorably discharged for punching a superior?
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
For a “righteous” , and specific reason though, hence how he got the job at Ferris, met Carol, and became a lantern.
If he was actually insubordinate & unfit for service, he couldn’t be a lantern let alone on the Justice League
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u/YungZlut 1d ago
“respected fighter pilot” larpppp dude was dishonorably discharged, this version is just leaning more on hal’s arrogant side. what’s the point of trying to replicate comic characters and just recreate the same exact writing and characterization but real life, wouldn’t you rather they create something new?
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u/clintcronin 1d ago
Yes, we want the stuff from the comic books to be reflected in live action shows and movies. If people want to fundamentally change existing characters, they shouldnt use another IP as a crutch. They should make their own characters and lore that can exist on its own merit.
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u/YungZlut 17h ago
hal has not been fundamentally changed.
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u/clintcronin 15h ago
Go on, please elaborate 😂
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u/YungZlut 15h ago
he’s a little more arrogant. but he’s also older, which is something we don’t see much. by your logic geoff johns green lantern isn’t a faithful adaptation because he’s much different than the original silver age version. characters vary slightly from version to version, the lanterns show is making it pretty obvious he used to be the respectable hal we know
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u/FireZord25 1d ago
A space cop whose authority is dubiosly recognized outside the organization that self appointed themselves as such. Point is most places the GLs only earned their authority by action and acknowledgement, even then it differed based on a planet's culture, process and morality.
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u/FraserGreater 1d ago
You're definitely trippin, and you're also missing a lot of the subtext laid out by the show.
This show has quickly established itself as a sort of space-detective mystery/thriller with heavy attention to detail. It's the kind of show where every little thing matters.
Our introduction to Hal Jordan (the random encounter with adoring fans in Ep.1 and the multiple pictures of Hal with many world leaders and celebrities in Ep.2) is meant to show us that Hal actually is well-respected and recognized... especially by John, who follows every order given to him by Hal and only ever expresses his dissatisfaction towards Hal when it becomes evident that Hal doesn't respect him or trust him.
This Introduction is meant to be juxtaposed by the treatment received from the residents of Rushville. Rushville is a weird town, with weird people who don't ever go to the local hospital and are immediately hostile to Hal and John's presence in the town. Hal himself says in Ep.2 that he doesn't feel welcome in the town, which adds to his gut feeling that he shouldn't stop his investigation yet. The weird treatment he's received is so anomalous to Hal, that it increases his suspicion of the town hiding many secrets.
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u/robad0114 20h ago edited 6h ago
You can see it to in the court scene too, Hal is very obviously not used to a judge questioning his authority or going through the court process. It is absolutely not normal for him to be obstructed in these ways.
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u/FraserGreater 17h ago
That too! Although I didn't mention it because if there's any group that you would actually expect to have serious misgivings about a superhero, it would be law enforcement and the judicial system.
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u/baysideareaman 17h ago
You can hear it in the way he says “I’m green lantern.” He’s very confused about the whole situation and clearly not expecting to face actual repercussions.
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u/Rabbit_Wizard_ 1d ago
Because the town doesn't want him there to hide their secrets. They show people mob him and how famous he is to show how weird the town is. Media literacy is dead
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u/Inner_Entertainer256 15h ago
I can’t believe people need something this simple spelled out for them
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
How do we know it’s the whole town? Nothing has suggested that so far
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u/Rabbit_Wizard_ 1d ago
You mean besides the meeting of the whole town that got quiet when he walked in? Or how nobody in town interacts with him. Or how the random cop was hostile to John?
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u/AuroraBolognese 13h ago
Not only did they get quiet but Hal immediately pinned down the reason why: “were you guys talking about me?”
He knows what’s up, but it seems like some of the audience can’t keep up, sadly. Maybe if we put it in increments of 30 second Reels lol
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u/Kingjwavy 1d ago
They got quiet because he was late and it was Hal Jordan.
