Or – “Cry Havoc, And Let Slip The Translucent Yellow Energy Dogs Of War.”
The first shots have been fired, and the GLC is forced to regroup from the completely unexpected attack of Sinestro. The inter-Corps Worps… Err, Car War… CORPS WAR, rather, has begun, and the first salvo was quick and brutal, fitting the personality of the vicious former Korugarian dictator who masterminded it all. With Lanterns by the dozens killed, the most experienced of the space cops sporting bloody noses, and even the Torchbearer himself corrupted, I (and more than a few of the GL’s) are wanting to know what the big blue midgets have planned as a counterstrike…
Previously, on Green Lantern: Sinestro was once the greatest of the Lanterns, obliterating war and disease on his home planet. Unfortunately, to achieve this end, he had to take complete control of the planet and rule with an iron fist (not THAT Iron Fist.) Overthrown by Hal Jordan (his former trainee and heir apparent as greatest Lantern) he was thrust into the antimatter universe of Qward, and created his yellow power ring. Years passed, and the Corps came apart due to the actions of Hal Jordan himself (possessed by Parallax, the ‘ghost in the machine’ responsible for the GL’s yellow impurity, imprisoned for centuries in the central battery of Oa) and young Kyle Rayner was, for a time, the only Green Lantern in the entire universe. Now, Hal and Sinestro have both refused to go quietly into that good night, returning from the shores of the afterlife (though, presumably, from opposite ends of the spectrum) and a new GLC has been built, but Sinestro has recruited a Corps of his own, consisting of the most frightful creatures in the universe. After an attack on Oa freed Hank Henshaw and the Earth-Prime Superb– excuse me, I mean Tom Welling-Prime, the Lanterns try to regain their footing, as the central power battery reads the casualty list… which continues growing.
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Surveying the carnage around him, Hal sees an old friend, Tomar-Tu of Xudar, (presumably a cousin of classic Lantern Tomar Re) and goes to help him. But Hal has forgotten that Tomar, while once a friend, is one of those Lanterns that he (as Parallax) knocked the bajeezus out of and left for dead. A quick blast from another power ring pushes Jordan back, and KE’Haan and the other “Lost Lanterns” step in to help their comrade. “I stole their rings,” thinks Hal, “and left them for dead in space. They remind EVERYONE of that, every chance they get.” And, honestly, deservedly so. Hal understand the venom aimed at him, but Guy Gardner isn’t interested in hearing their separatist crap at a time like this…
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I don’t know about you, but I suspect that Kilowog just saved KE’Haan from a patented Guy Gardner keister-kicking. As for John’s point, the Guardians are a bit busy arguing among themselves to deal with their soldiers. The last chapter of the Book of Oa, a hidden chapter called “The Blackest Night,” must be destroyed, forgotten forever, say the majority of the Guardians. Foremost midget Ganthet and new female Guardian Sayd disagree, repeating their assertion that only by knowing what may be coming, by embracing emotion to temper their logic, can they survive what WILL come. “The prophecy of the darkest night,” says Sayd, “WILL come to pass!”
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This, by the way, refers to an old Alan Moore story where we finally were given the answer to the question, “Why was Abin Sur traveling in a SHIP, when the rings give Lanterns the ability to fly in space?” Answer: an inter-dimensional fear demon made him distrust his ring, and to avoid a catastrophic failure of his life support, Abin chose to fly a ship. Ironically, the ship is what killed him… Either way, the Guardians believe in majority rule, and the forbidden chapter is destroyed. Meanwhile, in sector 555, Karu-Sil of the Sinestro Corps kills and elephantine Green Lantern, and prepares to follow the ring to it’s next home, killing THAT Lantern as well. Her ring informs her that it has insufficient power, and Karu quickly grabs her doggies a “snack.”
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That’s just plain ingenious, not to mention pure evil. Across the universe, sayeth John Lennon, bad things happen, as Lantern after Lantern is hunted, tortured, and joyfully slaughtered. Hidden somewhere, Sinestro and his lieutenants, Cyborg-Superman and Tom Welling-Prime, enjoy the pain being inflicted. “Fear is spreading,” sneers Sinnie through his little David Niven cartoon moustache. “Then I get what I WANT!” whines Tom-Prime, “You said I get what I WANT, Sinestro.” The Pink Skull assures him that they will ALL get what they desire, “and the universe will be better for it. Back on Oa, Ganthet and Sayd covertly contact young Harold J, telling the former greatest GL that it’s time for him to step up and LEAD the GLC, to retake his role as greatest of the Corps. Hal refuses, pointing out that only Sinestro and he have ever been asked to handle that particular task, and it broke them both…
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Hal takes off, angry that Ganthet knows his one hidden fear, and is joined by John and Guy, who quickly hit the air to top off their “tanks” and take the battle to Sinestro’s soldiers. “Salaak said the Guardians are orderin’ all the Corps members to Oa to prepare for a second attack,” reports Guy, “but they’re sending the Lost Lanterns ta Qward after Ion.” John looks at Hal, and states outright, “Then that’s where WE’RE goin’, right?” Hal seems to silently agree, and the three most experienced warriors in the Guardians army hit the main power battery, but as they hit the last word of their oath, a burst of gold feedback explodes out of the central battery…
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Parallax quickly gobbles up Hal, absorbing him and surrounding him with a perfect recreation of his worst memory: that one fear he’s never conquered. A young Hal, maybe ten years old, proudly holds his father’s flight jacket, watching Papa Jordan race across the sky in a fighter jet. “My dad’s flying that plane!” he proudly tells a young girl, but little Carol Ferris (for it is indeed her) is not impressed. “My dad OWNS that plane.” A horrified Hal tries to affect the illusion, but it’s just a memory, an echo of the past, and he’s brought to tears knowing that he can’t do anything but watch what’s coming. A sudden system failure brings Jordan the elder to make the decision every pilot dreads…
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“That’s what you’re still frightened of, isn’t it?” taunts Parallax in Hal’s brain. “You’re afraid that your father died in fear.” Parallax has brought Hal to his knees, surrounded by the illusion of the wreck that killed his daddy, and suddenly the man himself walks out of the flames, wearing the body of Kyle Rayner. “I’ve always taken what you’ve done and made it BETTER, Hal,” sneers Rayner’s voice under ‘Lax control. “I never asked to be a member of the Green Lantern Corps, but when Ganthet gave me the ring, I though it’d be cool… I made the COSTUME cool.” You made the costume hideous, but maybe that’s just me. “Don’t talk like you’re Kyle,” Jordan snaps, and Parallax just laughs. Hal tells him that they will stop Parallax again, that it only took FIVE Lanterns last time to beat him and now there are thousands. “You’re speaking of friends like John Stewart and Guy Gardner. Ha.” Hal suddenly realizes that his friends are gone and Kyle-allax laughs again… I’m unclear as to what happens next, but I *THINK* that John and Guy have been transformed into the images of Kyle himself, as the rest of the Sinestros close in.
