Blackest Night #1 (spoilers)

[Retro315]

Star Sapphires - Carol Ferris
Sinestro Corps - SInestro
Blue Lanterns - Was to be Hal Jordan, now probably Saint Walker
Red Lanterns - Atrocitus
Indigo Tribe - Indigo-1
Agent Orange - Larfleeze

Ah, but Jordan's blue ring is still out there, looking around, trying to find somebody.

Dun-Dunna-Na-Na ... DUN DA DA! Dun-Dunna-Na-Na DA-DEE-DA!

I wonder who'll get it. But then again ... just in Blackest Night # 1, we've seen both Barry Allen and Dick Grayson mentioned directly as being "very hopeful". And then there's always Clark ...

Larfleeze is definitely "leader", yeah. I mean, he's got all the power of the entire corps to himself, but like ... the Entity is inside his Orange Lantern, and when Hal grabbed it, it mentioned that there are no Orange Guardians (although that's what I totally thought the Controllers were going to end up being - didn't expect them to get gobbled).

I'd go one further as well and say most of those Corps have a leader, and a pretty clear # 2 as well.

Red: Atrocitus, Dex
Orange: Just Larfleeze ... for now!
Yellow: Sinestro, Arkillo (Mongul, arguably)
Green: ..... I'm waiting to see, but dead guardians probably means Hal Jordan might step up. As for number two ... ranking-wise it's actually totally Guy Gardner. The guy who gets shit done.
Blue: Saint Walker, Warth ... very "order of appearance"
Indigo: Indigo-1 ... I hope that bald, bronze, savage looking Tribesman isn't just called "Indigo-2"
Violet: Actually here I'm not sure. Carol is the top one, for sure, after years of Star Sapphire experiences. Next would be ... Miri Rian, I guess? She's the first actual "Star Sapphire with a ring".

Not all of them have Guardians, though ... the Reds have no Guardians ... the Guardian of the Sinestro Corps is currently the Black Battery. The Indigos? Who knows ... and of course, the GLC no longer seems to have Guardians either.

[Bakura]

Ah, but Jordan's blue ring is still out there, looking around, trying to find somebody.

Dun-Dunna-Na-Na ... DUN DA DA! Dun-Dunna-Na-Na DA-DEE-DA!

I wonder who'll get it. But then again ... just in Blackest Night # 1, we've seen both Barry Allen and Dick Grayson mentioned directly as being "very hopeful". And then there's always Clark ...

Larfleeze is definitely "leader", yeah. I mean, he's got all the power of the entire corps to himself, but like ... the Entity is inside his Orange Lantern, and when Hal grabbed it, it mentioned that there are no Orange Guardians (although that's what I totally thought the Controllers were going to end up being - didn't expect them to get gobbled).

I'd go one further as well and say most of those Corps have a leader, and a pretty clear # 2 as well.

Red: Atrocitus, Dex
Orange: Just Larfleeze ... for now!
Yellow: Sinestro, Arkillo (Mongul, arguably)
Green: ..... I'm waiting to see, but dead guardians probably means Hal Jordan might step up. As for number two ... ranking-wise it's actually totally Guy Gardner. The guy who gets shit done.
Blue: Saint Walker, Warth ... very "order of appearance"
Indigo: Indigo-1 ... I hope that bald, bronze, savage looking Tribesman isn't just called "Indigo-2"
Violet: Actually here I'm not sure. Carol is the top one, for sure, after years of Star Sapphire experiences. Next would be ... Miri Rian, I guess? She's the first actual "Star Sapphire with a ring".

Not all of them have Guardians, though ... the Reds have no Guardians ... the Guardian of the Sinestro Corps is currently the Black Battery. The Indigos? Who knows ... and of course, the GLC no longer seems to have Guardians either.

They may get ones as the series progresses.

[CYOTI]

The chain of command for the GLC is more like
Guardians -----> Alphas ---> Officers like Ion, Guy, Kyle, Kilowag etc ----> Sector Lanterns in order of seniority.

The Reds are run like a pack so it's just Atrocitus. Everybody else just follows.

[dupersuper]

So WHEN the #@$%#^# did Hal get the blue ring removed????

[dupersuper]

Good riddance to hawman and hawgirl.

Fantastic first issue. Loved every page.

The only thing I can nit-pick about is Superman being on earth when he's supposed to be on New Krypton.


Well, it's a "remember the dead" holiday in the DCU; I can certainly see him flying back for a quick visit to his recently killed fathers grave.

[dupersuper]

Ok This might top Marvel zombies.

question:
Isn't Conner's body still in the healing chamber at this time?


No; Conner's at the grave with Clark and Martha, so he's already been taken to the future and revived.

[dupersuper]

Seeing as there's no way that Ralph and Sue could beat Hawkman and Hawkgirl, even if they got the jump on them, I'd say that they had their powers amplified, maybe got some super strength and invulnerability added there....

Why in the world not? Even the best warrior can be taken by surprise by a spear wielding zombie attacking from behind while you're professing your love to some one. As for Hawkman vs. Elongated Man; without prep time or open sky, Ralph would be a VERY hard opponent for Carter to beat...alive or dead, his powers just can't generally be beaten by brute force, which is about all Carter uses these days.

[dupersuper]

And Mera is toast. She's expendable . Black Lantern Aquaman kills her I bet.

That's certainly very possible, but the Black Lanterns seem to be targeting heroes who've returned from the dead so far, and I don't think Mera has ever died.

[dupersuper]

...a being of sentiant death.

Morpheus' sister? But she seems so nice...

[dupersuper]

Oh, and I still suspect that this whole thing is going to end with one giant Care Bear stare where all the various shades of lanterns have to combine their colored lights to create white light, thereby defeating the Black Lanterns.

How in the world can anything that ends in a Care Bear Stare not be awesome?

[Kiryu]

No; Conner's at the grave with Clark and Martha, so he's already been taken to the future and revived.

As I recall, Conner wasn't taken to the future. It took his body 1,000 years to be regenerated. So his corpse should still be available for Zombiefication.

[Comicbookfan]

This event left me Fatigued had to put it down. The Hype alone gave me back spasms passing on this. NO more Events! right comrades? huh...any one..where did every one go....

[Bakura]

This event left me Fatigued had to put it down. The Hype alone gave me back spasms passing on this. NO more Events! right comrades? huh...any one..where did every one go....

Final Crisis wasn't an event, it was the comic version of a drug induced stupor.

[woodsman816]

I'm personally loving this issue as I was a big fan of the Metzer Identity crisis and this seems to have the same kind of feel to it [the action seems to be used as an excuse to explain relationships between various communities] but i was wondering if someone can help me out with something. I havent been following green lantern but I have been picking up some issues of glc and I'm wondering if anyone can tell me who the "voice" that is talking to black hand is? Is it Scar and is it the same person that changed the antimoniter into the battery at the end of sinestro corps war? or was that scar?

[Bakura]

I'm personally loving this issue as I was a big fan of the Metzer Identity crisis and this seems to have the same kind of feel to it [the action seems to be used as an excuse to explain relationships between various communities] but i was wondering if someone can help me out with something. I havent been following green lantern but I have been picking up some issues of glc and I'm wondering if anyone can tell me who the "voice" that is talking to black hand is? Is it Scar and is it the same person that changed the antimoniter into the battery at the end of sinestro corps war? or was that scar?

No it's an unseen character, the common belief is that it's Nekron.

[bongoes]

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me who the "voice" that is talking to black hand is? Is it Scar and is it the same person that changed the antimoniter into the battery at the end of sinestro corps war? or was that scar?
No one knows yet. That's the big mystery.


So WHEN the #@$%#^# did Hal get the blue ring removed????
Last issue of Agent Orange.

[wolvie616]

No one knows yet. That's the big mystery.

.

im pretty sure its the dark monitor. he aint REALLY dead. or maybe the dc version of death

[Thok]

I'm personally loving this issue as I was a big fan of the Metzer Identity crisis and this seems to have the same kind of feel to it [the action seems to be used as an excuse to explain relationships between various communities] but i was wondering if someone can help me out with something. I havent been following green lantern but I have been picking up some issues of glc and I'm wondering if anyone can tell me who the "voice" that is talking to black hand is? Is it Scar and is it the same person that changed the antimoniter into the battery at the end of sinestro corps war? or was that scar?

We don't know who the voice is yet. It's the leader of the Black Lanterns, but we don't know who that is. Popular speculation is that it's Nekron, an old GL villain who fits in with the story idea, but only Johns knows for sure.

[woodsman816]

But the low point is probably that they're spitting on the raped corpse of Sue Dibny once again. Why couldn't she and Ralph just have been left alone as happy Ghost Detectives as seen in 52, Batman & the Outsiders and Reign in Hell?

I am not even gonna bother with issue #2.

That was my initial reaction to but I think that Johns did a good job by letting ralph due the most of it and to be honest the rape thing shouldn't rub off on every subsequent writer to use sue/ralph. sues death is the big thing in play not the rape

[Bakura]

im pretty sure its the dark monitor. he aint REALLY dead. or maybe the dc version of death

No Johns would never use crap from FC. That character is much like Final Crisis itself, best left forgotten.

It's most likely Nekron.

[woodsman816]

just to be clear is this event closing off the return trilogy they started with rebirth/sinestro corp and supposed to be johns leaving this corner of the dcu for what looks like the superman spot?

[CYOTI]

^Unlikely. He has said he is there indefinitely.

[Samuraixsithlord]

Also, sure its been discussed, but what about Darkseid as the "big bad" behind Scar and Hand, the person Hand talks to about being hungry. Darkseid, "died" in F.C. (I think he did hard to follow) But you think thats going to keep him down, what if he became "death" in a 'dark racer' sort of way; whats more "anti-life" than death. That might also explain why they are using Bruce's skull as a "lantern" because it was touched by Darkseid's power.

Darkseid's physical body was destroyed when his Omega Beams reflected back at him. But his essense had been merged with reality, and was only destroyed when Superman sang the proper counter note.

Darkseid's soul/spirit/essense was shattered and destroyed.

I'd think it would be cool if Dan Turpin became a Black Lantern while still looking like Darkseid.

It's really obvious that Nekron may be the big bad behind Blackest Night, so obvious that I don't want it to happen. According to Wikipedia he even tried something like this before. using rings to resurrect dead lanterns.

[Bakura]

I'd think it would be cool if Dan Turpin became a Black Lantern while still looking like Darkseid.

It's really obvious that Nekron may be the big bad behind Blackest Night, so obvious that I don't want it to happen. According to Wikipedia he even tried something like this before. using rings to resurrect dead lanterns.

I think it would be best to leave Final Crisis in the proverbial litter box where it belongs. I highly doubt Johns would want to have anything to do with it.

Who cares if it's Nekron (The obvious choice). Johns characters and writing makes this series what it is.

[Batman was taken]

just to be clear is this event closing off the return trilogy they started with rebirth/sinestro corp and supposed to be johns leaving this corner of the dcu for what looks like the superman spot?

In a way, it does seem to be closing the "trilogy".

As for Johns, I read.. somewhere... that he has up to #55 planned, and in one of Didio's 20 Q's at Newsarama, he said that was because "Johns' ran out of paper".

I don't think he's going anywhere. Thankfully.

[DeTroyes]

In a way, it does seem to be closing the "trilogy".

As for Johns, I read.. somewhere... that he has up to #55 planned, and in one of Didio's 20 Q's at Newsarama, he said that was because "Johns' ran out of paper"..

I should point out, however, that Johns also said he'd had Teen Titans planned out to 60 issues, and yet he still ended up bailing at #42. You can thank extensive editorial interference for that.

