Green Lantern Legacy the Last Will and Testament of Hal Jordan Review

From Hal Jordan's time equally the Spectre comes the story Legacy: The Final Volition and Testament of Hal Hashemite kingdom of jordan. Written by Joe Kelly and beautifully illustrated by Brent Anderson and Pecker Sienkiewicz, it was first released in trade form in 2002 and has remained in impress ever since. Most Hal Hashemite kingdom of jordan/Spectre stories are unusual, but this one is probably the most unusual in that it'south a very emotional tale (for a Greenish Lantern story), and it focuses on 1 of the nearly controversial figures in Green Lantern history.

Despite its title, Legacy: The Terminal Will and Testament of Hal Jordan isn't really about Hal Jordan. Rather, information technology'south well-nigh Hal's long-suffering friend, mechanic, and almost-sidekick, Tom Kalmaku.

Through no fault of his own, Tom Kalmaku is one of the most controversial characters in Green Lantern lore, primarily considering he has the misfortune of existence a member of that large crowd of "ethnic sidekicks" oft assigned to white male person heroes during the Gold and Silver ages of comic books. Though the treatment of Tom in the old Green Lantern stories is downright respectful compared to other indigenous sidekicks of the time, there were however some racial slurs and stereotypes associated with the grapheme. Tom beingness Eskimo, he was subjected to the nickname "Pieface" (a have on "Eskimo Pie") and was given dialog punctuated with exclamations like, "Great fishhooks!" It doesn't exactly make for comfy reading these days. (Note: Some people accept stated Tom is Inuit, but this is only half correct -- "Eskimo" is "Inuit", simply "Inuit" isn't necessarily "Eskimo".)

In addition to beingness Hal's almost-sidekick, for a long time, Tom was the only person in the comics who knew that Hal Jordan and Green Lantern were the same person (though Dorine Dirt/Onu Murtu figured it out without any trouble, and Carol Ferris has long been suspected of knowing all along that Hal was Light-green Lantern). Tom also hero-worshipped Hal, and for a time he kept a journal in which he documented all of Hal'due south adventures (or at to the lowest degree the ones he knew most). Tom's journal figures prominently in the tale discussed hither.

The story opens with a scrap of a montage showing Hal'due south origin story, the destruction of Declension City, and Hal's transformation into the villain Parallax. And so the scene shifts to Hal's funeral, where Tom Kalmaku stands at the podium to deliver a eulogy. He begs the congregation to remember Hal as a hero rather than as a villain …

… and then he abruptly changes his tone:

As it turns out, Tom is actually in a bar (the "Roarin' Borealis") and telling his drinking buddies most the funeral. His buddies, however, don't quite believe that he actually said bad things about Hal at the funeral. (Tom'southward actual eulogy was actually quite nice, according to Kyle Rayner.) Tom (who is VERY drunk) insists that he DID slam Hal at the funeral, and he continues to say even worse things nearly Hal. Unfortunately for Tom, Hal has a fan in the bar who doesn't much capeesh Tom'southward beliefs -- and lets Tom know it.

Tom wakes upwardly in a taxi cab that's driving him back to his apartment -- non really back home. Information technology seems that, due to his recent bouts of alcoholism and self-destructive behavior, Tom is estranged from his married woman, Terga, and is living away from her and their two children. The cab commuter asks Tom, "Did you lot really know him? Green Lantern?" Tom claims that if he really knew Green Lantern, he never would have believed in him. Tom falls comatose in the cab, and readers are then shown the cab driver's truthful identity:

Ah-HA! The cab driver is really Hal Jordan as the Spectre! Uh, oh …

While passed out, Tom has a dream about a fourth dimension when he rescued Hal from one of Hal's more than bone-headed incidents, when he was caught by a large, yellow Qwardian spider -- an consequence that Tom recorded in his Green Lantern journal. In the dream, Hal thanks Tom profusely for saving him and refers to Tom as his best friend.

Later, afterward losing his job, Tom's alone in his apartment AND he's even More than ticked off than usual because it just happens to exist Hal's birthday. To celebrate, Tom decides to set his journal nigh Hal on fire:

Before the unabridged stack of journals tin go upward in fume, someone knocks on the front door.

(You readers DID spot the Spectre image in the smoke, right?)

