The inspiration for the new character came from DC editor Julius Schwartz, a lifelong science fiction fan. Superheroes in the age of Sputnik Though rooted in space opera, this Green Lantern was a product of 1950s America. Hal Jordan went to the stars in October 1959, more than two years before John Glenn made history in Friendship 7. Casting the new hero as a test pilot reflected America's growing obsession with space. Since the first U.S. astronauts came from the test pilot ranks, Jordan represented an idealized version of these real-world space pioneers.
Otherworldly situations are a superhero's stock in trade.
In Hal Jordan, Kane depicted a hero who was at home no matter what the universe decided to throw his way. His art provided the readers with dynamic images that did the work of their mind's eye for them. His figures were lithe, constantly in motion and active, rather than muscle-bound. Though he worked on an interstellar canvas, Kane never lost sight of the essential humanity of the stories he illustrated. The strips became a basis for self-development and the beginning of a mature professional identity.