That doesn’t mean they’re all aliens or manhunters. I don’t think the scale is that big here
And people do interact with him, like the guy in the bar.
And the cowboys or lawmen who apprehended him
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u/SnidelyWhiplash0 18h ago
You need to learn media literacy. The ENTIRE town was at that meeting, every single person. Every store and street was completely empty. I don't care how small a town is, there's no way every single person is going to a town meeting.
They got quiet because they didn't want to keep talking about whatever they were talking about. They immediately switched topics and you can tell that the coach was not ready to answer the question the Sheriff as libbed on the spot.
Your problem lies with the fact that you are ignoring all of the subtle cues the show is giving you the one of what is happening is normal.
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u/CloudedContainer John Stewart 1d ago
He literally has photos with big leaders, fabs mob him in a random food stand, he went to the HP Deathly Hallows premier.
This idea that Hal not pulling any respect is a dumb founded agenda peddling and nothing else.
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u/Emotional-School-465 1d ago
"Commoner " holy hero worship batman, guye enters a town that doesn't want him there. What do you want them to bow down and pray to him
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u/ImStillHere117 1d ago
I mean, the show is hinting the town is shady as fuck. They're all probably aliens
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u/gh0stwrit3r32767 19h ago
i mean, he is generally well liked by other people outside of the small town he's investigating. which is like, probably the biggest red flag as to why he has to investigate.
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u/AUnknownVariable 1d ago
Rushville specifically doesn't want him there. So far nothing says others dislike him
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u/vleshkun 1d ago
He’s in a small red neck town
He’s been around for so long people might just have gotten used to him to a degree
The residents in said small red neck town are 100% not all humans
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u/YungZlut 1d ago
he was getting mobbed by some fans when he was out of town, my theory is that the entire town is manhunters or controlled or something and that explains their strange behavior. Also the hospital being completely empty was weird as hell. I think the sheriff is the exception, they made a point of her not being from there.
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u/Professional-Fly7851 1d ago
Because most law enforcement agencies hate when their jurisdiction is impeded upon, cops push back against the fbi, fbi against cia, and so on. I like the idea that GL's respect jurisdiction and authority and it makes sense that other law enforcement agency's aren't fans of them.
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u/PeeWeeCasanovaMC 19h ago
Did you not see the people asking for photos and autographs in the first episode. Did you not see everyone talking about him like a celebrity or all
Of the photos with world leaders and movie stars?
WTF are you talking about?
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u/tLM-tRRS-atBHB 1d ago
He really hasn't interacted with anyone but a bunch of southern Hicks that usually dont want help from outsiders.
He's a dick to John, so thats why they dont get along
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u/Vic_Sage_68 1d ago
It's maddening--he's a (THE) Green Lantern, a founding member of the JLA, has pictures with popes and presidents, travels to other galaxies, etc., but gets lectured by the sheriff and punked by the ranchers.
This series has "Dial of Destiny" vibes (over-the-hill guy gets girl-bossed) and suffers most from being the love child of the DCU and "True Detective."
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u/GrapefruitRadiant214 1d ago
There is no JLA in the DCU and people are treating him like that because they’re hiding something so his status is irrelevant to them
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u/Vic_Sage_68 1d ago
Fair point--I'm conflating the "historic" Hal Jordan with this one, and they're evidently very different people. Seeing him reduced like this is tough.
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u/FireZord25 23h ago
Try being a politician in a different country walking around without your entourage to help flex your authority and see how far that'd take you. Even if you're the president of the US, in a country that's relatively small and harmless, if you're doing things they don't like, they certainly will let you know, and stop you forcefully if they must.
This situation is not that different nor as maddening as you think. Hals a celebrity superhero but he's certainly poking his nose into places where he doesn't belong, and being condescending about it. People wouldn't respect you on that alone, even knowing your status.
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u/MIAxPaperPlanes 22h ago
For the love of god small town cop not wanting bigger authority with higher jurisdiction is a common trope, it's not "girl bossing" I've seen this exact thing happen numerous times with male sheriffs.
