Green Lantern #32 Spoilers!!!!

[Samuraixsithlord]

Hector Hammond gets exposed to the radiation fromthe downed alien space craft and gains psychic powers. He can't stop everyone thoughts from going through his head and the lashs out and kills a few people

Tom finds Hal and is pretty excited about him being the new Green Lantern. He then tells him about the walkout that happened when Carol took charge of the base.

Carol is seen in her new office trying to hire new pilots but fails. Jorden comes in and tell her he quits, and will be back when her father shows up he'll have a few words with him to. Carol convinces him to stay because she needs a pilot and he needs a job.

we cut to Atrocitus eating the bodies of some hunters. He then recites what appears to be the future Red Lantern oath:

With Blood and Rage of Crimson Red
Ripped from the Corpse, so freshly Dead
Together with Our Hellish Hate will burn you all,
that is your Fate.

Back to Hal who's taking the new Ferris aircraft out for a spin.
Sinestro shows up and blows up the plane in mid-air.
Sinestro is at a loss for words as to why Hal doesn't know him. Hal attacks but Sinestro easily counters. Hal is pissed over the loss of the plane so Sinestro reconstructs it with his ring.

Hal lands and meets Carol who's pissed. Dr. Hammond shows up and attacks both of them.

Atrocitus is shown to be 66 miles from Coast City

[CMBMOOL]

Man, this is some great retell origin tale of Hal Jordan. :tongue:

[jv2k]

we cut to Atrocitus eating the bodies of some hunters. He then recites what appears to be the future Red Lantern oath:

Am I the only one who finds it funny that there was a dead deer not far from the campfire?

[Sabrinaset]

I was under the impression that the same aliens that mutated the Shark also mutated Hammond ... but here, it's just Abin's spaceship ...?

[Samuraixsithlord]

Am I the only one who finds it funny that there was a dead deer not far from the campfire?

which was still intact. Plus it's cooler to think he ate the hunters.

that's right the Red Lanterns were created by PETA to tell the world that it's ok to eat human beings (They don't count), but it's not ok to eat animals (or any any animal that's not cute or pretty). So go out and destroy that ant hill no one cares

[chriskenny]

I was under the impression that the same aliens that mutated the Shark also mutated Hammond ... but here, it's just Abin's spaceship ...?

It appears like his transformation isn't complete. Maybe the aliens guide him along in his evolution? Just a thought...

[Jack Zodiac]

I don't think I like where they're going with Hammond. They're pushing him towards Anger and the Red Lanterns, which is a mistake. I appreciate how in-depth Johns is getting into his characters' history, but really, he should learn to just leave some things alone and not try to connect every single dot in his big picture, because it's getting kind of messy and unnecessary.

Otherwise, though, a decent issue, though there was far, far less Sinestro than I'd hoped for. They could've easily cut or compressed a lot of this issue and featured more Sinestro/Hal banter, getting to know each other and creating this perceived friendship Sin references after his capture during the war.

And, as always, beautiful, crisp, clean art work.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

"That mustache makes him look like a pedophile"

Hector Hammond is second only to Supermanboy-Prime as the most hilarious villain Geoff Johns writes.

[Hatut Zeraze]

I I appreciate how in-depth Johns is getting into his characters' history, but really, he should learn to just leave some things alone and not try to connect every single dot in his big picture, because it's getting kind of messy and unnecessary.

.

Johns should recite this to himself every morning. I just can't consider myself a fan because he gets caught up in this kind of nonsense all the time. Despite the many great things he's done and is capable of doing, so many of his stories just seem to get away from him.

[Raker616]

Like I always say to each their own but I love the way Geoff is tying in Hal's rogues to his origin, not just have these characters be his villans because way back in the SA they fought GL.

Anyway, once again Geoff and co. blow away everything DC has put out in the last month and deliver another amazing issue of Secret Origins. There are so many great little momments in this comic, I had to immediatelly read it twice to take everything in. Ivan's art ig possible has gotten better through out the arc or maybe it's just the new colorist but either way it looks great. Sinestro's appearance and meeting with Hal is the highlight but it's followed closely by Atrocitus oath and Carol's very human breakdown. Like i've been saying for a while now GL is the best comic out today, month in and month out it never disapoints and issue 5 looks like it's gonna just get better and better.

[Karl O'Neill]

I don't think I like where they're going with Hammond. They're pushing him towards Anger and the Red Lanterns, which is a mistake. I appreciate how in-depth Johns is getting into his characters' history, but really, he should learn to just leave some things alone and not try to connect every single dot in his big picture, because it's getting kind of messy and unnecessary.

Otherwise, though, a decent issue, though there was far, far less Sinestro than I'd hoped for. They could've easily cut or compressed a lot of this issue and featured more Sinestro/Hal banter, getting to know each other and creating this perceived friendship Sin references after his capture during the war.

And, as always, beautiful, crisp, clean art work.

it wasn;t rage or red jack, it was an orange explosion, and orange is the colour or avarice in johns prohesy.

hammond wants everything that hal has, he envys him, on a much deeper level. hector will be a member of the controllers orange corps with agent orange.

[Jack Zodiac]

Still just as unnecessary and ill-fitting for the character. Whether he's pushed into becoming a Red Lantern or an Orange Lantern, shoving more and more classic villains into this new status quo is boring as hell. It worked for Sinestro. I can understand the reasoning behind it for Star Sapphire. But Black Hand? Hector Hammond? Next, Shark's going to become a Red Lantern or something ridiculous like that.

And on the topic of Red Lanterns, that oath is terrible. Sinestro's oath was awful, but it resonated with that same goofy Silver Age hilarity as the Green Lantern Corp oath mimicking Alan's even more hilarious oath. I can't wait to see what other horrible rhyming jingles he puts together for greed, love, compassion and hope.

[Karl O'Neill]

Still just as unnecessary and ill-fitting for the character. Whether he's pushed into becoming a Red Lantern or an Orange Lantern, shoving more and more classic villains into this new status quo is boring as hell. It worked for Sinestro. I can understand the reasoning behind it for Star Sapphire. But Black Hand? Hector Hammond? Next, Shark's going to become a Red Lantern or something ridiculous like that.

