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Hal or Kyle?
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This is a sticky topic.
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After re-reading everything I will have to say Kyle. I actually find him more interesting.
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I thinkis better than
because Hal was infected with Paralax for years, and Hal's getting old.
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Originally posted by Vaegrin View PostFrom my perspective, Hal's stories in the last six years have been much more focused on concepts like the Rainbow Corps than on growing Hal's character. To me, his character has existed to serve the story and not the other way around.
Originally posted by Vaegrin View PostMy own perspective is also colored by the fact that I was eleven when Kyle became Green Lantern and had only been reading Green Lantern comics for maybe three or four years by then. I think I have good reasons for believing Kyle to be the deeper, better developed character, but the fact is that I grew up with Kyle, which means I'm probably rather biased.
He's been code-worded as the "everyman", which means a vague archetype for your average 25-year-old. So by design, there's nothing too distinct about him, at least anything that doesn't also apply to your average 25-year-old US male. (At least, the US male of the 90s / early 00s).
Which makes them very, very different; Hal is a specific character with specific characteristics, internal and external conflicts, flaws and strengths that are immediately identifiable. He's also a "destiny" character - chosen for a larger path, like Superman. Whereas Kyle is more an archetype based on your average comic reader - mid-20s, somewhat directionless, but ultimately capable of stepping up - if/when fate intervenes.
Originally posted by Vaegrin View PostAgain, I highly doubt that Geoff Johns intends it this way, but that's how I personally respond to him as a reader: the self-important jerk who's always right and never does anything wrong.
Originally posted by Vaegrin View PostAnyway, I didn't set out to argue with you in this reply, believe it or not, so I hope I'm not coming off as argumentative.
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Originally posted by Sandor_Clegane View PostSo in a way, you're right - it is true that Hal is a more conceptual character; all the major GL concepts either revolve around him, or are about him - will power, overcoming fear, joining a galactic space patrol. Which also explains why bringing him back and embracing those themes pushed Green Lantern onto a much larger stage.
I stand by my post as an explanation of why I think Kyle is the better character, but I certainly don't expect everyone to share the same perspective. My own perspective is also colored by the fact that I was eleven when Kyle became Green Lantern and had only been reading Green Lantern comics for maybe three or four years by then. I think I have good reasons for believing Kyle to be the deeper, better developed character, but the fact is that I grew up with Kyle, which means I'm probably rather biased.
You make a fair enough case for Hal having the ideal core characteristics for the Green Lantern mythos. For me, the problem with that character is that virtually all of his flaws and virtually all of what I would consider to be his humanity are confined to the past. On some very rare occasions, he wrings his hands over past mistakes with Carol and his family, but most of the time that's scarcely more than a thought bubble. In the meantime, everything he does is perfect and heroic. The only major flaws I see in the present, as opposed to the past, are that he might take his job too seriously and he sort of comes off as an egotistical jerk.
Again, I highly doubt that Geoff Johns intends it this way, but that's how I personally respond to him as a reader: the self-important jerk who's always right and never does anything wrong. Beginning with Rebirth, I actually just saw him as a sort of bland and shallow character. I've only started responding negatively to him in the last two or three years.
Anyway, I didn't set out to argue with you in this reply, believe it or not, so I hope I'm not coming off as argumentative. What I'm trying to say is that I see it the way I see it and I can't help that, but I can understand seeing it differently. Especially if you happen to really like the stories of the past six years (which I've found entertaining but severely flawed in terms of character development).
Love your name, by the way.
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Originally posted by Vaegrin View PostHal is not a relatable character. He has but a single defining character trait: heroicism. He has no weaknesses. He makes no mistakes. He is simply The Hero, existing solely to play the default role of the protagonist. He is rebellious, but only when he is right. If he has one character flaw, it is that he is too heroic (see Barry and Carol asking him how long it had been since he last took off his ring). His ego sometimes seems to be completely out of control, but I'm not sure it's actually intended to come off that way. In some cases it is hinted that he is a womanizer, he has displayed nary a scintilla of such a tendency for years now. In fact, Hal seems to have no desires, no hopes, no affections of his own. After six years of headlining the flagship Green Lantern title, Hal's character has neither grown nor changed.
Hal is a plot piece. He has no distinguishing features. He is a faceless hero, more bland even than Superman. Kyle's stories were never as epic as Hal's. But Kyle had a hundred times the personality.
In fact it's rather the other way around: Hal and Guy are the only GL of Earth that have actually changed, have had character arcs.
Hal and Guy have discernable flaws and failings. Guy's flaw is simple -he's the loudmouth jerk on top, and the teddy bear underneath character. Hal on the other hand, is a much more nuanced character. Looking at only the Secret Origin story, after his father's death Hal becomes arrogant, uncommunicative, closed off, angry, and lonely. And yet, within all that, the ring still chooses him, because it sees the potential for something greater. Even after proving his worth somewhat, to himself, he begins to see how many bad decisions he's made, that he's been a bad brother, a bad son, a bad boyfriend to Carol, and so on. It's all there on the page.