Thankfully for GL fans, I think DC learned its lesson there - let Johns develop and execute his plans and don't step in because you think you know better.

[Thok]

I should point out, however, that Johns also said he'd had Teen Titans planned out to 60 issues, and yet he still ended up bailing at #42. You can thank extensive editorial interference for that.

At least some of his plans was used extensively by McKeever (the Titans of Tomorrow arc specifically was based off of Johns' ideas.)

[CYOTI]

I should point out, however, that Johns also said he'd had Teen Titans planned out to 60 issues, and yet he still ended up bailing at #42. You can thank extensive editorial interference for that.

Actually it was mostly because he was forced to off Superboy, his apparent raison d'etre for writing TT in the first place.

[dmhaight]

Something I hadn't thought about before re: the Batman skull...

What if it's the grave of the Batman of Earth-2?

Consider that they've already advertised that the Superman of Earth-2 will become a Black Lantern. It'd be interesting if both of Earth-2's "World's Finest" were part of this, especially if at the end they were somehow brought back, if even on the new "52" version of Earth-2.

Consider also that the Batman of Earth-2 was shown to have existed in the JSAs memories in the One Year Later (post Infinite Crisis) story "Ghost Stories" by Geoff Johns.

I'm not necessarily convinced this is the actual explanation, but it'd be an intriguing possibility.

[dmhaight]

It's possible (and Darkseid does have some connection to the Anti-Monitor via CoIE; he got one of the last few shots in on him.)

That said, it's a little too soon to be reusing him as a big bad, and this was originally designed as a GL only story, which suggests that the villain is a GL specific villain. I put Darkseid in the top 5-10 candidates for the Big Bad, but there's a reason Nekron is considered the most likely villain.

That's also an interesting possibility...using Darkseid as a "follow-up" to Final Crisis.

[Corey Dalton]

How in the world can anything that ends in a Care Bear Stare not be awesome?

I take it you never watched Care Bears: The Movie, then? My sister made me watch it, like, 100 times when I was a kid. Yeah, my sister.... That's it... :biggrin:

[Bakura]

That's also an interesting possibility...using Darkseid as a "follow-up" to Final Crisis.

No that would be a terrible idea, why poison this epic with that train wreck? Final Crisis should be many things, forgotten, retconned, erased from time and space. The very last thing it ever needs is to be followed up.

[Destro777]

Eh, they shoulda just called this DC Zombies. It had some fun moments but even Infinite Crisis #1 was a much stronger issue than this. Im just glad they didnt give the Rainbow lanterns center stage - that stuff was getting tough to stomach. Someone mentioned/joked that all the lanterns will get together in the end and combine the rings for the light to defeat the black. If that seriously happens ill just stick with Morrison DC thanks.

[stealthwise]

I'm pretty underwhelmed, as I was hoping that this would be a bit more focused on the cosmic elements of GL that make the franchise work, as opposed to the mundane half-issue wasted on showcasing the DCU talking about death. The Sue and Ralph parts seemed to echo Marvel Zombies far too heavily, and the whole issue lacked a sense of urgency in terms of pacing until the very end. I wish we could get an opening chapter of a "summer epic" that didn't waste so much bloody time to start off.

[pariah-1972]

I'm pretty underwhelmed, as I was hoping that this would be a bit more focused on the cosmic elements of GL that make the franchise work, as opposed to the mundane half-issue wasted on showcasing the DCU talking about death. The Sue and Ralph parts seemed to echo Marvel Zombies far too heavily, and the whole issue lacked a sense of urgency in terms of pacing until the very end. I wish we could get an opening chapter of a "summer epic" that didn't waste so much bloody time to start off.I completely agree with everything you said i kept thinking "is this ripping off Marvel Zombies or am i crazy"

We get this long 20 plus pages of people mourning a bunch of super hero's deaths which got really boring ( i can't get too choked up when most or all of them will return very soon)
And then blammo ! "Scar" has turned into cannibal for no reason that was apparent to me at all.
I liked the preview's focus on Black Hand and i was hoping to see more of him cause i find him a lot more interesting because we got a feeling for his backstory and his motivations in the preview.

I liked Flash and Gl's conversation and some of the Hawk's scenes and the art was very nice.
But does Didio really think we are supposed to believe all these deaths that has been happening since the first Crisis is completely leading up to this moment?
Cause that's what the story is trying to tell me.

I'm hoping that my main man Pariah shows up but i don't have much faith in that.:frown:

[Raker616]

Blackest Night #1 was an incredible read, Johns has truly put himself in the spot of the being the best comic book writer out bar none. This issue was the perfect balance between strong character momments and dialog and disturbing horror and shock from start to finish it's without a doubt the best issue of the year. Ivan's art was gorgeous and if they ever do a Flash and GL Brave and the Bold book he is the one that needs to draw it. Blackest Night truly is the epic event that i've been waiting for as a GL fan since I started reading GL books at an early age and I just can't wait to see what wild things Geoff has in store for the next 7 issues wow.

[Spiffy]

My problem is simply that I HATE Zombie stories. Hate em. And this hasn't given me anything to change my mind on that. At least so far.

Which is really a shame because I've liked everything that's led up to this.

And really isn't this just a continuation of the "person X goes evil" hackeyed plotline that's SO overused in comics? Even if its not by their own will, its still that plot, and that plot is SO exhaused.

The "color war" could have given years of very complex plots without dragging Zombies into it. We BARELY saw a few skirmishes, where what it could have given us were years of epic battles. Now its all gonna be "chop chop, now you're a zombie. Now start talking constantly about how hungry your are and and make lots of cheesy personal quips to the heroes to unnerve them!"

[Bakura]

My problem is simply that I HATE Zombie stories. Hate em. And this hasn't given me anything to change my mind on that. At least so far.

Which is really a shame because I've liked everything that's led up to this.

And really isn't this just a continuation of the "person X goes evil" hackeyed plotline that's SO overused in comics? Even if its not by their own will, its still that plot, and that plot is SO exhaused.

The "color war" could have given years of very complex plots without dragging Zombies into it. We BARELY saw a few skirmishes, where what it could have given us were years of epic battles. Now its all gonna be "chop chop, now you're a zombie. Now start talking constantly about how hungry your are and and make lots of cheesy personal quips to the heroes to unnerve them!"
Still better then singing the villian to death and battling a Vampire Monitior.

[Spiffy]

Still better then singing the villian to death and battling a Vampire Monitior.

Well you've got me there.

[steve2275]

the dead shall rise
kill the living
what was living is now dead
the dead shall rise
thats just mean

[Bakura]

One thing I don't understand, why does Carol have a gem AND a ring? I thought the whole point to making the rings was that the gems caused them to go out of control?

[Hullababy]

My problem is simply that I HATE Zombie stories. Hate em. And this hasn't given me anything to change my mind on that. At least so far.

Which is really a shame because I've liked everything that's led up to this.

And really isn't this just a continuation of the "person X goes evil" hackeyed plotline that's SO overused in comics? Even if its not by their own will, its still that plot, and that plot is SO exhaused.

The "color war" could have given years of very complex plots without dragging Zombies into it. We BARELY saw a few skirmishes, where what it could have given us were years of epic battles. Now its all gonna be "chop chop, now you're a zombie. Now start talking constantly about how hungry your are and and make lots of cheesy personal quips to the heroes to unnerve them!"

Well considering that this story is more about the revolving door of death in the DC universe, I wouldn't discard it as a mere zombie story. But yes zombies are a part of them too and really what's thee not to like about them ? To each their own I guess.

[Bakura]

One thing I don't understand, why does Carol have a gem AND a ring? I thought the whole point to making the rings was that the gems caused them to go out of control?

[Hullababy]

My problem is simply that I HATE Zombie stories. Hate em. And this hasn't given me anything to change my mind on that. At least so far.

Which is really a shame because I've liked everything that's led up to this.

And really isn't this just a continuation of the "person X goes evil" hackeyed plotline that's SO overused in comics? Even if its not by their own will, its still that plot, and that plot is SO exhaused.

The "color war" could have given years of very complex plots without dragging Zombies into it. We BARELY saw a few skirmishes, where what it could have given us were years of epic battles. Now its all gonna be "chop chop, now you're a zombie. Now start talking constantly about how hungry your are and and make lots of cheesy personal quips to the heroes to unnerve them!"

Well considering that this story is more about the revolving door of death in the DC universe, I wouldn't discard it as a mere zombie story. But yes zombies are a part of them too and really what's thee not to like about them ? To each their own I guess.

[Bakura]

One thing I don't understand, why does Carol have a gem AND a ring? I thought the whole point to making the rings was that the gems caused them to go out of control?

[Hullababy]

My problem is simply that I HATE Zombie stories. Hate em. And this hasn't given me anything to change my mind on that. At least so far.

Which is really a shame because I've liked everything that's led up to this.

And really isn't this just a continuation of the "person X goes evil" hackeyed plotline that's SO overused in comics? Even if its not by their own will, its still that plot, and that plot is SO exhaused.

The "color war" could have given years of very complex plots without dragging Zombies into it. We BARELY saw a few skirmishes, where what it could have given us were years of epic battles. Now its all gonna be "chop chop, now you're a zombie. Now start talking constantly about how hungry your are and and make lots of cheesy personal quips to the heroes to unnerve them!"

Well considering that this story is more about the revolving door of death in the DC universe, I wouldn't discard it as a mere zombie story. But yes zombies are a part of them too and really what's there not to like about them ? To each their own I guess.

[Bakura]

Sorry for the multiple post

[Bakura]

One thing I don't understand, why does Carol have a gem AND a ring? I thought the whole point to making the rings was that the gems caused them to go out of control?

[the4thpip]

Just because Sue Dibny was raped doesn't mean the character can never appear/be spoken of again.


So you did not read her recent appearances in Batman & the Outsiders and Reign in Hell?

[steve2275]

So far as they've shown this is how the Corps structure goes:

1. Gaurdian(s)
2. Aspect (Parallax, Ion, Predator, Black hand)
3. Leader

So if Black Hand is the Aspect, who's the leader?

thanos
he's already done everything in the marvel universe :tongue:

[maximuskain]

I've just figured out that the reason why Blackhand said to Bruce's skull that "you are connected to everything" is that he is using the skull as a focal point of information of which graves are the heroes' because Bruce practically knows everybody that died.

And I did enjoy Marvel Zombies but this the Blackest Night event seems to be more shocking as it affects the DC Universe continuity. Hopefull unlike Final Crisis (which I hope its really Final) that the after effects will be wirth our 8 issue wait to the finish line.

I also hope that we don't get a crappy ending like Infinite Crisis from Johns (it was a bit hurried for my taste) and we get something like the ending of the Sinestro Coprs War (GL #25) which is very exciting, fun and shows off the next big thing.

And yes I also think Final Crisis is crappy, I wish they can rewrite number 7 because the build-up to 6 is well thought of but when I got to 7 I thought to myself that morrisson probably wrote this when he was drunk and the editors approved it because they were drunk with him. How the hell did a story end up like that?

Oh well this is Blackest Night so we have 8 grueling months to wait for its exciting conclusion.

[Crowforge]

Pretty dang good. Lots of questions to anwsered. As of now everyone looks screwed. Hawkman will be back and he will be super-pissed. I still have to think batman will play some role in stopping this before the end.

[Bevbos]

The "color war" could have given years of very complex plots without dragging Zombies into it. We BARELY saw a few skirmishes, where what it could have given us were years of epic battles. Now its all gonna be "chop chop, now you're a zombie. Now start talking constantly about how hungry your are and and make lots of cheesy personal quips to the heroes to unnerve them!"

