How Hal Jordan Dies in the Comics and HBO’s ‘Lanterns’ Takes a Different Approach

Killing off a beloved superhero is always a sensitive creative choice, particularly when the character has previously met their end in the source material under vastly different circumstances. HBO’s ‘Lanterns’ made this bold decision just moments into its series premiere, prompting fans to analyze how this version of Hal Jordan’s death contrasts with the comic book narrative.

The series kicks off with a shocking flash-forward to 2026, revealing that Hal Jordan, portrayed by Kyle Chandler, is already deceased by the time the main storyline unfolds. He is found sitting upright in the snow, a bullet wound above his eye, with his Green Lantern ring mysteriously absent, setting the stage for a gripping investigation into his murder and the fate of his ring.

This gritty, violent demise sharply contrasts with Hal Jordan’s original comic book death, which occurred under a completely different set of cosmic circumstances, emphasizing themes of redemption rather than a murder mystery.

Hal Jordan’s initial comic death can be traced back to the 1996 event series ‘The Final Night,’ but to fully grasp that moment, one must first revisit the 1994 storyline ‘Emerald Twilight.’ In this earlier arc, Hal succumbs to madness and grief after the destruction of his hometown, Coast City, ultimately turning against the Green Lantern Corps and becoming the villain Parallax—a transformation that many long-time fans found unsatisfactory.

By the time of ‘The Final Night,’ a weapon known as a Sun-Eater has extinguished the sun of the solar system, leaving Earth’s heroes with only five days to devise a solution before the planet is doomed. Operating as Parallax, Hal makes the ultimate sacrifice, absorbing the Sun-Eater’s destructive energy and using it, along with his own power, to reignite the sun and save Earth.

In the end, Parallax sacrifices himself to destroy the Sun-Eater and restore the sun, saving the world and partially redeeming his character. Following his death, Hal is honored with a memorial attended by many of Earth’s heroes. His role as Earth’s Green Lantern is then passed on to rookie Lantern Kyle Rayner, who briefly becomes the sole Green Lantern in the universe.

Unlike the show’s portrayal, comic book Hal didn’t remain dead for long, at least not in the conventional sense. In 1999’s ‘Day of Judgment,’ Hal’s soul merges with the Spirit of Vengeance, making him the new host for the Spectre, a divine entity of wrath and judgment previously embodied by Jim Corrigan.

This development was met with disapproval from fans, who felt it diminished the emotional impact of Hal’s original sacrifice. Eventually, a more satisfying resolution came through 2004’s ‘Green Lantern: Rebirth,’ written by Geoff Johns, which revealed that Parallax was actually a separate fear entity that had infected Hal, allowing him to separate from both the Spectre and Parallax and reclaim his original heroic identity as a Green Lantern.

‘Lanterns’ does not reference Parallax, the destruction of Coast City, or any of the cosmic elements that characterized Hal’s original comic death. Instead, the series has crafted a new mystery centered around a grounded murder investigation, linking his death to the season’s overarching Manhunter storyline rather than any redemption arc involving a dying sun.

This creative divergence grants ‘Lanterns’ the freedom to explore Hal’s fate on its own terms, without the need to directly adapt or reference the emotional complexities associated with his comic book sacrifice and subsequent Spectre phase. Whether the show will eventually find a way to resurrect Hal, echoing the resurrection arc of his comic counterpart, remains one of the season’s most intriguing questions.

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