Cover Date: Early September 1998
Story: Ron Marz
Pencils: Jeff Johnson and Anthony Williams
Inks: Bob Wiacek and Andy Lanning
Cover: Jeff Johnson and Bob Wiacek
Kyle Rayner brings Hal Jordan to the JLA Watchtower, where he’s introduced to the members of the team. Most of them remember him well, but despite his future self’s transgressions, he’s welcome here. But Kyle’s in for a big shock: the League asks Hal to join them! Kyle is understandably upset, as he feels like he’s been replaced. He returns to Earth, and while saving people from a bombed building, the cops give him a hard time. When he gets home, Jade tells him that his agent called; he lost a big client he’d been hoping for. Kyle loses his temper, and then tells Jade how everything’s just falling apart. The two end up seeking solace in each other’s arms. Later that night, Kyle is woken up by Batman. The Dark Knight tells him that he was the one who wanted Hal to join the League…so he could keep an eye on him. In Batman’s eyes, Kyle is the League’s Green Lantern.
This issue seems a bit slow, but it covers a plot point that had to happen: Hal meeting other heroes (as I mentioned yesterday). The JLA seemed to accept Hal a bit too quickly, and at the same time, Kyle flew off the handle without thinking things through as he normally does (though Wally West being a douche didn’t exactly help matters). The JLA’s actions are given the proper context at the end of the issue when we discover that it was Batman’s doing, but Kyle still could’ve handled it better. Getting upset is understandable — even with one thing going wrong after another — but he’s not an inexperienced rookie anymore. He said so himself!
Other than that story fumble, the rest of the issue flowed along just fine. In fact, it’s notable that since the last issue focused on Hal, this one focuses on Kyle. The romance between Jade and Kyle was something we’d seen brewing for quite some time, and it was great to see the payoff, so to speak. Kyle and Jade’s romantic relationship would continue for well over a decade, stumbling a bit at times as most do, before Jade was booted from continuity as a result of Flashpoint. (For shame!)
The art was fine, but didn’t stand out as much as past issues. That’s likely because this issue focused on a lot more conversation in confined spaces, rather than battles or other action (Kyle saving people from the bomb being an exception). Hey, at least we got to see a slew of other superheroes!
The “Emerald Knights” action continues tomorrow…with an unexpected crossover.
