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Warning: contains spoilers for The Green Lantern, Season 2 #12!
Fans of Green Lantern just got some disturbing revelations about the inner workings of the Emerald Knight’s creepiest villain. Hal Jordan has had to face down some heavy hitters in his time, from the tyrannical Sinestro to Parallax the living embodiment of fear. But among the most frightening villains of DC’s most fearless hero is Hector Hammond. And while he may not pose the physical threat that Sinestro and his self-named Lantern Corps does, Hammond has proven to be a constant and deadly thorn in Jordan’s side.
After a freak encounter with a meteorite, Hector Hammond gained super-intelligence and psychic powers, but at a terrible cost. Earlier appearances depicted him as a regular man with a giant, swollen brain. More modern books have twisted the villain into something deeply horrifying, emphasizing the petty, venal nature at Hammond’s core to give Green Lantern a devastatingly dangerous villain, but one many fans will recognize from real life. Now, having taken Hal’s ring and gathered his many enemies, Hammond has been positioned as the final villain of Grant Morrison and Liam Sharp’s The Green Lantern.
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The final showdown takes place on the medieval fantasy world of Athmoora, a planet frozen in time that Hal uses as a kind of high-fantasy vacation spot. Tying into themes and story beats recurring throughout the series, The Green Lantern, Season 2 #12 and its preceding issue see Athmoora under invasion by the Golden Giants, who have chosen Hammond as a convenient stooge. With sword in hand and some stock fantasy characters at his back, Hal takes down a host of familiar faces, making his way to Hammond. But it’s in this final confrontation that Hammond reveals a dark truth about his real desires in fighting Hal.
Hammond declares that this victory will only be the first of many, and that he and Hal Jordan can fight again and again for all time, “Green Lantern and his immortal enemy.” Despite a powerset that could make him a god, all Hammond cares about is proving himself Hal’s better for the rest of time. It’s a darkly obsessive and pathetic motive, but it makes for some interesting characterization for a character who is apparently so intelligent. In the early pages, Hector Hammond actually takes over the comic, admitting some of his chief drives are irritation about their past romantic competition and the pure status of being someone who killed a superhero.
The villain’s need for meaningless conflict stands in stark contrast to Hal’s earnest desire to help people – where Hammond is obsessed with repeating the same process, Hal wants results that benefit the world, making the villain a fantastic comment on what makes Hal Jordan such an iconic Green Lantern. Strangely, in revealing how vile and pathetic he truly is, Hector Hammond proves himself to be the perfect foil, making Hal’s virtues all the more prominent by comparison.
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