For years, Hal Jordan has been a fan favorite because of his bravery and unwavering devotion to bringing safety to Space Sector 2814 (in Green Lantern, outer space is divided into sectors, and each sector has at least one GL to maintain order). Many people are interested in Hal, having heard stories of Green Lantern before, but are not actually informed of his history. Alas, those who wished for a (relatively) concise summarization of the early life of Hal Jordan, your wish is granted in these following sentences.
Harold “Hal” Jordan was born to Martin and Jessica Jordan, and had two brothers, Jimmy and Jack. While his brothers would develop a close relationship with their mother, Hal would always be more drawn to his father, who worked as a pilot for Ferris Aircraft. When other children were in school, Hal would sneak out to watch his father flying. Young Hal looked up to his father more than anyone in the world, and Martin had a deep bond with his son.
One day, Hal went off to watch his father and, as was their tradition, he was able to hold his father’s jacket while Martin was flying. The aircraft was an experimental one, and his father was attempting to ensure it was safe for future pilots. In a tragic twist of fate, the aircraft would fail, and Martin Jordan would die, always the hero in his son’s eyes. From that day on, Hal would always don his father’s jacket to remember his dad.
In the following years, Hal would leave the Jordan household in favor of becoming a pilot. This would lead to the downfall of his relationship with his mother, who worried for her son’s safety. The relationship would eventually end before it could be reconciled, and Jessica Jordan died before her estranged son got to see her one last time.
As if his life was not filled with unfortunate occurrences, Jordan would also lose his piloting job for pushing the limits of every multi-million dollar aircraft he flew. He was forced to do little more than maintenance work on these planes, and it seemed as though his life was going downhill.
In his time without the ability to get his feet off the ground, however, events were unfolding that were far beyond Earth. An alien named Abin Sur, the Green Lantern of space sector 2814 (which contains Earth and many other planets), was fleeing in a spacecraft in an effort to keep a horrible prophecy telling of the “Blackest Night” from being fulfilled. He refrained from using his ring for space travel because it had been told to him that the ring would fail him when he most needed it. Thus, in an effort to stop the Blackest Night, he took extra measures to ensure that he would make it to his destination safely. Sadly, Abin Sur’s ship would fail as well, and the alien crash landed on Earth. It was then that he began to die, and the ring commenced finding a new candidate for Green Lantern of Sector 2814. This person would have to be one that would “overcome great fear.” The most suitable candidate found on the planet: Hal Jordan.
Jordan would accept the responsibilities of the ring without hesitation. He began training with the Green Lantern Corps, and finally went had personal training from Sinestro of Korugar, who was then considered to be the greatest of all Green Lanterns. Sinestro was the GL of Sector 1417, the “Most Orderly Sector in the Universe.” As one of his first orders to Hal, Sinestro told the young pilot never to “take on an opponent more powerful” than himself. In typical daring fashion, Jordan’s response was, “Yeah, that’s not gonna work for me.”
Much would happen in his initial days as Green Lantern, but one worthy of noting was that Jordan was able to conquer yellow objects, a feat previously unachieved by any member of the corps. Yellow objects were not subject to the powers of the ring due to a “yellow impurity” in them. It would later be revealed that the impurity was caused by Parallax, an alien creature embodying pure fear, who was completely yellow in color. By truly conquering yellow, Jordan had shown that he was truly the man who would overcome great fear.
Of course, no beginners' guide to Green Lantern would be complete without mentioning the Emerald Guardian's longtime love interest. Hal Jordan was involved for many years with a young woman named Carol Ferris, who inherited Ferris Aircraft from her father. She was there the day that Martin Jordan died. She is a strong woman with a bit of a soft spot when it comes to Jordan, and she eventually was the one that allowed Hal to fly Ferris Aircraft's planes again.
There is much more to the story of Hal Jordan, but since we’re not sure how much the movie will cover yet, this article probably ought to be brought to a close. Go see Green Lantern when it comes out!!