#and Hal’s needs carol’s stability

[ajaxxx-x]

The Mountain Goats were so good for writing a song about Hal and Carol failed toxic relationship

[scorchedhearth]

the main appeal to me with hal and carol is how they both use each other to gain something, to gain security and safety of status, how they try to fit in a neat relationship that means they've got it, they've done it right, both in that "i have a spouse and a relationship i can show as proof of my success and happiness" way. carol has the company to lead and especially in the 60s marriage was expected out of women and she needs that social status more than only her desires, and for hal is this tether to life when hes hal and not green lantern, and it's a continuation of how he has to be perfect in his life. its also envy for what the other has and that they want, carol looking at hal's freedom and ability to do whatever he wants both as a man and as a hero with a power ring, hal looking at carol's stability and confidence and place on earth and with a life she can lead and be present for like he can't, as well as thoughts about being a woman if we read him as trans. and later on its challenging each other in their believes and actions, in what they both thought they want and reaching for what they need

[blade-liger-4ever]

Comic Analysis: Toxic and Healthy Relationships, Part 2 - Green Lantern

Hello, faithful readers! Well, it’s certainly been a while since I last made an analytical post. As you may recall, I made a previous analysis delving into Moon Knight’s two most well-known love interests, where I hinted at another post analyzing relationships. Well, after watching two different animated Wonder Woman films with a friend the other day, said friend sent me an article analyzing Wonder Woman, where Green Lantern/Hal Jordan - who also so happens to be my favorite GL - was mentioned in passing.

That reminded me of my desire/need to write a post detailing the toxicity of Hal’s longest running romance (as well as his driest), and the healthiness of, quite possibly, his most overlooked romance. Once more, I do not have a diehard’s knowledge of the OG comics, nor the experience of reading them firsthand. I do, however, have my own opinions and thoughts on what I’ve read/watched/researched. So, please take this post as that: my personal take on Hal Jordan’s romantic life, which you are free to accept or reject.

Now, without further ado, let’s get into the thick of it.

The Toxic Relationship with Carol Ferris

Carol Ferris, for those not in the know, is the owner of Ferris Aircraft in the DC Universe. Taking over her father’s company, Carol was, arguably, one of the few women to head her own company, even if it was handed down from her beloved father. Because she was in charge of her father’s company, Carol was often curt, to the point, and business-like, rarely being more open than necessary. Despite this, she struck up an odd, rocky relationship with one of her employees - an excellent pilot by the name of Hal Jordan. However, while they were enamored by each other, it was for the wrong reasons.

Now, to understand why this relationship is toxic, I need to explain a bit about Hal and Carol as people. To begin with, Hal is the self-assured pilot; he’s the best of the best, adventurous, daring, and selfless. However, Hal’s most notable trait is his love of flying. The man cannot get enough of it, as his backstory shows in heartbreaking detail how the sky called to him and his father, Martin Jordan. This shared interest brought Hal and Martin together in a way that the rest of their family couldn’t understand, and so when Martin died in a test accident, Hal was left completely alone. Driven by a need to learn who his father had been, Hal desperately grabbed anything relating to the air, causing a severe rift between him, his older brother, and his mother, who was terrified of losing her son as she had his father.

The reason I bring up this part of Hal’s backstory, readers, is because it offers an insight to his personal life and secret wish. For, despite being freed from the chains of the earth, Hal is always looking for someone who he can come back to, who will be a stable and loving tether in an otherwise hectic and pained life. And so Hal, acting on that subconscious need - as well as a childhood crush - pursued Carol. After having such a tumultuous life from at least the age of ten, Hal was searching for a sense of stability. He needs someone who he could rely on and know would be there for him, and he thought Carol could provide that.

Carol, despite her contentment in owning Ferris Aircraft, felt bound by the desk and paperwork she dealt with twenty-four/seven. She longed for a release from the dull, monotonous routine she inherited, although she wouldn’t let it go for love of her father. But seeing Hal Jordan/Green Lantern’s complete and utter freedom attracted Carol more than anything. Carol craved that same liberty of worry and boredom, desiring a life of excitement over remaining trapped inside an office day in and day out. And so, falling for the freedom he offered, Carol chased the dream she wanted to live.

Needless to say, this is not a healthy relationship. It’s more of an infatuation than anything else. There are two additional facets to their romance that makes it unattainable, although I will share some pieces from the original comics before I expand upon that.