At the door is a gentlemen who looks remarkably similar Michael Caine with a mustache. "What are YOU supposed to be?" Tom snarls at him.

Tom slams the door in the man'due south face up, but the homo is undeterred. Announcing himself equally the executor of Hal Jordan's volition, he forces his way into Tom's apartment and presents the reluctant Tom with paperwork that names him Hal's inheritor.

Only at that moment, a picayune boy shows up in the doorway and says, "I don't recollect I want to stay here … Information technology'south cold." The executor then informs Tom that the niggling boy is Hal'south son, Martin Hashemite kingdom of jordan (named subsequently Hal'southward begetter), and that, per Hal'south will, Tom is at present in charge of him: "Congratulations. You're a foster male parent, Mister Kalmaku."

The executor then leaves Marty with Tom, along with a stack of paper and a note from Hal that says, "Tom -- Fix information technology. -- Hal."

Little Marty Jordan does look remarkably like Hal, consummate with a curly lock of pilus on his forehead and ane "Parallax" streak of white hair along the left side of his head. While Tom goes through the paperwork, at a loss over what to practise, Marty innocently asks him, "Do I call you 'Pieface' or 'Uncle Tom'? 'Uncle Pieface'?"

(Oooooooh, OUCH.)

The scene shifts to Ballad Ferris's mansion, where Carol is feeling depressed over Hal'south birthday and trying to keep herself from "impulse buying small companies to go along from crying." To her surprise, Tom Kalmaku shows upward on her doorstep with little Marty in tow. While Marty explores Carol'due south mansion, Tom tries to foist the poor kid onto Carol -- while Carol tries to effigy out when (and probably to whom) Marty was born: "Seven years ago, we were just getting back together after he left Ferris …"

Ballad then expresses concern over Tom's self-destructiveness and abandonment of his family. She asks, "What happened to you, Tom?"

"Hal Jordan happened!" Tom replies. As he walks away and helps himself to Carol's liquor cabinet, Marty approaches Carol.

"Are yous mad at me?" Marty asks her nervously.

"Me?" says Carol, kneeling down so she's eye-to-eye with Marty. "No … I … I don't even know you. How could I exist mad?"

Relieved past her answer, Marty grins and extends a hand to Carol:

Awwwww, the beautiful petty kid is as charming as his old man.

Of a sudden, Carol's mansion is under attack: "CHOOM!" A mysterious effigy drops down from the heaven ...

... and information technology seems intent on killing Marty. He may be drunk, simply Tom reacts VERY quickly. He grabs Marty and pulls Carol further into the house to become both of them away from the monster. As the monster chases after them, Marty holds out something to Tom and asks, "Will this help?"

Suddenly, Tom is seemingly plunged into a memory, but it's not his. It's a memory of Hal'due south fight with the villain Mongul, right after the destruction of Coast City and just prior to Hal becoming Parallax.

In the original fight, Hal was pretty badly beaten up by Mongul, but Hal managed to generate some armor and subdue Mongul with Steel's hammer. In Tom's "retentivity," though, Hal doesn't stop in that location. He continues to pound Mongul with his armored fists until Mongul is reduced to a bloody pulp.

Tom then "wakes upwards" from the retention. The monster is gone, half of Ballad's mansion is completely destroyed, and Tom, Marty, and Ballad are all perfectly fine. Marty tells Tom that Tom scared the monster abroad.

Tom grabs Marty and yells, "What did you do to me?!"

"I didn't do nothing!" Marty replies. "It was THIS."

Marty holds out a Green Lantern power ring. "Did I practice something bad?" he asks.

The scene shifts to the Justice League watchtower on the moon. Tom and Marty are in that location, being grilled past Justice League members -- especially by a VERY worried Superman:

Both Tom and Marty refuse to allow the Justice League to take Marty'south ring. When Superman and Batman try to play "practiced cop/bad cop," Tom hurls accusations at them: "Information technology's well-nigh Yous people -- YOUR kind -- and one of YOUR mistakes. Funny how you didn't show until the ring popped upwardly, isn't it?" He stomps out of the room, leaving Marty behind.

In the next room is a bays example containing one of Hal'southward old uniforms. Tom stares at it and remembers some other incident recorded in his journal:

"Hal," Tom asks him, "Volition I ever be a Light-green Lantern? Could I ever join the Corps?"