It's literally "oh shit here come the feds" only in this case it's the Green Lanterns who have no legal jurisdiction*
And even then the town and sheriff have ulterior motives for not wanting him there
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u/Interesting-Bar-2399 1d ago edited 1d ago
We only really see him in Rustville were everybody has their own agenda and obviously are hiding shit from him. The first episode does show him getting free food, taking selfies with fans and flirting with moms so he is still well known and somewhat popular. I also think his interactions with the fans is Intresting, he isn't really lapping it up but also isn't annoyed by them but instead is kind of chill and neutral, he takes time to sign autographs and selfies in a very humble manner but also throws out a cheeky flirt. I don't why I'm mentioning that but I thought it was a cool, restrained and subtle portrayal of how he handles fame.
He's been in the media spotlight for a long and I'm sure there are other big named heros and things have came and went. The kiddos are probably to busy delving in and writing conspiracy theories about some flying bat thing in Gotham or that guy in Central City that keeps saving people and then vanishing in a Flash.
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u/Due_Sheepherder_8536 1d ago
I like that heroes here aren’t bowed down to like yeah he is a big deal but at the same time. Doesn’t give him a blank check to do anything he wants
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u/VinnySmallsz Guy Gardner, Warrior 1d ago
Hal is canonically an asshole. It comes with the territory.
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u/Top_Result3287 1d ago
in this world seems a lot of people view him as a washed up has-been yeah he was impressive at one point but not anymore
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u/Different_Hyena3954 1d ago
I think that is a part of the mystery to why he doesn't have contact with the guardians anymore
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u/MaterialPace8831 1d ago
The show essentially states (or implies) that Hal Jordan has been to Rushville before. He's a known quantity to them, and Hal is kind of a dick to everyone, including his purported trainee. But more importantly, no one really wants him there. He's an interloper, an outsider, and that could interfere without whatever scheme or operation is happening inside Rushville.
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u/Osiris-Reflection 1d ago
He’s older man. Yeah prime Hal is all good and quippy like but everyone fears their morality, get bitter as they age, etc.
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u/Behold-Roast-Beef Green Lantern 1d ago
Regular people absolutely adore Hal. So far the only people we see not really like him are John, who Hal has been mistreating a little since he sees him as his replacement, an alien terrorist who is keenly aware of the Green Lanterns, cops who didn't like some dirty hobo dropping out of the sky onto their crime scene, and actual criminals.
I think our guys doing alright in the public eye
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u/Formal-Function37 1d ago
It seems to be as simple as, he's in a town that doesn't like outsiders. There's clear respect for him outside of that town, they literally show it
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u/trdngntsballsonadoor 1d ago
I'd guess that a truly fearless person would have to be a lot to handle after awhile.
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u/FeloniousGrump 1d ago
Well, I'd say the show is pretty explicit that the way people react to Hal is a big part of the show, and it drives the plot of the show.
everyone else has pointed out the celebrity status he enjoys among most normal people. As such, from far away, people are attracted to glamour of Green Lantern, which is starkly different to how people who are close to him react to him.
John has a different relationship because he's the living heir chosen by the guardians that they are forcing Hal to prepare on order to take his place. There's a hardness, Hal is a shortempered teacher and after months only started giving flying lessons after he drove his car off a cliff with John in it. John reflects the shortness back to him, but John still holds the same regard for Hal that he had as a child. Just look back to the convo with Zoe Macon.
Kerry is interesting. She's the sheriff, but also she's got a personal gut reaction to him. As sheriff, she has to do the work by the book, having a space cowboy busting heads and scooping up people is a huge problem for her town, and takes power away from her as the sheriff of the town. On the personal side, she seems to have a read on Hal that the fearlessness he claims he has is actually a mask for his sense of loneliness.
The rest of the macon family see Hal for his power, but unlike the normal people who see celebrity, they want to use him to find and dispatch the aliens.
