Green Lantern Movie Prequel: Sinestro

(Holy shit, this finally came out…over two months after the premiere of the movie. And you thought the Hal Jordan prequel was late…)

Release Date: August 24, 2011
Cover Date: October 2011

Story: Geoff Johns, Michael Goldenberg, and Adam Schlagman
Art: Harvey Tolibao, Cliff Richards, Jerry Ordway, Fernando Dagnino, and Raul Fernandez

The news of Abin Sur’s death has reached Oa, and as Morro inscribes a crystal tombstone, Sinestro seems to be lost in thought. He recalls how he became inducted into the Green Lantern Corps, when his homeworld of Korugar was facing an uprising. He wanted to use his newfound power to fix things, but his mentor Abin Sur forbade it. Snapping back to the present, the other Corps members ask Sinestro what he’s going to do now that Abin is dead, and Sinestro merely replies that he’ll continue his usual duties as a Lantern.

We’ve all heard the phrase “better late than never.” In this case, though, we could’ve easily done without this prequel issue at all. While Sinestro’s anger on Korugar seems well-founded, as well as his rightful complaint about the Green Lantern Corps never bothering to drop by and help, it has no real bearing on his portrayal in the film. In fact, the ending scene where he flies off from Abin Sur’s funeral makes it look as if his ruminations on the past didn’t even have a purpose! The rapidly changing art styles don’t do the book any favors, either. Sometimes Sinestro’s head looked too damned big! I know that was the norm during the Silver Age, but it’s not how he looked in the movie.

The additional story, a history of the Green Lantern Corps, was even wrose because it was so ultimately pointless. The Corps’ history is fully explained in the film, so here it’s nothing but fluff. What a waste!

As we all know by now, the Green Lantern film didn’t do nearly as well as the studio was hoping. The prequel issues overall haven’t been so hot, either, and releasing a crappy one months late only reinforces many folks’ negative opinions.

Flashpoint: Hal Jordan #3

Release Date: August 24, 2011
Cover Date: October 2011

Story: Adam Schlagman
Art: Cliff Richards
Cover: J. G. Jones

Hal Jordan takes off for England with the Green Arrow missile, and he’s got Carol Ferris along with many other pilots backing him up. Unfortunately, they’re ambushed by Amazonian forces, and the battle quickly becomes a rout. Hal’s plane is damaged, and he’s forced to turn it into a kamikaze mission. Hal’s sacrifice is not in vain, however, as the bomb goes off and destroys the Amazons’ force field. Later, back at Ferris Aircraft, Tom Kamalku brings Carol a box containing Hal’s personal effects. Other than his diary, which Carol tearfully reads, there’s also an engagement ring inside that was meant for her.

Flashpoint: Hal Jordan #3 would’ve been a lot better, except for one big problem: Flashpoint #4 already revealed that Hal was killed in action three weeks ago. (In fact, the scene where Hal’s climbing into the cockpit and talking with Hector was previously shown in Flashpoint #4, word for word.) As such, most of the issue’s drama and action falls flat, since we already know how things will end.

Its high point ends up being the revelation that Hal loved Carol (we knew that, but of course she didn’t), and the last page with Carol holding the ring is indeed poignant. Aside from it being an engagement band, the ring clearly symbolizes the other ring that Hal is associated with in the proper timeline.

The art and dialogue was mostly on target, but again, Flashpoint #4′s revelation nearly a month ago really let the air out of this issue. This only adds to the problem with the entire Flashpoint: Hal Jordan miniseries overall: it just wasn’t necessary, and it felt like readers were just going through the motions. Hal and the Green Arrow missile really didn’t have much of an effect on the main battles being played out in the core Flashpoint series, and even his relationship with Carol could’ve been reduced to a page or two. The miniseries obviously existed because Hal is such a favorite of the powers-that-be, but it would’ve been a greater service to his character to keep him grounded this time.

Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #13

Release Date: August 24, 2011
Cover Date: October 2011

Story: Peter Tomasi
Pencils: Ron Frenz
Inks: John Dell and Mark Deering
Cover: Dan Panosian
Variant Cover: Pete Woods

Guy Gardner’s trying to watch a baseball game, but he’s summoned to the International Space Station in order to investigate a murder. Batman’s already there, however, as the spaceship being tested at the station is funded by Wayne Enterprises. While Guy grills the surviving crew, Batman uses his keen detective skills to solve the case. When the station’s automated defenses (the ISS has those?) attack, the killer takes advantage of the chaos to escape and set the ISS on a crash course with Opal City. Good thing Guy’s got that power ring, which he uses to save the day as Batman rescues the crew.

This issue wasn’t as strong as the other “one-shots” that have preceded it, but it was still a decent read. The problem was that the story was far too cliché; we knew Batman would figure out the entire murder plot, and we knew Guy would use raw power in order to catch the bad guy and stop the impending crash of the station.

The art and dialogue were still pretty good, and the story moved at a good pace. None of the ISS crewmen were given much face time, though, and their character development was limited to a few lines each, if that. Still, it was a good little action story, and that sure beats a tale weighted down by events and crossovers. That’s a better way than most for Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors to come to a close.

(For the second time this week, the “One Punch” is referenced. Gotta love that!)

DC Retroactive: Green Lantern – The ’90s

(You know the drill. The reprint in this issue, Green Lantern [Vol. 3] #78, will not be reviewed here.)