I feel similarly, and I also would rather this was a more GL-centric story than a DCU-wide one, but I'm not as disappointed in the issue (in fact, I kind of loved it) because I have total faith in Johns that we will see a ton of the War of Light.

Now, he can always disappoint me, but he rarely does, so I'm still stoked...

But I do really really hope the big bad isn't Nekron. Just because we haven't seen Nekron once in Johns' run. If it's Nekron, DC better publish a "best of Nekron" trade because I have literally never read about him once. Krona, I would be totally down with. Even Darkseid - even though it wouldn't square with Final Crisis - would be cool. But Nekron - I've wiki'd him, so I know who he is, but I don't care about him at all.

[pariah-1972]

Pretty dang good. Lots of questions to anwsered. As of now everyone looks screwed. Hawkman will be back and he will be super-pissed. I still have to think batman will play some role in stopping this before the end.I think Barry Allen is gonna play a big part in this since i got the feeling that Geoff brought him back just to show him how things have changed since he has been gone.
And since he is the first star of the Silver Age he will be the one to defeat the darkness and hopefully bring things back to a different feel without the death and destruction.

[RandomFactor]

There's a fair few characters the would make for interesting Black Lanterns, for example some of the "New Gods" characters.

Below, I've made a very quick list of some who could be interesting, either for the power they'd bring, or the emotional response they could elicit from others (I've tried to omit any that we know for certain will be appearing, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong)

Alexander Luthor, Jr.
Alexandra DeWitt take that Rayner!
Big Barda
Black Mask I imagine he'd look much the same though eh?
Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)
Highfather
Jack Drake much the same reasons as Pa Kent
Jean Loring I fully expect that she will pop up
Jonah Hex gotta love undead cowboys
Jonathan Kent for the reasons already discussed
Maxwell Lord
Mister Miracle (Scott Free)
Orion
Psycho-Pirate if they are feeding on emotional states, would be handy
The Question (Vic Sage)
Sarah Essen Gordon Poor old Jim, your daughter got shot and now your dead wife wants to kill you.
Zatara an undead magician would sure help counter and magic they faced

Thoughts? feel free to add your own suggestions.

[Karl O'Neill]

Tim callahan and Doug zawisa from CBR reviews seemed to love it.

A 4 and 5 star review.

Tims.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=1223

Dougs.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=1220

[stealthwise]

Tim callahan and Doug zawisa from CBR reviews seemed to love it.

A 4 and 5 star review.

Tims.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=1223

Dougs.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=1220

A five-star, hell, even a four star review makes me wonder for a second if I'm not on wizard.com. What the hell will they give a GOOD issue, a seven? A nine?

[Hullababy]

This is a grim first issue, but its grimness is in the service of a story that is about the role of death in the DCU. Perhaps Johns will explore the consequences of hero and villain deaths in some meaningful way, or perhaps this is the beginning of nothing more than a summer blockbuster full of horrific bad guys and noble heroes. Either way, this first issue boldly establishes that this will be a story to remember. It's excessive, but it needs to be to seem like it matters. And its excesses are part of its charm.

Totally agree with this. This story has the potential to be so much more than a mere zombie story. I hope the rest of the series delivers.

[Hullababy]

I think Barry Allen is gonna play a big part in this since i got the feeling that Geoff brought him back just to show him how things have changed since he has been gone.
And since he is the first star of the Silver Age he will be the one to defeat the darkness and hopefully bring things back to a different feel without the death and destruction.

No. I hope not. At its core this is still a Green Lantern tale and I will be pissed if anyone but the GLs save the day. :mad:

The others can have a big role though but the final big victory should be for the GLs.

[CMBMOOL]

Something I hadn't thought about before re: the Batman skull...

What if it's the grave of the Batman of Earth-2?

Consider that they've already advertised that the Superman of Earth-2 will become a Black Lantern. It'd be interesting if both of Earth-2's "World's Finest" were part of this, especially if at the end they were somehow brought back, if even on the new "52" version of Earth-2.

Consider also that the Batman of Earth-2 was shown to have existed in the JSAs memories in the One Year Later (post Infinite Crisis) story "Ghost Stories" by Geoff Johns.

I'm not necessarily convinced this is the actual explanation, but it'd be an intriguing possibility.

Now that would be creepy and cool at the same time.

Do it DC, make a Zombie World's Finest. :biggrin:

[Zoomzip]

Here's what I am wondering: Isn't Michael Jon Carter's body around somewhere? I mean, it was his remains that were actually buried in 52, so could we see Booster Black? With Ted Kord?

I'm sure someone is speculating about this as well, so my apologies for missing it.

[Karl O'Neill]

A five-star, hell, even a four star review makes me wonder for a second if I'm not on wizard.com. What the hell will they give a GOOD issue, a seven? A nine?

Maybe tim or doug can enlighten you?

[Tra-EL]

Hey guys, Superman fan here.

I never really got into any Crisis before because of the overwhelming presence of characters in the DC Universe that nobody is too familiar with, thus making it very confusing.

I picked up Blackest Night without any knowledge of any back stories (wiklipedia is the way to go I suppose) and this story has me intrigued. Very interesting, and even though I didn't get some parts, this first issue breaks things down quite nicely for a Crisis-like newbie like myself, and I loved what the story had to offer. Love the dead will rise concept. Very creepy, and a great concept overall. I think I'm going to stick with this and read all the Crisis' now to get more info on the characters as to why this hero is here or there.

Anyone have any suggestions for Superman fans in this story? I understand Superman will have a separate 3 issue mini-series, so I'm excited for that in the months to come. Thanks guys.

[Karl O'Neill]

Anyone have any suggestions for Superman fans in this story? I understand Superman will have a separate 3 issue mini-series, so I'm excited for that in the months to come. Thanks guys.

I suppose John's superman might be a safe place to start reading superman.

Superman and superman of earth 2 feature prominently in Infinite crisis.
Then
He co wrote Up Up and away with Kurt Busiek. Which deals with the fallout of Ininfite crisis.
Then
1.Last son
2.Escape from bizarro world.
3.Superman and the legion of superheroes.
4.brainiac
5.New Krypton vol's 1&2.
6.Secret origin (Not started yet)

[IvCNuB4]

No; Conner's at the grave with Clark and Martha, so he's already been taken to the future and revived.


As I recall, Conner wasn't taken to the future. It took his body 1,000 years to be regenerated. So his corpse should still be available for Zombiefication.


Well ... we're talking about time-travel here, so I agree with Kiryu. Technically his present body is still in the chamber. He doesn't get released until the 31st century. It's that 31st century healed "Conner" that is now back in the present, right ?



Something I hadn't thought about before re: the Batman skull...

What if it's the grave of the Batman of Earth-2?

Consider that they've already advertised that the Superman of Earth-2 will become a Black Lantern. It'd be interesting if both of Earth-2's "World's Finest" were part of this, especially if at the end they were somehow brought back, if even on the new "52" version of Earth-2.

Consider also that the Batman of Earth-2 was shown to have existed in the JSAs memories in the One Year Later (post Infinite Crisis) story "Ghost Stories" by Geoff Johns.

I'm not necessarily convinced this is the actual explanation, but it'd be an intriguing possibility.

Some older JSA members now remember the original Earth-2, but Batman-2 technically was wiped from existence during COIE so there's no body for him. Kal-L survived hidden away in Alex Luthor's pocket realm along with Prime and Lois-2.

[Sean Walsh]

Re: Black Lantern New Gods and the Conner Kent/Booster Gold time-travel conundrum........

We really don't want those kinds of headaches, do we people? :wink: :tongue:

[Karl O'Neill]

MTV giving blackest night some love.

http://splashpage.mtv.com/2009/07/16/the-day-after-poll-green-lantern-blackest-night-1-wins-the-week-fans-dig-the-power-ring/

[Seraku]

I've been hearing crap all over about the fake 2nd half of the checklist that was revealed after BN #0 came out is in fact real. someone please deny

[Scott Taylor]

Kind of on the bubble about this first issue. It showed next to nothing about the purpose behind all these Black Lanterns. The guy in charge and what his goal is going to be. I mean its entertaining to watch a bunch of zombie heroes beat on each other, but if the goal is to just turn everyone into zombies then that will be a little disappointing.

[Carter Hall]

Oh man I loved, freaking LOVED this issue. Johns has set the bar for his work higher and higher each time he does an event, and to his credit, he meets it every single time. Epic. Spectacular. Creative. It encorporated basically all of the DCU in a way that made sense and was exciting. This story should have been Final Crisis last year. I should mention that I loved all the Aquaman stuff, too. I also LOVED the Tales of the Corps #1 supplement that was put out the same day as well. I am eagerly looking forward to reading something Blackest Night each week for the rest of the summer. HOWEVER...


Well the Hawks are coming back as that dumb retro-silver age kick DC is on. The whole ...space cops from Thanagar again. So gone is the cool immortal warrior. We lost that. I sadly lost my ability to care when Hawkman was killed. Guy was a freakin warrior.

WHY WHY WHY WHY DID HE HAVE TO KILL HAWKMAN!!??? I know it's been looming for some time now, as hinted in Blackest Night #0 and in the Hawkman Special of last year. But why did DC have to kill them!!??? Geoff Johns singelhandedly fixed this character seven years ago and I feel they barely scratched the surface with possible stories they were able to tell with Carter. DC will probably bring both these characters back now as their Silver Age counterparts, part of the whole Silver Age kick that Dan Didio is on. If they are brought back as Katar and Shayera, I will probably be okay with it but I really am going to miss Carter and Kendra. Their book tanked with the OYL disaster and for the last three years the character has been used sparingly, and now perhaps never again.

Katar and Shayera are cool characters, but I personally feel it is NOT NECESSARY to change this character yet again, or to bring DC back into a new Silver Age. And for the record, I love Barry Allen but he didn't need to come back, either. These returns come at the expense of perfectly good characters- in this case Carter, Kendra, and Wally. I loved the way that the Hawks were killed, it was a well-written death scene and at least it was Johns who wrote it, but I didn't feel it needed to happen. I hope that by the time this story ends, Carter and Kendra are once again alive and breathing, but who knows...

[Hullababy]

Well the hawks death was more or less a given since they were already offed in final crisis and then suddenly retconned into being alive.

[Karl O'Neill]

There could be something special behind the death of the hawks.

johns wrote 25 issues of Hawkman and wrote plenty of issues of him in JSA. He loves the character. I suspect he has grand plans for the hawks. Revamp their myths.

[Ebon]

johns wrote 25 issues of Hawkman and wrote plenty of issues of him in JSA. He loves the character. I suspect he has grand plans for the hawks. Revamp their myths.

I certainly hope so. I don't much like the Hawkman that's been around for several years now and I'm eager to see him remade into something else. That's one major reason I wasn't much broken up about them both being offed.

[Hawkman]

Carter being called "Katar" and the implications in last year's Hawkman Special have me pretty convinced that DC wants to bring Katar and Shayera back. Carter and Kendra's deaths in Blackest Night as opposed to Final Crisis #7 may have just been Johns wanting to pull the final curtain down on the characters himself as opposed to someone else (ie, Morrison or Starlin). But if editorial wants the Thanagarians back at the expense of the current Hawks, as much pull as Johns might have at DC, he still has to follow orders.

