Green Lantern Corps #15

Or – “I’ve Decided To End All Sentences With ‘In Accordance With The Prophecy…’ “

Today, I am reviewing Green Lantern Corps, in accordance with the prophecy. (Yeah, that’s not going to be funny for long… Better just drop it now.) When last we saw our verdant heroes, their largest member was under attack by Ranx, the sentient city and the Children of the White Lobe, a situation that mirrors a prophecy in the lost and suppressed last chapter of the Book of Oa. The Guardians, lacking as they do emotion, are unsure of how to proceed in a situation, but Ganthet, the friendly neighborhood blue voice of reason thinks it’s time to embrace emotion again. Hal Jordan is under attack by the Parallax-possessed Kyle Rayner, John Stewart and Guy Gardner are being held captive somewhere under the surface of Qward, and the Sinestros are still cutting a swath through Lanterns throughout the galaxy. Somebody has to do SOMETHING…

Previously, on Green Lantern Corps: The Green Man and his partner Stel were attacked by the Sinestro Corps, and Stel’s biomechanical form was nearly destroyed. Soranik Natu actually fired the first shots against Sinestro his own bad self, but found that she was nothing more than Gourd-head’s pink pawn, as he retreated from the fight solely to make the people of Korugar think that she had won the battle, making them more tractable for when he comes back to again take control of his people. Despotellis, a sentient yellow virus, has addled the minds of several Lanterns, including GLC drill instructor Kilowog, and the last hope for the war seems to lie on Mogo, who has problems of his own. The Lanterns have been on the defensive since the hostilities began, split up, with their numbers whittled down, but there’s no way you’re going to keep the Thin Green Line down for long. A literal army of Lanterns is on their way through transluminal space, but the situation on Mogo just got critical…

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Heh… Stel replies, “Gallows humor noted. But our deaths are of little importance.” He calculates that they should be able to hold off the yellow army long enough to allow the others to arrive, when suddenly a tiny insect buzzes in, followed by a literal freight train created of green energy that breaks up the Sinestros attack. “Worry not, brothers!” calls the bug. “Now we are FOUR!” He introduces himself as Bzzd, Mogo’s partner, and the presence of a fourth GL causes Stel to rejiggers the odds again. “Compute survival odds now twelve thousand to one.” Well, that’s… better. Kinda. Flora, fauna, technology and… um… green-skinned frog-feller unite to face down the assault, but before they go all Butch and Sundance, their backup arrives. It’s Kilowog time!

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Arisia is the perfect one to deliver ominous news, with her elfin features and huge green eyes actually enhancing the horror of a universe without Lanterns. Yellow and green power rings clash and the skies over Mogo light up with thousands of energy blasts. One of the old-schoolers recognizes Ranx from a previous attack on Guy Gardner, and Kilowog orders his soldiers to regroup on Mogo’s surface. Meanwhile, hidden deep within the sentient city, Sinestro’s people strategize…

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I can’t for the life of me remember when or where Ranx might have encountered Guy… Enkafos, the comptroller of Sinestro’s army, orders a creepy little telepathic baby to prepare for his portion of the attack, while the Lanterns on the surface regroup. Kilowog wonders what this attack is supposed to achieve, and Bzzd reminds him that Mogo keeps his actual power ring deep within his planetary crust, and even with a power ring, it will take weeks to get there. Suddenly, Chthos-Chtas-Chtathis realizes why Ranx is here…

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Gravity disruptors, indeed. Those little monkeys should allow Ranx to cut straight through Mogo’s crust, allowing the telepathic demon babies access to his core. After a quick check-in with Soranik Natu (who is very uncomfortable with the amount of control her people want to give her over them) we see Salaak back on Oa, gathering data for the ongoing battle. When Kilowog reports that the Children of the White Lobe are in play, even Salaak seems shaken, and quickly calls Arisia to check on the status of Sodam Yat, the Daxamite Green Lantern. Ordering a force to follow Sinestro’s boys into the planetary crust, Kilowog turns and finds a fight of his own…

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Arkillo and Kilowog hit each other at full speed, punching and kicking before Arkillo gets in the first shot, actually knocking Kilowog down! Taunting him for falling first, Arkillo isn’t ready for a bit boot to the head (YA YAAA!) as Kilowog shares battle strategies. “It’s the gettin’ up again that matters, Poozer!” Kilowog orders his men to clear out, but Arkillo wraps them up in a power net and smashes them into the planet. “Who cares about a few MORE dead?” he snarls, before finding out exactly why you don’t ask stupid questions on Bolovax Vik.

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Another situation that simply cries out for a huge “KRAK-A-DOOOOM!” ain’t it? With Arkillo momentarily down, Kilowog gathers Stel, Isamot Kol of Thanagar, Chthos Chthas Chathos and Sodam Yat as a boarding party. Arisia starts to protest, having been secretly ordered by Salaak to keep an eye on Yat, but before she can explain, a power blast knocks her out of combat. Arkillo is up again, taunting Kilo about his people’s discipline. “In MY Corps, no one dares defy orders! That is why WE will always win.” Kilowog has no use for sophistry, though, snarling back at his counterpart, “Before we talk about ALWAYS, Poozer, I’d just like ta see ya win ONCE!” In a remote corner of the inner sanctum back on Oa, the Guardians watch silently, realizing that this battle bears a resemblance to the lost prophecies of the Book of Oa. “The first signs of the coming of the Blackest night are here. The prophecy has begun.” A Guardian remarks that she can already hear the roar of the blink bomb that Ranx is supposedly destined to set off at Mogo’s core…

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Well, that was unexpected. I don’t know what that means, exactly, but I have to say I’m intrigued. Apparently, more on that is forthcoming, because we cut back the Lost Lantern brigade on Qward, looking to find Ion in the hopes of tilting the odds back towards their favor. Their power levels are perilously low, and Boodikka’s ring is entirely off-line after she attempted to use excessive force, but they see the light at the end of the tunnel…

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…and the old joke about the oncoming train looks silly by comparison. Four Lanterns, at minimal power, facing a creature who deflected the blows of not one, not TWO, but THREE pre-Crisis Kryptonians with relative ease. Hope the Guardians have their premiums paid up. The Corps War gets more and more savage as we go, and I’m thinking that even the GL’s we know by name aren’t 100% safe from harm.

This was an exciting issue, and I’m glad that we’re finally seeing some forward motion on the Guardians part. Their agents have been getting wiped across known space, and the big blue midgets haven’t done a thing to help. I’m actually more concerned about the battle of Mogo than I am the plight of the four Lanterns, though I suspect that has a lot to do with the fact that they’ve been so horrible to Hal Jordan in his book. Either way, it’s a good middle chapter of the ongoing storyline, with nicely done art (the Anti-Monitor looks much more evil and desiccated here than in the core title) though it doesn’t really deliver on the covers promise of a battle between city and planet. There’s a ton going on here, with dozens of characters in play and tons of plot development but it all manages to come across pretty clearly, earning a solid 3 out of 5 stars for Green Lantern Corps #15.