And on the topic of Red Lanterns, that oath is terrible. Sinestro's oath was awful, but it resonated with that same goofy Silver Age hilarity as the Green Lantern Corp oath mimicking Alan's even more hilarious oath. I can't wait to see what other horrible rhyming jingles he puts together for greed, love, compassion and hope.

um, what's the alternative? Don't give them oaths? ignore them, and not build on the ultra super threads that spun out of the sinestro corps war. As for writing the classic villains into the emotional spectrum i think it is a great idea, lets face it, other than sinestro, No other green lantern villains made much of a dent with fans.

Reinventing these villains like he done with the Flash's Rogues gallery is the perfect approach, As good as mark waid's Flash was, he never made me interested in a villain ever, and as good or great as some of the old Green lantern stories where, people will dismiss those old gimmick z-list villains, Geoff johns will make Green lantern villains badass and respectable, so when other creators use them they might write them with a big of interest in them.

when my friend first read johns take on captain cold, he said, wow, This captain cold guy makes that other batman villain mr freeze look like a little chump.

[Jack Zodiac]

Yes, don't give them oaths, that would be a suitable alternative. Not everyone needs to chant some incredibly silly rhyme when they charge their ring. For that matter, not everyone on the "emotional spectrum" should need a ring. The whole thing's becoming really unimaginative considering the seemingly high-concept idea of it all. It's like Geoff had this super-neat idea and then actively looked for a way to make it dumber.

[Karl O'Neill]

Yes, don't give them oaths, that would be a suitable alternative. Not everyone needs to chant some incredibly silly rhyme when they charge their ring. For that matter, not everyone on the "emotional spectrum" should need a ring. The whole thing's becoming really unimaginative considering the seemingly high-concept idea of it all. It's like Geoff had this super-neat idea and then actively looked for a way to make it dumber.

who are your splinter group so far?

I say the Blue, even though i have not seen or heard much from them yet:)

Blue=noble-awesome-cool looking-and probably better than the Green lantern corps at getting the job done.

[Jack Zodiac]

Reinventing these villains like he done with the Flash's Rogues gallery is the perfect approach, As good as mark waid's Flash was, he never made me interested in a villain ever, and as good or great as some of the old Green lantern stories where, people will dismiss those old gimmick z-list villains, Geoff johns will make Green lantern villains badass and respectable, so when other creators use them they might write them with a big of interest in them.

when my friend first read johns take on captain cold, he said, wow, This captain cold guy makes that other batman villain mr freeze look like a little chump.

No, no, no, no, no. There is a huge, noticeable difference between what Johns did with Flash's rogues and what he's doing with Green Lantern's villains. He didn't give all of Wally's villains some uniform code or some structured hierarchy to work within. He made them more independent characters by delving into their history and personalities. What he's doing with Hal's rogues, is he's digging into their histories, sure; but then he's cementing them all in a single, uniform plot point: the emotional spectrum. And that works for some characters. Sinestro, because of his history, was perfect for leading the Sinestro Corps and representing the universal emotion of fear, and Star Sapphire and the Zamarons will be perfect for representing the universal emotion of love. I could even understand the Controllers being part of the universal emotion of avarice. But Hammond, Black Hand, Shark, Mongul (though I'll admit I am liking Tomasi's Corps and his part in it), a host of other character, they were just fine on their own. Geoff did not and does not need to file and organize them all into some rainbow of evil.

who are your splinter group so far?

I say the Blue, even though i have not seen or heard much from them yet:)

Blue=noble-awesome-cool looking-and probably better than the Green lantern corps at getting the job done.

I dug Sinestro's Corps and I think the Star Sapphires were a long time coming (though I think it's completely stupid that they'd forge rings instead of just wearing their Star Sapphires like they've always done). And I kind of dig Ganthet and Sayd's Corps of hope, but I'm not going to kid myself. I know that, eventually, all of these groups are going to become just another Corps with their own rings and mascots and superheroes from entrenched continuity slinging their colors about- it's just gonna go to pot eventually. Which is a shame.

[josh straightedge]

Why the hell do all of Green Lanterns villains need to be put into the color spectrum anyways?

[Raker616]

Maybe because it works?.

[Jack Zodiac]

It doesn't. It creates a really uninteresting uniformity.

[SupermanL]

My over all favorite book that I read continuously for D/C just keeps getting better. I am a big John's fan, and this brings out what will be my favorite year 09 end event "Blackest Night" to the for front.

[Iron Syndicate]

I dug Sinestro's Corps and I think the Star Sapphires were a long time coming (though I think it's completely stupid that they'd forge rings instead of just wearing their Star Sapphires like they've always done). And I kind of dig Ganthet and Sayd's Corps of hope, but I'm not going to kid myself. I know that, eventually, all of these groups are going to become just another Corps with their own rings and mascots and superheroes from entrenched continuity slinging their colors about- it's just gonna go to pot eventually. Which is a shame.

I'm sorry but this made me laugh a little - this is essentially what you're saying:
"I loved everything that has already appeared in the book, but I'm not too crazy about the speculative stuff that could happen in the future."

If you like everything you've read (Sinestro, Star Sapphire, Ganthet and Sayd) why not give Johns the benefit of the doubt as he clearly knows what he's doing. You don't know how each Corps will be built, and the two we've already seen are clearly very different in their goals and M.O.s - who knows, perhaps the Orange Corps never gets anything done because they're constantly in internal power-struggles (each member wants the other's powers).

I think the emotional spectrum is a genius idea, and one that is filled with possibilities - especially once you consider the Black Lanterns (complete lack of emotion) and the very-probable White Lanterns (bursting with emotion).

[SupermanL]

Why the hell do all of Green Lanterns villains need to be put into the color spectrum anyways?

Well, technically, Hal Jordan faces many villains that are not in the spectrum, when he's in the Jusice League.

[Alex L]

I'm sorry but this made me laugh a little - this is essentially what you're saying:
"I loved everything that has already appeared in the book, but I'm not too crazy about the speculative stuff that could happen in the future."

If you like everything you've read (Sinestro, Star Sapphire, Ganthet and Sayd) why not give Johns the benefit of the doubt as he clearly knows what he's doing. You don't know how each Corps will be built, and the two we've already seen are clearly very different in their goals and M.O.s - who knows, perhaps the Orange Corps never gets anything done because they're constantly in internal power-struggles (each member wants the other's powers).

I think the emotional spectrum is a genius idea, and one that is filled with possibilities - especially once you consider the Black Lanterns (complete lack of emotion) and the very-probable White Lanterns (bursting with emotion).