Personally, I was completely expecting their deaths so it didn't really bother me. Plus, I love the Hawks in any form, but I happen to prefer the Silver Age Katar and Shayera above all others, so if they do somehow come back when all is said and done, I'll be ecstatic. Having to wait for this series to conclude before finding out even an inkling of what DC's plans are is going to be brutal, but luckily I expect Blackest Night itself to be a stellar event, so at least I'll be entertained in the meantime.

[Karl O'Neill]

It's safe to say.

We love hawkman in here :)

[woodsman816]

regarding the hawks I'm pretty bummed myself as i felt that even with their [shared] monthly and jsa they never really got used to full effect. However i doubt this will be lasting as johns seems to love kendra and carter and incorporated the whole death and rebirth thing as a part of their identities.

[Seraku]

I've been hearing crap all over about the fake 2nd half of the checklist that was revealed after BN #0 came out is in fact real. someone please denyyou hear anything about this GG?

[Karl O'Neill]

They should come back as modern day soldiers.

[Karl O'Neill]

you hear anything about this GG?

Well greg rucka is writing the wonder woman mini. I hear JSA and Flash are coming out too.

I think it's too much.

[Sean Walsh]

Well greg rucka is writing the wonder woman mini. I hear JSA and Flash are coming out too.

I think it's too much.

It's like Marvel's Dark Reign strategy, really. Only DC's using the much bigger names (versus Marvel focusing on Zodiac and Lethal Legion) with the underlying strength of the GL Universe...

It's working well for Marvel so far, so it should work for DC too...

[Tra-EL]

I suppose John's superman might be a safe place to start reading superman.

Superman and superman of earth 2 feature prominently in Infinite crisis.
Then
He co wrote Up Up and away with Kurt Busiek. Which deals with the fallout of Ininfite crisis.
Then
1.Last son
2.Escape from bizarro world.
3.Superman and the legion of superheroes.
4.brainiac
5.New Krypton vol's 1&2.
6.Secret origin (Not started yet)

Thanks, General. I got all the whole story of Braniac/New Krypton and currently in the whole WONK story line. Secret Origins is a definite. Money has always derailed me, so I am now going to be picking up Infinite Crisis and I avoided Up Up and Away because of it. Now I'm going to be picking up Infinite and everything that follows and gaps that I've missed. (Red Son, Escape from Bizzaro, Final Crisis, etc.)

Thanks for the reply :smile:

[TheCrisisKid]

I really hope they don't bring back Ted Kord as a Black Lantern. I know it's been hinted at, I know it's been said already by writers. I just feel that if they bring back Ted Kord as a Black Lantern, then that lessens the chances that Ted Kord somehow survived. After reading Booster Gold and seeing Ted Kord come back, and then go back in time to his death, I feel there is a really good chance that he could come up with a plan to survive his encounter with Maxwell Lord. Also, that part at the end of one of the arcs where someone is seen in Kord Industries building, and he laughs like Ted Kord.

You know what? Bring back Ted Kord as a Black Lantern, but make his ghost come back too and team up with Booster Gold for an ongoing series.

That would be worth it.

[Bakura]

I really hope they don't bring back Ted Kord as a Black Lantern. I know it's been hinted at, I know it's been said already by writers. I just feel that if they bring back Ted Kord as a Black Lantern, then that lessens the chances that Ted Kord somehow survived. After reading Booster Gold and seeing Ted Kord come back, and then go back in time to his death, I feel there is a really good chance that he could come up with a plan to survive his encounter with Maxwell Lord. Also, that part at the end of one of the arcs where someone is seen in Kord Industries building, and he laughs like Ted Kord.

You know what? Bring back Ted Kord as a Black Lantern, but make his ghost come back too and team up with Booster Gold for an ongoing series.

That would be worth it.
He was shot through the head at point blank range. He's dead, at least for now. I know how he died angers people, truth be told I felt it was clumsy and wasteful myself. I think he'll be a great Black Lantern at least if they really make it gut wrenching for the heroes to fight him.

[bc1970]

Does Zombie Ralph drink Zombie Gingold?

[Crowforge]

Does Zombie Ralph drink Zombie Gingold?
Don't think about it too hard or you'll realize most of their original powers shouldn't work.

[CYOTI]

Does Zombie Ralph drink Zombie Gingold?No since he is dead, the gingold already in his body isnt breaking down so he is pretty much naturally flexible.

[Crowforge]

No since he is dead, the gingold already in his body isnt breaking down so he is pretty much naturally flexible.
Yeah but if gingold doesn't break down unless it's metabolized wouldn't the be stretchy people and animals wherever it grew?

[maisuan]

Okay, I understand that the Hawks were killed as a part of the story and that they'll probably be the most kick-ass Black Lanterns ever, but really, did they have to get killed by damn Ralph and Sue Dibny, two of the lamest characters in the history of the DC Universe???

Although I did laugh at the "I smell a mystery" line.

[Crowforge]

Except I wasn't looking for comedy.

[pariah-1972]

I really wish DC would stop trying to killing off all it's happy superhero's :mad:

[CYOTI]

Yeah but if gingold doesn't break down unless it's metabolized wouldn't the be stretchy people and animals wherever it grew?

No. Only the concentrated solution grants super-elasticity and in most cases it's poisonous.

[Retro315]

Don't think about it too hard or you'll realize most of their original powers shouldn't work.

What do you mean zombie Aquaman couldn't summon fish with telepathic brainwaves because he's technically braindead? Of course he can!

[JamesJesse]

I think I know who the big bad is! I think I figured it out. from a really old GL Corps story! And yes, the guy is all about the kingdom of the dead.

The big villain, the one who keeps talking to Black Hand is none other than... (I hope I hide this properly to avoid spoilers)

NEKRON

[JET ACE LOGAN]

I already feel confused and sad, and mad, and and woah... That was awesommmeee!


Am a Marvel fan i like comic books like the Punisher and Daredevil , down to earth stuff, only DC titles i get is Jonah Hex and Green Arrow every month, i do get the odd Flash, Batman, Green Lantern comic.........



But this,

this is the best comic i have read in years , it had everthing !


EPIC, in every sense of the word...............

I can't wait till the next one..................

Its enough to make me a DC fan,

almost,:wink:

[Hullababy]

I think I know who the big bad is! I think I figured it out. from a really old GL Corps story! And yes, the guy is all about the kingdom of the dead.

The big villain, the one who keeps talking to Black Hand is none other than... (I hope I hide this properly to avoid spoilers)

NEKRON

Right. That's news. :rolleyes:

[worstblogever]

And then blammo ! "Scar" has turned into cannibal for no reason that was apparent to me at all.

Cannibalism is the new "hip thing" for a villain to do. Especially if they're written by Jeph Loeb (Sabretooth in Wolverine, Blob in Ultimatum, Hank Pym in Ultimatum). Lady Styx was big on it during 52. It's an odd trend I've noticed the past 2-3 years, perhaps due to the popularity of Marvel Zombies... but it's carried over a lot of other places, as well.

[Bakura]

I think I know who the big bad is! I think I figured it out. from a really old GL Corps story! And yes, the guy is all about the kingdom of the dead.

The big villain, the one who keeps talking to Black Hand is none other than... (I hope I hide this properly to avoid spoilers)
NEKRON

Well let's forget that your coming awfully late to the party here and embrace the fact that you showed up at all.

[Karl O'Neill]

Am a Marvel fan i like comic books like the Punisher and Daredevil , down to earth stuff, only DC titles i get is Jonah Hex and Green Arrow every month, i do get the odd Flash, Batman, Green Lantern comic.........



But this,

this is the best comic i have read in years , it had everthing !


EPIC, in every sense of the word...............

I can't wait till the next one..................

Its enough to make me a DC fan,

almost,:wink:


Never too late to convert a marvel zombie:biggrin: :cool: :smile:

[Tequilamokinbrd]

That issue was amazing.


Ok get ready for a rant, I'm going to try as hard as I can to make sure it makes sense but I think I have this all worked out.




That is NOT Bruce Wayne's skull that's being used to spit out Black Lantern rings.


It's Jean Paul Valley's




JPV being shown in the scene where Hal shows Barry everyone who died sealed it for me. That could only be foreshadowing.

Think about it, why would Hal show Barry an image of Azrael? He debuted after Barry died thus would have never known him. If Hal was just showing him EVERYONE, including some he may not have met, then he missed a TON of characters that Hal would be more familiar with & be able to say something about than Azrael. Plus Azrael's body was never recovered & as far as I know, not even Batman & co. were absolutely convinced of his death, so what makes Hal so sure he's dead?


Azrael was brainwashed by the Order of St. Dumas into literally thinking he was the Angel of Death, & toward the end of his series there was some seriously supernatural things going on. Perhaps The Order of St. Dumas didn't brainwash their Azrael's into thinking they were the angel of death, but in actuality gave them some kind of connection to the Angel of Death.



In Batman & Robin #1 preview pages at the end of the issue, we see Grayson Batman fighting Batwoman while another Batman seems to be reconstructing from a strange pool of liquid.

In Red Robin, Ra's Al Ghul seems to be taunting Tim Wayne(Drake) with the idea of bringing Bruce back from the dead.


Is it possible that Ra's somehow came into possession of JPV's body off panel(much like Talia healed Jason Todd years ago off panel according to that Batman annual, so don't act like DC wouldn't pull this trick), & switched it with Bruce's for some Ra's Al Ghulish reason?


So far, Ra's is the biggest character infamous for cheating death that we haven't seen come into play, and with his dialogue after the murder of the Hawks, Black Hand is certainly targeting those who have cheated death in the past, and Ra's is pretty fresh off of a full on resurrection.

I could certainly see Black Hand confronting Ra's, and all this business about body switching & JPV actually coming out.



I will be shocked if we don't see JPV in this, shocked.

[Mat001]

Interesting. Though one thing for sure is that Dan Didio did say it wasn't Bruce Wayne, a while back when he did a 20 questions.

[ankushm999]

Wow.. this comic was quite a step up from Infinite Crisis. Johns writing has certainly improved. Atho the two books are 2 different beasts but it still shows... and damn @ the final few pages :eek:

[Karl O'Neill]

I agree. Johns has certainly improved his writing game since infinite crisis.

[earl]

A Blackest Night "What If/Elsewhere" Question:

What would be the effect if they resurrected all of the Black Lantern's to life at the end of "Blackest Night"? How would it effect the DC Universe?

A crazy little thought.


I was thinking that might be how some of this ends up in one stroke bringing back a bunch of classic characters from death probably except Batman (as he isn't really dead and that is Morrison's story beat).

If this ends up with the classic JLA out of death jail all at once with Johns writing the Justice League, I'm game for this to happen.

[Taskmaster]

This book was AMAZING! I can't believe John's would reaffirm why I love Hawkman, write him the best he's been written in years, and then kill him all in the span of few pages, talk about heart wrenching! Can't wait to get the next issues

[Mundungus]

This book was superb. I love that it's not shying away from the horror elements of the story. I remember when Ed Brubaker described Deadly Genesis as an X-Men horror story but it never came across to me like that.

This takes the cake, though.

Even though the beginning was heavy on exposition, it was still inspired details. The scenes with Hawkman and Hawkgirl pretty much summed up Geoff Johns' entire Hawkman run--and then brought it gruesome closure. I think that the killing of Hawkman/Hawkgirl, while sad, is a great thematic play. Their schtick is indefinite reincarnation and I can't wait to see how becoming Black Lanterns will affect their future.

Just because you know they'll be back some day in some form.

Also, isn't there a scene in Adventure Comics #1 where Superboy and Kid Flash destroy their statues? Bart doesn't seem to acknowledge that.

Otherwise. Terrific start and I can't wait for #2!