Release Date: August 24, 2011
Cover Date: October 2011

Story: Ron Marz
Pencils: Darryl Banks
Inks: Terry Austin
Cover: Darryl Banks and Trevor Scott

Kyle Rayner is stuck on monitor duty at the JLA Watchtower, and he’s passing the time by painting. His plans go down the tubes when Effigy shows up, though, seeking revenge. The two superpowered individuals beat each other down all the way from the Moon to the Earth, eventually landing in New York City. Kyle’s ring starts to run out of juice, but even in a weakened state, he leads Effigy on a wild chase and makes it back to his power battery. Recharged, he captures the villain and flings Effigy back into deep space.

The legendary 1990s Green Lantern creative team of Ron Marz, Darryl Banks, and Terry Austin haven’t missed a beat; this issue makes it feel like they’d never left. Aside from seeing Kyle in his prime, we also get to see the return of the woefully underutilized Effigy as the antagonist. Through it all, we’ve got Kyle’s interior monologue, but it never feels like he’s running his mouth. (Or mind, as it were.) Kyle’s thought patterns accurately reflect what the hero would’ve been thinking and feeling at the time, and that makes him all the more human. Marz writes a very nice mix of character development and superhero action, and Banks’ phenomenal illustrations give Kyle more attention than he’s had in years. The throwdown between Kyle and Effigy is visually spectacular, brimming with both characters’ unique constructs. The two Kyle splash pages are stunning, too; man, do I miss stuff like that!

Something else that really made this issue stand out was the little touches clearly included for longtime fans. For example, the issue opens with Kyle painting the infamous Batman/Guy Gardner “One Punch” (from Justice League #5). Seeing a Radu’s Coffee mug was great, but even better was when the man himself made a cameo appearance. Yes, Radu Stancu, the unsung hero of Green Lantern (Vol. 3)! It’s a shame he’s been dropped from the contemporary Green Lantern mythos, but it’s nice to know that Radu has not been forgotten.

As I said at the top of this post, I’m not going to review the reprint of Green Lantern (Vol. 3) #78 included here, but I do need to mention something about it. After the new Retroactive story ends, the reprint of #78 begins without any inserts or other pages separating them. Something like this is often confusing in books that mix old and new stories, but not here; #78 looks like it could easily be the next proper issue. That’s how good the creative team still is! (I should note that chronologically, the Retroactive installment takes place some time after Green Lantern [Vol. 3] #114. I think you still get the idea, though.)

I enjoyed this issue the most out of all three DC Retroactive: Green Lantern titles. It just goes to show that Marz, Banks, and Austin are all still at the top of their game.

Flashpoint: Abin Sur – The Green Lantern #3

Release Date: August 17, 2011
Cover Date: October 2011

Story: Adam Schlagman
Art: Robson Rocha, Felipe Massafera, and Joe Prado
Cover: Felipe Massafera

After getting his hand cut off by Sinestro, Abin Sur creates a new one using his power ring remotely. He chains up Sinestro, and plans to continue his mission to save Earth. The Guardians demand that he focus on retrieving the Entity, however Abin will hear nothing of it. They strip him of his Green Lantern status, but Abin uses the last bit of power in his ring to help Earth’s heroes, dying in the process. He receives a vision of his sister Arin, and due to his noble sacrifice, the Entity resurrects Abin as a White Lantern.

While the first two issues of this miniseries worked pretty well, everything falls apart with #3. There were so many problems here, I hardly know where to start. I suppose the beginning is a good place.

First: Sinestro’s seemingly immediate descent into murderous madness. Where the hell did that come from?! His arrogance is apparent from the start, but here he’s been reduced to a laughing psychopath. There was no character development toward this; even his violent turn in the last issue was nothing compared to this.

There’s also an eye-rolling 300 moment, when Abin cries out “This. Is. SPARTA! WILLPOWER!” Ugh. That was painful to read.

Next, let’s talk about the discontinuity from page to page. After Abin defeats Sinestro, he’s contacted by the Guardians while in space. Then he’s on Oa. Then he’s on Earth. All of this happens during a single short conversation with the Guardians, and there’s no evidence that he’s being teleported around! I don’t know if it was sloppy writing or editing, but either way, it sure as hell didn’t match up with the images.

The biggest problem is Abin’s new status as a White Lantern. Sure, it looked cool, but it introduces a colossal plot problem that I doubt we’ll see addressed in Flashpoint #5. The white light of creation is the most powerful force in the universe; if Abin has that power at his disposal, then the other threats in Flashpoint pale by comparison. He could literally end the war between the Atlanteans and Amazons with a thought, and solve all of the new timeline’s problems with minimal effort. Even the Speed Force, upon which the entire crossover hinges on, is a measly spark compared to the raw power of the white light. Ignoring this is like bringing Superman to a fistfight, and just having him stand around in the corner.

One thing that didn’t suck about this issue was the artwork. The Green Lantern movie designs work well in printed form here, and while White Lantern Abin Sur may be silly, the final page looks fantastic. I’m sure we’ll see a convention exclusive action figure of that at some point down the line. (Or someone could just customize the movie Abin Sur figure. Any takers?)

It had potential, but ultimately, the Abin Sur miniseries ended up just being ridiculous.