Tom'due south thoughts are interrupted by Kyle Rayner, who'south followed him. "You have ane hell of a nervus!" Kyle yells at him:

"-- Like his therapy bills aren't going to be high enough."

Tom and Kyle and then go far an argument almost Tom'due south behavior. "He [Hal] didn't even LOOK for me!" Tom yells. "With that ring, he could have--!"

"What?" Kyle asks, completely dislocated, "What did y'all want him to do?"

Meanwhile, poor petty Marty is however with the other Justice Leaguers. He looks upward at them and says, "I simply want to get away from y'all people." Then, abruptly, both Marty and Tom are teleported to a different part of the base, away from everyone else.

"Jeez--what'd yous DO?" Tom yells at him. "Gonna exist Sick -- Should WARN a guy before you teleport his hung-over butt across -- Hey, where are your other 'uncles'?"

Marty informs Tom that he'due south leaving, but before he tin can go, Tom shows him Hal'due south "prepare it" note. Tom then makes a promise to Marty to figure out what Hal meant by "fix it." They both teleport away from the Justice League watchtower -- just in time to avoid the Justice League rushing in on them, AND just in fourth dimension to avoid the reappearance of the monster that confronted them before.

Next stop for Tom and Marty: Warrior'southward Bar, where they come across up with those old Green Lantern veterans Alan Scott, John Stewart and, of grade, Guy Gardner. Guy is just a little flabbergasted to notice out about little Marty: "You ... This ... Hashemite kingdom of jordan, you never terminate ..."

Tom asks the guys what he should do about Marty, and what they call back Hal'south note means. Alan and John are both of the opinion that Hal simply wanted Tom to brand sure Marty grows up to be a good human. Tom thinks there'southward more to information technology than that, but Guy doesn't hold:

"Hell," Guy continues, "I forgot yous fifty-fifty existed until you walked in the door!" Guy then tells Tom to go out Marty with the Justice League earlier anyone gets hurt. Right when Guy says this, however, the scythe-wielding monster bursts into Warriors and starts trashing the place. As Guy (equally Warrior) and Alan fight the monster (John isn't all the same a Green Lantern again), Tom grabs Marty and makes a run for information technology -- and blacks out into another memory recorded in his journal.

This fourth dimension, the memory involves a trip to Oa, where Hal has brought Tom to witness a training session with Kilowog. After the session, Hal removes his ring and easily it to Tom. "Desire to take it for a spin?" Hal asks him.

Well, OF COURSE Tom wants to use Hal'south ability ring! He wants to very much! Simply for some reason, he chickens out. He hands the ring back to Hal, and also hands Hal an unintentional insult:

Tom then wakes up from the memory to detect that he and Marty have teleported away from Warriors. Marty is yelling at him that they shouldn't take left the guys at Warriors in a demark, that they should have tried to help. "My father wouldn't have run!" Marty yells. "He'd be ashamed of you!"

Tom yells correct back: "Permit me tell you about your 'dauntless and brilliant' begetter ... the TRAITOR, the MURDERER." Tom so tells Marty EVERYTHING well-nigh Hal. EVERYTHING -- much to Marty's stupor.

When Tom finishes, Marty doesn't say a give-and-take. He just kneels on the basis, looking subdued. It's but then that Tom notices their surroundings. It'due south night, and they're in front of a firm. Continuing exterior of the business firm, staring at them, are two little kids. TOM's kids. Tom grabs Marty and asks him to utilise the power band to teleport them away. Marty does so, only as Tom's daughter recognizes him: "Daddy?"

Tom is then plunged into yet some other memory:

Coast City is on fire due to inner-metropolis rioting that'southward gotten out of hand. Hal is working on rescuing the city'southward inhabitants, merely he'due south angry considering the rioters are plainly less than grateful for his help. He ends upward getting in a fight with Ollie (Light-green Arrow), who'southward accusing him of trying to save just the "prissy department" of town.


Hal pauses at Tom'southward words, and so he sets virtually putting out all the fires in Declension City. "Coast City WILL be saved today," he vows. "ALL of it."

