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scans_dailyThree weeks ago (with my "JLA teams up with Two-Face... wait what?!" post), lamashtar asked if I was going to post this particular issue, or if it was "too schmaltzy." To be honest, I wasn't sure (of either)!
Who here has read the Hal Jordan SPECTRE series (which ran 27 issues from 2001 to 2003)? I'm genuinely curious as to what anybody made of it. Personally, it was one of the more frustrating reading experiences I've ever had.
Issue #5--the topic of this week's post--is no exception, namely because it features the unlikely meeting of my two all-time favorite characters. And the results are... well... I'm still not really sure even now.
Here's the thing: Hal was my second favorite character of all time... not as Green Lantern originally, but rather as Parallax. Considering that Two-Face is my number one favorite, I loved the idea of a fallen hero striving for redemption and justice but always screwing it up by being so darn crazy. I wanted him to actually grow as a character, to be redeemed, even exonerated. Then they killed him off in a "heroic" manner to pay lip service to his fans, then get him out of the way so that Kyle could be a special little pumpkin.
So I was very excited by the prospect of Hal!Spectre. The character would finally get some development and redemption, and be a hero again! And it would be written by the great J.M. DeMatteis! Even better!
But the actual series was... well, I'm still not quite sure what it was. For one thing, Hal just doesn't work in this kind of context. But mainly... look, I'm an agnostic who loves the stories of religion but has no personal grasp on concepts like souls and karma beyond a layman's utilitarian knowledge. And reading THE SPECTRE, I felt bogged down in all the metaphysical wankery DeMatteis was packing into every issue. Just like with so much philosophy, I responded with a mixture of "so what?" and "SO BORED."
This was made especially frustrating when my two favorite characters actually met in the pages of THE SPECTRE #5. Surely, such an unlikely pairing-off was possible only in my fanboy imagination! At least, that was before Hal became the Spectre.
So, Hal has decided to eschew the previous Spectre's role as "Spirit of Vengeance" by becoming a "Spirit of Redemption," atoning for his own sins as the cosmic megalomaniac Parallax by helping other souls find their own grace.
In this issue, Spectre!Hal hears a prayer from Harvey Dent, who has defied his evil side long enough to issue a desperate, powerful prayer to God. The Spectre shows up, teleports Two-Face's henchmen off to the police department, and heals Harvey's face and--seemingly--his mind.
Hal goes off to continue angsting about his ill-defined new powers, when Abin Sur shows up. The ghost of Abin Sur, actually. You see, Abin's atoning for his own sins for giving Hal the Green Lantern ring in the first place, setting him on the path to becoming Parallax.
And yet, Abin says, "Despite all that's happened, all that's gone wrong, I still have faith in you. Won't you have some faith in me... in yourself...
(This characterization of Harvey and his relationships to his father and his dark side are consistent with DeMatteis' own TWO-FACE: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, and thus make this something of a sister story)
Once Hal puts his head back together, he tries let the power of the Logoz--don't ask--flow into Two-Face, to "remove the toxins that no longer serve a purpose in Harvey's..."
And then he's hit with a surge of knowledge. Hal says, "I... I seem to have made a... miscalculation."
He says this as Harvey heads to the one place he thinks will help him. He goes home. To Gilda.
Okay. So what do you make of this? Me, I just can't make heads or... I mean, I still don't know.
Like, the actual metaphysical stuff about karma meant absolutely nothing to me, but just flew right over my head. It all seemed so maddeningly vague: what old debts? We don't even know why poor Harvey has to suffer through this? What debts does he have to pay? How could he possibly have chosen this from a spiritual standpoint?
It was all so frustratingly unsatisfying. I suspect this could have been interesting if DeMatteis had paced it out over two or more parts, really explored what it meant for the sides to be separated like that.
If "good" Harvey (note the quotation marks) is still capable of violence, what would "big bad Harv" be capable of doing if he were unleashed? Really, it could be the Gotham version of Italo Calvino's THE CLOVEN VISCOUNT, wherein a man is split into his good and evil sides, both of whom are themselves capable of good and evil acts.
(forgive for the snobby literature reference; once I heard about the story in Mazzucchelli's brilliant graphic novel, ASTERIOS POLYP, I felt it was perfect for Harvey insight)
But no. Ultimately, this story feels too rushed, with only one insight to offer: "No, really: It Sucks to be Harvey Dent."
All that said, between this and their meeting in that JLA story, I'm in agreement withalias_grace when she expressed a wish for a proper Hal/Harvey teamup. Because, she said, "Hal is so very pragmatic, and has no patience for the crazy, and Harvey would take a deep and abiding delight in fucking with his head."
Seriously, I would pay good money to see J. Michael Straczynski write this as an issue of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, considering how he wrote Two-Face in the TEEN TITANS story and Hal in the most recent issue of TB&TB (with Dr. Fate).
