'Green Lantern 80th Anniversary Spectacular': The one Justice League member who humbled Hal Jordan
Spoilers for 'Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular'
Of all the Green Lanterns of Earth, Hal Jordan is the one with the most illustrious career, going above and beyond what has been asked of him in defense of the universe. However, Hal has always been a rather cocky individual and there is one Justice League member whom he credits with teaching him humility, the one teammate he respects above all else.
That person is none other than Batman himself. In a story titled 'Last Will' by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis, included in the 'Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular' landmark comic, Hal finds himself in a position where it is almost certain that he will die and so he sends out messages to all the people who matter to him. His first message is to the rest of the Green Lantern Corps and his last is to the love of his life, Carol Ferris. But the second message he sends is to Batman, to thank Bruce for everything he has done for Hal.
In that message, he reveals that from the first time he met Batman, Hal has been jealous of his intelligence and the respect Bruce commands from his fellow heroes. He also reveals that he has always felt like he took a shortcut to greatness by being given the ring when Bruce built himself into a legend without any superpowers or alien benefactors to help him.
Finally, he thanks Bruce for always being there for him, for helping him face his flaws and his fears, even when he was at his lowest point, hosting the fear entity Parallax. And he thanks Batman for teaching him how to be humble. Of course, in the end, it's revealed that he had just crashlanded in Nevada and not some distant lifeless planet as he thought he had. But that doesn't change the fact that Hal truly thought he might die and Batman was the one Justice League member he wanted to talk to.
People always talk about the love between Batman and Superman but what fans often forget is that Bruce has built relationships with a number of heroes. And it can be easy to forget that they all respect the Dark Knight, even if they need to think they're on their last breath to reveal just how much.
'Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular' one-shot issue was released in stores on June 24.