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A hero since he was a teenager, Harold Lawrence Jordan
represented two heroic legacies. That of his father, Lawrence Jordan aka the
original Air Wave, as well as his cousin and namesake,
Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern.
The story of Air Wave began in the early 1940's. As a clerk
to the local District Attorney, Lawrence "Larry" Jordan wanted to do more in
the fight against crime. Being something of an expert in radio science and
electronics, Larry Jordan created the heroic identity of Air Wave. While
wearing the costume, Air Wave could summon and control magnetic energy as
well as intercept telephone communications. Trick boots allowed him to walk
up walls and "ride" along telephone lines. The boots also had retractable
skates, giving Air Wave increased speed. Aside from protecting his secret
identity by wearing a mask when appearing as Air Wave, he wore glasses and a
fake mustache while appearing as Larry Jordan.
[DCCP # 40, WhW'85 # 1]
When FDR called America's so-called "mystery men" to band
together against the Axis menace, Air Wave became a member of the wartime
All-Star Squadron. Roughly fifty of the nation's costumed heroes, including
the Golden Age Green Lantern
Alan Scott, remained as part of the Squadron until the war's end.
[ALL-STAR SQUADRON # 1]
Larry Jordan and his wife Helen had one son, Harold
Lawrence Jordan who went by the name Hal. It is not known if they named
their son after his cousin, Hal Jordan, or another relative.
[DCCP # 55]
Fourteen years ago, Jordan improved his Air Wave costume,
most notably he now had the ability to convert his body to energy and ride
radio waves. One fateful night he was preparing himself to test his new
abilities when he heard a police report regarding a prowler at his house on
217 Elsmere Lane. Jordan attempted to activate the costume's radio-wave
converter only to find his costume dissolving around him. Putting on the
glasses and false mustache he wore as Larry Jordan, he ran downstairs to
face Joe Parsons, an escaped convict he had sent to jail some years before.
Jordan died while defending his family, one gunshot to the chest ended his
life while his wife and son watched.
Helen Jordan swore to bring Joe Parsons to justice. She
put on the green and yellow costume of Air Wave and tracked Parsons to an
apartment complex. Helen Jordan was not strong enough to defeat him with her
fists so she struck him with a floor lamp, jolting him with electricity.
Some weeks later, Helen Jordan testified against Joe
Parsons. Her husband's killer was returned to prison. She put away her
husband's Air Wave costume, noting to herself that one day he would take up
the title of Air Wave.
[DCCP # 40] |