It's been established that the Green ring has an AI. This was true even far back in the day.
As best I remember, Sinestro's original yellow ring didn't have one.

But when the entire Corps was created, an AI that was also capable of seeking out potential bearers on its own was added. That's plausible, since it makes sense that he would base his Corps on an organization he already knows and the Weaponers could conceivably mimic the ring/battery power structure.

Now we see the Red rings also with a similar AI.
And an oath.
And a battery.

As far as colors go, it's now three-for-three.

The emotional spectrum is, in and of itself, not a bad idea.

It's a little wonky, since "willpower" is not an emotion and the GLC has never before shown signs of being emotionally influenced or unnaturally stripped of emotions.

But the idea of "everyone has to have rings, batteries, and oaths (and as time goes on, anthropomorphic embodiments)" weakens the concept.

[Dagger]

I'm just getting back into DC comics, and I picked up this book, and must say that I love it. I'm loving Johns take on the GL concept, and hope he stays on the book for as long as possible. Does anyone have a link on where I can read up on this 'Blackest Night' event that's going to be going down next year?

[Jack Zodiac]

I'm sorry but this made me laugh a little - this is essentially what you're saying:
"I loved everything that has already appeared in the book, but I'm not too crazy about the speculative stuff that could happen in the future."

No, what I said was what I said. I dug Sinestro, I can understand Star Sapphire, Ganthet and Sayd are interesting characters and their splitting off from the Guardians was an interesting idea. The entire emotional color spectrum itself is a good idea. But what I've already seen Johns do with it, and what I can easily assume he will continue to do with it, is bland and unimaginative.

I think the emotional spectrum is a genius idea, and one that is filled with possibilities - especially once you consider the Black Lanterns (complete lack of emotion) and the very-probable White Lanterns (bursting with emotion).

No, see, this is where it gets incredibly dumb.

I like the idea of an emotional spectrum with universal avatars. The idea itself is neat and, for Johns, pretty high-concept. Where he's failing with it is the whole Lantern thing. Why? Why take an idea that filled with potential and squander it by creating legions of the exact same thing in different costumes? It takes a big idea and makes it small, puts it on some crappy character's finger, and makes that character just like everybody else.

[Raker616]

Or it expands a great concept and uses it to tell what could be the biggest GL story ever told, maybe if the 7 Corps were permenant fixtures it could get to the point were it lessens the originality of the GL Corps. But using them for a specific event and tying Hal his rogues and the GL mythos together to tell a great story I believe is a brilliant idea. In the end, the real verdict will be told once Blackest Night comes out sometime next year, but considering the great job that Geoff has done with GL I have no doubt that this is gonna be epic.

[JCAll]

*FACEPALM*

For anyone who was remotely paying attention during DC Universe 0, Hector Hammond (as well as the Shark and Evil Star...Who?) was killed in the train crash that Black Hand escaped in.

They've just spent the better part of an entire issue retelling the origin of a corpse.
And gee, I wonder who William Hand is....

I maintain that this entire origin is needless.

Hector Hammond...welcome to the Black Lantern Corps.

[Raker616]

I think you misread that and it's actually a mistake that several people have made, but Hammond, Shark, and Evil Star are all alive and will probably play a role in Blackest Night.

[Shypsi-Prime]

It doesn't. It creates a really uninteresting uniformity.

It does work. But that's your opinion.

I personally don't know how anyone wouldn't like the Green Lantern comic right now.

I am a Marvel fan but I am LOVING Secret Origin. I have loved Green Lantern comics for awhile now. It one of the VERY few (2) DC comics on my pull list.

Awesome awesome issue.

[Samuraixsithlord]

I actually can't wait for Final Crisis to be over so we can get to Blackest Night next year.

[StarsAndGarters]

I have to say, I'm really enjoying this arc. I like how Johns is expanding on the moments from his first issue of the new series.

"That mustache makes him look like a pedophile"

Hector Hammond is second only to Supermanboy-Prime as the most hilarious villain Geoff Johns writes.

So true. We all were thinking it. Johns writes it.

It doesn't. It creates a really uninteresting uniformity.

I don't think it'll work in the long run, but for now, I kind of like it. After Blackest Night they can all go back to being ringless.

*FACEPALM*

For anyone who was remotely paying attention during DC Universe 0, Hector Hammond (as well as the Shark and Evil Star...Who?) was killed in the train crash that Black Hand escaped in.

Wha...? I totally don't remember that. What page?

I actually can't wait for Final Crisis to be over so we can get to Blackest Night next year.

Same here.

[JCAll]

I think you misread that and it's actually a mistake that several people have made, but Hammond, Shark, and Evil Star are all alive and will probably play a role in Blackest Night.

Maybe. After re-reading it, it's not really clear if the train that exploded was carrying Hammond and the others when it exploded, or that it had carried them recently before it exploded.

[Superboy-Prime]

red lantern oath was awesome as hell.

[Iron Syndicate]

It does work. But that's your opinion.

I personally don't know how anyone wouldn't like the Green Lantern comic right now.

I am a Marvel fan but I am LOVING Secret Origin. I have loved Green Lantern comics for awhile now. It one of the VERY few (2) DC comics on my pull list.

Awesome awesome issue.

Same here - check out my pull-list in the sig, there's about 30 Marvel titles and only 3 DC ones...

Bottom line, I put my trust in Johns that he knows what he's doing, he's proven himself as an excellent writer with Sinestro Corps, I'm psyched for Blackest Night

[Alex L]

Or it expands a great concept and uses it to tell what could be the biggest GL story ever told, maybe if the 7 Corps were permenant fixtures it could get to the point were it lessens the originality of the GL Corps. But using them for a specific event and tying Hal his rogues and the GL mythos together to tell a great story I believe is a brilliant idea. In the end, the real verdict will be told once Blackest Night comes out sometime next year, but considering the great job that Geoff has done with GL I have no doubt that this is gonna be epic.

I'm pretty sure they're not going away.

Even if Johns himself doesn't use the characters again, another writer will use Random Orange Lantern as a villain in a fill-in issue for just about any title.

And it does cheapen the GL concept a bit if a Corps is easy enough to make that another six independent organizations can do the exact same thing.

