And so it was after re-reading "Blackest Night" that I decided to keep going in reverse thru the tent-pole events of the GL-Verse. Since Geoff Johns started his opus with "Green Lantern: Rebirth", the story has had a specific forward momentum; building towards events that shaped the immediate future of the GL Corps, and laid the groundwork for future events. Parts of what went down in BN were established as far back as GL: Rebirth (with some story elements written well before Johns was even thinking of being a comic writer). That is also the case right here with "The Sinestro Corps War". So with that I decided to follow in the footsteps of what I did with BN, and read ONLY the core story itself and none of the other tie-in books (thankfully in this case that's only like 4 one-shots).
The opening page of this story, in a fashion sometimes lost in comics, tells you every bit of backstory you really need to know in 5 simple panels of beautiful Ivan Reis art. A naked Sinestro utters one sentence that sums up his whole purpose, and the purpose of this event..."The Universe Needs To Change". His backstory unfolds quickly, the second page answers the question of how Sinestro's back was scarred with the Lantern logo, and clearly defines his hate for Kyle Rayner, or rather "the alley rat" as Sinestro so lovingly calls him. And in the 3rd & 4th pages, we get to hear the oath of the Sinestro Corps; an oath that is the antithesis of the GL oath.
Given the current status quo of the DCU, I find it amusing that Zoom is the villain Geoff Johns elected to use to really kick this story off as the JLA searches out Sinestro in a follow-up to the moment in an earlier issue where Batman is initated into the Sinestro Corps for a minute (GL #17)...
It's in those moments after the Zoom confrontation that Hal Jordan makes a dire statement, "I don't think the Sinestro Corps is Earth's problem, it's the Green Lanterns." Enter the yellow rings as they fly around the universe looking for those beings capable of creating great fear in a follow-up to a few issues earlier where the reader sees the construction of the rings on Qward, further teasing what was about to go down here.
Johns' drops in on The Guardians as they investigate another of Geoff's favorites, The Cyborg Superman (last seen leading a new wave of Manhunters , who has apparently discovered the secret of the 52 parallel universes and we also get our first mention of the Prophecy of Cosmic Revelations: the Blackest Night in this story (it was name dropped GL #11). In another small touch, that only has meaning in hindsight, Cyborg Supes says "Without life, there will be no fear, avarice, or hate.", to which Ganthet retorts "Without life there is also no hope or compassion." and Sayd (the female Guardian) chimes in "or love". In one panel we have the core elements of the...ummm, corps...stated before anything outside of the GLC or SC exist. And the seeds are planted...
After a quick check-in on another Johns favorite in Superboy-Prime (following up on his imprisonment after "Infinite Crisis"), we get a down moment that lets us in on the internal struggles within the GLC as well as those of Kyle Rayner AKA Ion. We find out about Ion's Mom, about some painting, and then with a KRAKSH everything goes to hell! Kyle's abducted, deposited in the Anti-Matter Universe, and the reader gets their first idea of just what awaits Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and the rest of the GLC...
And as if that wasn't enough, the brutality begins on Oa and we get to see how violent this war is going to be when a sniper beam blows a whole in a Lantern's head and sprays Guy's face with blood. Kyle versus the SC, the GLC vs the SC, Superboy-Prime & Cyborg Supes liberated, the truth behind Ion revealed as its ripped from the chest of Kyle, and the symbolic ripping of Kyle's heart from his chest as Sinestro tells Kyle the truth about his mother's death & the SC's role in it. He is a broken man, just like Hal Jordan after Coast City's destruction, and just like Hal, Sinestro uses that moment to turn Kyle into Parallax. Oh wait, there's more...
And all of that is just the Prologue issue...Sinestro, Parallax, two Super-Men, and the f'n Anti-Monitor! Not to mention the Sinestro Corps and their very lethal methods. In one issue, Geoff Johns has set-up a no-win situation for the GLC and even in the re-read I still felt that same sense of "how the hell are they going to survive this" that I had when I first saw that image right above.
In the proper Part One, Johns gives the reader the same kind of origin for Hal Jordan that he did for Sinestro and nails all the pertinent information in a couple of pages. The stress caused between the Lost Lanterns & Hal Jordan continues while the Guardians elect to further bury The Blackest Night by destroying the last chapter of the Book of Oa. But it is those action that bring about the eventual creation of the Blue Lanters when Ganthet & Sayd bid farewell to Hal Jordan with three simple words... "We will hope.". Unfortunately that hope is nearly decimated immediately as Hal is confronted by the Parallax-possessed Kyle Rayner.
