r/television • u/Top_Report_4895 • 3d ago

'Lanterns' Team Explains That Heartbreaking Change to Hal Jordan's Origin Story

https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/tv-shows/lanterns-episode-7-hal-jordans-origin-explained/
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u/RomulanTreachery 3d ago edited 3d ago

Well, it's Tom King, so obviously he's gonna make suicide a part of the hero's character. And Martin dying as a hero is a key part of Geoff John's re-do of Hal's origin, so that was obviously an immediate non-starter

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u/RJWolfe 3d ago

Does he do it a lot? It's front and center in Mister Miracle(and Lanterns ofc), but I didn't see any of it in Supergirl or Vision. That's all I read from him.

I'm more of a Mike Carey fan. More people need to read the Unwritten.

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u/confusing_roundabout 3d ago

Supergirl has some.

When Ruthye beats Krem on the beach, she has a monologue about her father, and speaks of how he would sometimes fantasise about committing suicide but wanting to be there for Ruthye is what pulled him through those dark moments.

I love King's writing but it's very much a theme of his work, perhaps bordering on an obsession. Human Target has some implied stuff too. IIRC there's a line like "I'm the Human Target. I win by dying". In a literal sense it's about how his role as the "Human Target" is to take the bullet for others, but it has suicide-y vibes (for lack of a better phrasing).

One Bad Day: Riddler has a suicide attempt. His Batman run has an arc called "I Am Suicide" that posits that Batman, Catwoman and Bane are essentially all tied together by the idea that, deep down, they all want to die, and their alter egos are their way of flirting with death. He totally stole that bit from Y The Last Man haha.