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I know that this development has Rayner fans in an uproard, but not to worry, folks. I suspect that it’s going to take Kyle himself to defeat Parallax this time, and I agree with Hal in his assessment that LEADING the Corps would be as bad an idea as it has been before. It will take much more than just Hal calling the shots to overturn the scoreboard this time. The Lost Lanterns, Ganthet, Ion, John and Guy, even the Guardians themsevles will all be key to this victory. If Sinestro is going to fall, folks, it’s going to have to be a group effort.
I very much liked this issue, even given a few questions with the clarity of the storytelling. The returning motif of Alan Moore’s (once-forgotten) GLC short stories puts a smile on my old-school face, and I’m really quite enjoying the corruption of Kyle. It’s pretty clear that this is meant to be the setup for the kid’s big moment, a day when Kyle Rayner will prove beyond a shadow that he IS, WAS, and always SHOULD HAVE BEEN a Green Lantern, even if he becomes Ion again to do it. There’s no reason why Hal, Guy, John and Kyle can’t coexist as Lanterns in a universe as big as the DCU, and I’ll lay money that they all come out of this stronger (assuming that none of them is sacrificed in the name of “serious storytelling.”) This issue ramps up the conflict of the Sinestro Corps Worps, and earns itself a strong 4 out of 5 star rating. I’m really excited about Green Lantern again, and I’m enjoying the heck out of the feeling…
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On the Subject of Power Rings? I’d be offered, and take, the Bizzaro Red Kryptonite Ring, which I made up. Not only would it give me the appearance of a Bizzarro, the Ring would create total random effects based on what I was thinking. E.g., If I envisioned a Bird, the projection would be of a gigantic mechanical stork, in red.
Also, the Bizzarro Rings would probably be generated by Insanity rather than Fear, Willpower or Love. Or maybe Anger. Either way, I’m plenty Insane and more than a little angry.
Oh, and the ‘Father’s Three’ is an obscure reference to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, if you must know.
Ummm, why are you randomly going on about Bizarro power rings that aren’t even part of this story??? :p
Oh, and the ‘Father’s Three’ is an obscure reference to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, if you must know.
Do tell? I don’t recall that one…
Also: Bizarro. That is all…
I really don’t think Rayner will be alive when this ends. His fan base just isn’t that vocal or strong enough to support him.
Goes something like this:
Thisbe
Asleep, my love?
What, dead, my dove?
O Pyramus, arise!
Speak, speak. Quite dumb?
Dead, dead? A tomb
Must cover thy sweet eyes.
These My lips,
This cherry nose,
These yellow cowslip cheeks,
Are gone, are gone:
Lovers, make moan:
His eyes were green as leeks.
O Sisters Three,
Come, come to me,
With hands as pale as milk;
Lay them in gore,
Since you have shore
With shears his thread of silk.
Actually, an exact Quote would maybe have fit better, as it seems to be very approrpriate to the story…death, the colorus green & yellow…
“Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
Thy micturations are to me
As plurdled gabbleblotchits
On a lurgid bee…”
Kyle is going to be alive because he’s apart of the Search for Ray Palmer mini :)
Side note, what do you think Tom Welling Prime wants? In fact, is that how Sinny recruited most of his corp? With the promise of the thing they want the most. Very devilish…
The Kyle who participates in the search for Ray Palmer may be an alternate Kyle from another Earth.
Adam, that might not be ‘OUR’ Kyle…
I think the Guardians are Skrulls….
i love this event….
i think kyle will come out of it stronger.
it will be funny so see how hal needed the specter to help free him from parallax’s influence and kyle does it him self. i Highly doubt that kyle will die
they will all come out of it stronger. like zoom said “they will be better because of it”
I love Kyle’s character but I also think he won’t be alive when this is all done. He’s had the Ion entity stripped from him and how will he get it back when it’s in the Qward homeworld of the Sinestro Corps, that would be the equivilent of the US Army walking into Afghanistan and finding Osama Bin Laden and walking out unscathed. How many GL’s does Earth have? 4 (Kyle, John, Guy, and Hal) Someone’s gotta go and I think Kyle drawn the short straw, (all of the Hal fans are loving the irony of Parrallax taking over Kyle I bet). It’s unfortunate if it does happen, Kyle is a great character and I’d hate to see him killed off.