[Lupek]

I can understand folks not wanting everyone in the GL mythos to sling a colored ring. And I can understand not wanting for everything to be tied together into Hals origin too neatly or cutely. I was/am a bit worried about that too. But so far, I am very much enjoying what Johns and company are doing with the GL book.

This was another very good issue.

[Ian J.N.]

Maybe. After re-reading it, it's not really clear if the train that exploded was carrying Hammond and the others when it exploded, or that it had carried them recently before it exploded.
"They've been transporting any inmate with extra-terrestrial ties or weaponry to some new federal penitentiary. Hector Hammond. The Shark. Evil Star. And Black Hand."

It's "they have been" not "they were." I think we can assume that only Black Hand was on that transport.

[Pixie_Solanas]

I have to say I can't understand anyone who isn't truly enjoying this arc.

[Jack Zodiac]

Or it expands a great concept and uses it to tell what could be the biggest GL story ever told, maybe if the 7 Corps were permenant fixtures it could get to the point were it lessens the originality of the GL Corps. But using them for a specific event and tying Hal his rogues and the GL mythos together to tell a great story I believe is a brilliant idea. In the end, the real verdict will be told once Blackest Night comes out sometime next year, but considering the great job that Geoff has done with GL I have no doubt that this is gonna be epic.

It doesn't expand a great concept, though. It marginalizes it, and simultaneously detracts from the uniqueness of Green Lantern's villains by making them all the same. Why can't Black Hand, Hector Hammond, Evil Star, Shark, Star Sapphire, Sinestro and a host of others be their own, independent villains? Sinestro made sense. He had his own vendetta against the Guardians, he'd been used by the Qward before, wielded a yellow ring- him having his own Corps to wage war on the Green Lanterns was a sweet idea for a big story arc. And the idea of an emotional spectrum that ties into the Green Lanterns and the Qward, that's a real neat idea, and creating a big, universe-spanning story about it is awesome, but again, folding every single villain into it and creating a uniformity of Lanterns and rings and such, it's terrible unoriginal.

It does work. But that's your opinion.

It doesn't. That's my opinion. It's your opinion that it does work, but I'd like to know why you think so.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

It doesn't expand a great concept, though. It marginalizes it, and simultaneously detracts from the uniqueness of Green Lantern's villains by making them all the same. Why can't Black Hand, Hector Hammond, Evil Star, Shark, Star Sapphire, Sinestro and a host of others be their own, independent villains? Sinestro made sense. He had his own vendetta against the Guardians, he'd been used by the Qward before, wielded a yellow ring- him having his own Corps to wage war on the Green Lanterns was a sweet idea for a big story arc. And the idea of an emotional spectrum that ties into the Green Lanterns and the Qward, that's a real neat idea, and creating a big, universe-spanning story about it is awesome, but again, folding every single villain into it and creating a uniformity of Lanterns and rings and such, it's terrible unoriginal.
.

I think you're jumping the gun here a bit. You're assuming what Johns is going to do and complaining about it before he even does what you think he's gonna do. Now, I understand this is a tried and true policy of fanboy message boards, but this is getting to be a little much, Jack.

In fact, your posts are starting to read less and less like a fan who wants to read a good GL comic and more like a fan who thinks he should be writing the GL comic instead. I may be off-base here, but that's certainly how you're coming off lately.

There's no indication that Johns is tying The Shark, Evil Star and every single GL villain into his emotional spectrum idea in the manner you're suggesting.

Thus far, it's only Sinestro, Star Sapphire, Black Hand and, possibly, Hector Hammond. And all of those characters happen to work given what Johns has established about the Emotional Spectrum thus far. Sinestro & Star Sapphire both had previously established connections to the Oans and Black Hand & Hector Hammonds' origins left plenty of mystery into the sources of their powers. Hell, both of them had either controlled Hal's ring or siphoned off its power previously. Neither one of these characters seem like a huge stretch.

And there's also no indication that any of these various Corps are going to be around after Blackest Night is over. In fact, there seems to be more hints none of them will be around afterwards.

[Jack Zodiac]

In fact, your posts are starting to read less and less like a fan who wants to read a good GL comic and more like a fan who thinks he should be writing the GL comic instead. I may be off-base here, but that's certainly how you're coming off lately.

Is this a thinly veiled "if you think you can do better, why aren't you writing comics" criticism, because that's a sad, old argument. I think it's more fanboyish to not be able to criticize a story that you are enjoying.

Thus far, it's only Sinestro, Star Sapphire, Black Hand and, possibly, Hector Hammond. And all of those characters happen to work given what Johns has established about the Emotional Spectrum thus far. Sinestro & Star Sapphire both had previously established connections to the Oans and Black Hand & Hector Hammonds' origins left plenty of mystery into the sources of their powers. Hell, both of them had either controlled Hal's ring or siphoned off its power previously. Neither one of these characters seem like a huge stretch.

There's more than enough to Hector Hammond and Black Hand's history to establish them as independent villains. It's actually more of a stretch to me seeing them tied into the emotional spectrum and the "Blackest Night" prophecy. Sinestro, Star Sapphire, the Zamarons and the Controllers, they make sense given their connection to the Green Lantern Corps already, but tying what seems to be, so far (and honestly, I wouldn't assume as much if I didn't have a strong feeling it was going to happen), every major Green Lantern villain together doesn't really strike me as interesting or original.

And there's also no indication that any of these various Corps are going to be around after Blackest Night is over. In fact, there seems to be more hints none of them will be around afterwards.

Which is good and bad, I guess. Good considering it seems they're all going to end up being practically the same anyway, but also a shame because of the great idea they springboarded from being used in a way that makes them all feel unoriginal.

[Carter Hall]

I love this book and I've been enjoying this arc quite a bit. I've said before that I loved Emerald Dawn but despite rewriting it, Secret Origin hasn't been trampling on it by any means. I enjoyed the first issue of the arc especially, and I'm curious to see where this goes. Johns does it again. Good stuff!

[oanswat]

Is this a thinly veiled "if you think you can do better, why aren't you writing comics" criticism, because that's a sad, old argument. I think it's more fanboyish to not be able to criticize a story that you are enjoying.



