15 Comic Book Characters Who Should've Stayed Dead

6. Hal Jordan

Red Hood Jason Todd Robin
DC Comics

This article is supposedly to be about characters who should've stayed dead. But Hal Jordan is a special case, because he not only should've stayed dead, but he should've died sooner.

After the destruction of Coast City, Hal Jordan went green bananas, wrecking fellow Lanterns left and right, and becoming the villain Parallax. And he should've died there, having become the thing he most hated... a villain with no regard for the lives of innocents.

But instead, he survived, and earned a noble death by sacrificing himself to reignite the sun. It was one of the highlights of Final Night, and a strong conclusion for a character who'd already suffered from unnecessary retconning.

But wait... there's more. Because Hal Jordan's story wasn't over yet, and he became the new Spectre. Which is annoying for several reasons.

Did he actually die to restore the sun, or did he cheat death by becoming the Spectre? Also, is his mission vengeance or redemption? Because that seems to waver depending on who is writing the character.

 
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