With Chapter Two of the story in GLC (written by Dave Gibbsons), it jumps to the events of the War from other perspectives: primarily that of Sinestro but with some members of the GLC included. The level of violence in this is chapter really shows how different, how serious this battle truly is, but the crux of the story is that of Sinestro's return to Korugar which is now patrolled by Soranik Natu. In this confrontation we get our first mention of the GLC's inability to use lethal force on their enemies which becomes a major point within the SCW, and we get the first meeting between Sinestro & Soranik which has some serious long term ramifications. In the light of what is eventually revealed about their familial connection, it's no wonder Sinestro didn't kill her, and it gives a whole other level of meaning to Sinestro's statement that he "only need Korugar to believe you have defeated me and I have won." Maybe, in his twisted way of thinking, Sinestro figured that Natu would owe him for the fealty Korugar would give her for the "victory" over their former tyrannical ruler....or maybe he figured she'd owe her Daddy one. Oh yeah, and this Sodam Yat guy pops up....
Back to Hal's story and the return of Amon Sur (now a Sinestro Corps member) after his failed attempts to kill Jordan a few issues prior to SCW. I guess the first few pages of this issue tell the tale of how only family can talk trash about family, anyone else better watch their mouth. What's Superboy-Prime waiting for? How sad is Cyborg Supes when you really look at him? And how terrible are the Guardians as they are apparently willing to sacrifice everything Kyle has done for them to save the Ion Entity? For the greater good and all that...
Kyle unfortunately has to suffer through some of the same moments Hal had to when he was under Parallax's influence, specifically when he kills the lost lantern Jack Chance. And we get our second moment of a ring shutting down at the attempted use of lethal force, this time by another lost lantern, Boodikka. Seems to be a theme. Oh yeah, and very pivotal figure for the coming years is introduced in the Keeper of the Book of Parallax known as Lyssa Drak.
The jump to GLC bring us a brutal bloody war on Mogo as several elements of previous GLC arcs come into play in the forms of Ranx The Sentient Planet & The Children of the White Lobe. As a matter of fact, the attempted destruction of Mogo is actually a continuation of a prophecy from a 1986 Annual written by Alan Moore. Hell, a lot of what Johns has used to tell his long-term story is based on Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2 (the Empire of Tears, Ysmault, the Five Inversions, etc.). We also get continued concern about the condition of Sodam Yat by the Guardians, and the fight everyone has been waiting for since we first saw him in GL #10: Arkillo vs. Killowog. Oh yeah, and the GLC meets the Anti-Monitor!
To Hal and the Earth-GL's....oh wait, first a little stop in Coast City and the Jordan family. See Hal's brother and his family moved to Coast City shortly after Jordan's return to life but despite the best efforts of the government, the city is still barely populated. Anywho, Hal find himself powerless in the heart of Sinestro Corps hell and makes the scary scary decison to take on a handful of yellow rings; touching another Corps ring and setting the stage for moments to come as hell eventually wears the ring of damn near every Corps (which in turn created the speculation that he would be the White Lantern since he had touched all the colors). The Guardians also make their first fateful decision as they renege on something they stated many issues earlier when Hal requested to explore the Forbidden Sector: they elect to rewrite the Book of Oa...and toss Ganthet & Sayd on their asses for acting on emotion.
In the span of a few pages, the entire game changes: The Sinestro Corps heads for Earth while the Guardians have amassed the GLC on Oa, the Earth Lanterns stand alone in Coast City as Parallax arrives, and the 1st of 10 new rules in the Book of Oa is announced: Lethal Force Enabled! Why Earth and not Oa (given that Oa is the center of the universe)?
Because Earth is the center of the multiverse....
Thus ends Volume One of the Sinestro Corps War HC, and part one of my recap/review/rewind/rehash. So what do we have?
In the first half of the story, Johns & Gibbons have laid some of the foundation for "Blackest Night", have evolved storyline points from the first two years of GL & the one year of GLC to bring to fruition the teases of the Sinestro Corps formation; villains that sprouted out in pre-SCW issues have come full circle with membership in the SC; the saga of Coast City continues; elements of Johns' other mega-story "Infinite Crisis" are brought into play with Cyborg Supes, Supes-Prime, and the 52; it laid the groundwork for the whole concept of The Entities; hell even elements of Kyle's life pre-Johns are fleshed out as his sorrow at his mother's death becomes a key storyline point. And all of that is just in the first half of this GL-Event.
What lies in story for the culmination of the Sinestro Corps War? How does it foretell the coming of the Blackest Night and the other Corps that are introduced following SCW? What else does SCW tell us about the past & future of the GL-Verse? Check back at the end of the week for Part Two of Sinestro Corps War Revisited!
Until then, don't let Parallax get ya!
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And if you're interested in reading this, or any of the rest of Geoff Johns' Green Lantern run, I am currently auctioning off a large chunk of his run (everything from SCW - present), so check it out here: My Green Lantern Auction.
Also, check out the rest of my auctions if you're interested: The Rest Of My Auctions
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