Welcome back to my own little den of mayhem! What’s up this week? Well, judging by the tag line, today it’s about Green Lantern!
As I’ve mentioned before, DC comics recently rebooted their entire franchise. I’m not gonna go back over that, but what I will say is that Green Lantern, and its associated titles, seems to have escaped relatively unscathed. Probably because it is the pride and joy of the Chief Creative Consultant, Geoff Johns.
So, 6 issues in, what exciting things are occurring for Hal Jordan and the other wielders of the Emerald Light? Well, there has been some interesting developments but I’m not going to go over some stories you have already read (and if you haven’t, why not?) Instead, I want to look at an interesting comment from the final page of issue 5 of Green Lantern. The Guardians are gathered in their citadel, discussing recent developments, and one says “The First Lantern will lead the Third Army. And the Third Army will replace the Green Lantern Corps”.
Of course, such ominous words got my flipping through my back issues, and I noticed, right there in issue 1 the phrase “Our minds must be one…if we are to invoke our new mission.” New mission, what new mission? And who is this First Lantern? The Third Army? Well, I’m guessing the Manhunters were the first, the Corps are the second, so it makes sense that the next iteration is the Third Army.
The First Lantern then. Who is this? I have a feeling that I know the answer to that question. It’s Krona, the “Rogue Guardian”. At one time he was responsible for unleashing evil into the universe, but as far as I know, this hasn’t been confirmed in the new DC universe. And to be fair, neither has his “First Lantern” status, as this was discovered in Green Lantern 63, from April of last year. Of course, given that little of the Green Lantern has been changed, it’s possible this is still the case.
But Krona is dead, isn’t he? We see the leader of the Red Lantern Corp standing over his corpse in Red Lantern issue 1, 2, 3 and 4. Of course, the corpse goes missing at the end of issue 4, and issue 5 suggests Krona may have risen again. He is an immortal after all…
But who is this Arch Angel character that’s appeared in Green Lantern : New Guardians. He seems to know of Agent Orange, and of the Power Rings. And his cry of “All Dark Things Must Fear The Light” brings to mind the Golden Age Green Lanterns oath, particularly the line “The Dark Things cannot stand the Light, the Light of Green Lantern.” Where does he fit into everything, if at all?
Of course, I don’t want to be accused of ignoring the happenings in the Marvel Universe. Whilst I don’t personally follow much from that side, I have picked up the preview for the upcoming X-men Vs The Avengers conflict at my friendly local comics shop. It looks like Hope, the Mutant Messiah (the one Cable carried around a baby a few years back) is going to play a central role. For those who are not in the know, the total number mutants in the world has reduced to around 200, thanks to the Scarlet Witch going slightly mad during the House of M saga. Hope is the first mutant to be born after this event, and is meant to save both mutant and human kind. In typical comic book style, the how and why has yet to be explained. At the same time, the Phoenix Force, that extraterrestrial power source that plagued Jean Grey (and anyone who was unfortunate enough to watch the 3rd X-men movie) is heading back to Earth in search of a new host. Captain America has reason to believe that Hope may well be the target…
This conflict is due to play out over the next 6 months, and even if you are not up to speed on your Marvel history, grab the free preview issue and get the background. The two biggest Marvel teams are about to go head to head, this could be explosive!
Well, I’ve gibbered on about comics for long enough now. I’m gonna promise right now that each week won’t be just comics reviews. In fact, why not hit my up on twitter (@CONFLAGKENNY) and suggest anything you want me to review, or even to just let me know what you think so far. See you next week folks!
NB – Between writing this article, and it being put online, issue 7 of Red Lantern has been released. Certain developments suggest Krona may not be the First Lantern the Guardians have referred to, given as we see someone wherein his skin as a cape. Then again, as I’ve already noted, he is immortal…..
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