Hal Jordan’s days of cruising to the far reaches of space are over. Now it’s time to make a life for himself on the good ol’ Earth, your Major Spoilers review of Green Lantern #1 from DC Comics awaits!
GREEN LANTERN #1
Writer; Jeremy Adams
Artist: Xermanico
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Editor: Paul Kaminski
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: May 9th, 2023
Previously in Green Lantern: The United Planets have taken control of The Green Lantern Corps, and in a surprising move, have quarantined the sector containing Earth. In protest, Hal Jordan has walked away from the Corps.
GREEN LANTERN: MAVERICK
Green Lantern #1 opens with a group of miners trapped in a cave-in. They’re about to give up when a familiar green light starts to shine on them, revealing Hal Jordan in his Green Lantern suit. Elsewhere, Carol Ferris is trying to seal a deal when she sees the news that Green Lantern has returned. Before she can sneak out of the office, she runs right into Hal who’s come looking for a job. She reluctantly invites him to show up the next day while also vehemently rejecting his many advances. Things then jump back a month to show Hal living out of an RV on the outskirts of Coast City. He hears reports of a supervillain attacking the city and drives toward the scene. In present time, Hal joins a pair of younger pilots as they maneuver through a canyon. Hal pushes his plane to the limit and ultimately crashes it, revealing it was a drone. He and Carol then argue about the need for pilots anymore. In the past, Hal arrives on the scene to find a person wearing a Manhunter armor suit, powerless, Hal springs into action.
HAL JORDAN HUMBLED?
Just to address some obvious points that might be problematic for some people, yes, Green Lantern #1 takes some plot points and lines of dialog right out of Top Gun: Maverick. The old pilot coming in to train the newbies, the struggle between the old ways and new tech, and even the way Hal interacts with Carol is reminiscent of the romantic subplot in Top Gun. They make sense here, but it’s hard to get around the fact that they are so blatantly lifted. Other than that stuff though, this comic has some nice things going for it. The bits where Hal needs to come to terms with no longer being a member of the Corps and having to struggle with the consequences of his actions are shown here in a sympathetic way and even opens the door for the notoriously cocky character to show some humility. The few moments of action we see as Hal fights with Steel Fury manage to add some cleverness to the interaction that elevates it above a simple slobberknocker. While there is a bit of that old “the Green Lantern power ring can do this now suddenly” going on, it isn’t egregious and they manage to make it seem plausible.
STICKING WITH THE DAWN OF DC VISUALS
There seems to be a push to have more colorful styles on display with The Dawn of DC lineup and that rings true here in Green Lantern #1. Even in scenes that take place at night, there’s a big emphasis on sources of light and colors that pop out of the darkness. This is best shown in a scene where Hal is sitting on his camper looking at space. Nebulas and star clusters are draped across the sky making it a blend of blacks, greens, and purples. Also, the facial expressions here are on point. Nothing feels exaggerated in an uncomfortable way, yet every emotion is clear to see on the character’s faces.
BOTTOM LINE: IF YOU CAN GET PAST THE TOP GUN STUFF, IT’S PRETTY GOOD
The direction they seem to be taking Hal in this series feels like the kind of breath of fresh air that the character desperately needed. But, for better or worse, the creators decided to “borrow heavily” from a movie featuring a character in a similar position, rather than putting him into a scenario unique to Hal. The action scenes are fun and splashy and we even get a moment of actual heroism as opposed to people just fighting it out. They have some ground to make up, but this issue shows a lot of promise for the series as a whole. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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Green Lantern #1
Green Lantern #1 succeeds in taking one of the cockiest and jerk-ish characters in the DC Universe and putting him in a situation that forces him to be humble and makes it feel natural. Unfortunately this situation is very similar to the one Pete “Maverick” Mitchell found himself in.
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Writing5
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Art8
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Coloring8