[dupersuper]

As I recall, Conner wasn't taken to the future. It took his body 1,000 years to be regenerated. So his corpse should still be available for Zombiefication.

I thought the whole point of Starman getting a job as a gravedigger in the past was to retrieve the body. I may be misremembering...I'm too lazy to dig out the books and check.

[dupersuper]

I'm hoping that my main man Pariah shows up but i don't have much faith in that.:frown:

Was it ever explained how a guy that could survive universes collapsing around him, a Phobos possessed Superman pounding on him, and was "cursed with immortality"...was shot to death?

[dupersuper]

Re: Black Lantern New Gods and the Conner Kent/Booster Gold time-travel conundrum........

We really don't want those kinds of headaches, do we people? :wink: :tongue:

We must...we read comic books. I must admit, the zombie booster meeting up with living Booster could be very interesting...

[dupersuper]

Katar and Shayera are cool characters, but I personally feel it is NOT NECESSARY to change this character yet again

Even for those of us who want Katar and Shayera back it's not necessary to Change Carter and Kandra/Shayera (sp?). They're different characters. There are 2 Flashes, 2 Green Arrows, 2 Atoms 2 Wildcats and a whole Corps of GL's right now...they seem to manage...

[dupersuper]

Don't think about it too hard or you'll realize most of their original powers shouldn't work.

Or, for that matter, shouldn't have when they were alive...

[dupersuper]

Okay, I understand that the Hawks were killed as a part of the story and that they'll probably be the most kick-ass Black Lanterns ever, but really, did they have to get killed by damn Ralph and Sue Dibny, two of the lamest characters in the history of the DC Universe???


Lame? They've been great in tonnes of stories...from their Than Man days to their League days to anything with them written by Waid or Gerard Jones in the past 10-20 years, right up to Ralphs brilliant death.

[Captain Smith]

Someone might have mentioned this but what happens if one dead dude runs across the other dead dude who killed him?

Grudge match?

[Thok]

Was it ever explained how a guy that could survive universes collapsing around him, a Phobos possessed Superman pounding on him, and was "cursed with immortality"...was shot to death?

To be fair, he was shot to death by a person who had studied the Multiverse fairly intimately and had shown similar abilities and who must have figured Pariah would be likely to show up; I'm willing to accept that Alexander Luthor Jr. specifically built and used a gun designed to take out Pariah.

[kamikage]

Someone might have mentioned this but what happens if one dead dude runs across the other dead dude who killed him?

Grudge match?

I don't think the Black Lanterns work consciously, I think they're the puppets of Black Hand.

[Karl O'Neill]

Someone might have mentioned this but what happens if one dead dude runs across the other dead dude who killed him?

Grudge match?

You are on to something there!

[Crowforge]

What if they're both dead?

[blackphoenix]

ZOMG!!!!

I haven't felt this stoked since the first issue of Infinite Crisis--and we all know how horribly that turned out. I read this issue twice the day I got it...I NEVER do that! Hell, I even DREAMED about it that night!:eek:

I was so bummed when I first saw a pic of the Black Lantern E-2 Superman cuz I really dig that guy! I hope he can be really ressurected somehow.

NO! Batman's skull??? He's REALLY dead???? I thought he was trapped in the Stone Age or something! *sigh*

Was I the only one bummed out about the death of Hawkman and Hawkgirl? :frown:

I can't wait to see how this turns out.

[pariah-1972]

ZOMG!!!!

I haven't felt this stoked since the first issue of Infinite Crisis--and we all know how horribly that turned out. I read this issue twice the day I got it...I NEVER do that! Hell, I even DREAMED about it that night!:eek:

I was so bummed when I first saw a pic of the Black Lantern E-2 Superman cuz I really dig that guy! I hope he can be really ressurected somehow.

NO! Batman's skull??? He's REALLY dead???? I thought he was trapped in the Stone Age or something! *sigh*

Was I the only one bummed out about the death of Hawkman and Hawkgirl? :frown:

I can't wait to see how this turns out.I was bummed about them dying since Hawkgirl finally revealed her true feelings.

[Crowforge]

No biggie as long as those feelings carry over into the next life.

[Bakura]

The Anti Monitor will be reborn, I think all the dead energy will serve to restore him in the end. he may even turn on Nekron.

[Hawkman]

Concerning the Hawks coming back, if they aren't straight-up resurrected, then I think we can pretty much forget about Carter and Kendra ever returning for us to read about. For one thing, Carter retaining the memories of his past lives was the first time that's ever happened in his fictional history, but more importantly, if they follow their typical cycle of death and rebirth, then I can't image why we'd ever see them in a book based in modern day DCU continuity.

To further expound on that, here's a re-post of something I wrote on my blog (see sig) a couple of days ago:



Reincarnation ≠ Resurrection

I'm going to try to make this short and to the point, a rarity with me. This is something that's been a pet peeve of mine for a long time now, but with the Hawks' fate in Blackest Night #1, it seems as though people are spouting off this falsity at a rapid-fire rate. That falsity being, Carter and Kendra dying is no big deal, because reincarnation is a part of their origin.

True, they are indeed destined to come back, but to assume that Hawkman is superhero-dom's answer to Kenny from South Park is pushing it. Let me put this as bluntly as I possibly can: When this version of the Hawks die, they're reborn. Emphasis on born. As in, they come into the world as babies and live out their lives just like everyone else. From child, to adolescent, to adult.

I think the confusion chiefly stems from the way Hawkman and Hawkgirl were each most recently reintroduced to the DCU, but Kendra's possession by Shiera's soul was a fluke, and Carter's "rebirth" on Thanagar was merely him emerging from limbo, taking on many of Hawkworld Katar Hol's physical traits and memories in the process. Therefore, both of these instances should not be looked at as the rule, but the exception.

Now granted, the fact that reincarnation plays a vital part to the very core of the characters probably does make it easier to bring them back than someone like, say, Dick Grayson. It gives writers an almost built-in resurrection device. But to assume that their return to the DCU is inevitable is pushing it. With the way timelines work in the majority of superhero comics, there's no reason why DC would ever have to show Prince Khufu and Princess Chay-Ara again as Hawkman and Hawkgirl respectively, at least not until Hal Jordan is seen using a walker.

In short, the resurrection process is an important aspect to this version of the characters, but so is every other part of the cycle. Carter Hall, as Geoff Johns reimagined him this time around, wouldn't have had all the memories and life expierence he did had he not lived out all his other lives from start to finish. As their story was originally written, the Golden Age Hawks are destined to return to the mortal plane, sure, but as I tried to imply in my title, that doesn't necessarily mean we'll be seeing them any time soon, and if the-powers-that-be so choose, perhaps ever again, even. I just wish more people would keep that in mind before writing their deaths off as nothing more than expendable losses.

[Fat Cobra]

This issue was boring as hell. I felt like I had no idea who the hell anyone was. Oh well, maybe the next issue will appeal to people who haven't read everything DC has put out in the last few years.

[Crowforge]

Reincarnation isn't resurrection? Holy craps!

[paulski]

regarding the hawks I'm pretty bummed myself as i felt that even with their [shared] monthly and jsa they never really got used to full effect. However i doubt this will be lasting as johns seems to love kendra and carter and incorporated the whole death and rebirth thing as a part of their identities.

Nah, I'd say you're right. They'll be back, sooner rather than later.

And it's Geoff, after all - the guy's always got a plan... :wink:

[Bakura]

Reincarnation isn't resurrection? Holy craps!

"OMG you killed Hawkman, you bastards!!!" LOL

[Hawkman]

Reincarnation isn't resurrection? Holy craps!
All I'm pointing out is that the Hawks' "ability" to reincarnate doesn't automatically make their return a given, as so many seem to think. If they're to come back as they were before becoming Black Lanterns, a straight-up resurrection would be far more simple from a storytelling standpoint than trying to explain why they would reincarnate as full-grown adults with all of their memories intact.

[kyleryner]

LOVED the issue!

Just have one comment on the scene where Hal showed Barry all the dead heroes since he died in crisis..

How long has Barry been back at this point? You'd think at some point either

1) he'd ask, "Hey, its been awhile since Ive been back.. how come my best bud Ralph hasnt been around to welcome me back yet? Or let me look him up.. will just take a sec to run to his place..."

or 2) SomeONE...Hal, Wally, Iris etc would bring it up... "Oh by the way... im sorry to tell you this, but your best friend (aside from Hal) and his wife died.... and you WONT believe who killed Sue...."

just thought him being surprised at Ralph and Sue was weird. His reaction to Ronnie was a nice touch, but it would be understandable if someone forgot to mention him (or any of the hundred other deaths). Iris might not have known how close he really was to Ronnie. But Ralph and Sue? No way they wouldnt break him the news.. hell, Barry should have speed-read all the JL case files by now..

[Ite]

Elongated Man actually scared me! This was the scariest comic I have read in a long time. Simply awesome!

[Kent H]

How is Batman connected to all those dead Green Lanterns?

Bruce is Kevin Bacon.

Any Green Lantern -> Any Earth Lantern -> Bruce

Any Green Lantern from any point in time before Hal -> Blue Smurfs -> Any Earth Lantern -> Bruce


question:
Isn't Conner's body still in the healing chamber at this time?

and what about Bart's adult body?

Bart and Con were listed in GL 43 as resurrected heroes that Death wants back. I'd assume they, like Superman or Green Arrow, won't have zombie selves running around.

[paulski]

...just thought him being surprised at Ralph and Sue was weird. His reaction to Ronnie was a nice touch, but it would be understandable if someone forgot to mention him (or any of the hundred other deaths). Iris might not have known how close he really was to Ronnie. But Ralph and Sue? No way they wouldnt break him the news.. hell, Barry should have speed-read all the JL case files by now..

Ehn... I think his return is 'recent' enough that they could quite easily get away with that subplot. I mean, apart from his return in Final Crisis where everyone was running around like headless chooks, and the unfinished Rebirth mini, Barry really hasn't made any other appearances anywhere.

Given the theme of the first half of the book, where everyone's remembering the fallen heroes, I think it was a fairly logical time for Hal to catch Barry up on who's kicked the bucket recently. Also, if you think about it, their reaction would probably be "oh crap, that's right, you were gone when Ralph and Sue died! Sorry, forgot to tell you!". :wink:

[ptsteelers]

Loved the issue. Loved it, but 26 pages of comments and no-one mentions the writing/editorial error?
:biggrin:

On page 15 (ads included in the count) when Damage and Atom Smasher are talking, and Damge states -
"I was left alive with a crushed NAVAL cavity..."

I assume a crushed nasal cavity was the problem and not a crushed naval cavity. I mean, would Damage even mention belly-button issues as a reason? HA.

I just found the typo funny.

Can't wait for issue 2.

[Bakura]

All I'm pointing out is that the Hawks' "ability" to reincarnate doesn't automatically make their return a given, as so many seem to think. If they're to come back as they were before becoming Black Lanterns, a straight-up resurrection would be far more simple from a storytelling standpoint than trying to explain why they would reincarnate as full-grown adults with all of their memories intact.

You have to remember this is DC and they don't have the greatest track record when it comes to the Hawks history.

One thing that doesn't make sense to me, In Teen Titans Brother Blood also raised the dead, amoung them was Hank Hall as Hawk, It's also been stated that he will be a Black Lantern as Hawk. But when he died he was Extant, not Hawk. Also his Hawk powers were not something he was born with, it's a power he was given by a lord of order, which has since passed to a new Hawk. He should rise as Extant.

[KevinTBrown]

I'm behind in reading this thread, so if someone else has brought this up I haven't seen it.


Whoa, freakin' GOOD CATCH!