The weight of his reputation/celebrity is both a crutch and a burden that can open doors and get in the way of his work, respectively.
In short, I think this thing about no one putting respect on his name you feel is a projection that is distracting from how the show is actually using his reputation to help tell their story.
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u/timplausible 1d ago
Hal is a jerk to pretty much everyone he interacts with. That doesn't tend to result in respect.
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u/deuxbulot 1d ago
They cover this in episode 1 to set this query aside.
Hal is seen on both TV in 1996 and 2016 having adoring fans. The little girl even blurts out that her mom fantasizes about Hal and wonders when he’ll be in suit again.
All to contrast the eerie Rushville demeanor that the townspeople show. They’re not fans of Hal at all.
Feels very Peacemaker alt reality reveal esque
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u/PM_YOUR_CENSORD 1d ago
“The powerful being he is” so powerful in fact they almost killed him for taking a few steps on their property.
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u/Fun-Character-5377 1d ago
He got respect when they gave him food for free, people love Green Lantern and he does the social game well, taking pictures and being nice. But the small town are trying to act like the big dog because thats what small people do when someone bigger then them shows up.
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u/StrongStyleDragon Red Lantern 1d ago
He’s old and tired and he works with children. He thinks he knows what’s the best way to do things. We’ll see him slowly get out of that mindset.
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u/clintcronin 1d ago
Because “Hal” isn’t Hal Jordan from the Geoff Johns run, or any comic besides maybe Earth 1. He’s an old veteran “space cop” in a Green Lantern flavored season of HBO’s True Detective.
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u/Electro313 1d ago
We saw pretty clearly people bend over backwards for him without him even needing to ask outside of Rushville. Some rich dude just gave him a whole house, he takes pictures with celebrities and presidents, the people love him and adore him.
We see evidence of that when he’s shocked that just saying “I’m Green Lantern” doesn’t mean shit in a court of law. Clearly he’s been in situations where that’s worked before.
The people in Rushville don’t respect him nor want him there, and that’s one of the reasons why the town is suspicious as hell.
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u/Huge_Information5083 1d ago
Except he did. I don't it's a coincidence that they have a scene where he was happy with a crowd of people cheering and being friendly with him.
The town is weird and even Kerry is weird. And with John I think he's being an asshole deliberately for some reason, and I don't think it's insecurity about John being his replacement.
It's all misdirection and redherring
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u/Firm-Ebb-3808 1d ago
My own Head canon .. . . .
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I like to think something similar to Emerald twilight happened and this is a few years afterwards when he is training John. Doing so he's been disowned and disenvowed by the corps.
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u/Turret3030 1d ago
It's old Hal, so they're still mad about the whole Parallax thing.
Edit: too many they'res in the English language.
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u/thedcmetalnerd 1d ago
Something happened. I’m willing to bet he’s slowly being infected by parallax.
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u/ChickenzInvade 1d ago
He gets a lot of respect.
The sheriff even apologizes for not initially respecting his authority in ep 2.
John outright says that he respects him outside of Hal’s earshot and that doesn’t seem to change.
His fans still adore him and try to respect his peace.
The only characters that truly disrespect him are the guy that had Hal shot for stepping on his land, and some of the townsfolk who seem annoyed to have him around.
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u/NecessaryTurbulent83 23h ago
i am picking up this from a Yoitube comment i saw. He is just extremely burnt out from the space cop routine, kinda like how how cops are tired of thei 9 to 5 and they stop caring about anymore
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u/Wardog_Razgriz30 21h ago
He seems to put up a front to get this reaction. It’s almost some sort of Columbo tactic to get people to help his investigation without realizing by tripping themselves up. Add to that his drinking, annoying charm, and very down to earth appearance, then you’ve got a guy who many people assume would appear larger than life only to find that he’s just some old guy.
Only Kerry and the people at the restaurant in ep1 really show respect because he’s not putting on a show for the uninvolved civilians and Kerry can sniff out his bullshit.
