Green Lantern #50
Well, it's here. Fifty issues with the same writer...a feat that is practically unheard of nowadays. And really only a handful of artists as well, which is equally unheard of. So a huge round of applause for Geoff Johns.
There was some whining on the Message Boards (shocking!) that this was a "dull" issue. Those people are entitled to their opinions I suppose...but I certainly wouldn't want one of them marrying my daughter. Because this is...GREAT!
So things are really beginning to come to a head. The entire dead population of Coast City has arisen, and are out making mischief. We have the seven members of the various Corps, and their newly designated deputies. Help is possibly on the way, since Indigo sent out an SOS, but for the moment it is just a handful of people, plus whatever Earth heroes are still out there fighting. Those are SOME odds!
Doug Mahnke rises as usual the occasion with his beautiful artwork. We have some very nice scenes showing the various Lanterns discovering and quickly mastering their new abilities. Wonder Woman and Carol Ferris are zipping around encasing people in pinky-purple cocoons, Mera is letting loose with considerable zest...frying Aquababy in the process. At least she impresses the heck out of Atrocitus,who is probably wondering where she has been all of his life.
Barry and St. Walker are hoping with all of their might. Scarecrow is scared to death...and LOVING it! Larfleeze is NOT happy about having to share with Lex.
And then the Spectre shows up.
And this day just got a whole lot worse,if that's possible.
The Spectre wants Hal Jordan...really really bad. He tries turning Hal into a Black Lantern in a particularly disgusting and magnificent pair of panels, but Ganthet and Sayd jump in and save his frying bacon. They are then promptly swallowed by the Spectre, so Hal jumps in and returns the favor.
Then ALL the various Lanterns start pouring it on, trying to take down the Spectre, but rather to their surprise, nothing much is happening, which has to be disconcerting. In fact, the Spectre is mopping the floor with all of them. Even the Guardians are nonplussed, and Atrocitus starts getting snarky. He points out that the Spirit of Vengeance is ABSOLUTE Rage, fused with Death...and boy he wants it.
Meanwhile, Hal has an idea. Yes, it does happen. He has Ganthet summon his battery, along with John's, Kyle's and Guy's. Uh oh. It has dawned on Hal, that perhaps the only thing that the Spectre was afraid of, was Parallax. Sinestro is quite surprised...and possibly a little impressed...to learn that Parallax was imprisoned in the four batteries. He also realizes what Hal is up to,and thinks that HE should be the one who is possessed by Parallax, since he feels he can control it. In all fairness to Sinestro, it is possible that he has a point. Hal however doesn't want Sinestro anywhere NEAR Parallax, so they start squabbling.
Carol shows up and asks Hal not to do this, that she doesn't want to lose him again. Hal tells her that she can free him when the job is done and they grab a quick smooch. Oh Hal. Then Hal jumps in, grabs Parallax, thinks of his Dad, and before you can say "ARRGGHH", he's possessed.
Boy is he EVER! I don't remember Hal having quite that many teeth.
This is gonna be good.
posted by SallyP @ 6:11 AM
8 Comments:
You were right about that scene between Hal and Sinestro. It IS pretty darned funny -- I almost feel sorry for Sinestro there. You know he's thinking along the lines of, "If Jordan and Rayner survived Parallax, then surely I will be able to master the beast!" I do love how WORRIED he suddenly seems over Hal being Parallax again, though. Slight change in attitude, Sin?
So, what do you suppose WOULD happen if Parallax were to possess Sinestro?
I'm pretty sure that Sinestro thinks that if Hal and Kyle can manage it, then mastering Parallax MUST be a piece of cake. I think that he'd be in for a pretty big shock however.
Sinestro as Parallax? THAT would be interesting. Would Sinestro's innate need for order enable him to control the beast?
I suspect that Sinestro's ability to overcome great fear – remember, he was the greatest Green Lantern of his age – is what he'd be counting on to control Parallax. And if I were Hal, (1) I'd've told Ganthet to get Ion, not Parallax, and (2) let Sinestro have Parallax if necessary; for all his recent badassery, he's still got a glass jaw.
-- Jack of Spades
It's funny...just the other night I was wondering why Sinestro didn't / hasn't become Parallax (and will he?) and what do you know, I pick up GL #50 and Parallax is back and Sinestro wants a piece of him! Of course Hal gets 'em, which can only lead to some truly holy-crappery in February's BL...Spectre vs. Parallax...Everyone Else vs. Nekron...Atrocitus' engagement proposal to Mera...I CAN'T WAIT!!!
(seriously, though, who the hell could possibly thinks #50 was dull!)
I do worry a bit for Hal (okay, not seriously since we all know he's not going to die), since it seemed like Sinestro wasn't just being overconfident and jealous there at the end -- that "Jordan, you don't know what you're doing!" seemed an awful lot like foreshadowing to me.
I think Hal made a terrible decision here. And he didn't give anyone else any input into it, either, even though they are the ones who would be stuck fighting Parallax-Hal if he manages to defeat the Spectre. (Of course we all know that it will turn out right because Hal is always right when Geoff writes him, but, from the perspective of Hal's companions, he's being sort of an idiot here.)
In a way, Sinestro has already demonstrated that he can control Parallax. He's spent an extended amount of time with it, after all, and it never possessed him, did it? And not only did it not take him over, it actually did what he told it to do -- twice! Either he's totally in control if it already, or it likes him a lot as a friend. =)
I'd have done exactly what Jack of Spades suggested. Take Ion (Ganthet ought to have the power to call it), let Sinestro take Parallax, then tag-team the Spectre, follow up with a massive butt-whipping of Black Lanterns because two entities should be able to burn giant swaths throught their ranks, take on Nekron in whatever way they have to, then, if Sinestrollax gets too big for his britches, punch him in the face.
As JoS pointed out, for all his intelligence, control, and will, Sinestro (like poor Guy) goes down like Glass Joe when the fists start flying.
I never thought about Ion. The problem with that is that its currently inside of Sodam Yat, who is hanging out inside a star. With his lead poisoning, wouldn't it kill Yat, if he lost Ion?
From what Atrocitus was saying, it seems as though there is something ELSE inside the Spectre at the moment...something that Atrocitus really really wants.
True about Ion... though of course Hal doesn't know any of that. Then again, he also doesn't know that Arisia and friends think Yat is dead.
I just think Hal didn't think this through very well.
And I do hope the Spectre doesn't contain the rage entity. That sort of screws with the entire concept of the Spectre, which is pretty interesting by itself.
Duskdog, I don't agree. The concept is the Spectre as god's wrath; I can't think of a purer rage than divine reage. Really, it seems to me that the Spectre and a red entity are redundant. And, given what has gone before, we can't just sweep the Spectre under the rug as not bearing on the Green Lantern mythos. I think it would be just like Johns to unify the two concepts in this way, giving us a SFy way to look at the Spectre that doesn't contradict his magical interpretation.
-- Jack of Spades
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