Line #8 ComicBook/EmeraldTwilight


1	[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1868110_green_lantern__1990_2nd_series__050.jpeg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:330:Hal Jordan will never be the same guy again.]]
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4	''Emerald Twilight'' is a 1994 ComicBook/GreenLantern storyline written by Creator/RonMarz with art by Darryl Banks. Spanning from ''ComicBook/GreenLantern1990'' #48-50, the storyline is notable for really shaking up the status quo for Green Lantern.
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6	The year is 1994. Riding off the high of ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman'' and ''ComicBook/{{Knightfall}}'', DC Comics was on a roll with creating YoungerAndHipper heroes and [[AntiHeroSubstitute Anti-Hero Substitutes]], but weren't happy that fans had (rightfully) caught on that the four pretender Supermen and Azbats weren't replacing the real Superman and Batman. So, they decided to really pull a fast one.
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8	During the third act of ''Reign of the Supermen'', Mongul and the Cyborg Superman eradicated Hal Jordan's hometown of Coast City. Hal, who was away in space at the time, would find the monstrous [[EternalEngine Engine City]] in its place, burst in, beat Mongul to a pulp and aided the returned Superman in shutting down the city and the Cyborg. But, it wasn't enough. Feeling empty, he used his Power Ring to recreate his hometown and everyone in it. The Guardians of the Universe, however, caught wind of this and sought to punish Hal for misusing his power. Going over the edge since the Guardians wouldn't even let him have a construction of his old life, Hal decided to seek out ultimate power, and his rampage would take the Green Lantern Corps with him.
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10	This story saw the complete and utter demolishing of the Green Lantern Corps (it had been done previously after ''ComicBook/CrisisOnInfiniteEarths'', but it didn't stick) and taking everything that was Hal Jordan's legacy with him as he was transformed into the villainous Parallax and saw it replaced with Kyle Rayner, who became [[LastOfHisKind last of the Green Lanterns]]. Guy Gardner, who had his own title at the time, was also affected as his own Green Lantern connections were severed and he was cast into the world of retcons. Hal Jordan would stay a villain, causing ''ComicBook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime'' but performing a HeroicSacrifice in ''ComicBook/FinalNight'', bonding with ComicBook/TheSpectre and ultimately returning to life and restoring the Corps with ''ComicBook/GreenLanternRebirth''.
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13	!!''Emerald Twilight'' contains examples of:
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15	%% PLEASE read Administrivia/ExampleIndentationInTropeLists
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17	* BackForTheDead: Sinestro's return during part 3. The character had not been seen for years, apart from an appearance as a spirit possessing John Stewart in Mosaic. Yet in what was meant to be Hal Jordan's final issue as Green Lantern, the Guardians seemingly resurrect Sinestro from his imprisonment inside the Central Power Battery in an attempt to stop Hal Jordan's rampage. It doesn't work, as Hal kills him by breaking his neck. Later stories would reveal that the Sinestro that died [[ActuallyADoombot was a Parallax-created illusion]] to help break Hal Jordan's will, but at the time this was meant to be the final showdown between Hal and Sinestro.
18	* BatmanGrabsAGun: Hal is so angry that he warns Sinestro that, if he does not go away, he would kill him. [[IWarnedYou And he really meant it]].
19	* CurbstompBattle: The Guardians sent several Lanterns to stop Hal from reaching Oa. Blinded by rage, Hal cuts through all of them, takes their rings, and leaves them for dead.
20	* DespairEventHorizon:
21	** For Hal, it's the destruction of Coast City, though the refusal of the Guardian who appears after his ring runs out of power to even acknowledge Hal's grief seems to be what finally causes Hal to cross the line.
22	** For the Guardians, seeing Hal's rampage taking out the Corps forces the Guardians to free Sinestro to face him.
23	* EspeciallyZoidberg: Hal can not believe that those damned Guardians sent even Kilowog against him. Kilowog corrected him: they sent ''especially'' him.
24	* FallenHero: The story is about Hal's fall from grace into villainy.
25	* FaceHeelTurn: Hal Jordan, the irony of which Sinestro takes especial delight in pointing out. For the most part, Hal's too far gone and angry to realise it, though he does have a brief moment of MyGodWhatHaveIDone after killing Kilowog.
26	* {{Foreshadowing}}: At the very end of the issue before the storyline begins, Olivia Reynolds checks her Green Lantern toy samples and notes that "GL Number One lost his head!" And the Sinestro figure is grinning ominously.
27	* TheGodsMustBeLazy: The almighty Guardians of the Universe, who just forty issues earlier had been capable of completely draining a Green Lantern ring of energy and of wielding the power of the planet Oa in order to maintain the Mosaic World composed of dozens of biospheres, are suddenly incapable of stopping Hal Jordan's rampage. He accuses them of being "impotent shams". While the Guardians prefer to let the Corps do the work of policing the universe, they've always been willing to act when a big enough threat appeared... until this story required them not to act, so the desired dramatic outcome could be reached.
28	* IShouldHaveDoneThisYearsAgo: Said by Hal right before getting ready to kill Sinestro. Sinestro says, "You know, you probably should ha--" before getting KilledMidSentence.
