30 Years Ago Today, DC Killed Off One Of Its Original Silver Age Heroes (& Kept Him Dead for 8 Years)

It has been 30 years since DC Comics killed off an icon, one of its original Silver Age superheroes. When DC began publishing more superhero comics in the 1950s, the company carried over some of its more popular characters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, and then created new versions of some classic heroes to update them for the new generation of fans at the time. The first new superhero DC introduced was Barry Allen’s Flash, who replaced the Golden Age version of the character, Jay Garrick. This went over well, so DC next replaced its Green Lantern hero, who was Alan Scott in the Golden Age. The company created Hal Jordan, who became synonymous with the role for the next four decades.

Things went bad for Hal Jordan after the “Death of Superman” storyline. This created a villain known as Cyborg Superman, who, along with Mongul, destroyed Coast City, Green Lantern’s home, killing every single man, woman, and child there. When Hal used his ring to revisit his loved ones, the Guardians chose to punish him for it. Hal lost it, killed the Guardians and several members of the Green Lantern Corps, and became Parallax. That all led to The Final Night #4, released on September 25, 1996, where Hal Jordan redeemed himself and died saving the Earth.

30 Years Ago, DC Comics Killed Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern

The Final Night miniseries featured a battle Earth’s heroes were in no way equipped to deal with. A villain known as the Sun-Eater was traveling across the universe, consuming stars and killing the planets that relied on that star for help. The Final Night #1 saw an alien arrive on Earth to warn the citizens of Earth that the Sun-Eater was headed for their star so they could say their goodbyes before dying. However, as she got to know the heroes of Earth better, she realized there was a fire in these people that was unlike any other planet she had visited. She said she would stay and fight for their planet or die with them.

This wasn’t needed, as there was one way to save the planet. Working with Brainiac 5, Lex Luthor used Flash to help him mass-produce a force field that could shield the Earth from the sun’s supernova and hopefully keep the planet alive, albeit in a devastated state. The only twist was that they needed someone to fly the device to the sun, and that would likely kill them. The heroes chose the new Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, because he actually flew close to the sun and survived before. Kyle was willing to go as well since he just failed in his previous mission.

That mission, which no one else knew about, was trying to convince Hal Jordan to help save the planet using the powers he had built up as Parallax. Just as Kyle agreed to go up in the ship, he disappeared. Superman then volunteered when Lex Luthor refused to go, and he went to write a letter to Lois Lane before making the trip. However, Ferro of the Legion of Super-Heroes beat him to the ship and agreed to sacrifice himself. As the heroes argued over who would get Ferro out of there, Parallax showed up with Kyle and said he would save the planet.

It was a huge moment, and while Superman was happy to see Hal, Batman didn’t trust him at all. That was the exact reaction DC fans would have expected. However, Superman was right. Hal flew into space, saved Ferro and sent him back to Earth, and then he destroyed the Sun-Eater and used all of his power to reignite the sun, saving Earth and allowing the planet to return to life once again. This moment killed Hal Jordan, and the Silver Age Green Lantern died as a hero after spending too long as the world’s deadliest villain.

DC Kept This Green Lantern Dead For 8 Years (Although Hal Jordan Returned Before That)

The most shocking moment is that the Silver Age Green Lantern stayed dead. Just like Barry Allen’s Flash, who died at the end of “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” DC kept the Silver Age heroes dead and allowed Wally West and Kyle Rayner to continue their roles as the legacy heroes, replacing the legends. Flash was dead for 23 years, one of the longest stints of any major death in comic book history. Green Lantern wasn’t gone for as long, but it was still eight years that DC kept Hal Jordan away from comics as the Lantern. However, Hal wasn’t gone that entire time.

By sacrificing his life to save Earth, Hal Jordan got a sort of reward. After the events of The Final Night, the supernatural being known as the Spectre was without a host, and demons tried to use it to their advantage. With the help of the Sentinels of Magic, Hal became the new host for the Spectre, and instead of seeking vengeance, he wanted to change the mission to one of redemption, although he wasn’t powerful enough to do so. This happened in the 1999 crossover event Day of Judgment, and then in the ongoing Spectre series from 2001 to 2003.

This then led to the Geoff Johns era at DC Comics, when Johns resurrected both Barry Allen and Hal Jordan. Not only did Johns bring Hal back from the dead and return him to his role as the Green Lantern, but he also gave Hal redemption by showing that Parallax was an evil entity that took over Hal’s body and was responsible for Hal’s past evil actions. However, ignoring this retcon, The Final Night #4 was where Hal Jordan’s real redemption came when he saved Earth from the Sun-Eater.

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