When Tom wakes upwardly, he and Marty are sitting on a hill overlooking the valley that used to be Coast City. Tom says they'll need to move once again soon, before the monster that's been chasing them finds them once more. He has an idea of what Hal'southward "set it" note ways. "Information technology'south possible that we're supposed to gear up something OUT THERE," he says -- meaning something that isn't on Globe. And so, using the ring, Tom and Marty head off into space.

Outset end: Xudar, home planet of Tomar Re and Tomar Tu. At that place, Tom and Marty detect a monument devoted to Tomar Tu, who is presumed expressionless because of Hal. The monument has the inscription, "Tomar Tu: GL2813 -- Killed by Universal Scourge Hal Jordan." Standing around the moment is a group of sometime members of the Green Lantern Corps, calling themselves the Alliance of the Flame. Among the group members (surprise, surprise) is none other than Boodika.

(Yes, yes -- we all know Boodika was scooped upwardly by Hank Henshaw and the Manhunter robots and held captive with the other Light-green Lanterns Hal directly attacked. Hey, who's to say they didn't catch Boodikka until AFTER this story?)

Boodikka, of course, is VERY aroused that Hal chopped off her hand and destroyed the Corps, and she's even less happy to find out Hal has a son. She completely rebuffs Marty'due south offer to help her.

Other members of the Brotherhood, though, aren't as dismissive. They insist on letting Marty try to assist the people of Xudar. Still, there's something suspicious almost their intentions, as Boodikka accuses them of doing something she didn't concord to. She issues a stern warning to Tom to abandon Marty, and and so she stalks off.

Determined to take their chances, Tom and Marty prepare about using the ring to "fix things" on Xudar. They're so focused on their task that they notice as well late that the monster that was chasing them on World has arrived. Before Tom can exercise anything, the monster hits Marty with its scythe -- a fatal blow.

The monster, as it turns out, is none other than a mindless, undead Kilowog, transformed via black magic into a tool of vengeance for the Brotherhood. The Brotherhood want all traces of Hal Jordan eliminated from the universe -- and they also want Marty's ring. The band, however, doesn't cooperate. It blasts Kilowog and the Brotherhood away from Marty's trunk, allowing Tom to assemble Marty in his arms. Then Tom, Marty, and the band all fade away.

The rings transports Tom back to Earth, dorsum to the spot where he and Marty had been looking over the erstwhile location of Coast City. Grief-stricken, Tom lays Marty's body on the ground and and then starts screaming and crying: "Damn you, Hal ... your son. Your own son. Yous knew I couldn't practice this! You lot knew I couldn't!"

Suddenly, behind him, Marty starts to sit down up, very shakily. "They hate me so much," he says. "Even y'all ... I remember at present. I remember all the hurting I caused. I know why all of you hate me ..."

"Hurting Yous caused?" Tom gasps. "Oh, my God. H-Hal?"

Noooo, it's not HAL ...

He's not Hal, and non even Hal's son, at least in the literal sense. Marty is actually the ring -- or, rather, ring power that was left behind when Hal died reigniting the sun. Defective direction, the ability reformed as a semi-sentient beingness based on information and images in Hal's heed. (If Hal were to actually have a son, OF COURSE he'd name him Martin Jordan, after his father.) Information technology then went seeking Tom Kalmaku for assistance -- simply Tom doesn't exactly know why information technology singled him out. At least, not yet.

At that moment, the Justice League shows upwards, trying to get Marty abroad from Tom. Tom isn't having any of it, and he deliberately works on remembering a conversation he once had with Hal. The conversation topic: COULD Hal beat the JLA, ALONE?

In a remarkable series of panels displaying the parallels betwixt Hal's and Tom's conversation, and Tom's confrontation with the Justice League, readers are shown only how one power ring can take out the entire Justice League, including Superman. (Whole pages from the sequence can exist seen here and here.)

After the Justice League is defeated, Tom remembers one more than, important affair from his chat with Hal: Hal telling Tom that he hoped someone would finish Hal "by any means necessary" before Hal "ever went downward a dark road."

Tom grabs Marty and orders Marty to accept them into space -- to a certain TIME in infinite, so Tom can practise "What I should take done from the beginning ..."

When Tom and Marty reach their destination, Tom finds himself face-to-face with Parallax.

"Pieface," Parallax sneers. "Right."

