Green Lantern : Rebirth 1-6

It Would Have Been Easy To Botch The Return Of Hal Jordan But Geoff Johns Aced It! The Original GL Of Sector 2814 Is Back!

Like many other fans, I've been lamenting the death of Hal Jordan. Not so much that he died but the way it was done by DC. Green Lantern died doing so much damage he could conceivably have done more harm than good in his life. Hal doesn't deserve that. A long standing member of the Justice League doesn't deserve that.

I knew they would eventually bring him back and I also knew it was nothing to be excited about. I was so sure that they would not do it properly. No writer could do an acceptable retcon, the Parallax plot is to intricate to unravel - it would take a Gaiman or a Moore; and I knew that both writers wouldn't touch this stuff. Then along comes Geoff Johns.

And he has proven me wrong.

Geoff Johns came out with a story related to the panel below.

The idea of Parallax being a different entity is brilliant. The reason why the Spectre chose Hal Jordan as a host is brilliant. The way the story of Parallax and Sinestro was weaved with the greater story of Oa and the Lanterns is brilliant. Geoff Johns is brilliant. He has brought back Hal Jordan in the grand manner. Green Lantern Rebirth is a triumph.

We go through the first several issues of Green Lantern Rebirth witnessing a beatdown variously administered by Parallax and Sinestro - it is brutal and it has the heroes on the run. Jordan returns and he also takes it full on the face. His reaction to all this is shown in the panel below.

This is Hal. Down, recieving a massive hit from Sinestro, and loving every moment. Rebirth is Hal's moment. It's a wonderful comeback marred only by Hal's punching the Batman. You heard that right; sounds like sacrilege doesn't it?

I've taken out the page below to show Johns and Van Scriver's great treatment of the ring manifestations of each Earh GL. The way the energy is used reflects the personality of the GL using it. It's a great detail.