Hal Jordan has been around as a superhero since the early 1960s. The character didn’t even have a comic book, making his first appearance in the anthology Showcase. But the character was immensely popular, and it was only a few issues before Hal got Green Lantern all to himself, replacing Alan Scott.
Despite his popularity, however, Hal Jordan struggled to find memorable villains. For much of his early appearances, Hal finds himself going up against regular criminals and saboteurs rather than the super-villains of the era. That said, Hal did face off against a couple of his recurring villains by the end of his earliest run. But which ones showed up before he even knew how the ring worked?
10 Doctor Parris Was A Genius Mad Scientist
Jordan’s very first villain made his appearance in Showcase Vol. 1 #22. Known as Doctor Parris, his goal was to become the first scientist to harness hydrogen power. He started out by testing the power launching rockets to the middle of nowhere, which Green Lantern happened to notice. Though Parris was ready for him with a battering ram, it didn’t stop Hal at all, and he quickly dropped Parris off with the military. Perhaps the biggest problem he gave Hal was causing him to abandon Carol Ferris, getting their relationship off on a bad foot.
9 Invisible Destroyer Wanted To See Who Was The Most Powerful Fighter
The first fantastic villain Jordan went up against was the Invisible Destroyer, a villain that was created by a man named Doctor Phillips. Phillips’ intention was never to create such a monster on purpose, but that didn’t stop the Destroyer from being a threat. It nearly destroyed Coast City before Green Lantern stopped him. Eventually, Hal was able to destroy this persona by turning the power of its anti-matter attacks against him.
8 The Dryg Threatened An Alien World
In the very first issue of Green Lantern vol. 2 #1, the first villain is a creature known as the Dryg. In this issue, Hal is taken entirely off-world to attend to his duties on other planets and immediately has to deal with a giant monster. It had the ability to drain willpower, which meant Hal had to figure out a way to beat it and within the 24 hours before he needed to get home. He eventually froze the being solid, trapping it at a polar ice cap before going back to Earth.
7 Puppet Master Could Control Criminals And Make Them Do Crime For Him
Mad scientists were common villains in the ’60s, which was one of the factors that led to the Puppet Master’s invention. He had invented a ray that allowed him to force anyone zapped with it to do whatever he told them.
He initially used it only on criminals to make them commit his crimes for him, but after Green Lantern got involved, Puppet Master tried to bring Green Lantern to him with his ray. Jordan pretended to be under his control until reaching his lair, where Hal easily caught the Master and dragged him to jail.
6 Weaponers of Qward Hunted Down The Peaceful Members Of Their World
For several issues, Hal Jordan has to deal with the Weaponers of Qward. It begins when Hal meets a “good” person from the anti-matter realm of Qward, named Telle-Teg. Telle-Teg wants his planet to be free of Qward’s rules, but while he and Hal agree to work together, a Weaponer attacks and kills Telle-Teg. Not only is Hal able to go to Qward, he’s able to free Telle Teg’s friends before shutting the way into the positive universe for good.
5 Hector Hammond Had The Ability To Make People De-Evolve
Hector Hammond is the first noteworthy Green Lantern villain to make an appearance, first appearing in Green Lantern vol. 2 #5. In that book, Hector is already taking advantage of his powers by evolving and devolving scientists who don’t want to work with him. Hal sends his best friend Tom Kalamaku undercover to find him, and when he does, Hal is able to save the kidnapped scientists, and that their last fight ended with a fistfight.
4 Evil Aliens Came To A Planet In Tomar-Re’s Sector To Attack Their Own Race
Teaming up for the first time with another Green Lantern, Hal Jordan travels to Tomar-Re’s sector and helps another Green Lantern. On the planet Aku, aliens are facing the loss of their planet by their own evil alternate selves. Hal Jordan is only able to beat them when they forcibly make him create a thought image of himself with his Green Lantern ring.
3 Sinestro Had Betrayed The Corps Before His First Appearance
It took until issue #7 of Green Lantern for Hal Jordan’s worst enemy, Sinestro, to finally debut. Sinestro appears fully formed—almost everything people know about his origin can be found simply by going back to Green Lantern vol. 2 #7.
Sinestro is banished to the anti-matter universe, but even that only serves as a minor setback. Formerly the most talented Green Lantern, Sinestro is able to conquer all of the members of Qward and make them work for him. In the end, though, Hal won by getting help from one of the aliens to make Sinestro believe the power of his ring was almost out of energy.
2 Zegors Could Make Their Opponents Shrink To Miniature Size
In the distant future, a collection of powerful people decided they needed a champion to work for them. They choose Hal Jordan, turning him into Pol Manning, who helps them against the Zegors, beings threatening to take over their society. The Zegors have the ability to shrink people on command with their eye beams, but Pol Manning is able to find a way into where they get their powers from and destroy it. The Zegors retreat and Hal is allowed to go back home after they erase his memory.
1 Ferenc Was Enraged Hal Jordan Was Selected Over Him
Hal would return to the future and meet the solar council more than once, the second time to save Star City from being conquered by a collection of generals who had turned on them. With his Green Lantern powers, Pol is easily able to shut down the initial attack, but later discovers who’s behind them—Ferenc, once a protector of Star City. Frustrated that they looked over him and chose someone from the past for the position, he attempted to take over from the Solar Directors. Though Ferenc was able to stop Green Lantern from moving, Hal still made a way to use his ring to animate a statue to stop the plan.
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