There's more than enough to Hector Hammond and Black Hand's history to establish them as independent villains. It's actually more of a stretch to me seeing them tied into the emotional spectrum and the "Blackest Night" prophecy. Sinestro, Star Sapphire, the Zamarons and the Controllers, they make sense given their connection to the Green Lantern Corps already, but tying what seems to be, so far (and honestly, I wouldn't assume as much if I didn't have a strong feeling it was going to happen), every major Green Lantern villain together doesn't really strike me as interesting or original.



Which is good and bad, I guess. Good considering it seems they're all going to end up being practically the same anyway, but also a shame because of the great idea they springboarded from being used in a way that makes them all feel unoriginal.

You're rediculous. This is just another example of someone having a pissy day and trying to argue themselves into a hole. Most of the things you've said have been complaints about YOUR OWN predictions. The stuff that has been written so far has been fantastic and there is no indication that it's not getting better each month. You're completely jumping the gun here. If you don't like what's going on here then don't read it anymore. It's not going to be like this forever. After the war of light there will probably a universe strewn with corpses and the blackest night will occur to clean house. After that you'll probably find that there are a couple guys left in each corps around the universe that you won't see again for another five-ten years and business will be as usual among the GL villains.

I just don't understand why you wouldn't get excited at the thought of all the major D.C. people with a ring of some color duking it out in some epic space battle. To me it seems like the perfect comic book universe event. It's clean and obvious with tons of potential for great battle scenes and interesting dialogue. I think this is going to be one of the best stories since the original crisis on infinite earths.

BTW: The indigo corps has staffs and seem completley different than the other corps'. The only thing we've seen so far is the origin of the green, yellow, violet and red ring corps'. Yes they have rings but who cares? They weild there power for completely different reasons in completely different ways.

[Fatguy]

No, no, no, no, no. There is a huge, noticeable difference between what Johns did with Flash's rogues and what he's doing with Green Lantern's villains. He didn't give all of Wally's villains some uniform code or some structured hierarchy to work within. He made them more independent characters by delving into their history and personalities. What he's doing with Hal's rogues, is he's digging into their histories, sure; but then he's cementing them all in a single, uniform plot point: the emotional spectrum. And that works for some characters. Sinestro, because of his history, was perfect for leading the Sinestro Corps and representing the universal emotion of fear, and Star Sapphire and the Zamarons will be perfect for representing the universal emotion of love. I could even understand the Controllers being part of the universal emotion of avarice. But Hammond, Black Hand, Shark, Mongul (though I'll admit I am liking Tomasi's Corps and his part in it), a host of other character, they were just fine on their own. Geoff did not and does not need to file and organize them all into some rainbow of evil.


Yeah, I like all your points made in the thread, and I agree completely. Making them all members of nasty Lantern Corps kinda robs them of some individuality. Makes things feel a bit generic.

[Jack Zodiac]

You're rediculous.

I'm rediculous? Ridiculous!

This is just another example of someone having a pissy day and trying to argue themselves into a hole. Most of the things you've said have been complaints about YOUR OWN predictions. The stuff that has been written so far has been fantastic and there is no indication that it's not getting better each month. You're completely jumping the gun here. If you don't like what's going on here then don't read it anymore. It's not going to be like this forever. After the war of light there will probably a universe strewn with corpses and the blackest night will occur to clean house. After that you'll probably find that there are a couple guys left in each corps around the universe that you won't see again for another five-ten years and business will be as usual among the GL villains.

They're complaints about things I've already seen, and things I can easily and probably rightfully assume about what is to come. Black Hand tying into the emotional spectrum, Hector Hammond, too? And, quite probably, Shark and Evil Star? It's really sort of cheap. I liked the "Sinestro Corps War" story because, frankly, it should've happened a long, long time ago (sort of like the original "Emerald Twilight" plan). And Sinestro building his own Corps (sans Prime and Cyborg-Superman, though, because those two felt painfully superfluous) was an awesome sight. It was natural, even if it was obvious. And the idea it started, about an emotional spectrum, is an awesome idea. A whole rainbow of practically the same thing, though? Sort of lame.

And I don't want to wait five to ten years to go back to classic Green Lantern stories. Since Hal's been brought back, it's all been towards this big, operatic space war, which is neat in itself, but a waste of the title character's book as it has been robbing him of much-needed recharacterization that we've only recently been getting. But even with that, we're getting an origin retelling that's turning out to be really unoriginal, setting the stage for this whole thing years and years prior by tying all of Hal's old villains (again, almost definitely) together. At first, Johns revived these characters and it seemed that, finally, Hal's old rogues would be getting some new, interesting life breathed into them, like what Geoff did with Wally's villains on his Flash run. Instead of becoming parts of the same engine, though, they're becoming the same parts of the same engine, just different colors.

I just don't understand why you wouldn't get excited at the thought of all the major D.C. people with a ring of some color duking it out in some epic space battle. To me it seems like the perfect comic book universe event. It's clean and obvious with tons of potential for great battle scenes and interesting dialogue. I think this is going to be one of the best stories since the original crisis on infinite earths.

Right there. "Obvious," "unoriginal," whatever you want to call it. It seems like a waste of a good idea. Here Johns thought up these sweet, big, high-concept universal emotions, and he's just using them to kickstart a bunch of other Lantern Corps. As for it spanning the DCU, I'd rather it not. It's a Green Lantern story, in Hal Jordan's title. I'd rather be reading a story about him, the character, and how he deals with his universe going insane like this than see everyone and their grandmother get a ring and slap each other around in space with big rainbow boxing gloves.

BTW: The indigo corps has staffs and seem completley different than the other corps'. The only thing we've seen so far is the origin of the green, yellow, violet and red ring corps'. Yes they have rings but who cares? They weild there power for completely different reasons in completely different ways.

Sinestro's Corps and the Green Lanterns, they would've been fine on their own with their rings and their Lanterns and their power batteries, home worlds, Corps, all of that jazz, because it was Sinestro's dark reflection of the Green Lantern Corps. The rest? Do they really need rings, and uniforms, and home planets with power batteries and rings and stuff? There's such a great, higher idea behind them to use, that putting them all in uniforms and giving them rings just seems boring.

I'll give ya that we haven't seen the Indigo (compassion, innit) Lanterns yet, but in that big ol' splash page of the "war of light," we see a whole lot of the same thing all over those two pages, just in different colors, so I'm not gonna hope for much more than that.

[oanswat]

I'm rediculous? Ridiculous!



