Cover Date: Late August 1998
Story: Ron Marz
Pencils: Paul Pelletier
Inks: Terry Austin
Cover: Paul Pelletier and Terry Austin
Kyle Rayner brings the time-lost Hal Jordan to Warrior’s, where a surprised trio of former Green Lanterns are waiting: Alan Scott, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner. Once they’re told the truth, they readily accept Hal. He’s not quite ready, though; they all have a long history with him, but he’d never met them before. Hal wants to reconnect with people he does know, so he seeks out the new Ferris Aircraft in Indiana. Carol Ferris is overjoyed to see him, to say the least, and Tom Kalmaku is pleased too. Unfortunately, their reunion is cut short when Kalibak attacks. Hal manages to beat the villain down by igniting some underground fuel tanks, but the brute promises to return and kill the Green Lantern.
The last issue was more focused on characters, but this one brings back the action without dropping any personal development by the wayside. Granted, Kalibak was just a stand-in; any villain-of-the-week could’ve been used to test Hal’s resolve. (Though it was cool that Hal doesn’t even know who Darkseid is at this point in his life!) Still, even as a relative rookie, Green Lantern’s able to defeat a far superior foe using tactics rather than straight brawn. That’s the classic Hal we know and love! Of course, the damage to the airfield was much to Tom’s chagrin; his concern for Hal’s well-being contrasted with the bottom line of the new Ferris Aircraft was great.
You’ll also notice that Hal has yet to meet any other superheroes besides Kyle. Sure, he met three ex-Green Lanterns, but none of them are active at this point. Hal’s presence can’t be kept a secret, but I like that he hasn’t been found out just yet; it’s better to gradually build to that rather than have the Justice League show up outside of Radu’s five minutes after Hal appeared.
Paul Pelletier has a very slick, clean penciling style; I know those words get tossed around a lot when talking about artists in his vein, but it’s the most accurate assessment I can think of. The detail in Warrior’s looked great, especially the various pieces of Guy’s Green Lantern museum. Moving on to the action scenes in Indiana felt natural, and the brutal beating dished out by Kalibak lept off the page.
The journey continues tomorrow…