29	* KilledOffForReal: Sinestro and Kilowog... until retcons changed their status, of course.
30	* LastOfHisKind: By the end of the saga, Kyle Rayner would be the last Green Lantern while Ganthet would be the last Guardian.
31	* MoodWhiplash: Whoo-boy. The book goes from Hal finding the remains of Coast City, to a happy-go-lucky team-up with ComicBook/GreenArrow to ''this''.
32	* NarratorAllAlong: Who is narrating the fights between Hal Jordan and the other Green Lanterns? The narrator reveals himself at the end of the issue. He is [[spoiler:Sinestro]].
33	* NeckSnap: The way Hal Jordan finally killed Sinestro.
34	* NothingIsTheSameAnymore: By the time issue 50 is done, the old Green Lantern mythos is destroyed as the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe are no more, paired down to one man of each.
35	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: When the Guardians refuse to give him the power to recreate Coast City (or even acknowledge his grief at all), Hal ''snaps.'' The Lanterns sent by the Guardians to intercept this rampage did not fare well.
36	* SanitySlippage: Hal's already well into one by the start of the storyline, best shown by the conversation he has with his 'father'. Seeing as its actually a construct Hal's making and controlling, Hal's dad's comments do not indicate a stable mind on Hal's part. He completely jumps off the slippery slope when the Guardians threaten to take away his ring.
37	* SeriesContinuityError:
38	** Used deliberately. When Hal Jordan is on his rampage towards Oa, the Guardians are seemingly powerless to stop him. They send out the various other Green Lanterns to intercept him,and finally release Sinestro from the main power battery. In the end, they sit there and watch as Hal flies into the battery to steal all the power for himself. And yet, not that many issues earlier, one of the Guardians had completely depowered John Stewart's ring, and in the classic ''Green Lantern/Green Arrow'' run, the Guardians at one point weakened Hal Jordan's ring so his power was much more limited. The Guardians have long been shown to have near complete control over the rings when they choose, and should have been able to stop Jordan dead in space or on Earth, long before he ever got to Oa, a fact that was ignored so that the plot could play out the way the editors wanted it to.
39	** Hal killing Kilowog shouldn't have been possible. The history and lore wasn't entirely consistent, but it was generally the case that the Guardians did not allow Green Lanterns to use lethal force, and the power rings could not deliver it. In fact it's a huge plot point years later during ''Sinestro Corps War'' when the Guardians authorize lethal force. But the editors wanted to make Hal irredeemable, and killing his best friend showed how far gone he was, so once again continuity went out the window.
40	* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: Hal's entire motivation once he starts towards Oa is to get enough power to undo the destruction of Coast City and all the deaths that Mongul caused. He's driven to change the past, and no one is going to stop him. Of course, once he actually gets the power he's looking for, he gets bigger ideas... ComicBook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime.
41	* SlasherSmile: Hal has a pretty impressive one on the [[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/green-lantern-49-emerald-twilight-part-2-the-prese/4000-38599/ cover to issue #49]], as he shows the collected rings of the Green Lantern Corps.
42	* ShutUpHannibal: Sinestro is always game for a good villain gloat. Hal Jordan has no patience for him right now.
43	* StartOfDarkness: This is the story of how Hal Jordan became the villain Parallax.
44	* TooDumbToLive: After stranding several Green Lanterns in space (where they probably would have died) while on his way to Oa to take nearly limitless power from the Central Power Battery, Hal arrives on Oa. Jordan removes his power ring, effectively making him a normal human, and the Guardians, who have power on a cosmic scale (give or take) just let him walk into the central power battery. They knew Jordan would kill them if he had the chance, and they practically let him. The central power battery explodes, revealing Hal Jordan as Parallax. All but one of the Guardians died, and for no good reason.
45	** It's supposed to be because the Guardians [[AlienNonInterferenceClause don't directly interfere in anything.]] They tried that with the Manhunters and it didn't work out so well, which is why they give their powers to local mortals throughout the universe instead of doing everything themselves. It's still taken to the extreme here and later stories show the Guardians occasionally willing to get involved (at least some of them). Most times, it seems like no matter what they do, the writers make it backfire on them. Get involved, don't get involved, they will choose whichever is the wrong option and get a lecture from beings they are supposed to be vastly superior to.
46	** Especially problematic since, only 48 issues earlier, the Guardians had directly and personally fought and killed the Old Timer.
47	** Not to mention that the Guardians had often been shown as perfectly capable of weakening a power ring or removing all the energy from it immediately. They could have stopped Hal dead in his tracks any time they liked.
48	* UnstablePoweredWoman: Gender-inverted with Hal Jordan, where his response to Coast City being destroyed by Mongul was to use his Power Ring to mentally recreate the city down to every living thing, including his dead parents. When the Guardians of the Universe told him to stop, he stole every Power Ring but one, killed every other Green Lantern, including his old enemy Sinestro, and would eventually try to remake the universe as he saw fit in ''ComicBook/ZeroHourCrisisInTime''.
49	* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Jordan resurrecting Coast City as ring constructs is treated as a sign of his fading mental stability, despite Kilowog having done this exact trick with his entire race and being lauded as a hero.

Context ComicBook / EmeraldTwilight