DC Hal Jordan Before 2000-01-01 | 1994 to 1999

Hal Jordan is a fictional superhero known as Green Lantern in the DC comics. Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern before 2000-01-01 was an important era of the Green Lantern’s timeline in comics.

The period leading up to 2000 was a significant and often exciting time for Hal Jordan in the DC Comics universe. During this time, storylines dramatically changed his character and the Green Lantern story.

In this article, I will talk about his history before the year 2000 because I know you are into knowing all the facts and hidden gems of this era. 

1994-1999: Years That Broke and Remade Hal Jordan

1. Emerald Twilight” (1994)

This controversial storyline tells how Hal Jordan falls into madness and becomes the villain “Parallax” after the destruction of his home, Coast City.

Hal Jordan was a Green Lantern, a hero with a powerful ring that runs on willpower. His home city, Coast City, got destroyed by a villain. He’s so broken by this that he tries to use his ring to bring the city back—like magic. But it doesn’t work. The city fades away again.

The bosses of the Green Lanterns (the Guardians) tell him he broke the rules by using his ring for himself. Hal doesn’t care. He’s angry. He wants more power. He starts taking rings from other Green Lanterns, even hurting them to get what he wants.

He goes to the Green Lanterns’ home planet, Oa, and fights everyone—even his old friend Kilowog. He kills Sinestro, his old enemy. Then, in his rage, he flies into the big power source that gives all the rings energy and destroys it.

This kills most of the Green Lanterns and their bosses. Hal isn’t a hero anymore—he’s now a villain called Parallax.

One Guardian, Ganthet, survives. He makes one last ring and gives it to a guy named Kyle Rayner, who becomes the only Green Lantern left.

After this, Hal stays a bad guy, fighting other heroes. You can Read the complete Emerald Twilight Green Lantern series on our website.

2. “Zero Hour: Crisis in Time!” (1994) 

As Parallax, Hal became the primary antagonist in this universe-altering event. 

Here’s the story of Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #0, told straight:

Hal Jordan—the guy who used to be Green Lantern—has lost it. He thinks the universe is broken, so he’s gonna wipe it out and start fresh. By the time this issue starts, he’s already erased almost everything. Only a handful of people are left—some heroes, some villains, all stuck watching as Hal plays god.

On his side, there’s:

• Extant, a time-traveling bad guy who used to be a hero named Hawk.
• Guy Gardner, another Green Lantern, but now he’s wearing some weird armor and isn’t sure if Hal’s right or crazy.
• Monarch, a future version of Hawk who’s been helping Hal wreck everything.
• Batgirl, but not the one we know—this Barbara Gordon never got shot, never became Oracle. She’s scared that if Hal fails, she’ll just blink out of existence.
• Alpha Centurion, a Superman-like guy from a world that’s already gone.

Meanwhile, a few heroes survived Hal’s destruction thanks to Waverider, a time-traveling hero. There’s Superman, Kyle Rayner (the new, young Green Lantern), Damage (a kid who can absorb energy and explode), Captain Atom, and Ray (Atom Smasher). They’re all that’s left to stop Hal.

Hal tries to sweet-talk them into joining him. He tells Superman he can bring back Krypton. He tells Captain Atom he can undo all the messed-up stuff that happened to him. But they’re not buying it.

Then The Spectre—basically God’s angry ghost—shows up. He stayed out of the fight before, but now that reality’s gone, he’s pissed. He and Hal throw down in this crazy cosmic brawl.

While they fight, the heroes come up with a plan: Damage will suck up Hal’s energy and blast him with it. But when they try, Batgirl jumps in front of Damage and takes the hit instead. As she dies, she says, “I only ever wanted to live.”

That’s the last straw for Extant. He was Hal’s friend once, and now he’s had enough. He shoots Hal with an arrow, and Hal goes down.

With Hal gone, The Spectre puts the universe back together. But not everything comes back—Batgirl and Alpha Centurion fade away, their worlds gone for good. Extant just stands there, realizing what he’s done. Monarch runs off like a coward.

And just like that, it’s over. The universe is back to normal. Hal’s dead. The heroes won. But it doesn’t feel like a happy ending—just an ending.

This issue finally makes Zero Hour worth it. Hal’s a great villain here because he’s not just evil—he really thinks he’s saving everyone. Batgirl’s death hits hard, and the fight feels big without being messy. If the whole crossover had been like this, it’d be a classic.

3. Becoming the Spectre (1999) 

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After Hal Jordan died saving Earth in The Final Night (1996), his soul stuck and could not rebirth into another life. A few years later, in Day of Judgment #5 (1999), he got a second chance—but not as a Green Lantern. The Spectre, God’s spirit of vengeance, needed a new host after the old one moved on. A rogue angel named Asmodel tried to take the Spectre’s power for himself, but DC’s magic heroes (like Zatanna and Doctor Fate) stepped in and picked Hal instead. They figured he was strong enough to handle it, plus he had a lot to make up for after his time as Parallax. So Hal merged with the Spectre, trading his ring for supernatural wrath.

This wasn’t just a random change—it was part of Hal’s redemption arc. For years, he worked as the Spectre, punishing evil but also wrestling with his own past. Eventually, this led to his return as Green Lantern in Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004), where fans learned Parallax wasn’t entirely Hal’s fault—he’d been possessed by an alien fear entity. But that’s another story. Point is, yes, Hal really did become the Spectre in 1999, and it was a big deal.

1990s Nostalgia: Hal Jordan’s Dramatic Fall from Hero to Villain Still Haunts Fans

Many of us still remember the 1990s Hal Jordan because that time felt real and emotional. We know even though he was not the usual heroic Green Lantern, his fall and struggle made his story powerful and we love that thing about Hal, don’t we?

He seem lost everything, made mistakes, and become something dark. And this thing happening to him stays in our minds. He was not perfect, and that made him feel more human like rest of us. His journey from hero to villain and then to the Spectre was full of pain, regret, and hope.

Hal’s portrayal showed a side of superheroes that is not clean or simple. Fans love that his choices had weight. Fans hardcore fans love and remember the time before 2000 because it was raw and full of change. Later versions often show Hal just saves the day, but the old era had deep stories that felt personal.