They're complaints about things I've already seen, and things I can easily and probably rightfully assume about what is to come. Black Hand tying into the emotional spectrum, Hector Hammond, too? And, quite probably, Shark and Evil Star? It's really sort of cheap. I liked the "Sinestro Corps War" story because, frankly, it should've happened a long, long time ago (sort of like the original "Emerald Twilight" plan). And Sinestro building his own Corps (sans Prime and Cyborg-Superman, though, because those two felt painfully superfluous) was an awesome sight. It was natural, even if it was obvious. And the idea it started, about an emotional spectrum, is an awesome idea. A whole rainbow of practically the same thing, though? Sort of lame.

And I don't want to wait five to ten years to go back to classic Green Lantern stories. Since Hal's been brought back, it's all been towards this big, operatic space war, which is neat in itself, but a waste of the title character's book as it has been robbing him of much-needed recharacterization that we've only recently been getting. But even with that, we're getting an origin retelling that's turning out to be really unoriginal, setting the stage for this whole thing years and years prior by tying all of Hal's old villains (again, almost definitely) together. At first, Johns revived these characters and it seemed that, finally, Hal's old rogues would be getting some new, interesting life breathed into them, like what Geoff did with Wally's villains on his Flash run. Instead of becoming parts of the same engine, though, they're becoming the same parts of the same engine, just different colors.



Right there. "Obvious," "unoriginal," whatever you want to call it. It seems like a waste of a good idea. Here Johns thought up these sweet, big, high-concept universal emotions, and he's just using them to kickstart a bunch of other Lantern Corps. As for it spanning the DCU, I'd rather it not. It's a Green Lantern story, in Hal Jordan's title. I'd rather be reading a story about him, the character, and how he deals with his universe going insane like this than see everyone and their grandmother get a ring and slap each other around in space with big rainbow boxing gloves.



Sinestro's Corps and the Green Lanterns, they would've been fine on their own with their rings and their Lanterns and their power batteries, home worlds, Corps, all of that jazz, because it was Sinestro's dark reflection of the Green Lantern Corps. The rest? Do they really need rings, and uniforms, and home planets with power batteries and rings and stuff? There's such a great, higher idea behind them to use, that putting them all in uniforms and giving them rings just seems boring.

I'll give ya that we haven't seen the Indigo (compassion, innit) Lanterns yet, but in that big ol' splash page of the "war of light," we see a whole lot of the same thing all over those two pages, just in different colors, so I'm not gonna hope for much more than that.

Don't correct my spelling. It's petty.

See, you just want to have something else happen entirely. You want a different story with emphasis on things that most people reading this don't want or care about. This is the era of the light wars for GL and that's that. That's what we want so they are going to explore this and get as much as they can out of it without making ten different versions of the story so that you can have one that's different than everyone else's.

They have done a great job so far and you've not complained about anything relavant. It doesn't matter if they all wear rings and uniforms in fact the less different they are in shallow respects the more creative you can be with the application of their power. The more rules you have to work under the more creative you are forced to be. Just as he showed the differences between Hal, Kyle, John, Guy and Killowog during Rebirth. Johns will bring you ten thousand ring slinging freaks each doing different things.

Then they are going to drop the whole idea and you will start to see more classic GL stories. The thing is that no one else wants these classic stories with crappy laughable characters that were good in the silver age but don't translate at all to today without some new ideas injected into them. Tying the bad guys to the good guys through story is what we like to call connecting the dots. Would you prefer that hector hammond just decided one day to not like Hal?

What is it that you want that you're not getting in these books? You want the villains to be individuals? They are. They're just going to be using borrowed power for a few months, if at all, but the vignettes will remain original and creative. Do you honestly think that this will change GL forever or something? This is the light war and it makes a lot of sense that the power's of each spectrum will be focused and contained in similar fashion. They are all just variations of the same power and tying the villains into Jordan's past gives them an actual reason to be Jordan's rogues gallery rather than some random bad guys that keep popping up in books with his name on the cover. He's trying to re-establish the rivalries in a more modern fashion with purpose and interconnectivity.

Oh, and I don't think that the black lanterns have anything to do with an "emotional spectrum." Stop worrying so damn much. It will all be explained in time and it'll all make sense and you'll sit there and love it. It's about fun, if you don't like it then write your own GL stories, they're just as real as the ones you buy.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Is this a thinly veiled "if you think you can do better, why aren't you writing comics" criticism, because that's a sad, old argument. I think it's more fanboyish to not be able to criticize a story that you are enjoying.
.

Actually, it wasn't a thinly veiled "if you think you can do better, why aren't you writing comics" criticism. It was exactly what I said it was. It seems your penchant for leaping to conclusions about what someone's doing in order to complain about it, is not limited to just comic writers.

There's nothing wrong with criticizing stories you enjoy, but criticize what's on the page, not what you think the writer might be going to do in the future based upon largely groundless speculation. That's like complaining about the season finale of a TV show before the third episode has even aired.

But, nevermind, this seems to be how you enjoy reading comics. Seems like a fantastic waste of energy to me, but, if it makes you happy tying yourself in knots over what you think someone is going to do, don't let me stop you. Go right ahead.

[Jack Zodiac]

Don't correct my spelling. It's petty.

No. Petty would be telling you I don't feel like wading through four paragraphs of the same crap you said before just to tell you the same crap I said before.

Actually, it wasn't a thinly veiled "if you think you can do better, why aren't you writing comics" criticism. It was exactly what I said it was. It seems your penchant for leaping to conclusions about what someone's doing in order to complain about it, is not limited to just comic writers.

So we're leapfrogging, then? My leaping to conclusions spawns your leaping to conclusions about my leaping to conclusions and I thusly leap to conclusions about your leaping to conclusions about my leaping to conclusions? Next time, "I disagree" would suffice just as well.

There's nothing wrong with criticizing stories you enjoy, but criticize what's on the page, not what you think the writer might be going to do in the future based upon largely groundless speculation. That's like complaining about the season finale of a TV show before the third episode has even aired.

I did. I criticized Hector Hammond somehow being tied into the emotional spectrum. And then reflected on how Black Hand was, too. It's indicative of a pattern, hence my supposition of things to come. Regardless of whether they do or don't, though, my criticism is still perfectly valid for the two players that have already been used in such a way.

[Raker616]

You know I have to admit, it's alot better reading these useless and repetetive back and forth posts than participating in them. It really makes it easier to appreciate the entertaiment value of it all for once.