Tom HADN'T been looking for Parallax. He'd been looking for Hal, just after the destruction of Coast Metropolis, hoping to intercept him at the beginning of his binge, before he could destroy the Green Lantern Corps and go Parallax.

Parallax yells at Tom, pointing out all of his failings, and and so offers a bargain -- Tom can mitt over Marty/the band ability in substitution for Tom's life. All the while, Marty is protesting: "No ... he chose YOU, Tom ... he chose ... Y'all ..."

Tom is merely almost to hand Marty over to Parallax when he suddenly asks, "Why didn't you come up looking for me after Declension City? Before all of THIS?"

Parallax stops and gives Tom a very odd look. Just at that moment, Parallax comes under assault:


Kilowog has caught upwards with them. While Parallax and Kilowog appoint in battle, Marty uses his power to evidence Tom exactly what happened when Hal began his rampage:

"And information technology was decided we would go to Oa. Nosotros would MAKE the Guardians heed to u.s.a.. We would Make THEM resurrect Declension Metropolis and bring back the dead. And if they would not, we would take the power to exercise something about ut. Information technology was decided ..."

"... TOM. I wonder if TOM is nonetheless alive."

Hal, equally information technology turns out, HAD gone to see Tom before starting his rampage. He found Tom and his family huddled effectually their Idiot box, watching the news coverage almost Coast Metropolis. Hal, though, hid behind them and didn't let them know he was there.

"Nosotros were there," says Marty. "Nosotros were in that location, only we didn't speak."

"Say something!" Tom yells at Marty's epitome of Hal. "Tell me you're in that location! Talk to me!"

"He tin can't ..." says Marty.

"Y'all were supposed to be the next, y'all know," Marty tells Tom. "The adjacent Light-green Lantern. The Guardians chose Guy ... I chose John. Merely Hal ... Hal was going to cull You."

Ah-HA. Now we know why "Marty" went looking for Tom.

Meanwhile, the boxing between Parallax and Kilowog rages on. Tom uses Marty'south power to put the fight to a halt -- by causing Kilowog to remember who he is, and by forcing Parallax to transform into Hal as a Dark-green Lantern. Tom then confronts Hal, confessing that no matter how much he hates Hal for what he did, he all the same honors the dream. He says proficient-bye to Hal and says he's going to "fix things" the manner Hal (and Marty) wanted.

Parallax/Hal is taken aback for a moment, then he yells, "You'll fail! You tin't change what happened!"

"I know ..." Tom replies, "so I'm not going to try ..." Tom, Kilowog, and Marty all vanish.

They reappear at the center of the universe, filled with the bits and pieces that were once the planet Oa. Oa had been destroyed not long after Hal became Parallax, in a huge fight betwixt Hal and Kyle Rayner.

Kilowog is still a bit unbalanced. "I ... I'm supposed to ... Kill yous ..." he says.

"Tell you lot what, Kilowog," says Tom. "Let me practise this one thing, and if it doesn't piece of work, shishkebab the both of us."

"In that location's nothing you can do, kid ..." Kilowog replies. "The power, it's corrupted ... it's -- What ARE you going to do ...?"

"I'g just going to try not to mess this upwardly," says Tom.

Marty hands Tom a ability ring ...

... and Tom recites the Green Lantern adjuration: "In brightest day, in blackest night ...!"

Ta-da! Oa is reformed -- consummate with buildings and a big, new ability battery held aloft past a behemothic statue of Hal standing on a base that says, "Calorie-free Never Dies."

Kilowog is THRILLED: "HA! HA! Bring it on, ya poozers! BRING IT ON!"

Marty tells Tom that Tom did "existent good," and and then Tom vanishes. He reappears on Earth, continuing just outside his family unit's house.

"And I thought I was scared of the BATMAN ..." Tom mutters. He so turns and says to someone behind him, "Yous certain there's not a planet yous want me to reconstruct? You know ... something a little easier?"

The person standing behind Tom turns out to be HAL.

Tom and Hal say good-bye to each other, then Hal transforms into the Spectre and disappears.

Tom then enters his house to join his family unit. "Don't worry ..." one of his kids yells, "DADDY can prepare that."

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Source: http://hoosierinanity.blogspot.com/2010/05/green-lantern-legacy-last-will-and.html

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