In any event - no matter what continuity explanation will have to be made for Batman's skull - I'm willing to bet that's the real Bruce Wayne. Because Black Hand says "You're connected to all of them"!!! And let's face it, who's connected to everyone in the DCU more than Batman? Other than Supes, that is...

I know that line can be interpreted as Black Hand talking to the power behind the black lantern, but I really think he's referring to Bruce Wayne there.

It's not like the prehistoric Bruce Wayne has to inhabit the same body. If Kilowog can rise twice (see above), why can't Batman?

I would guess that the reason he's using batman's skull is because of how he died. Perhaps when he was struck by the Omega beams, it energized the body in some way. Thereby providing an energy source to create black rings.


How is Batman connected to all those dead Green Lanterns?

Don't forget, Batman did use a Green Lantern ring once and was also a potential candidate for the Sinestro Corps before he rejected it.

That, coupled with what I said above, is probably why his skull is being used.

[Mat001]

LOVED the issue!

Just have one comment on the scene where Hal showed Barry all the dead heroes since he died in crisis..

How long has Barry been back at this point? You'd think at some point either

1) he'd ask, "Hey, its been awhile since Ive been back.. how come my best bud Ralph hasnt been around to welcome me back yet? Or let me look him up.. will just take a sec to run to his place..."

or 2) SomeONE...Hal, Wally, Iris etc would bring it up... "Oh by the way... im sorry to tell you this, but your best friend (aside from Hal) and his wife died.... and you WONT believe who killed Sue...."

just thought him being surprised at Ralph and Sue was weird. His reaction to Ronnie was a nice touch, but it would be understandable if someone forgot to mention him (or any of the hundred other deaths). Iris might not have known how close he really was to Ronnie. But Ralph and Sue? No way they wouldnt break him the news.. hell, Barry should have speed-read all the JL case files by now..

I think it goes "Final Crisis", "Blackest Night", "Rebirth". Barry didn't know that Tim Drake was the current Robin in "Blackest Night" #0.

[Kiryu]

I thought the whole point of Starman getting a job as a gravedigger in the past was to retrieve the body. I may be misremembering...I'm too lazy to dig out the books and check.

He placed the body in the rejuvenation Matrix thing in the present. Braniac explicitly states the the healing process Connor is undergoing has taken 1000 years.

[ffaristocrat]

I think I know who the big bad is! I think I figured it out. from a really old GL Corps story! And yes, the guy is all about the kingdom of the dead.

The big villain, the one who keeps talking to Black Hand is none other than... (I hope I hide this properly to avoid spoilers)



http://www.terminally-incoherent.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/slowpoke.gif

Hai guys, I heard Sinestro is starting his own corps!

[Thok]

How long has Barry been back at this point?

I've been pondering this. I figure that he's been back 2-3 weeks, of which 1-2 weeks have been spent helping to rebuild the Earth after Final Crisis left it a mess. I suspect that Barry was too busy during that time period to actually ask about friends, and his friends wouldn't want to distract him with the tragedy of Identity Crisis until stuff has calmed down a little.

(I actually wish DC would post a timeline of the post 52 DCU, so we can see how various events fit together.)

[Buried Alien]

I think it goes "Final Crisis", "Blackest Night", "Rebirth". Barry didn't know that Tim Drake was the current Robin in "Blackest Night" #0.

I think part of the fun of Barry's return will be seeing him gradually meet and work with the large number of newer heroes who have emerged since he died in COIE: Tim Drake, Kyle Rayner, Connor Hawke, etc. A whole new generation of heroes has emerged since Barry's disappearance and he still needs to meet them. Conversely, to those youngsters, Barry Allen is a legend from a time before any of them became superheroes. They've heard much about him over the years, but until now, they never thought they would actually meet him.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[David Walton]

If Bruce both is and isn't dead, does this mean an Omega Sanctioned Bruce in whatever body he currently inhabits could go toe to toe with a Black Lantern Batman?

[Karl O'Neill]

No rest for the wicked.

Barry allen.

Crisis on infinite earths.

Final crisis

Rebirth

Blackest Night.

He sure loves his events.:cool:

[Buried Alien]

No rest for the wicked.

Barry allen.

Crisis on infinite earths.

Final crisis

Rebirth

Blackest Night.

He sure loves his events.:cool:

The man had a twenty-three year break between COIE and FINAL CRISIS, so he's got some catching up to do.

Fortunately for him, he's the Fastest Man Alive. :smile:

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Karl O'Neill]

The man had a twenty-three year break between COIE and FINAL CRISIS, so he's got some catching up to do.

Fortunately for him, he's the Fastest Man Alive. :smile:

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

I approve of this comment:biggrin:

[Hullababy]

I approve of this comment:biggrin:

I approve too :biggrin:

[Buried Alien]

Moreover, don't forget that Barry Allen was also the foremost comics geek among comic book characters. He's going to flip out just *reading* the crossovers that have come out since he's been gone. :smile:

When all the dust has settled from BLACKEST NIGHT and FLASH: REBIRTH, it would be fun to dedicate a story in Barry's new FLASH series to his comic book geekdom. Wally, Jay, or whoever took responsibility for Barry's personal property after his death must have auctioned off his collection long ago. Barry is going to need to rebuild his comics collection.



Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Hullababy]

Moreover, don't forget that Barry Allen was also the foremost comics geek among comic book characters. He's going to flip out just *reading* the crossovers that have come out since he's been gone. :smile:

When all the dust has settled from BLACKEST NIGHT and FLASH: REBIRTH, it would be fun to dedicate a story in Barry's new FLASH series to his comic book geekdom. Wally, Jay, or whoever took responsibility for Barry's personal property after his death must have auctioned off his collection long ago. Barry is going to need to rebuild his comics collection.



Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

THIS would be awesome. I'd like to see an entire issue dedicated to Barry's comic book collection. :biggrin:

[Scott Taylor]

The question I have is why Alfred was so upset and what he thinks he did that was so bad. Surely he doesn't think he should have realized that burying Bruce's body would have meant that malevolent beings would have access to his Omega-beam powered skull. Thats not a situation that comes up every day.

[Forseti]

Alfred needn't worry. It's all part of Batman's plan.

[Hawkman]

The question I have is why Alfred was so upset and what he thinks he did that was so bad. Surely he doesn't think he should have realized that burying Bruce's body would have meant that malevolent beings would have access to his Omega-beam powered skull. Thats not a situation that comes up every day.
I assume he was just upset because the grave was desecrated. Bruce was, after all, like a son to him in many ways, so it's understandable. I doubt he thought it was for some nefarious plot to bring back the dead.

[Buried Alien]

I assume he was just upset because the grave was desecrated. Bruce was, after all, like a son to him in many ways, so it's understandable. I doubt he thought it was for some nefarious plot to bring back the dead.

Then again, if Alfred were merely upset over the act and not worried that it might be part of something worse, he probably wouldn't have bothered to contact Hal and Barry about it. Calling the JLA is something you only do in case of emergency.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Bakura]

Then again, if Alfred were merely upset over the act and not worried that it might be part of something worse, he probably wouldn't have bothered to contact Hal and Barry about it. Calling the JLA is something you only do in case of emergency.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Might have something to do with Nightwings experince with people grave robbing superheroes?

[kyleryner]

Then again, if Alfred were merely upset over the act and not worried that it might be part of something worse, he probably wouldn't have bothered to contact Hal and Barry about it. Calling the JLA is something you only do in case of emergency.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

you have a point there. His first call should have been to Dick or Tim or any of the Bat family. Then Clark. The only plausible explanation is he couldnt contact them (maybe they were on a case) and he was so upset he wasnt willing to wait.

Besides,he correctly realized that whoever did this knew Bruce was Batman and he was buried there. So it's a concern for the JLA and the superhero community.

By the way, with BN#1 focused so much on deaths, graves and cemeteries .. I just had a thought.. I never thought about it in all these years we've been seeing the graves of Thomas and Martha Wayne, but i just realized, being BILLIONAIRES, shouldnt they be in a Mausoleum instead of just ordinary graves?

[kyleryner]

He placed the body in the rejuvenation Matrix thing in the present. Braniac explicitly states the the healing process Connor is undergoing has taken 1000 years.

ok.. so the last issue of Legionof 3 worlds hasnt come out yet.. so its obvious that Connor came back to the present with Superman (shouldnt he have stayed in the future?)

So the connor we saw in BN#1 is chronologically speaking, 1,000 years old while his past self..or current self.. is still in the rejuvenation matrix so there are 2 connors in the present now.

It would make sense if dead connor (he is still considered dead, right) would become a Black Lantern and we see a Superboy vs Black Lantern Superboy fight.

When BN is all over and done with, BL Superboy would have been reverted to normal (but still "dead" and returned to the Matrix)

OR .. since Geoff Johns wrote both issues... it could be that since Starboy moved Connor's body to the fortress Blackhand couldnt find his body and thus turn him into a Black Lantern. (although I cant figure out how he could travel there on his own, break into it, place it in the chamber, bury it and leave the place without Superman knowing it)

It would be a nice touch to see a scene in issue #2, Blackhand goes to Superboy's grave and gives his dramatic speech... "blah blah blah... Conner Kent... RISE!!!" (beat) "Hey, where'd the body go?" :biggrin:

[stealthwise]

I think part of the fun of Barry's return will be seeing him gradually meet and work with the large number of newer heroes who have emerged since he died in COIE: Tim Drake, Kyle Rayner, Connor Hawke, etc. A whole new generation of heroes has emerged since Barry's disappearance and he still needs to meet them. Conversely, to those youngsters, Barry Allen is a legend from a time before any of them became superheroes. They've heard much about him over the years, but until now, they never thought they would actually meet him.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

With the sliding timeline, isn't that, like, only five or ten years, at most?

[Buried Alien]

With the sliding timeline, isn't that, like, only five or ten years, at most?

Probably, but because it's been such a long time for us in the real world (both readers and writers alike), the feeling with which such encounters will be depicted will seem like a long, long time...much longer than the time that has supposedly passed between the First Crisis and current events in the DCU.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[stingerman]

Here is a review from an GL newbie:

http://tinyurl.com/mdfe4l

[kyleryner]

Probably, but because it's been such a long time for us in the real world (both readers and writers alike), the feeling with which such encounters will be depicted will seem like a long, long time...much longer than the time that has supposedly passed between the First Crisis and current events in the DCU.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)


*sigh* this is a long standing problem with comic continuity.. just how much (dcu) time had passed after all these years..

I remember waaaay back before, during Zero Hour they made a timeline "10 years ago... 5 years ago..." well, how many years since then have passed since Zero Hour (DCU time?) Since then, green arrow died, Parallax cameback and died in FinalNight , Green Arrow came back, then later Hal Jordan. (took them what, 1-3 years to ressurect?) various events and crisis in between, SEVERAL iterations of JLA, JSA, Titans, etc etc . Heck 52 alone is a whole year right there. so add at the MOST CONSERVATIVE, another 5-6 years (w/c is too short) to the Zero timeline and youve got maybe 10 years since CoiE? that about right?

But then, add how may years where Superheroes like Batman, Superman etc were active BEFORE Coie, and you'll get a feel of how old they should be, or how many years active theyve been.

