Green Lantern #25

Well, the "Lights Out" crossover is done, and that's a good thing.  Short and sweet.  Or was it?  For a change, this story actually DID change everything.  The sacrifice of the entities refilled the resevoir of Light that exists beyond the Source Wall, and Relic is gone. But Kyle is off doing his thing, and the New Guardians are pretending that he is dead for a reason, that really doens't make much sense. 

Oa is blowed up, and the remnants of the Green Lantern Corps are camping out on Mogo.  Literally.  Meanwhile, Hal in his hubris, has decided that he's going to lay down a few new rules about the Universe.  Sheesh!  He begins by saying that since there is a finite amount of light to work with, perhaps they shouldn't all be flinging constructs around with complete abandon as in the old days.  Oh, and those OTHER Corps shouldn't be using the light at all.

Carol of course, is standing right there.  As Kilowog pointed out last issue...awkward.  These two just can't stop sniping at each other, which rather confuses me.  Everytime there is a crisis, they use their undying love for each other to inspire them and blah blah blah.  The second the crisis is over, it is back to snotty remarks.  But Carol has a point.  She is a Star Sapphire, and she has every bit as much right to use her gift as Hal does. 

So he changes tactics, and declares that only the GOOD Corps can use the light, or words to that effect.  Not all of the other Lanterns are buying this line either.  Hannu and Graf Toren want to still be Lanterns and patrol their sectors, but they want to do it without rings.  Graf Toren is a Light Monk, so I can see that.  And Hannu hardly ever uses his ring anyway.  Not sure what Tomar Tu wants to do, but that's his lookout.  John is skeptical of course. 

But instead of staying on Mogo and getting things organized, Hal decides that he and Kilowog are going to go after the renegade Star Sapphire, Nol-Anj.  This is really all that Hal wants to do anyway, go out and beat something up.  And frankly, it is all that he is good for.  It certainly isn't running the Corps.  The New Guardians should get their frisky little blue behinds back and start doing what they are supposed to do, instead of staring at Kyle all the time.  On the other hand, perhaps Kyle's beautiful behind has them mesmerized.

I found this issue to be...frustrating.  I am glad that Mogo is back and getting some screen time, as it were, I love Mogo.  I don't particularly like the idea that the amount of power for the rings is limited, and that therefore, they can no longer use their constructs with abandon, because half of the fun of being a Lantern was coming up with really cool constructs!   Now, they have to stop and consider if the threat is big enough to justify the use of force, and that's...tedious.  It could also mean that it becomes a matter of life and death, if your reflexes enable you to get off a bolt of Green Energy a second quicker than the Bad Guy.  If you have to stop and obsess about it for five minutes, you are finished.

Nobody seems particularly broken up about Kyle.  When Kyle "died" a while back, Soranik was heartbroken, and Guy went Red.  It was a Big Deal.  Now...pffft.  Nobody seems to care.  It is more like...oh hey, too bad about Kyle.  What's for dinner?  Supposedly Carol and he had a "connection" which is why Hal was jealous, but Carol doesn't seem particularly broken up either. 

Guy has barely said a word.  Suddenly, John is his bestest buddy.  I am actually glad that he and John are getting along better, there was always a bit of tension between them.  Not as much of a rivalry as between Guy and Hal...but still.  Guy and Kyle were the ones who were bestest buddies.  Not to mention Kilowog and Guy too.  And yet...hardly a peep out of Guy.  I don't know if this is because he is Red again, but he was pretty upset when he thought that John was dead.  Hal doesn't seem to care one way or another.  There hasn't been much of a reaction from any of the other Lanterns either. 

I understand that the four main Earth Lanterns are always going to be the main focus, but still, a bit of a look at the group dynamics and a frame or two of the rest of the Corps would be appreciated. 

So, as much as I love the Green Lanterns, this was a bit of a miss for me.