[Jack Zodiac]

I agree. They're much better without you.

[TROUBLEZ]

I didn't like this issue as much as as #30/part 2. It felt a little decompressed. The scenes between Sinestero and Hal were already told in Rebirth and the back-up story in Sinestro Corps #1.

The Atrocitus scene was kind of bland. There is this weird, supposed to be Lovecraftian alien here, and all he does is do some voodoo, witchcraft ritual and splash some blood to get a name in english? Wouldn't it atleast be spelled in the dialect his race uses. The chant he did, or oath, was lame too. It's like a limeric I would have read in Scary Stories or Goosebumps. Not from some evil, alien intelligence.

And I hope Hector Hammond isn't going to be a rainbow lantern. I don't know alot about the background of GL comics, so I wiki'd the name, and the original origin for him is completely different than the one presented here. Another retcon of another classic character just to fit in with the current direction. When I first saw Hammond in issue #5 I thought he was a very good, but creepy villain. A GIANT head on a little body, using his mind to fight. Pretty cool. But hopefully he won't be shoehorned into another corps or any other, previously independent villains either.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

So we're leapfrogging, then? My leaping to conclusions spawns your leaping to conclusions about my leaping to conclusions and I thusly leap to conclusions about your leaping to conclusions about my leaping to conclusions? Next time, "I disagree" would suffice just as well..

Pretty much, yeah:wink:


I did. I criticized Hector Hammond somehow being tied into the emotional spectrum. And then reflected on how Black Hand was, too. It's indicative of a pattern, hence my supposition of things to come. Regardless of whether they do or don't, though, my criticism is still perfectly valid for the two players that have already been used in such a way.

But given that Black Hand and Hector Hammond's origins and powers had clear and obvious connections to whatever power the Oans are tapping into, it would be silly for Johns to not connect them into an epic story about the source of this power.

And even if you were only complaining about Hammond & Black Hand, I wouldn't be taking issue with this. It's the fact that you're complaining that Johns is going to tie every single major GL villain into the emotional spectrum.

Unless I've missed an issue or something, there's no indication whatsoever that The Shark, Evil Star, The Tattooed Man, Sonar or any other GL villain Johns has used thus far is going to be connected to the emotional spectrum.

The only tenuous connection I can think of are the Gremlins, who were shown to have experimented on both Hammond and The Shark. However, I got the impression that the Gremlins were responsible for further mutating Hammond, not the original cause of his initial mutation into the Big Brained, Lil' bodied villain we all know and love.

[Raker616]

I agree. They're much better without you.

Oh don't worry JZ, I'll invite myself to the party sooner or later I just don't want you to get all worked up before Blackest Night even happens.

[Shypsi-Prime]

I love the direction GL is going. It's steadily building suspense and drama for Blackest Night while attracting new readers into the world of the Green Lantern.

Blackest Night is a HUGE concept and it would be downright stupid of Johns not to include some of the notable GL rogues in the story. If he puts all the GL villians in different corps and such, I wouldn't mind a bit. It's entertaining. But in the world of comics, some people will like it and others won't. I can't understand why anybody wouldn't like what's going on now but some others may not understand why I love what's happening.

You can't please everyone.

It doesn't feel forced at all. Especially with him showing the origins and connections now, it feels very well thought out and planned.

[Alex L]

But given that Black Hand and Hector Hammond's origins and powers had clear and obvious connections to whatever power the Oans are tapping into, it would be silly for Johns to not connect them into an epic story about the source of this power.

No, they didn't.

According to Wiki (I know, it's Wiki but for some applications it's actually pretty good, plus I don't own any Silver-age issues of GL):

Hammond is a fugitive on the run from the law when he discovers the fragments of a strange meteor in the woods (part of this meteor lands in Africa, where it evolves the gorillas inhabiting the area. One of these gorillas later becomes the supervillain Gorilla Grodd.[1]). Observing that radiation from the meteor has caused the nearby plants to evolve rapidly, Hammond decides to kidnap four scientists and expose them to the meteor. The radiation causes their intellects to evolve, but also has the side effect of sapping their wills. Hammond is able to force the scientists to use their hightened intellect to create amazing new inventions, which Hammond sells for his own profit.

Not connected to GL in any way, shape, or form.
He's closer to Gorilla Grodd, who is really a Flash villain.

The man who would one day be known as Black Hand was born an inventive genius, with a penchant for speaking in extremely old clichés. William's family, the Hands, were renowned in Coastville, a suburb of Coast City, California. He, however, grew to dislike them early in life. He felt the best way to distance himself from them, especially his three brothers (David, Peter and Joe), was by starting a life of crime. After extensive study, he became an expert criminal and evaded police at every turn. Eventually, he progressed into a costumed supervillain, dubbed himself "Black Hand". (This was actually an inside joke, in reference to his status as the "black sheep" of the Hand family.)

In preparation for an inevitable battle with the Coast City-based Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Hand made his most noteworthy invention. The device was able to absorb the residue of a Green Lantern power ring's energy from any object that it has touched. Once fueled by this energy, his device can then be used much the same way as a Green Lantern Ring. In addition to Hal Jordan, Black Hand has battled Kilowog and the second Flash (Barry Allen) over the course of his career.

Black Hand doesn't have any real connection to Oan power besides stealing it on occasion. Nothing to do with coming up with it on his own, or tapping into whatever the Black Lantern Corps are fueled by (death? lack of emotion?)

I love the direction GL is going. It's steadily building suspense and drama for Blackest Night while attracting new readers into the world of the Green Lantern.

Blackest Night is a HUGE concept and it would be downright stupid of Johns not to include some of the notable GL rogues in the story. If he puts all the GL villians in different corps and such, I wouldn't mind a bit. It's entertaining. But in the world of comics, some people will like it and others won't. I can't understand why anybody wouldn't like what's going on now but some others may not understand why I love what's happening.

You can't please everyone.

It doesn't feel forced at all. Especially with him showing the origins and connections now, it feels very well thought out and planned.

But things don't have to be all interconnected.

It would be like saying Captain Cold's gun actually works by hooking into the Speed Force and using its power to slow down molecular movement -- where conversely Heat Wave's gun speeds it up.

Or that Trickster is Linda Park's ex.

Things like that are fairly self-referential, and there's no need to add long-standing connections to the hero because there's nothing to be gained.

