Release Date: July 25, 2012
Cover Date: September 2012
Story: Tony Bedard
Pencils: Tyler Kirkham
Inks: Matt “Batt” Banning
Cover: Tyler Kirkham and Matt “Batt” Banning
Kyle Rayner and his crew assault Larfleeze on Okaara, but the Orange Lantern is able to hold them off without much of a problem. The other Lanterns press their assault, and Kyle has Munk harness the orange light of avarices…which works wonders against Larfleeze’s Orange Lantern Corps. Larfleeze demands that Sayd help him, but she’s finally had enough. She reveals herself as the ring thief, but doesn’t get a chance to explain why; the Orrery is moving closer. Invictus has already destroyed and replaced Aello…and it looks like Okaara is next!
Green Lantern: New Guardians #11 was a fun issue overall, and it’s nice to see the main story come back to the forefront after the side story with the Reach. Sayd snapping on Larfleeze is something I’d been waiting for, though I must admit that I did not see it coming that she was the ring thief. It does make perfect sense; she’s a Guardian, for crying out loud, so tampering with power rings is child’s play to her.
As to why she sent all the rings to Kyle, I think it goes beyond just getting a representative from each Corps together. Fighting Invictus is important, sure, but I still believe there’s more. Sayd angrily states that Kyle himself should know why she stole the rings, but they’re interrupted by the Orrery’s arrival. Sayd clearly knew in advance that Kyle could wield seven rings at once (albeit briefly), something no other Lantern has been able to accomplish. She’s got plans for him, and how much do you want to bet it’s part of that upcoming “Third Army” story? (Let’s hope they involve better dialogue than in this issue; cripes, it was bad.)
Green Lantern: New Guardians has been insinuating for a while that although while Orange Lantern constructs are in thrall to Larfleeze, they may regain their sentience. Glomulus’ actions and expressions here confirm it, especially when he discovers that Larfleeze has been using him as a tool. The little orange punk should’ve known better, but the fact that he still has his own thoughts and feelings, as well as the ability to refuse Larfleeze’s control, is significant. Imagine an Orange Lantern Corps revolt! Larfleeze could easily take ‘em all out, but then he’d be left with nothing.
Like Metal Man, Larfleeze is vulnerable to his own weapon. It makes sense, as greed is ultimately self-destructive. When Munk first channeled avarice to blow away the Orange Lantern Corps, however, all I could think of was Pokémon: “Super Effective!” Snickering aside, the panel featuring Munk firing off the orange light looked awesome:
Invictus seemed honorable despite his demands of Kyle and crew, but here it seems that he’s thrown that to the wind and started killing billions anyway. That reestablishes him as a clear and present danger, but considering he harnessed a damned star to blow away Aello, what chance would seven ring wielders have? I’m guessing we’ll see a return of “Super-Lantern” Kyle in order to deal with the threat, but I don’t think this storyarc will be the last we see of Invictus.
