Hal Pictures Green Lantern Butt's FOREVER!: Green Lantern Corps #18

Green Lantern Butt's FOREVER!

Now with Guy Gardner's Seal of Approval!

Monday, December 03, 2007

Green Lantern Corps #18

Well! I am in parts bemused, enthralled, and yet still hungry for more.

For those of you who remember, THIS was the original solicited cover:

Guy and Kyle

Cool eh? However, that was quite a while back, and I do believe that they ended up switching things around a bit and changing the story. So instead, we ended up with THIS cover:

<Green Lanterns

Also, very nice.

Also, as it says, right on the cover, this issue is Superbrat Prime vs. Ion. (Not Kyle) Instead, the Guardians in their infinite wisdom, have seen fit to imbue young Sodam Yat, with the Ion whale in order to go up against Superbrat Prime, who is making SUCH a pest of himself.

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Things DO start with a bang. The art is back to being Pat Gleason, which fills me with delight, while the flashback sequences to Yat's childhood are handled by Jamal Igle, who is an excellent penciller as well.

Basically, the book is one long fight scene, with several flashback sequences that explain Sodam Yat's childhood on Daxam, and what makes him the hero that he aspires to be. I must say that his parents are a piece of work. I didn't realize how xenophobic the Daxamites were. Fortunately for his continued success in the Green Lantern Corp, Yat doesn't have the same tendancies.

There are some really amazing fight scenes. They fall into a body of water (Croton-on-Hudson) and with the use of their heat vision, boil and evaporate it all away, leaving a lot of flapping and or cooked fish, and ominously, a human skeleton. Then they end up taking the fight to the Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant, in Buchanan, NY, which turns out to be painful for poor Yat, since as a Daxamite, he's VERY succeptible to lead poisoning. In his usual extrememly obnoxious manner, Superbrat uses this to his advantage, impaling Yat with a radioactive lead rod.

Ouch.

Superbrat also indulges in his version of witty banter, such as "Mmmm. I love the taste of uranium in the morning." He doesn't let up for a minute, and eventually they end up in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. Needless to say, coffins, bodies and headstones are soon flying all around.

Yat is having some troubles here. He has only recently been exposed to the yellow sun, and therefore doesn't have as much strength from it that Superbrat does. Furthermore, he's been weakened by the lead poisoning. But the biggest problem he has, is that although he has been imbued with the Ion power from the Guardians, I don't think that he has the slightest idea how to tap INTO the power, because he never manages to use it in the fight, as far as I can tell.

He keeps fighting, and Superbrat keeps taunting him...."All you really are is Superman-Lite with a power ring. Big Deal." and that he's killed a crapload of Green Lanterns, and that Yat isn't any more special than they were. And you know what? At this particular moment in time...he's right.

Superbrat beats the living crap out of poor Yat. I can't blame Yat for this however, since he's not much more than a rookie, and he's been thrown into a hideous situation by the Guardians. They've given him awesome power, and NO training in how to use it whatsoever. I can't help but think that Kyle would have done a better job, but then Kyle has had considerable experience in the use of the Ion power.

And then this...

Green Lanterns

Finally! John and Guy show up.

I enjoyed this of course, how could I not? I think that Greg Tomasi did a good job with his first issue, and the art is lovely. My only problem is that I'm left hanging, and wanting more. Which I suppose is the whole idea. I can't TELL you how much I am dying to get my hands on Green Lantern #25, which won't come out until December 12th. ARRRGHHH!

But if you want to see one heck of a whuppin', this is the ticket.

11 Comments:

At 10:08 AM, Blogger Sea-of-Green said...

Yeah, the Guardians sure left poor Yat out to dry, didn't they? That's like sticking a kid in the cockpit of a plane without givien him any training or instructions, and then telling him to go fly it. Well, I reckon Yat will be a lot less cocky after this -- and probably a whole lot wiser.

At least it gives our precious Earth Lanterns one more excuse to lay into the Guardians: "... and LOOK at what you did to that poor kid!"

 
At 11:37 AM, Blogger SallyP said...

Yeah, the Guardians really aren't too bright sometimes. I think that they are still just too hung up on the whole "Prophecy" thing, and can't think straight.

