But Hal's plans for romance take a downturn later in the story, as Carol's father announces that he and his wife are going on a tour around the world, and that she will be in charge of the plant during his absence. This results in a definite cooling of their relationship (as she must be responsible and not fall in love), and when she discovers that there's a new superhero in town he's permanently demoted to the "B" list:
And at the ball:
But inevitably danger arises, and GL has to run out on Carol in mid-kiss, putting him (temporarily) in her doghouse.
In the next issue, GL purposely dates quite a few women, making sure that the gossip columnists report it prominently. But rather than getting him in dutch with Carol (and helping Hal's chances), his trick only makes him more appealing, and when Hal mentions that he's struck up a friendship with GL, she puts him on the spot suggesting that they go out for dinner as a threesome. Hal realizes:
Well, Hal, it's your own stupid fault for dancing every dance with her and giving her that big kiss at the end as Green Lantern. But do you think he learned from his mistake? Nope, at the end of the story:
And so for the next few years, periodically we'd see scenes like this:
Perhaps the most embarrassing moment comes in Showcase #24, when Carol reveals that she had a dream where she married Hal, but was bitterly disappointed that GL didn't show up to stop the ceremony and sweep her away. But as she and Hal started on their honeymoon an emergency occurred requiring GL's presence and as Hal changed into the Emerald Gladiator Carol realized that she had married both Hal and GL at the same time. And this dream made her waking self wonder if perhaps they were the same man:
Now that's pretty cold. "I had this nightmare where I married you and Green Lantern didn't rescue me, but it turned out okay because you were Green Lantern yourself, so tell me, are you GL?"