Kyle and John, aside from being rookies at some point, are basically archetypes. Kyle is - well, was - the 90s young adult male, equal parts your average Kevin Smith character, Chandler from Friends and Peter Parker. Which isn't a dis - I like all those things. But during those years, Green Lantern was about his personal life above all else; the conceptual grandeur of Green Lantern was actually removed. It became a fairly standard, Marvel-styled superhero. It was also a pretty good book too for a long time - but it wasn't an idea that was truly unique or distinctive.
So in a way, you're right - it is true that Hal is a more conceptual character; all the major GL concepts either revolve around him, or are about him - will power, overcoming fear, joining a galactic space patrol. Which also explains why bringing him back and embracing those themes pushed Green Lantern onto a much larger stage.
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As of this moment, I like Kyle better.
He rebuilt the corps and has better constructs.
But my preference changes week by week.
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Originally posted by pronouncednort View PostListen, it's obviously a matter of personal preference. The line seems split right down to a generational divide instead of an argument about who is a better character or who has had better stories.
That said, I'm 100% with Kyle. The guy has just been in better stories. Say whatever you want about Kyle being like a Marvel character in DC clothing (though that idea is obviously the entire motivating force behind Geoff Johns' theory of superhero comic writing today). He also has a personality, an actual personality. He's the only GL who's had consistent character development and who we don't have to ignore decades of history to follow what they're doing now.
Honestly, who the hell even is Hal? We hear a lot about him being the guy who'd jump off a cliff and figure out a plan on the way down, but where the hell is that characterization? Hal's best characterization, which is sort've what he has going on today, is the Han Solo/Malcolm Reynolds type. But it certainly isn;t the pervasive character of his history, it;s the opposite really. The guy was everyone's uncle.
Hal is not a relatable character. He has but a single defining character trait: heroicism. He has no weaknesses. He makes no mistakes. He is simply The Hero, existing solely to play the default role of the protagonist. He is rebellious, but only when he is right. If he has one character flaw, it is that he is too heroic (see Barry and Carol asking him how long it had been since he last took off his ring). His ego sometimes seems to be completely out of control, but I'm not sure it's actually intended to come off that way. In some cases it is hinted that he is a womanizer, he has displayed nary a scintilla of such a tendency for years now. In fact, Hal seems to have no desires, no hopes, no affections of his own. After six years of headlining the flagship Green Lantern title, Hal's character has neither grown nor changed.
Hal is a plot piece. He has no distinguishing features. He is a faceless hero, more bland even than Superman. Kyle's stories were never as epic as Hal's. But Kyle had a hundred times the personality.
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the 1st GL I got to know what Hal, but never could relate... when Kyle got in the scene I liked the constructs, then I started reading GL and was hooked... then the whole REBIRTH & ION thing ... now he's BLUE!!! WTFM!!
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I'm a bigger Kyle fan, he's the one I started with, but I can also relate to him more than Hal. That said, I like them all, I love everything GL. I've personally never understood people who are so die hard for one of the guys and absolutely hate the other. They've both had good runs, been in good stories, but they've also both been in bad runs, and bad stories. One thing I think a lot of people forget is that this isn't the Big Three, it hasn't been the same exact person under the tights for the last 80 years. A much as I'd hate to see it, there should come a time when both Hal and Kyle should be done away with, hopefully not too soon though.
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Listen, it's obviously a matter of personal preference. The line seems split right down to a generational divide instead of an argument about who is a better character or who has had better stories.
That said, I'm 100% with Kyle. The guy has just been in better stories. Say whatever you want about Kyle being like a Marvel character in DC clothing (though that idea is obviously the entire motivating force behind Geoff Johns' theory of superhero comic writing today). He also has a personality, an actual personality. He's the only GL who's had consistent character development and who we don't have to ignore decades of history to follow what they're doing now.
Honestly, who the hell even is Hal? We hear a lot about him being the guy who'd jump off a cliff and figure out a plan on the way down, but where the hell is that characterization? Hal's best characterization, which is sort've what he has going on today, is the Han Solo/Malcolm Reynolds type. But it certainly isn;t the pervasive character of his history, it;s the opposite really. The guy was everyone's uncle.
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Kyle is only 3 away from a tie. It looks like were pretty much even.Last edited by Lantern of Gallifrey; 07-09-2015, 05:49 PM.
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BOTH!!!
Hal was the first GL I ever met back in the early 80's from the Superfriends episodes, but I loved what they did with Kyle after Hal went insane. And you have to admit that the stories they did with Hal during Volume 3 really weren't that good, nothing compared to what DC has done with the current volume.
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Originally posted by Lantern of Gallifrey View PostKyle brought me into Green Lantern so it's Kyle all the way.
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Hal still the best and famous lantern, the one that taste all ring flavour
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Kyle brought me into Green Lantern so it's Kyle all the way.
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