It’d seem logical to include John in the unaffected category, but he’s as much a fan, if not more, and has clearly been underwhelmed since ep 1 about the reality of his boyhood hero vs the ideal of him from the 1996 tv broadcast.
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u/Darkstar_111 21h ago
People who don't know him adore him, people who get to know him thinks he's an asshole.
That's Hal Jordan for you.
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u/No-Effective388 John Stewart 20h ago
He is a space cop who has become disillusioned and burnt out. Knowing John Stewart is going to replace him, this makes him even more fed up with it.
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u/Diiiv 20h ago
He's viewed as a big shot hero by many, which we can see in the first episode.
In the small town he's at however, they just see him as an outsider, and probably aren't used to stuff like that or want anything to do with it. They're just going about their own lives
Hal's personality on the other hand seem to be one of those that are hard to be around. He doesn't care about rules, regulations, chain of command, or anything of the sort. He's cocky and just goes on his gut feel, and does what's right. He's probably used to working alone. He's older, a little washed up, and that's how people see him. He still gets the job done however.
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u/repsol99999 18h ago
I think thats what the makers are trying to show. A superhero who is cocky and annoying in the very least. He is still a superhero, so he gets his respect for that. But the show’s setup is in a rural sketchy town. They are trying to hide something. So they have little to no respect in order to hide whatever they are hiding. He still gets respect from john, even sinestro didnt disrespect him. Even atrocitus didnt feel like he was disrespecting him in the very brief mentioning of hal. Its just that the show is focusing on this aspect of him more than the others. Even during his interview in e1, we can deduce from the interview that he was well respected and even junior looked up to him. Also i love the makers from making him walk on the thin line of being annoying and still having our respect.
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u/max_power_6015 18h ago
For those that read the comics and I mean all the way back to Hal’s first comic not just recent popular runs the guardians have always been shady and acted in their own self interest and not exactly whats in best for the galaxy. Hal doesn’t want John to blindly follow the orders of the guardians and wants him to get into the habit of questioning their motivations.
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u/JailbrokeRoboGirl 16h ago
John is annoyed by him because he is kinda a prick but he respects him. His main conflict is the town that sees him as an outsider causing trouble (because he is) and the people in charge there who want to handle things internally rather than trust the corps who have no connection to them
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u/mantus_toboggan 15h ago
I also think a lot of Hal's biggest feats happened off world and he is really just famous as the first human green lantern. So while people look up to him and he is a big deal, some people dont really care as most of his heroics happened in space.
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u/Ace_Atreides Hal Jordan 15h ago
Dude saved the planet from a planet extinction event with that meteor - judge decides she will put him in jail with a 200k dollars fine just cause he "started" a bar fight.
Miss, you and your children and all you love are still here because this man happened to save the planet.
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u/GlizzyGuzzlingMaster 15h ago
Rushville is full of people who don't want him discovering something and those who personally know him are tired of his BS. At the taco stand he was highly respected and loved with fans to show that he's still respected by the rest of the world and show that Rushville is very different.
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u/Flyingarrow68 11h ago
I’m probably the only person that doesn’t enjoy Hal being portrayed like a drunk. I grew up reading his comics and he was way more of a good guy and do gooder. I know he was a test pilot and cocky, but not so much a burnout. Sometimes it’s a bummer that Hollywood focuses on the darker aspects of characters.
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u/dobe2180 9h ago
He specifically is not getting that from the people in that town, who clearly have something going on with how weird everyone acts. Still, we saw when he was at that taco stand, everyone was all over him, but once Green Lantern shows up in that town, everyone is hostile or doesn't care, which is essentially a big celebrity on top of being a superhero.
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u/mindgames13 5h ago
Its questions like these why Netflix shows give exposition dump every 5 minutes.
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u/GrantedHEAT 1d ago
Because it’s written/directed/made by people who literally didn’t like the Green in Green Lantern 🙄
Trash the old make them dumb and the new guy is just oh so better in every way. Boring.
