credit: Marvel Comics
This matchup almost feels like a serious mismatch, but after taking into account what both characters can do, the Green Lantern isn’t a pushover, and even without the rest of the Corps backing him up, Hal Jordan is a capable individual that has done incredible things in the comics. His live-action appearance left a lot to be desired, enough that even Ryan Reynolds hasn’t held back when it comes to roasting himself, but it still feels as though Hal couldn’t possibly be expected to stand up to someone like Thor. Sure, Hal has a strong will, he’s one of the greatest Green Lanterns to ever exist, and he’s someone that many people feel the need to defend when it comes to his power levels and his efficiency in the comics. But Thor is a character that’s been taken from actual mythology and has been given even more power in the comics, which is impressive since he was a god, to begin with, and has become someone that can, at his base levels, take on Green Lantern and emerge victorious. Even at Hal’s best, he couldn’t hope to stand up to Thor when he’s really powered up and ready to lay the hammer down.
credit: DC Comics
Hal and Thor are both extremely cocky at times, but Thor can usually back it up.
There are a few similarities between these two characters, and one of them is that both get a little too confident now and then and decide to act a bit cocky. Over the centuries, though, Thor has shown the ability to mature and to know when to shut up and get the job done. To his own credit, Hal has taken his role as a Green Lantern seriously and has done his duty quite often. But the problem here is that while both men have the right to be cocky, in a fight such as this, it’s easy to see why Thor would be able to back up his brash nature since the amount of power that he wields at base level is enough to give Hal a serious problem, while his ascension from his normal form to such forms as Rune King Thor would be enough to eclipse the power of the ring, no matter how much fanboys want to cry foul and point out moments in the comics where GL has been shown to be a universal threat or savior.
There’s a big discrepancy when it comes to their endurance since Hal’s ring has to recharge. Mjolnir doesn’t need to.
There’s no universal battery that Mjolnir needs to plug into so that it can recharge since Thor is the power source, and the hammer augments that force. On the other hand, Hal’s ring does run out of juice after a prolonged period of use, meaning that if he tried to wage a pitched battle against Thor, it’s very likely that he would end up losing very quickly since Thor’s endurance is legendary. It’s possible that GL could come up with a way to retreat and find a quiet spot to recharge his ring since, to be fair, he’s not stupid enough to sit there and slug it out with someone when his ring is bound to give him warnings this power is flagging. But if anyone thinks that Thor would give him that much breathing room in a death match, it’s fair to say that they haven’t read much about the Asgardian and his own tenacity when it comes to taking down an opponent.
credit: Marvel Comics
Hal can go back in time? Okay, then, hopefully, he can deal with Odin.
It’s been seen that Hal can go back in time and change things, so one theory might ask why he wouldn’t go back in time to when Thor was younger and more inexperienced and wax him then. It is a death match, after all, and the morals are off. But there’s one massive problem there, and his name is Odin. While Odin hasn’t always been the best parent, he doesn’t take kindly to anyone messing with his people, let alone his children, and if Hal decided to take on Odin in his prime, it’s not too likely that the Green Lantern Corps would be able to depend on Hal to return to his own time since Odin would likely erase him from history for daring to mess with a younger Thor.
One-on-one, Hal has no chance.
If the rest of the Green Lantern Corps were to fight with him, Hal might stand a chance since he would have thousands of rings assaulting Thor on all fronts. But one-on-one, Hal doesn’t have what it takes to beat Thor since even his light constructs are obstacles that Thor would shatter like glass. As to the level of power they can draw on, Thor’s is fairly constant, while Hal’s needs a recharge now and then.