Now, it’s not explicitly stated here, but for any big company/celebrity from 1900 on up until at least the 80s, marrying someone of a more blue-collar background was considered...unseemly, shall we say. Marrying, or even dating, someone such as a secretary or employee when you were - oh I don’t know, a billionaire or CEO - was seen as lowering yourself to a standard below what you were raised to/worked to get above. And since Hal was literally Carol’s employee, not only would that have been an affront to possible investors and an insult to her family, but Carol would have also been accused of favoritism, while Hal likely would have suffered extreme ridicule for daring to chase someone of a "higher” walk of life.

In essence, Hal and Carol fell in love not with each other, but with the idea that the other represented.

The Healthy Relationship with Kari Limbo

Now, Kari is a lesser-known love interest of Hal’s from his infamous run with Green Arrow from the early 70s. A psychic Romani woman, Kari had previously dated Guy Gardner (yes, you read that correctly, but believe it or not, Guy wasn’t always a pill. That came later, and I’d rather not get into the muddiness of that particular sliver of trivia.) After Hal met with Kari to inform her of Guy’s apparent death, the two spent time together before falling in love. Kari loved him so much, in fact, that she accompanied not only Green Lantern on his adventures, but also Green Arrow and Black Canary. Heck, she even got to be on nigh sisterly terms with Black Canary, casually calling the superheroine Dinah when the ladies’ men were away on some mission.

Kari is shown to be a patient and understanding woman. She is supportive of Hal, encourages him in his moments of uncertainty, and remains with him through many stories. Kari never abandons Hal, instead choosing to be present for him and help him through whatever is troubling him. She loves Hal for his sacrificing nature, his strength of character, and his protective concern for her. In a way, I believe Hal gives Kari a sense of belonging; I do not recall if we ever saw people from her past, but Hal allows her to feel at home with him. He provides her with the necessary qualities to begin a shared life with him, something she longs for - just as Hal longs for a woman who he can come back to every day. Hal and Kari have the same goals for eternal love and companionship, and that is why, near the end of the run, Kari proposes marriage to Hal (hot dog, Hal, you were moving too slow for her!)

Unfortunately, comic writers feel compelled to keep their heroes single, and so Hal and Kari’s wedding was cut short. It’s truly a shame, as Hal deserves to get married and live a happy life, just as Kari deserves to be a loving wife to him. I dearly wish she and Hal were together in the modern day, as their dynamic borders a fairytale romance in its beauty. They are truly underrated, and I believe they should be married, especially since the writers of today focus on the stale and toxic relationship with Carol.

Well, I believe I’ve said my piece on the matter. I don’t know if there will be a third installment to this series of mine. Perhaps there will be, but it will have to be one riveting romance to catch my attention. Then again, I can feel the gears in my head turning...

Farewell, fellow Lanterns! I hope you enjoyed my article!

[roobylavender]

hi! you've mentioned this before actually, could you elaborate a bit on carol with her marriage complex paired with her hal obsession? she's just this really interesting character and that kind of internal conflict is interesting to think about.

YEAH! in general i am always very interested in dissecting girls whose tragedy stems from their desperation to cling to gender roles esp since it's like. not even a cognizant thing they're doing like carol isn't real she has no choice in any of this but her obsession with marriage and learning how to do "wife" things is nonetheless something that you can really toy around with in terms of exploring her own lack of self esteem

here is this woman who is barely into her early twenties and has been handed her father's airline empire on a silver platter! she is economically set for life and what's crazier is she's not underestimated in her job and her employees take her seriously despite the way she came about receiving it. she has money, she has stability, and yet despite being remarkably settled and independent as a woman in the time period these comics are being written, she's intent to fill out the circle and become someone's wife. and to make things even more complicated, despite clearly expressing feelings for wonder employee hal jordan that are reciprocated in turn, she often rejects his advances based on the claim that she doesn't date her employees

it's overall a very interesting look into how she's simultaneously hyper aware of the power and security her position affords her and how desperate she is to feel fulfilled in every aspect that a woman "should" feel fulfilled, only for her to cycle through relationships erratically bc of what i would consider her feeling threatened about her own agency. she dreams of that stability and that marker of femininity but she also fears what it could do to her as an individual. trying to reconcile the love that she has for hal with those fears is complicated and it's why i think she's so easy to date or even marry other people when she and hal are broken up bc it's like she's trying to convince herself that she can manage without him, even though she's still entering herself into relationships where she'd have to play that role she both aspires to and fears

carol doesn't want to admit to herself that she loves hal that much and that what she feels for him is grander than the prepared dinners and casseroles and the ideal “wife” role she's convinced herself she needs to fill. she's afraid to recognize that what she has with hal is different and that despite all of their aspirations towards a nuclear marriage, they transcend the roles that a nuclear marriage would typically be defined by

[brokeco]

Mark of the Bat

For @batlanternweek Day 3

Soulmates | Omegaverse

Hal hated his soulmark. And his brothers knew it, always making fun of it growing up. What kind of weirdo had a bat as their soulmark?

