Is there anything better than Hal Jordan with that sweet grey hair? Well, more Convergence is coming your way as writer Tony Bedard presents the salt and peppered Hal Jordan in a way he's infamous for, as Parallax. Bedard had a chat with us about the upcoming book, which hits stores on April 15th.
COMIC VINE: What is going on in this issue?
TONY BEDARD: Hal Jordan had recently lost his mind, wiped out the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe, and returned to Earth as Parallax wielding the power of the entire GL Corps. But as Kyle Rayner and the rest of the Justice League were trying to fight him, the dome went up over Metropolis and suddenly Hal was cut off from the power that pretty much changed him into someone else. Suddenly he was Hal again, and the crushing realization of what he'd done just sort of flooded over him. So Hal's spent the year since then in self-imposed incarceration. Kyle visits him every day, trying to convince him that he wasn't responsible for killing the Corps, Parallax was. But when the dome comes down and Kyle is compelled to battle Princess Fern of Electropolis, Parallax is once again free, and he may prove to be the biggest threat of all on this planet.
CV: You're taking on Hal Jordan at a really emotional time. How does Hal back then compare to the Hal Jordan of now?
TB: I think Hal's been a very different and much improved character since Geoff Johns took him on and made him one of the biggest stars of the DC Universe. Geoff came up with so much ingenious stuff that expanded the GL continuity, including the fact that it was the Fear Entity Parallax that made Hal do the things he did. But back in the time that this CONVERGENCE issue is based on, Hal was a broken man, haunted by the destruction of his hometown, Coast City, by the space tyrant Mongul. He was even different physically, looking older, with gray at his temples. The interesting thing for me is to revisit Hal, seeing him through the prism of present-day Hal, who is a much more well-rounded character. It's also cool to get to establish Hal and Kyle's friendship in a different way. In CONVERGENCE: GREEN LANTERN/PARALLAX Kyle is Hal's lifeline to sanity, his only friend in the wake of his rampage. It's a situation that says a lot about who they both are, and I'm pretty excited about the story we're telling and how it all ends up.
CV: Will this world be colliding with any other world?
TB: Back in CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, the city of Electropolis appeared for about three pages as their Earth was destroyed by the Anti-Monitor. But those three pages gave us Lady Quark, the super-hero Queen of Electropolis, along with a brief glimpse of her husband Lord Volt and daughter Princess Fern. Lady Quark and Lord Volt are featured in CONVERGENCE: SUPERGIRL, while Princess Fern will be the adversary set to battle with Kyle Rayner. And she turns out to be one tough cookie despite her name, but the big question is if Kyle can stop Parallax from wiping out Electropolis.
CV: What is it about this version of Hal Jordan that people find compelling?
TB: For some this is classic Hal, Silver Age Hal. For some this is Hal at his low point, and there's a sort of train wreck fascination to seeing him in this moment. But I think the biggest draw is that whether or not you approve of the Hal-goes-crazy storyline, it yielded so many things that are mainstays of the Lantern Universe. Kyle Rayner, Parallax the Fear Entity -- and by extension, the Emotional Spectrum and the other ring corps. A lot of great things rose from he ashes of Hal's rampage as Parallax.
CV: Where is Kyle at during this story?
TB: Kyle was among the JLA contingent that came to Metropolis to fight Parallax, so he was trapped there along with Hal. Since the dome went up, he's been trying to carry on like everyone else. And every day he visits the Police precinct where Hal sits in a jail cell and he tries to talk sense to the man who was once the greatest hero in the universe.
Thanks to Tony Bedard for answering our questions and make sure to check this book out on April 15th!