Episode six of Lanterns season one just pulled in one of the most important supporting characters in Green Lantern comics. At Hal Jordan’s sparsely attended funeral, one person from his past appeared: his longtime on again/off again love interest, Carol Ferris, played by Amie MacKenzie from Dexter. Originally, Carol was just the Lois Lane equivalent for Green Lantern. She was a feisty brunette who was Hal’s co-worker, from whom Hal kept his identity secret. But eventually, in a twist, she became one of Green Lantern’s most notorious foes, the Star Sapphire. And these days, she is actually a superhero and a member of Justice League Unlimited.
Carol Ferris Was Hal Jordan’s Boss as Well as Love Interest
Carol Ferris first appeared in Showcase #22 from 1959. The very same issue that ushered in Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern into DC Comics lore. Designed by artist Carmine Infantino to look like Elizabeth Taylor, Carol Ferris was the daughter of Ferris Aircraft owner and CEO, Carl Ferris. She eventually took over the day-to-day duties of running Ferris Air, becoming Hal’s boss. Because of her “no dating employees” policy, she and Hal never truly became an item. This was despite their very obvious attraction to each other.
Much like Superman kept his secret identity from Lois Lane, Hal refused to tell Carol he was really Green Lantern. Modern comics explained that Carol was an accomplished pilot herself. But she gave up her flying dreams to take over her dad’s company. 21st century era comics also revealed that she and Hal have been friends since childhood, and she was even there the day Hal’s father died in a tragic flight accident.
Carol Ferris Becomes Star Sapphire, One of Green Lantern’s Worst Enemies
In Green Lantern #16 from 1962, Carol Ferris became one of Hal Jordan’s deadliest recurring enemies, the Star Sapphire. The Zamarons, an ancient alien race who were the female counterparts to the Guardians of the Universe, the Green Lantern Corps’ bosses, now considered them enemies. Once they discover Carol’s love for Green Lantern Hal Jordan, they kidnap her. They infuse her with the power of a gem called the Star Sapphire, brainwashing her into becoming Green Lantern’s enemy. With the gem, she had violet-colored energy powers identical to a Green Lantern’s. Eventually, after her relationship with Hal never worked out, she accepted a marriage proposal fromal from someone else. But that marriage never happened.
Carol and Hal Jordan Spend Decades as Enemies and Lovers
Hal and Carol battled on and off for years. And each time Green Lantern defeated Star Sapphire, Carol would return to normal with no memory of her other self. Hal would find a way to make Carol forget what her other personality did. Other times, the Zamarons would wipe the knowledge from her mind. This caused a dynamic for years where Carol and Hal were either dating, or fighting each other. For a time, Ferris Air flight attendant Debbie Darnell stole the Star Sapphire gem from Carol, and became Star Sapphire II. But somehow, Carol always got the power back, and became a villain again. Even though she wouldn’t remember.
The Most Extreme Version of Star Sapphire Murders John Stewart’s Wife
In the ’80s, Carol Ferris became possessed by an alien entity again, this time, a male one called the Predator. (Nope, no relation to the cinematic alien big game hunter.) DC eventually revealed this male entity as a parasitic creature from the planet Maltus, the original home of the Guardians and Zamarons. The Predator fully takes control of Carol, and she becomes the worst version yet of Star Sapphire. This version seeks revenge on Hal by killing his friend, Katma Tui. Katma was an alien ex-Green Lantern now married to John Stewart. When Hal refused to let John take revenge on Carol for his wife’s murder, it caused a rift between them. Eventually, the Green Lantern Corps fully purges Carol of any alien personalities. She moves on with her life, and marries a man named Gil Johns. But that relationship ends in divorce, because Carol can’t get over Hal.
Redemption: In Modern Comics, Carol Ferris Becomes a Heroic Star Sapphire
In the 2000s era, writer Geoff Johns returned Carol to the Star Sapphire role, but this time, as a hero. In modern comics, the Zamarons began an intergalactic peacekeeping corps of their own, each equipped with violet rings powered by love. This is much like how Green Lantern rings draw energy from willpower, or yellow rings draw power from fear. Given her past association with the name “Star Sapphire,” Carol refuses at first. But when the Zamarons tell her she was chosen because she harbors great love for Hal Jordan, despite how he’s often ruined their relationship, she says yes. Especially as the Zamarons tell her she will be crucial in saving Hal’s life in an upcoming crisis against the Black Lantern Corps.
Carol and Hal Still Can’t Make It Work, But She Does Join the Justice League
Despite all of this, and clearly having strong feelings for each other, Carol Ferris and Hal still can’t make it work out romantically, for one reason or another. Carol even dates Hal’s much younger replacement, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, for a brief time. She even runs off to Las Vegas to marry a man named Nathan Broome, but she leaves him at the altar to go help Hal Jordan, because she realizes she still loves him. And yet, the two do not officially become a couple. Despite her messy relationship with Hal, in current DC Comics, Carol has embraced her heroic role as Star Sapphire and joined the Justice League Unlimited.
Carol Ferris and Star Sapphire in Outside-Comics Media
Carol, primarily as Star Sapphire, has appeared in many animated series, like Justice League, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, DC Super Hero Girls, and Green Lantern: The Animated Series. In the latter, she was voiced by Jennifer Hale, who famously plays another woman frequently possessed by a cosmic entity, Jean Grey, in various Marvel media like X-Men ’97. In live-action, Carol was portrayed by actress Blake Lively in the 2011 Green Lantern film. Ironically, that film is where she met her future husband, Ryan Reynolds, who she has been with now for fifteen years. They have had the opposite relationship trajectory of the characters they portrayed, who can never make it work.
Nerdist’s Take: The DCU Carol Ferris That Appears in Lanterns May Have an Interesting Past
In the Lanterns series, Carol Ferris shows up for Hal Jordan’s funeral in 2026. John Stewart instantly recognizes her, so their relationship by this point must be public knowledge. It seems in the DCU, the two had a similar rocky on again/off again romance, presumably for decades, as Carol appears to be Hal’s age, more or less. There’s no indication she was ever a supervillain, much less a superhero. But then again, Hal Jordan was Earth’s Green Lantern for literally decades, so who knows if that ever happened. But if it did, it’s not mentioned in Lanterns. Still, Carol is a huge part of Hal’s backstory, so it’s nice she was acknowledged by the series. If a future prequel season of Lanterns covers Hal’s history, we may yet see a lot more of Carol, and maybe Star Sapphire, in the DCU.