War of the Green Lanterns The Conclusion & Aftermath

Green Lantern #67  Conclusion

Green Lantern Corps #61

War Of The Green Lanterns Aftermath #1

War Of The Green Lanterns Aftermath #2

( T H E R E  W I L L  B E  S P O I  L  E  R S  ! )

 

            I will ramble a bit because I want to make sure the Spoiler stuff is on down the frame some before I talk about it.  This was a long delay in discussing the Conclusion I know.  The thing is I wanted to really talk about some of what happened and didn't want to have to censor my comments for fear of spoiling someone's reading experience.  So be warned, from here on I will not be responsible if you read something you shouldn't.

            GREEN LANTERN #67 wraps up the War.  We open with a mentally freed Green Lantern Corps in pitched battle with the Entity controlled Guardians.  Knowing they need help from the other Corps leaders Hal turns to Kyle.  He is the key to freeing the others from the Book of the Black.  Kyle literally draws them free.  It is cool and validates suspicions about certain members of the different colors that have been hinted upon.  The rings of the other colors are almost free to go to their respective welders.  Krona overrides the rings and soon he and Hal are in battle.

            During this one of the big moments happen.  Sinestro attacks without a power ring, until one selects him, a green ring.  That is right, Sinestro is once again a chosen corps member.  BIG SHOCK.  Hal just screams for him to fight.  The second occurrence of big importance comes when Hal Jordan summons the will to use the lethal force and kill Krona, a Guardian of the Universe.  This will drive fear into the hearts of the Guardians and spur the last shock.  Hal Jordan is dismissed from the Corps and sent back to Earth.

            You read correctly, Hal once again saves the Universe and the Guardians strip him of his power ring.  Sinestro is a Green Lantern.  The destruction is just massive and terrible.  It all leads into an aftermath of strange proportions.

            I am adding GREEN LANTERN CORPS #61 to the final report because it is as much part of the aftermath as the two issues released as a special.  This deals with one of the Green Lanterns chosen during the craziness that overwhelmed Mogo and the Corps and the effects on John Stewart.  Most of the “newbies” are just discarding the rings and asking to be taken home.  They are shattered beings.  When the rings chose them the effect was to then have them killing anyone and everyone around them before being called to Oa to battle the Earth Lanterns.  Most feel guilt and shame and are not wanting to be a GL.

            One young woman named Qurina does not want to give up the ring.  She was a law enforcement officer on her planet and has the sense of duty others do not.  Feeling scorned by the other Lanterns and still wanting to atone for her part in the War she seeks out the other person on Oa that is being scorned, John Stewart.  He destroyed Mogo to stop the flow of Green Lantern Power Rings across the Universe.  He made a choice that killed the most beloved Lantern in existence.  Now he is hated.

            A distress call comes from Qurina's sector.  The other GL for that sector is dead.  She responds with John by her side.  What follows is John teaching her about seeing the big picture.  It is a story that displays how small attempts can lead to more chaos, but seeing beyond the small conflict to the reasons and roots of the conflict can have a managed solution.  It is a nice story from the reconstruction of the Corps.

            Now we get to the WAR OF THE GREEN LANTERNS AFTERMATH # 1 & 2 which is a very detailed story with a bunch of conflict and directions that will lead into the DCnU.  A shattered Corps is at odds with what has occurred and some of the new Lanterns, Sinestro being the focus.  Resignations fly and the Guardians act like their usual arrogant selves.  Ganthet has retreated because he feels he fits nowhere.  It is here in Issue #1 that Salaak is shown as an important part of the Lantern bureaucracy.  He deduces that they all are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress.  The thing is we also see him mistreated by the very Guardians he is loyal to and it is here we see a possible Corps where Salaak serves as a main leader instead of follower of the Guardians.

            Sinestro screams for the ring to get off.  He is taken away and later we see the Guardians trying to get the ring off.  It apparently is stuck on him.  Natu, his daughter is recruited to help some disgruntled Lanterns kill Sinestro.  This will lead to a neat confrontation starring Kyle Rayner later on.  Kyle and John face some Earth Lantern hatred.  Seems the rest of the Corps is not happy to once again be rescued by the foursome from Earth.  A seed is growing that will mark a change in the way Lanterns approach each other.  The Alpha Lanterns will become important as “the cops who police the cops.”  Things are changing.

            This has been one of the best stories I have ever read.  Shocks and drama galore.  It was fast and serious and at the core you knew no one was safe.  Each of your favorite Lanterns had singular parts that allow for them to stand out.  It was yet another tale of wonder from Geoff Johns.  He keeps raising the bar and then jumping over it just to raise that bar again.

BDS