10 Controversial Comic Book Retcons Fans Hated

When Hal Jordan's hometown of coast city is destroyed during the Reign of Superman storyline, he uses his green lantern ring to recreate the entire city, including the dead. While this seemed fine for a while, Hal gets a call from the Green Lantern Corps, who tell him he has broken one of their principal rules, which forbade them from using their rings for personal gain.

So naturally, Hal Jordan went on a killing spree, murdering every Green Lantern in his path, until finally he reached the Main Power Battery on the planet Oa. After killing Sinestro, who was trapped in the battery, Hal siphons all the energy and emerges as the villain Parallax.

What made this controversial wasn't necessarily the story itself, although Hal murdering his fellow Lanterns was a part of it, but the following storyline, which retconned his actions into being influenced by the embodiment of fear. Fans were naturally angry that the emotional depth Hal Jordan had gained after the event had simply disappeared, as he returned as a blameless, perfect hero, with little regret for his actions beyond the next few issues.