[Binker]

NOTE: Sorry for the delay. My new job sometimes can take its toll on my reviews. It looks like either I will just review what I can and what I would consider a "MUST REVIEW", or accept that all of my reviews won't be done until a day before the next week's comics. Or drop them all entirely.

By Nathaniel Ruff (also known as Binker, Binker2 and Nate on many forums)

GREEN LANTERN #32

Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert
Edited by Eddie Berganza

PLOT:
Sinestro has been sent to Earth on a sacred mission, one that this new rookie Hal Jordan is getting in the way with. Plus, one of Hal Jordan's first enemies is born as a bizarre experiment backfires and another is unknowingly stalked for his connection to the Blackest Night!

REVIEW:
This issue was just like the others: great, exciting, even if there wasn't anything really big like a big fight, I still had fun, with nothing to complain about. Hal is finally Green Lantern, thanks to his Boot Camp on Oa. And I was right (and excited when I learned this) that the missing logo on his chest was because he had to earn it no different than medals in the military. Well now, Sinestro has entered this retelling of Hal's origin, so let's wait and see what happens next!

Sinestro enters in this issue of the retelling of how Hal became Green Lantern. As you could tell from these future enemies, their first encounter is one of friction as Sinestro considers himself the greatest and Hal the rookie. His appearance was brief but made its point for this retelling, and in the end, while we know he is Hal's enemy, you want to know if Geoff Johns will go down his or the same, simple well-know path in how these two became who they are today. I can't recall if this was confirmed, but Sinestro coming to Earth to investigate Abin Sur's death might be a lead-in to "In Blackest Night". If it was confirmed or not, it's still a good insight on what's coming soon in this book.

Other things that happened in this issue were that Tom, the mechanic, finds out Hal is Green Lantern, Carol offers Hal back to fly for Ferris Aircraft, and the jerk Hammond becomes Hal's first villain (before Sinestro becomes his main one) thanks to the spacecraft he was investigating. That was it in a nutshell.

So for my overall, I would say that this issue was still good, but I felt like I wanted more. What I say above pretty much was this issue. No need for spoilers, because I just said what issue #32 was from beginning to end already. This felt like more of an issue that was needed to get to what was the case last time for the next issue next time. I don't know "fill-in" is the right word, so I won't say that. But I said it already so I'll say it again: that was it in a nutshell.

RATING: Okay

Next Issue: Hal and Sinestro continue to battle Abin Sur's killer!

[sonofsound]

I'm with Jack Zodiac. Too easy to classify these once individual characters, too neat. Pretty soon we'll be getting explanations on their midichlorian counts.
:rolleyes:
On the other hand, I DO trust G. Johns and do agree that he's taken the GL stuff into balanced, progressive directions. Sinestro Corps War was fun. But I think this is going a little far. I like the individual/emotional spectrum corps, but do not like the lumping of classic villains into those groups. But I'm willing to wait it out and see.

[princesa]

I'm hesitant to criticize GJ because he work on this series has been so spot on and I enjoy and I'm not even a real Hal Jordan fan. The book is that good. I have to give him a lot of benefit of a doubt--but I do wish this arc was done.

[storm_willing_slave]

I actually can't wait for Final Crisis to be over so we can get to Blackest Night next year.
Agree! FC is a mess and Jones is paving the way for Blackest Nights to rule DC!

[Bored at 3:00AM]

No, they didn't.

According to Wiki (I know, it's Wiki but for some applications it's actually pretty good, plus I don't own any Silver-age issues of GL):

Hammond is a fugitive on the run from the law when he discovers the fragments of a strange meteor in the woods (part of this meteor lands in Africa, where it evolves the gorillas inhabiting the area. One of these gorillas later becomes the supervillain Gorilla Grodd.[1]). Observing that radiation from the meteor has caused the nearby plants to evolve rapidly, Hammond decides to kidnap four scientists and expose them to the meteor. The radiation causes their intellects to evolve, but also has the side effect of sapping their wills. Hammond is able to force the scientists to use their hightened intellect to create amazing new inventions, which Hammond sells for his own profit.

Not connected to GL in any way, shape, or form.
He's closer to Gorilla Grodd, who is really a Flash villain.

The man who would one day be known as Black Hand was born an inventive genius, with a penchant for speaking in extremely old clichés. William's family, the Hands, were renowned in Coastville, a suburb of Coast City, California. He, however, grew to dislike them early in life. He felt the best way to distance himself from them, especially his three brothers (David, Peter and Joe), was by starting a life of crime. After extensive study, he became an expert criminal and evaded police at every turn. Eventually, he progressed into a costumed supervillain, dubbed himself "Black Hand". (This was actually an inside joke, in reference to his status as the "black sheep" of the Hand family.)

In preparation for an inevitable battle with the Coast City-based Green Lantern Hal Jordan, Hand made his most noteworthy invention. The device was able to absorb the residue of a Green Lantern power ring's energy from any object that it has touched. Once fueled by this energy, his device can then be used much the same way as a Green Lantern Ring. In addition to Hal Jordan, Black Hand has battled Kilowog and the second Flash (Barry Allen) over the course of his career.

Black Hand doesn't have any real connection to Oan power besides stealing it on occasion. Nothing to do with coming up with it on his own, or tapping into whatever the Black Lantern Corps are fueled by (death? lack of emotion?)

But things don't have to be all interconnected.

Or that Trickster is Linda Park's ex.

Things like that are fairly self-referential, and there's no need to add long-standing connections to the hero because there's nothing to be gained.

This is where only using Wki gets you into trouble. If you'd read the Silver Age GL issue, you'd realise that Johns isn't making these connections, he's just elaborating on them.

Carol did date Hector Hammond back before his head got huge. Johns didn't invent that idea.

Hector Hammond did manage to tap into the power of Hal's ring. Johns didn't invent that connection either.

And, as for Black Hand, I think its a little silly to say that a guy who's entire shtick was stealing Oan energy doesn't have "any real connection to Oan power":. He didn't do it "occassionally"--that was his super-power. I can name the times he didn't do that on one hand.

You really should check out those old GL comics. The Showcase Presents collections are very cheap and well worth reading. It's clear that Johns has and is using them as the springboards for his current stories.

In fact, I believe there's a TPB coming out that collects some of these stories, with introductions by Geoff Johns.