5 DC Resurrections Done Right (And 5 That Sucked)

4. Hal Jordan - Green Lantern: Rebirth

Green Lantern Rebirth 2
DC Comics

You won't find a set of characters as divisive as Earth's Green Lanterns. Mainly due to the generational divide between each incarnation of the character, every set of DC fans has their own favourite, whether it be Alan Scott, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, or (the subject of this entry) Hal Jordan.

It is Jordan, however, that is DC's most divisive Lantern. A lot of this comes down to the perception that Hal is a pretty generic protagonist, and in truth, he sort of is. Very few stories have delved into a unique aspect of the character, instead electing to focus on Hal being some sort of 'chosen' Green Lantern who embodies the power of will, but when every Lantern already possesses that power, it just isn't all that interesting.

And therein lies the rub. Geoff Johns' stint on Green Lantern is as close to Star Wars as DC will ever get - and it is rightly lauded - but Jordan brought nothing to the table. This was made painfully apparent in GL: Rebirth, which went to excruciating lengths to restore Hal as DC's one true Lantern, and featured the garish pencils of artist Ethan Van Sciver.

Hal has been a constant presence ever since, but fans have constantly called for the likes of Stewart, Gardner, Rayner and even the recent additions of Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz to take a bigger focus.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.