Is anyone else reading TB&TB? I've really been liking it, and the GL/Dr. Fate issue was simply wonderful. I'm kind of surprised that no one seems to be talking about it.
lamashtar asked if I was going to post this particular issue, or if it was "too schmaltzy." To be honest, I wasn't sure (of either)!Who here has read the Hal Jordan SPECTRE series (which ran 27 issues from 2001 to 2003)? I'm genuinely curious as to what anybody made of it. Personally, it was one of the more frustrating reading experiences I've ever had.
Issue #5--the topic of this week's post--is no exception, namely because it features the unlikely meeting of my two all-time favorite characters. And the results are... well... I'm still not really sure even now.
Here's the thing: Hal was my second favorite character of all time... not as Green Lantern originally, but rather as Parallax. Considering that Two-Face is my number one favorite, I loved the idea of a fallen hero striving for redemption and justice but always screwing it up by being so darn crazy. I wanted him to actually grow as a character, to be redeemed, even exonerated. Then they killed him off in a "heroic" manner to pay lip service to his fans, then get him out of the way so that Kyle could be a special little pumpkin.
So I was very excited by the prospect of Hal!Spectre. The character would finally get some development and redemption, and be a hero again! And it would be written by the great J.M. DeMatteis! Even better!
But the actual series was... well, I'm still not quite sure what it was. For one thing, Hal just doesn't work in this kind of context. But mainly... look, I'm an agnostic who loves the stories of religion but has no personal grasp on concepts like souls and karma beyond a layman's utilitarian knowledge. And reading THE SPECTRE, I felt bogged down in all the metaphysical wankery DeMatteis was packing into every issue. Just like with so much philosophy, I responded with a mixture of "so what?" and "SO BORED."
This was made especially frustrating when my two favorite characters actually met in the pages of THE SPECTRE #5. Surely, such an unlikely pairing-off was possible only in my fanboy imagination! At least, that was before Hal became the Spectre.
So, Hal has decided to eschew the previous Spectre's role as "Spirit of Vengeance" by becoming a "Spirit of Redemption," atoning for his own sins as the cosmic megalomaniac Parallax by helping other souls find their own grace.
In this issue, Spectre!Hal hears a prayer from Harvey Dent, who has defied his evil side long enough to issue a desperate, powerful prayer to God. The Spectre shows up, teleports Two-Face's henchmen off to the police department, and heals Harvey's face and--seemingly--his mind.
Hal goes off to continue angsting about his ill-defined new powers, when Abin Sur shows up. The ghost of Abin Sur, actually. You see, Abin's atoning for his own sins for giving Hal the Green Lantern ring in the first place, setting him on the path to becoming Parallax.
And yet, Abin says, "Despite all that's happened, all that's gone wrong, I still have faith in you. Won't you have some faith in me... in yourself...
(This characterization of Harvey and his relationships to his father and his dark side are consistent with DeMatteis' own TWO-FACE: CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, and thus make this something of a sister story)
Once Hal puts his head back together, he tries let the power of the Logoz--don't ask--flow into Two-Face, to "remove the toxins that no longer serve a purpose in Harvey's..."
And then he's hit with a surge of knowledge. Hal says, "I... I seem to have made a... miscalculation."
He says this as Harvey heads to the one place he thinks will help him. He goes home. To Gilda.
Okay. So what do you make of this? Me, I just can't make heads or... I mean, I still don't know.
Like, the actual metaphysical stuff about karma meant absolutely nothing to me, but just flew right over my head. It all seemed so maddeningly vague: what old debts? We don't even know why poor Harvey has to suffer through this? What debts does he have to pay? How could he possibly have chosen this from a spiritual standpoint?
It was all so frustratingly unsatisfying. I suspect this could have been interesting if DeMatteis had paced it out over two or more parts, really explored what it meant for the sides to be separated like that.
If "good" Harvey (note the quotation marks) is still capable of violence, what would "big bad Harv" be capable of doing if he were unleashed? Really, it could be the Gotham version of Italo Calvino's THE CLOVEN VISCOUNT, wherein a man is split into his good and evil sides, both of whom are themselves capable of good and evil acts.
(forgive for the snobby literature reference; once I heard about the story in Mazzucchelli's brilliant graphic novel, ASTERIOS POLYP, I felt it was perfect for Harvey insight)
But no. Ultimately, this story feels too rushed, with only one insight to offer: "No, really: It Sucks to be Harvey Dent."
All that said, between this and their meeting in that JLA story, I'm in agreement with
alias_grace when she expressed a wish for a proper Hal/Harvey teamup. Because, she said, "Hal is so very pragmatic, and has no patience for the crazy, and Harvey would take a deep and abiding delight in fucking with his head."Seriously, I would pay good money to see J. Michael Straczynski write this as an issue of THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD, considering how he wrote Two-Face in the TEEN TITANS story and Hal in the most recent issue of TB&TB (with Dr. Fate).
Is anyone else reading TB&TB? I've really been liking it, and the GL/Dr. Fate issue was simply wonderful. I'm kind of surprised that no one seems to be talking about it.