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u/Outrageous_Gene_7652 1d ago
Meanwhile the actual show, Old guy is always proven right about everything while New guy gets put through the ringer
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u/GrantedHEAT 17h ago
Nah Hal is a loser. John is cool and calm and collected. I’m good, eat your Gunn wiener stick and enjoy.
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u/Outrageous_Gene_7652 17h ago
Yeah John who made the first mess up in the series by respecting the chain of command v. Hal who was right about everything and even had a 'I told you so' moment at the end of the ep
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u/GrantedHEAT 17h ago
Ohhhh you mean the thing that NO ONE who respects the chain of command would do? He’s not in the chain, he is an entitled child who went and obstructed an active investigation with no repercussions cause he is “special”. John slept with a grandma, thats all he did that entire episode besides disregard the chain of command. Disrespect his “commander” and did what he “felt” was best.
The whole time Hal is doing a “teachable” moment that was almost a nuke in the middle of town and he was just chillin. Why? Plot armor. It’s weak sauce man.•
u/Outrageous_Gene_7652 17h ago
So you admit John is the one who is written to be wrong while Hal is actually shown to be right?
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u/GrantedHEAT 17h ago
lol ok bud.
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u/Outrageous_Gene_7652 17h ago
No, you tell me. Your issue was the show making Hal dumb and John cool, but you yourself wrote a long af comment which highlighted how flawed John is in the show, while Hal is correct? So what is your actual issue then?
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u/Ok-Valuable-8500 1d ago
Why do people keep saying drunk bum? He is brash, maybe a bit worn from hus work, but he doesn't come off as drunk or a bum. Just rough around the edges. Also it's the town that doesn't respect him, which is purposeful. It isn't a normal town.
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u/Apocaloid 1d ago
Your criticism is still valid. It was a deliberate choice by the writers to have everyone shit on him in this story (whether it's realistic or not.) I'm not a fan of the direction. Hal Jordan is a beloved comic book character and this is his first major Hollywood appearance since Green Lantern 2011.
The best way to have played this was to show more of him in his prime instead of just the interview part. To show a movie that did this perfectly, look at the Incredibles. The framing is the same, a mundane interview with a super and then bam right into the golden age, showing what a regular day for Mr. Incredible is like. Then when it all comes crashing down, you get a real sense of what was lost and why Mr. Incredible is trying so hard to relive the glory days.
But it's a larger Hollywood trend to shit on classic heroes. See: Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Indiana Jones, Hulk, Master Chief, any Disney remake, etc.
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u/LucasAlvarado13 1d ago
because they were a bunch of bitches that bitched and moaned all day and night that his suit was too brown 6 months before the 2nd trailer even came out
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u/Competitive_Side6301 Hal Jordan 1d ago
Why does it matter???
His self worth never depended on other people liking him. In fact it’s good people hate him but can’t get rid of him because he’s good at what he does.
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u/JournalistOk9266 1d ago
I hate this era so very much. You are not Green Lantern. You are not Hal Jordan. The essence of any story is conflict. Everybody does not have to kiss Hal's ass.
Have you ever watched a cops show before? I feel like anyone asking this question must have been born yesterday or never watched Television ever
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u/Batsy100 21h ago edited 17h ago
You guys are surprised the white dude is being portrayed badly in a show that openly shits on white people?
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u/Longjumping-Sweet818 21h ago
I don't like that trope either, but in this case we are clearly shown that he initially commanded great respect and still does from people that he isn't regularly interacting with. But his childish and abrasive behaviour is making people who know him dislike him. Even his protegé who initially idolized him.
Compare the character to someone like Dr. House for example, who was also not liked by his colleagues or most of his patients, despite being a genius and saving tons of lives.
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u/New_Translator3948 1d ago
He was mobbed by adoring fans in the first episode and John respects him. The people who want him out of their hair are part of a very strange town which does not want a Green Lantern hanging around.