Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004) as a Metaphor for Overcoming Addiction/Substance Abuse

General Discussion Comic Books
#1

Some heavy subject matter ahead so you’ve been warned.

So, I finished reading Geoff Johns’ Green Lantern: Rebirth last night. It’s the second time I’ve read it- the first time as a much younger man of 17 or 18. It hit differently for me now because, at 32 I’ve been a little over two years sober, and I see Hal Jordan’s journey from Parallax’s host back to his former glory as the greatest of the Green Lanterns to be evocative of my experience in recovering and reaching sobriety. I don’t think this was intended by Johns or any of the the other creative teams; it just happens to be something, as Tolkien might have said, that was applicable rather than allegorical.

I felt I recognized so many things in it. Carol Ferris has moved on from Hal while he’s been in the grips of Parallax. Some friends like John Stewart and Oliver Queen stand by Hal and support him; some like Bruce Wayne skeptical of the idea that he’ll ever change. Fighting to split from Parallax evokes quitting; the fight with Sinestro and his constant taunting, withdrawals. Issue 4, page 21’s green thought text boxes could be some of my own.

I didn’t get past my alcoholism through strength, or speed, or intelligence- it was pure willpower. Making it happen because I wanted things to change.

And Hal’s place at the end of the story is a familiar one to me, too. A lot of your friends are glad to have the old you back, while others still don’t trust you or believe you’ve really changed. But you feel you’ve made a clean break. I just see a lot of it as applicable to what I’ve gone through in real life, and it means quite a bit more to me than it did when I read it when I was young.

Anyway, I wanted to share as I think it makes for interesting discussion and if anyone out there is struggling with something that requires a heavy dose of your willpower, it makes for a good, inspiring read.

The brightest days are ahead. :slight_smile:

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#2

First of all I just wanted to congratulate you on your sobriety. :smiley:

Second, while I agree I’m not sure if that was Johns’ intent when writing it, I can definitely see the allegory. Thank you for sharing with us. :smiley:

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#3

Thank you, I appreciate it!

I don’t think that was the intent- I just recognize the metaphor as being there if you want to see it as such. A lot of stories have that universality that we project a bit of ourselves onto the characters and struggles. I just wanted to highlight this one as hits a particular way given my own experiences, and also why i mentioned applicability vs allegory.

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#4

I really liked reading your perspective. :slight_smile: This is one of the main reasons why Green Lantern (and Hal specifically) is my favorite superhero. As much as I like Superman, or even Batman, they can be a little harder for me to relate to, but everyone in life has situations that they can only overcome by willpower.

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#5

Seeing this thread has also made me surprised that this isn’t a topic that they’ve used in the GLC stories. Like, maybe they don’t want to do that with any of their human Lanterns, but maybe they could approach this story with one of their alien cast?

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#6

In a sense they covered addiction back in the famous GL/GA story with Speedy being discovered to be addicted to heroin. For the most part, the Green Lanterns would likely be the least likely candidates to have an actual literal problem with substance abuse or addiction due to being chosen for willpower. Certainly there have been plenty of comics stories that deal explicitly with substance abuse- Roy Harper as previously mentioned, Batman during the Venom arc, and Bane obviously also on the flip side of that. Over at the competition there’s the Iron Man classic “Demon in a Bottle” and I’m sure there are other examples.

I think using fantasy ideas like Parallax inhabiting Hal leaves it abstract enough that a reader can take their own meaning from it, as I did. Different people will bring different perspectives to their reading of a story, and that’s where my mind was.

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#7

I don’t see why being capable of having the ring would make them unlikely to deal with problems of addiction. The requirement is being able to overcome fear, after all, and it’s something that could happen after getting the ring – with all the horrible crap that a GL endures to protect their sector, some might seek any means to try to escape or numb themselves from it.

But yeah, I can totally understand wanting to make it abstract or fantasy. That’s part of why I suggested an alien Lantern to deal with it – that way it can be some sort of alien drug like…red spice.

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#8

Wow…never looked at it that way until now. Great analysis!

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