The war rages on! Trapped in Sector 2000 at the haven known as the Green House, Guy Gardner and Hal Jordan are fighting the elements to find their hidden base. So, they can get back to Kyle Rayner and John Stewart to attempt some sort of rescue of the Green Lantern Corps under the control of the evil ex-Guardian of the Universe Krona.
This review is going to cover the events that took place in Green Lantern #65 and Green Lantern Corps #59 (parts 4 & 5 of the Green Lantern War respectively). Green Lantern #65 picks up with a captured Kilowog being tortured by Krona as he tries to figure out why Kilowog is not currently under the control of Parallax (who was recently reinserted into the Central Power Battery reactivating the Green Ring’s impurity). It doesn’t take long for the villainous Krona to figure out the reason behind Kilowog’s immunity, but we already know why having read the first 3 parts of this story, don’t we? Needless to say, Kilowog really didn’t stand a chance and is finally overtaken by the embodiment of fear.
More on that later, now back to the Green House. Hal and Guy are freezing their butts off, because they can’t put their lanterns back on without the help of their rings. So, they are having trouble locating the door to the safe house (which Hal built during the planet’s summer). Finally, they stumble in and Guy is treated to a huge surprise… the Interceptor! That’s right, Hal Jordan built the Universe’s fastest spaceship. I guess you can take the boy out of the test piloting, but you can’t take the test piloting out of the boy. That being said, the Interceptor is pretty bad ass and it even allows Guy to order a frosty cold beer, not that Hal will let him drink it (spoilsport).
I’m sure you have guessed by now that in a book full of super-powered ring-slingers that the super jet is not long for this Universe. That’s right! The previously mentioned Kilowog, under the influence of the Yellow Impurity, basically rips the ship apart like tissue paper. This leaves Hal and Guy to both take one solitary escape pod. Hal even managed to crack a joke about whether or not it was Guy’s belt buckle.
The preprogrammed escape pod takes Guy and Hal directly to Kyle and John hiding out on OA. Hal then decides to share a little present with the gang. Just because they can’t use their rings it doesn’t mean they can’t use another colored ring. Right? The guys make their choices, Hal is Yellow; John is Indigo; Guy is Red (of course) and Kyle picks Blue. Right or wrong the boys from Earth are armed, dangerous and ready to save some Green Lanterns. This ends an outstanding issue of Green Lantern.
Green Lantern Corps #59 picks right up where Green Lantern #65 ends. Ganthet is battling for his life, while the Earth boys are trying their new rings on for size. There are a couple of huge happenings in this issue!
First, after fighting off the Corps and getting to Ganthet, Kyle and the Gang receive a verbal smackdown from the last free Guardian. He proceeds to tell each of the boys why they chose wrongly: Kyle is not yet ready to wield the power of hope, John Stewart is ill-suited for compassion, Guy Gardner’s Red Lantern is potentially a death sentence and then there is Hal Jordan who has to free himself from the Yellow ring before the prolonged exposure corrupts him forever… forever!
I loved everything that happened in this issue, from the fighting to the Lanterns from Earth bearing rings of the other Corps, but the one thing I wanted to see was what happened with the possessed Guardians. I would like to see them fighting Krona’s control a bit, and maybe there will be more on that in the next installment.
Oh, that second huge thing… Mogo showed up. Was he on the side of the “angels” or was he there to take care of the Earth boys? You’ll have to pick up the issue to find out. If you aren’t reading the War of the Green Lanterns you should be. I wasn’t psyched about reading another Green Lantern event on the heels of the disappointment that was Brightest Day. But, wow did I underestimate this story arc. It has been nothing but great storytelling and taking a look a the four main Lanterns on a deeper level. Seeing what makes them tick, why they make the choices they do and the outcome that will rock the Earth-born Green Lanterns to their collective cores.
