In-Universe History · 1993
The Fall of Coast City
Seven million lives lost — and Hal Jordan breaks.
1993
The story
During Reign of the Supermen, the villain Mongul destroyed Coast City — Hal Jordan's home — killing seven million people in an instant. The blast is depicted in Superman (vol. 2) #80 (1993, Jurgens). Hal arrived too late, and the grief broke him.
When the Guardians forbade him from using his ring to resurrect the city, Hal snapped. He tried to rebuild Coast City with pure willpower — the haunting image of Green Lantern #48 (January 1994, Marz/Banks) shows him kneeling in the rubble, ring blazing, screaming at the sky. The Guardians called it a violation of his oath. Hal called it justice.
The Fall of Coast City is the trigger for Emerald Twilight — Hal's march on Oa, the death of the Corps, and his transformation into Parallax. It remains the defining tragedy of the Green Lantern mythos, the moment the greatest hero fell.
Green Lantern (1990) #48 — main cover. Darryl Banks (cover pencils); Romeo Tanghal (cover inks). Artwork source & details.
Artwork credits (1 image)
Credits refer to the illustrations shown here. Open a record for sources, adaptations and unresolved details. Some artwork and source pages contain story spoilers.
- Coast City Gl48 — Green Lantern (1990) #48 — main cover. Darryl Banks (cover pencils); Romeo Tanghal (cover inks).