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Hal Jordan may be considered by some to be the golden boy of the Green Lantern Corps, but the dude has a dark side (see: his Parallax era). Sure, god forbid a man have a hobby, but Hal Jordan has definitely had his rough moments in the DC Universe. 

It's this specific sense of complexity to Hal that writer Al Ewing is leaning into in Absolute Green Lantern. While Absolute Green Lantern is led by Jo Mullein, another Green Lantern within the mainline DC Universe, Hal has taken a darker role within the story. I interviewed Al Ewing about Absolute Green Lantern and asked him if he also found the darkness evident in Hal's character compelling. 

"I do think there's a darkness in him. I think Grant Morrison brought this out in their recent run on the character. Constantly being referred to as, like, the biggest bastard in the universe… He’s sort of this space weirdo. I think there's an element of that in him. He's got a bit of darkness about him. He's somebody who you could imagine going a little rough. I think our Hal Jordan is a bit more... he's a different character, he's not had the breaks because of the Darkseid universe, the evil energy of this universe," Ewing began. 

Ewing continued, "[Hal] was born in this dying town that he never got out of. He never became a pilot. He spent his whole life as, like, Hal Jordan the toy salesman. So, he's sort of, I think, weaker spiritually than regular universe Hal Jordan is. He's less of that military guy, he's got less iron in him. I think maybe that there's gonna be stuff we get into that our Hal Jordan can handle that I think maybe the regular universe Hal Jordan couldn't."

Absolute Hal Jordan may be tormented by the universe's version of the Black Hand, but he is capable in ways that his mainline counterpart isn't. Let's just hope for his sake that that includes the capacity to be good, despite his flaws. 

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.