But then Hal almost completely forgot about it after high school and joined the Air Force and joined Ferris Air and became a Lantern and before he knew it he was best friends with the Flash and formed the Justice League. Fucking Superman was his coworker!

Then there was Spooky. When they faced off against Darkseid, Hal thought about it again. His bat-shaped mark. But nothing seemed to bother Batman about Hal’s anything really. Maybe Hal’s soulmate was Hades, Diana had told him a lot about how much that guy also likes bats.

But of course, duty calls. Bats and Hal had been sent to Japan for some natural disaster assistance when they were attacked by some kid who called himself the “Toyman”. How in the everliving fuck did a literal 10-year-old get the equipment for a giant mech?

Of course it was yellow, so Hal couldn’t do anything to it physically and it seemed to have a counter to everything. Hal could see Bruce scaling a building and his brain was screaming, knowing the guy was going to try to get on the mech.

Hal threw at least a dozen buses at the thing, his only goal to distract Toy-twerp long enough to make it safe for Bruce to get on it. Well. As safe as jumping on a mech could be for a guy without superstrength nor a power ring.

Hal had to admit, there were parts to Bruce that he enjoyed. There was a protective fierceness about him that had Hal in awe when he saw it in a fight. And as much as the guy was an ass, he was great with kids. Like, more kids wanted to be comforted by him than Diana. And he always listened to them and was able to make sense of all those ramblings kids seemed to go on. And Helena liked him. For some reason. Hal might need to have words with his niece about that one.

When they were on the same page, however rare that was, Bruce was ok. Well, ok was an oversimplification. Bats was jacked and that voice just did things to Hal. Bats was a walking wet dream and, admittedly, was right most of the time. He was a selfless jerk, but he was a decent guy too.

Bats almost made it to the cockpit but the Toyman noticed, moving to flick him away with a gigantic finger. Hal went on instinct, moving in between the finger and Bruce, creating a shield around both of them. He felt the shield crash through brick and drywall and Bruce’s weight pressing down and back, trying to stabilize himself in the ball. They finally stopped and Hal cursed when he noticed they were trapped under the rubble of what had to be another apartment building.

Hal looked back at Bruce to see him grimace in pain, his left leg swollen and probably broken. “Ah shit.” Hal blanched, maintaining the shield that encapuseled them under the rubble. “Ok, shit. Listen, I’ll dig us up and get you somewhere safe. Then I’ll come back and hold him off until --”

“No.” Bruce said, offering no other option.

Hal already huffed in annoyance. “Jesus dude, I know you’re not saying that because you care, but --”

Batman huffed this time, interrupting Hal. “You have to be the densest person I have ever met. You have a bat soulmark across your shoulders.” Then he pulled his sleeve up, riping his glove off while he was at it. There was a big Green Lantern symbol on his forearm. “I do almost everything that I do in reference to you because I care.”

Hal was almost silent, for once, but he had so many questions. “I...you seriously knew? For how long?”

“Not as long as I knew about your involvement with Mrs. Ferris.”

Hal groaned at the response, grabbing Bruce’s face and pecking a cheek. He would’ve kissed his lips, but he was sure Bruce would’ve broken his nose. “Who’s dense? I haven’t been ‘involved’ with Carol since junior year. Now, I’m beating the shit out of a child in a 75-foot mecha and you’re waiting for the extraterrestrials to come and take you to see a medical professional. Ok?”

Bruce seemed to process the information he was given, as well as the cheek-kiss when he answered. “Right.” He sighed as Hal unburied them, lifting them onto a platform to a still-standing building. As Hal began to fly away, Bruce spoke up again. “Just don’t do anything stupid, Jordan.”

“Come on, Spooky! Why would I do anything stupid?” Especially now that he finally had something to come back home to.