Further, while Supes and Bats age can be ambigous (are they now in their 30s? 40s? early 50s??) we can more or less peg some specific character's age and years of services... ie., the Robins (Dick and Tim) and the JSA

How old was Dick during Coie, how old is he now? Jason Todd was still Robin then IIRC. So he died 1,2 years after Coie, 1-2 years Batman was Robin-less, then a 16-17 (?) year old Tim showed up, slowly took the mantle of robin, then later met superboy, later formed the Teen Titans, MANY adventures in between, how many years had gone since his dad died in ID crisis? then IC, 52 (thats one year right there), etc etc.. so Tim Drake is still supposed to be in his teens? 19 maybe? Its stupid to say only 2-3 years had passed since he became Robin. He should be in his early 20s by now.

Meanwhile, the original JSAers had always had the trouble of being pegged as starting pre WW II. So the Age of Superheroes started during the 40s. The farther away we go from there, the more problematic the timeline is. Its now 2009. Lets round it off to a decade at 2010 (gonna get there in a few months anyway). So, say that Superman, Batman and the JLA has only been around for about 20 years tops. That means they started in 1990. That would mean Superman, Bats started say at 20 years old (thats pushing it) and is now 40 year years old. So which superheroes were active during 1960s to 1980s? If you move further back in time to make Supes et al active during 1980, then theyr;e 50 years old now and been active for 30 years. Still have the same question.. which heroes where active during 60s to 70s? and so on...

/end rant... sorry about that... timelines have always bugged me because writers try so hard to fit everything together in continuity but the basic question of aging could never be resolved.. basically bec they never let the heroes age (except for the JSA)

[Bevbos]

If Bruce both is and isn't dead, does this mean an Omega Sanctioned Bruce in whatever body he currently inhabits could go toe to toe with a Black Lantern Batman?

It does indeed, my friend. :) Doubt we're gonna see that, though.

[lawman]

*sigh* this is a long standing problem with comic continuity.. just how much (dcu) time had passed after all these years..

I remember waaaay back before, during Zero Hour they made a timeline "10 years ago... 5 years ago..." well, how many years since then have passed since Zero Hour (DCU time?) ...add at the MOST CONSERVATIVE, another 5-6 years (w/c is too short) to the Zero timeline and youve got maybe 10 years since CoiE? that about right?
A long-standing problem, indeed. Sounds like you've been reading my site... :wink: but if not, take a look at the link down in my sig. A very strong case can be made that we're currently in the 11th year of DCU time since the original Crisis. Events chronicled in-between simply can't plausibly be compressed down any more than that.


But then, add how may years where Superheroes like Batman, Superman etc were active BEFORE Coie, and you'll get a feel of how old they should be, or how many years active theyve been.
Yep. Going from the cumulative evidence in the stories, my best estimate is that the Crisis itself took place in Year 11 since Superman's debut. (Hence making the current year, Year 22.)


How old was Dick during Coie, how old is he now? Jason Todd was still Robin then IIRC... so Tim Drake is still supposed to be in his teens? 19 maybe? Its stupid to say only 2-3 years had passed since he became Robin. He should be in his early 20s by now.
Again, you're right. Dick turned 20 pretty much simultaneous with the Crisis, so he's into his 30s now. Tim is indeed in his early 20s; there's no logical way he could possibly still be a teenager.


Meanwhile, the original JSAers had always had the trouble of being pegged as starting pre WW II. So... which heroes where active during 60s to 70s?
Not very many. Good thing most of the villains and alien invaders took a break too... :biggrin:


/end rant... sorry about that... timelines have always bugged me because writers try so hard to fit everything together in continuity but the basic question of aging could never be resolved.. basically bec they never let the heroes age (except for the JSA)
No apology necessary. The whole "sliding timeline" thing drives me nuts too. It creates problem that only grow worse over time, and create big obstacles for suspension of disbelief, just to keep a handful of characters youthful for merchandising purposes. That could be handled much more elegantly with in-story reasons, allowing real time to flow for the universe as a whole.

[Hullababy]

How many years have passed since the first crisis ? I think about 6 years in the DCU timeline so Dick is probably around 26.

[numberONE]

*sigh* this is a long standing problem with comic continuity.. just how much (dcu) time had passed after all these years..

I remember waaaay back before, during Zero Hour they made a timeline "10 years ago... 5 years ago..." well, how many years since then have passed since Zero Hour (DCU time?) Since then, green arrow died, Parallax cameback and died in FinalNight , Green Arrow came back, then later Hal Jordan. (took them what, 1-3 years to ressurect?) various events and crisis in between, SEVERAL iterations of JLA, JSA, Titans, etc etc . Heck 52 alone is a whole year right there. so add at the MOST CONSERVATIVE, another 5-6 years (w/c is too short) to the Zero timeline and youve got maybe 10 years since CoiE? that about right?

But then, add how may years where Superheroes like Batman, Superman etc were active BEFORE Coie, and you'll get a feel of how old they should be, or how many years active theyve been.

Further, while Supes and Bats age can be ambigous (are they now in their 30s? 40s? early 50s??) we can more or less peg some specific character's age and years of services... ie., the Robins (Dick and Tim) and the JSA

How old was Dick during Coie, how old is he now? Jason Todd was still Robin then IIRC. So he died 1,2 years after Coie, 1-2 years Batman was Robin-less, then a 16-17 (?) year old Tim showed up, slowly took the mantle of robin, then later met superboy, later formed the Teen Titans, MANY adventures in between, how many years had gone since his dad died in ID crisis? then IC, 52 (thats one year right there), etc etc.. so Tim Drake is still supposed to be in his teens? 19 maybe? Its stupid to say only 2-3 years had passed since he became Robin. He should be in his early 20s by now.

Meanwhile, the original JSAers had always had the trouble of being pegged as starting pre WW II. So the Age of Superheroes started during the 40s. The farther away we go from there, the more problematic the timeline is. Its now 2009. Lets round it off to a decade at 2010 (gonna get there in a few months anyway). So, say that Superman, Batman and the JLA has only been around for about 20 years tops. That means they started in 1990. That would mean Superman, Bats started say at 20 years old (thats pushing it) and is now 40 year years old. So which superheroes were active during 1960s to 1980s? If you move further back in time to make Supes et al active during 1980, then theyr;e 50 years old now and been active for 30 years. Still have the same question.. which heroes where active during 60s to 70s? and so on...

/end rant... sorry about that... timelines have always bugged me because writers try so hard to fit everything together in continuity but the basic question of aging could never be resolved.. basically bec they never let the heroes age (except for the JSA)

You should check out this (http://www.dcutimeline.com/) site. It's really good.

[Chachi]

Not a Big DC guy outside of some Batman. Picked this isse up today and all I got to say is Wow!

[kyleryner]

A long-standing problem, indeed. Sounds like you've been reading my site... :wink: but if not, take a look at the link down in my sig. A very strong case can be made that we're currently in the 11th year of DCU time since the original Crisis. Events chronicled in-between simply can't plausibly be compressed down any more than that.
.


You should check out this (http://www.dcutimeline.com/) site. It's really good.

Wow, GREAT site! contains a lot of stuff that's been bugging me all this time.. (and no, i haven't been to that site before :smile: ) GREAT work, you sure put a lot of thought and effort on it...I bookmarked it already,,:biggrin:

Looking at your overviews, I see what's been bugging me. A lot are "extra-compressed" as you put it. Basically you're saying a lot of crazy stuff goes on in 1 year... ie.,

Year 13, War of Gods, Armageddon, Breakdowns (so JLI/JLE with all their adventures and embassies, name change, roster change lasted 2 years only)
Eclipso, then Superman killed

Year 14 Superman returns (within a year..) Bane breaks Batman, Hal Jordan goes nuts, Batman returns (within a year.. that's some rehab!) Zero Hour..

With all these events happening in a year, with the regular cases faced by the individual heroes, they sure get busy.

Not to mention I have a hard time believing that Coast City and Gotham can be rebuilt from scratch within a few years.. (in the real world, its been 8 years since 9/11 and they're still not finished rebuilding the replacement for the Twin Towers)

Imagine your'e a regular resident of the DCU... you see all these wars, invasions, crisis going on EVERY year.. people by now would be so used to it that they shouldnt have expressions of surprise whenever it happens again.

In fact, if i may..Ive had this idea for a long time.. I started working on it but I got lazy and im nowhere near good a writer as you. I had this idea of a regular dcu resident (maybe a girl) who stared a diary... which later turns into a blog.. about how all these crisis affect her and how somehow she gets involved in it in one way or the other. Just think about how bloggers would write about all these crazy stuff they see everyday... ie.
Dear Diary, my friend got killed by a "shadow demon" .. the sky is red, etc
Dear Diary, we're being invaded by Aliens!! U had a cousin in Australia who got killed when they attacked there...
Dear Diary, my school was attacked by some Alien monster!! It attacked a cheerleader and now she seems to have some powers....
Blog Entry: Superman died today.
Blog Entry: My co-worker's family lived in Coast City.. all his family was wiped out...
etc etc and my final entry (at the time I thought of this) would be

Blog Entry: OMG!! I had SUPERPOWERS!! I heard Wonder Woman in my head and me and everyone else flew in space to attack this weird alien ... etc etc

(Im talking about WW3 in JLA, which btw I think you may have overlooked in your site.. )

Anyway, sorry for being Off-Topic..lets get the discussion back to Blackest Night...:biggrin:

[Benjamin Ong]

So far in Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps, Blue, Yellow and Indigo have been covered in issue #1 and Orange, Violet and Red in #2. That leaves Green. Anybody knows who or what else will be featured in #3?

[pariah-1972]

So far in Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps, Blue, Yellow and Indigo have been covered in issue #1 and Orange, Violet and Red in #2. That leaves Green. Anybody knows who or what else will be featured in #3?Are we ever gonna get an explanation for what green represents?

[starman]

Hey everybody. I just made a bunch of Black Lantern avatars. So if you really wanted a Black Lantern Ch'p or Jack T. Chance here's the page to get it at.

Avatars (http://forums.comicbookresources.com/showthread.php?t=106&page=200)

[IvCNuB4]

So far in Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps, Blue, Yellow and Indigo have been covered in issue #1 and Orange, Violet and Red in #2. That leaves Green. Anybody knows who or what else will be featured in #3?

Kilowog (http://www.dccomics.com/dcu/comics/?cm=12041) ....



Are we ever gonna get an explanation for what green represents?

Seriously ? :biggrin:

[vitruvian]

All I'm pointing out is that the Hawks' "ability" to reincarnate doesn't automatically make their return a given, as so many seem to think. If they're to come back as they were before becoming Black Lanterns, a straight-up resurrection would be far more simple from a storytelling standpoint than trying to explain why they would reincarnate as full-grown adults with all of their memories intact.

Or they could have them reincarnate normally, as babies. Then, when they get to be about a year and a half old, somebody drops cute little Nth metal flying harnesses off and they become Toddler Hawks.

[Kent H]

Are we ever gonna get an explanation for what green represents?

...... Willpower

[frostfire]

I really enjoyed blackest night #1 and the GL series leading up to it. I hope the momentum keeps up for the rest of the series. I didn't think I would get into DC again but between GL books, Batman books,Supergirl and now Blackest Night and over the last year Marvel is losing my interest in most areas.

[pariah-1972]

...... WillpowerThat's not an emotion.....

[Crowforge]

That's not an emotion.....
Neither is death.

[pariah-1972]

Neither is death.Point (ten smooshy characters)

[phantom1592]

Loved it!

This first issue has me MUCH more Excited than Final Crisis' first issue did.

Except for GL and Flash: rebirth, I've been out of the DC loop for a while now. This issue leaves me with a few questions....

1) When/how did Connor kent come back?

2) I knew Bart was back, don't know how... but did he get de-aged... or did they just choose to ignore that he got older to play Flash for a while

3) Are all these dead lanterns in the morgue JUST from Sinestro War? Since Oa got blown up and later recreated after Emerald twilight... All the bodies that had been there since the silver age should be long gone! Or are they just ignoring that too?