Kalinara has always believed that in picking Kyle, the Guardians hit the lottery right off the bat. I'm guessing that they are trying for the same type of thing with Sodam Yat, but it's awfully hard to catch lightning in a bottle TWICE!

I'm hoping that Yat will get a second chance, maybe with a little help from John and Guy.

 
At 11:57 AM, Blogger Sea-of-Green said...

True. You also can't beat Kyle for sheer imagination. :-) (However, though it's true that poor Kyle had to fight Mongul right out the starting gate, Mongul isn't Superbrat Prime, and Kyle had Superman helping him.)

Also, GANTHET was the one who gave the ring to Kyle. Ya'd think the Guardians would listen to Ganthet more than to anyone else -- but noooooo ... Yep, the little smurfs are scared, all right.

 
At 12:48 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I felt really bad for Yat as well - the entire issue I was waiting for someone...*anyone* to show up to help him. Hell, basically all the Earth's heroes fought him in his special, wouldn't some of them at least try to help Yat out? Martian Manhunter, Kryptonians, Wonder Woman - I'm looking at you.

I have to admit I really liked the back story - Yat comes across really well as someone who *wants* to be a hero, which is a refreshingly opimistic take on things.

I believe Kyle was still Parallax (since Guy and John don't show up until the very end), but even if Kyle had been chosen, I think he'd still lose. Mostly because Prime has the power of Editorial on his side, but also because as a Pre-Crisis Kryptonian, I'm sure he'd be given the power to eventually fight Kyle hand-to-hand, and his punches/kicks would be far deadlier to a human than a Daxamite.

On a tangent - I'm interested to see how this might affect Yat down the line, especially as the solicits for upcoming issues suggest the Guardians will continue to make questionable decisions.

Overall, though, I really liked this issue.

 
At 6:07 AM, Blogger Ami Angelwings said...

I CANNOT wait for the finale to come out!

Hey, at least Sodom Yat didn't ask for help, cuz then he'd risk the Guardians saying "Request denied. With honours." And then shutting off his powers xDDD

That still was the most hilarious scene evar :]

Poor Sodom Yat. :( Hopefully this is a good learning experience for him >:D SO MANY PPL need a 2nd shot at S-prime tho including Wonder Girl and Nightwing. >:o

I hope that after Final Crisis, they'll have this 80 page special where every hero and villain in the DCU that's annoyed by S-brat Prime get to paddle him or something. XD

 
At 7:06 AM, Blogger SallyP said...

Well...it WOULD have been nice for poor Yat to have a little help, but in their defense, as far as I can tell, the rest of them still have their hands full with Sinestro, the Anti-Monitor, Cyborg Superman, Man-Hunters and Sinestro Corp members all laying waste to New York.

And yes, I think the Captain is correct, in that Kyle, Hal, Guy and John were still in Coast City taking care of Parallax, before they all book back as fast as they can to join in the action.

Ami, it WOULD be nice to have everyone have a chance to take a swing at Superbrat Prime, wouldn't it?

Sea, the Guardians SHOULD be listening to Ganthet and Sayd, but they're still be a bunch of weiners, so that probably won't be happening anytime soon.

 
At 4:16 PM, Blogger Will Staples said...

I've been enjoying Sinestro Corps War and this issue is no exception, but I'm starting to feel like Sinestro himself has kinda fallen off the map. He was right at the center of things last we saw, but now Superman-Prime feels like the central villain and Sinestro himself is off to the side.

 
At 4:17 AM, Blogger Ami Angelwings said...

Oh, I know he couldn't ask for help. xD I was just quoting from 52 #31 when the Guardians denied the GL help and shut off his ring when he tried to stop Lady Styx. :\

 
At 7:13 AM, Blogger SallyP said...

Yeah, the Guardians are real peaches. I'm sure the "honors" aprt will be of great consolation to his widow.

 
At 8:22 AM, Blogger Nick said...

Good issue, especially that one panel where Sodam has got Superboy Prime pinned up against a tombstone, GREAT.

I keep wondering why the Anti-Monitor even bothers with the Sinestro Corp though...this is a guy who decimated universes with little to no help years before...I am guessing they'll explain it whenever the Tales of the Sinestro Corp: Anti Monitor comes out

 
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