DCU Comic Book Reviews

GREEN LANTERN #30

Green Lantern Secret Origin, Part 2

June 2008

Written by Geoff Johns

Pencils by Ivan Reis

Inks by Oclair Albert

Cover by Ivan Reis

Synopsis

When Abin Sur learns of the prophecy of the Blackest Night, he decides to go to Earth to find the birthplace of the black.  After getting kicked out of the Air Force, Hal Jordan works as a mechanic at Arden Air, but what he really wants to do is get back in the cockpit and fly planes.  Meanwhile, Abin Sur is close to Earth when his prisoner, Atrocitus escapes and causes Sur’s ship to crash into the desert.  Sur’s power ring seeks a replacement and finds Hal Jordan, who becomes the new Green Lantern.  When he wears the ring for the first time, Jordan realizes he can fly without a plane.  He manages to create a sonic boom that causes a plane to go out of control.  Jordan helps the plane land safely on the ground.  There, everyone is amazed at the new superhero, including Carol Ferris.  Her boyfriend, Hector Hammond, is not amused. 

Review by Binkley (e-mail)

This is excellent stuff.  Maybe it is too early in the story to say this, but I really think when this storyline is all said and done it will become an iconic story in the same way Batman:  Year One has become for the Dark Knight.  What Johns is doing in this story is not only crafting a damn good story, but also incorporating new elements that add to the character’s past that will inform future stories as well.  Johns understands that to re-tell the past holds no value, unless you can take the opportunity to sow the seeds for the future (or for the future that has already been written, if that makes sense). 

I may not know much about Hal Jordan or his origin beyond the basics, but I do know that Johns has managed to take an origin that was riddled with holes (or was not written for an eye of extreme detail) and filled them up so that the entire thing makes sense.  For instance, why would Abin Sur, who wields a power ring that allows him to do anything he wants, be flying a spaceship to Earth?  Johns addresses this seemingly inconsistent point and makes sense of it and uses it in a way that makes sense to the overall story.  The key, however, is that Johns is not radically changing the origin story, but adding and embellishing to it to give it depth and emotional weight.  The perfect example of this is the moment when Jordan first puts on the ring and realizes he can fly without the need for an airplane.  Reis knocks that scene out of the park, showing first Jordan’s panic-filled face and what was happening followed by the sheer joy of being in the air once more.  It is a great moment. 

I should also point out that while this story is re-telling the origin for Hal Jordan, Johns is also using the story to flesh out the back story (or the prophecy) for the upcoming “Darkest Night” storyline that will appear in the coming months.  This, I think, is the genius of the story.  Much of the Blackest Night is based upon an old story from about 20 years ago, but I don’t think that story said much more the Prophecy, so Johns is taking that and weaving in and out of the Green Lantern mythology. 

Speaking of mythology, I don’t know much about Hector Hammond and based on the final page, Johns may be making more changes to that character than other previous changes.  Exactly how much of an impact this change has will not be seen until next week, but I like the fact that Johns is using this origin to also incorporate more villains than just Sinestro. 

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