I'm interested in what they are doing with Black Hand. for the life of me I can't remember what his ORIGINAL Origin was. I only saw him a few times in the silver age, and he wasn't very impressive...

[stealthwise]

That's not an emotion.....

Change it to determination, or willfulness.

The thing that irritates me more is that there's no ring for happiness, sadness, etc, as those seem to be more basic human emotions than, say, avarice.

[Mat001]

Loved it!

This first issue has me MUCH more Excited than Final Crisis' first issue did.

Except for GL and Flash: rebirth, I've been out of the DC loop for a while now. This issue leaves me with a few questions....

1) When/how did Connor kent come back?

"Legion Of 3 Worlds". Connor's body was dug up and placed within the Regeneration Matrix. Fresh samples of Clark and Lex's DNA were used to revive him.


2) I knew Bart was back, don't know how... but did he get de-aged... or did they just choose to ignore that he got older to play Flash for a while

When he died, his essence was captured by the lightning rod that Karate Kid used in JLofA #10. In the 31st century, with the help of XS from Earth-247 and all versions of Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass, Bart was revived in a duplicate body that was young again. This happened in issue three of the same mini-series and explained in issue four. This was done to unnerve Prime.


3) Are all these dead lanterns in the morgue JUST from Sinestro War? Since Oa got blown up and later recreated after Emerald twilight... All the bodies that had been there since the silver age should be long gone! Or are they just ignoring that too?

All of the dead GL's were restored there due to "Infinite Crisis".


I'm interested in what they are doing with Black Hand. for the life of me I can't remember what his ORIGINAL Origin was. I only saw him a few times in the silver age, and he wasn't very impressive...

Mainly that he was inventive and created the rod that he used as a weapon. The ties to Hal, Sinestro and Atroticus were added recently, as well as the coroner angle and the death fetish. Otherwise, that's about it.

[HopeLantern]

Haven't skimmed the thread in case this has been answered already... but technically speaking, should ALL of the Orange Lanterns become Black Lanterns?

Larfleeze's troops are all the constructs made after he killed someone. So each of those should become a Black Lantern... right?

Also, just wanted to say that this single issue was better than the entirety of last years Secret Invasion from Marvel. Or anything Marvel has put out since. Can't wait for number 2.

[Will.S]

Just going to say this, the issue was pretty good.

The Green Lantern books have unfortunately been a problem in that there's been too much build up the same way Secret Invasion had too much build up. But so far this issue reads very accessibly and the art is top notch, I also liked seeing how the DCU as a whole factored into this event given how much if it is Green Lantern related.

My only problems were that it could have moved along a little faster and that DC is using Alex Sinclair (the colorist) a little too much which is why I think he may or may not finish the Flash Rebirth stuff.

But otherwise 8.5/10

[phantom1592]

"Legion Of 3 Worlds". Connor's body was dug up and placed within the Regeneration Matrix. Fresh samples of Clark and Lex's DNA were used to revive him.


When he died, his essence was captured by the lightning rod that Karate Kid used in JLofA #10. In the 31st century, with the help of XS from Earth-247 and all versions of Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass, Bart was revived in a duplicate body that was young again. This happened in issue three of the same mini-series and explained in issue four. This was done to unnerve Prime.



All of the dead GL's were restored there due to "Infinite Crisis".



Mainly that he was inventive and created the rod that he used as a weapon. The ties to Hal, Sinestro and Atroticus were added recently, as well as the coroner angle and the death fetish. Otherwise, that's about it.


Thanks! I knew Bart came back during the legion story... didn't hear about Connor... That seems kind of strange. Strange in the dumb, contrived, plot device kind of way... Probably read better in the actual comic though.

"infinite Crisis" is a lousy way to do that... They still have the Parallax thing in continuity, so Was the Zero fight still happening... just the aftermath on Oa rewritten? I noticed that the "female" Oans are said to have been part of the original bunch now... when it USED to just be the Males. The Female Oans were the Zamarons after they split millenia ago.

Yeah.. that's the kind of silver age origin I was expecting. I knew when they put in Atrocias and Sinestro and everything else.. I KNEW that was different... Just never saw how it originally happened :)

[kyleryner]

Been musing about the events in BN#1... and I've been wondering about the nature of Death in the DCU. I know Geoff promised to explain a lot of stuff in this series (not least of which, the reason why people keep getting resurrected). Still, I wonder if Geoff can possibly cover all the bases and come up with a "Death Bible" in the DCU.. can he integrate diff aspects of Death, like Black Flash, Black Racer, Death of the Endless, Nekron, even Hades/Pluto, etc.

Didnt the dead have souls that went to an afterlife? Isnt the Soul part of the resurrection (example is Green Arrow's ressurection, who's soul was yanked back from heaven. btw, now that i think of it, Barry Allen's soul was there. )

What happened to the Ghost Detective souls of Ralph and Sue?

Are the Black Lantern zombies just re-animated bodies without souls? They sure retain some of their original personalities though.

And how many stories have we had in the past of zombie heroes rising from the dead to either fight with or fight against live heroes? I seem to recall its a Trope that appears now and then. I half-remember a story about a Legion of Dead SuperHeroes, for example. And then there was the "Ghosts" DC Annual event years ago.

Then I suddenly remembered the Days of Judgement crossover, where Heroes went to Hell to look for Jim Corrigan so he can bond with the Spectre again. They met a bunch of dead heroes who was in hell or purgatory, including Vigilante and Hal Jordan (I dont have those old issues with me now so i cant give more details) Story concluded with Hal Jordan serving as Host to the Spectre.

So that's one story that depicts Heroes trapped in Hell or basically Life after Death... how will that reconcile with events in BN?

Then I just wikied DoJ and found to my surprise, that writer was none other than... yep, GEOFF JOHNS! So he's sort of contradicting his own "rules" about death..unless he has all of this in mind all along and has a plan to tie things together in a neat little package... so we'll see......

[HopeLantern]

Been musing about the events in BN#1... and I've been wondering about the nature of Death in the DCU. I know Geoff promised to explain a lot of stuff in this series (not least of which, the reason why people keep getting resurrected). Still, I wonder if Geoff can possibly cover all the bases and come up with a "Death Bible" in the DCU.. can he integrate diff aspects of Death, like Black Flash, Black Racer, Death of the Endless, Nekron, even Hades/Pluto, etc.


I really liked your post. You brought up a good point...even at J'onn's funeral, Supes stated that we should "pray for a resurrection" since these things happen quite a bit in the DCU. The question about "souls" is one that's been on my mind since reading BN #1 as well. Unless Johns is arguing that memories and personalities are all a part of the body, it may not make since that these people all retain their original memories. But again, we don't know until BN#3 how the Black Lantern Rings work. Maybe it "calls" the soul back to the body or something.

Death sure is a funny thing in the DCU. Speaking of which, I still wonder why "Bruce Wayne" or his body has received no such ring, yet, and why Black Hand is carrying around his skull like a Blackberry.

[_Move]

Change it to determination, or willfulness.

The thing that irritates me more is that there's no ring for happiness, sadness, etc, as those seem to be more basic human emotions than, say, avarice.

I think because those 2 are states of being, whereas the other 7 emotions are states of action, as emotion is short for energy-in-motion.

[Mat001]

Haven't skimmed the thread in case this has been answered already... but technically speaking, should ALL of the Orange Lanterns become Black Lanterns?

Larfleeze's troops are all the constructs made after he killed someone. So each of those should become a Black Lantern... right?

The constructs probably won't, but the corpses would.


Thanks! I knew Bart came back during the legion story... didn't hear about Connor... That seems kind of strange. Strange in the dumb, contrived, plot device kind of way... Probably read better in the actual comic though.

It's pretty much the same way Superman was brought back to life. It just had to be a thousand years later, because Kon's body was in worse shape than Clark's.


"infinite Crisis" is a lousy way to do that... They still have the Parallax thing in continuity, so Was the Zero fight still happening... just the aftermath on Oa rewritten? I noticed that the "female" Oans are said to have been part of the original bunch now... when it USED to just be the Males. The Female Oans were the Zamarons after they split millenia ago.

Johns' said that's going to be addressed sometime after "Blackest Night".

[Hawkman]

The question about "souls" is one that's been on my mind since reading BN #1 as well. Unless Johns is arguing that memories and personalities are all a part of the body, it may not make since that these people all retain their original memories.
Johns sort of explored that with Hawkgirl a bit, where Kendra's body was possessed by Shiera's soul after her suicide, yet she had virtually none of Shiera's memories. In fact, the few she did have were more instinctual than overt (remembering how to wield certain weapons and how to repair the Hawks' ship, for example). For the most part, though, Kendra's memories all remained her own. So if the Black Lantern's souls are MIA, Johns is more or less remaining consistent with what he'd previously established in that area.

Either way, though, I think something is going on with the Black Lantern's souls, as Johns said at Comic Con that Hawkman currently can't reincarnate. They may not be residing in their undead bodies, but perhaps they're trapped somewhere else, playing a key role in helping to charge whatever it is that's apparently being charged.

[Suzanne]

Just read it! It was great! The death of Hawkman and Hawkgirl were quite shocking to me. Mind you, I don't follow the characters.It actually shocked me too. I haven't been following DC for the past several months until fairly recently, so I wasn't in the "Blackest Night" loop on what would happen. Their deaths gave me chills. I truly can't wait to see how this Hawk situation works out.

On to the book, this was the best, creepiest comic I've read in some time. I thought the "heavy-handed" moments were touching in part because of the dread building up. Also, the overall theme of death is something many of us can relate to.

[Alex L]

Are we ever gonna get an explanation for what green represents?


...... Willpower


That's not an emotion.....

I would've called it courage, myself, but then again I'm not the writer.

[Superbeast]

I swear this has been said dozens of times by now.

Death is the absence of life and any emotion.
Willpower is in this story is about the ability to control your emotions and thoughts.
The other emotional spectrum colours and their corps represent those emotions running out of control.

[Karl O'Neill]

RED and VIOLET seem to be the most dangerous and unchecked.

[LordEd1976]

RED and VIOLET seem to be the most dangerous and unchecked.

As far as Violet is concerned, many tales of long ago deal with the bloody consequences of love.

Romeo & Juliet
the Iliad
Arthur, Guenivere, and Lancelot

[Gothos]

As far as Violet is concerned, many tales of long ago deal with the bloody consequences of love.

Romeo & Juliet
the Iliad
Arthur, Guenivere, and Lancelot

I agree with your general principle, but it's dubious as to whether the point of contention between Achilles and Agamemnon stems from love of the slave girl Agamemnon steals, or just offended warrior-pride.

Ditto the theft of Helen, though that story's resolution is outside the poem's scope.

[Karl O'Neill]

Romeo & Juliet


The Bard's most hilarious piece:biggrin:

[Jarath]

So despite being adament that I wasn't going to pick this up until it hit in a collected format I have now read Blackest Night #1. Now before you call me weak, it really wasn't my fault. I'd expressed to my girlfriend how I thought the black ring that came with it was pretty cool (in a totally not cool geeky way ;) ). She then secretly ordered issue 1 for me so she could give me the ring as a gift. It was very sweet of her and then my willpower faded when I knew #1 was in my house so I read it.

It was so good that I think I am going to have to collect the whole thing in single issues AND by the trades. All my other GL stuff is in trades so I need to make a nice collection. Guess I will be able to read a few more threads on this forum now, going to get caught up on thursday with what I have missed.