Blackest Night #1 (spoilers)

[Karl O'Neill]

Less than a week away from the launch of Blackest Night, the DCU event years in the making!

IGN.com have posted a three page preview from issue #1 in pencils, inks, and fully finished versions for your enjoyment.

http://ie.comics.ign.com/articles/100/1002903p1.html

SWEET!

[BatWolverine]

Meh.

Needs more Power Girl.

[Karl O'Neill]

Meh.

Needs more Power Girl.

More newsarama exiles.

Welcome batsy.

[CMBMOOL]

Meh.

Needs more Power Girl.

I have to agree, especially if Earth-2 Superman is coming back as a Black Lantern. :frown:


Still it's off to a creepy start. :eek:

[Choppa]

How can Bruce be a black lantern if he isn't dead?

[Green Griffin]

How can Bruce be a black lantern if he isn't dead?

His soul isn't Dead but his body is. Thats the only thing i can think of at the moment. It hasn't been shown if he going to be one but BH seems to like playing around with his skull.

[Hullababy]

It seems from the previews that the black lanterns do retain their personalities and memories or it could be an exclusive for Black Hand.

[Thok]

How can Bruce be a black lantern if he isn't dead?

Perhaps we should wait to see if Bruce actually becomes a Black Lantern before jumping to conclusions? All we know is that Black Hand is interested in what the voice thinks is Bruce's corpse.

[Bat_Fan2232]

i anticipate this and i cant wait but, is anyone besides me worried ? Because if this sucks we are in for some long painful months of a comic no one can stand much like the whole countdown was for me. I hope that blackest night will be awesome, and pray that it wont be a disappointment

[mosdef]

i anticipate this and i cant wait but, is anyone besides me worried ? Because if this sucks we are in for some long painful months of a comic no one can stand much like the whole countdown was for me. I hope that blackest night will be awesome, and pray that it wont be a disappointment

After reading GL #43 I have faith that this is gonna live up to the hype. I think this is gonna be an epic event like the Sinestro Corps War was, even bigger

[SevereTireDamage]

I have agree with mosdef, and most of expect, that it exceeds Sinestro Corps. Not taking anything away Sinestro Corps is easily in my top five "event" series. But it seemed that Johns Orange Lantern story arc wasn't as solid as his Red Lantern arc, but damn issue 43 kicked so much ass.
The preview for Blackest Night is pretty cool, hopefully in the coming days we get a couple more pages. After almost 2 years we finally get Blackest Night, it seemed just like yesterday I had picked up GL 25.

[Bevbos]

i anticipate this and i cant wait but, is anyone besides me worried ? Because if this sucks we are in for some long painful months of a comic no one can stand much like the whole countdown was for me. I hope that blackest night will be awesome, and pray that it wont be a disappointment

The only way this could suck is relative to Sinestro Corps War. Even if it's nowhere near as good as that, it'll still be Green Lantern comics, i.e., the best superhero books on the stands, so it'll be a blast. Still, the bar has been set VERY high, and Mr. Johns certainly may have a challenge ahead of himself.

[galactica]

The really great thing about BN is that so far it looks like the main mini will focus on the larger DCU and the Black Lantern Corps, the GL title will focus on the other Corps and GLC will deal with the larger GLC with Kyle and Guy at the center. I think that recipe for success because if gives each book a relevant and important part to play.

I'm a little worried about the length, it might get a little stale around issue 4-6 but I trust Johns and Tomasi to have something at the midway point ramp things up again.

[Choppa]

I thought Bruce's grave was unmarked. The world still thinks that Bruce Wayne is alive and in Batman #687, Dick tells the other heroes not to tell anyone that Batman is dead.

[Tabernac]

I thought Bruce's grave was unmarked. The world still thinks that Bruce Wayne is alive and in Batman #687, Dick tells the other heroes not to tell anyone that Batman is dead.

Black Hand is working for Scar, she knew the outcome of the Final Crisis.

[Karl O'Neill]

Try these.
cool

http://i30.tinypic.com/339sih5.jpg
http://i27.tinypic.com/205a5qg.jpg
http://i28.tinypic.com/2edmtmr.jpg

[kamikage]

I'm not sure if this has been brought up, but anyone think we can expect the return of Bruce? I mean reading these pages made me think.

[ankushm999]

Nah not yet... he will be coming back next year in May.

[Hawkman]

I'm not sure if this has been brought up, but anyone think we can expect the return of Bruce? I mean reading these pages made me think.
I think Blackest Night might serve to tip off a lot of heroes to the fact that Batman isn't actually dead. Who knows, though? If he's trapped in the past, and the timeline isn't affected before BN concludes, then I suppose he'd technically be dead in the present. It could go either way, I suppose.

Anyway, I was hoping to see Hawkman in the preview, but I guess they'll be saving whatever is in store for him for the actual issue. From everything that's been said I'm 99% sure he's going to be killed, and if not, 100% sure something else bad is going to happen to him. Can't wait to actually find out!

[Free-Man]

I'm wondering about the scale of this whole thing. Are we also gonna see dead Charlton and Milestone heroes like Dan Garrett?

[HVulpes]

Question :

What does Black Hand mean, "You're connected to them all" as he hold Bruce's Skull? Is there more meaning to this then we see in the preview?

[Free-Man]

Question :

What does Black Hand mean, "You're connected to them all" as he hold Bruce's Skull? Is there more meaning to this then we see in the preview?

What hero or villain in the DCU doesn't know Batman?

[Jeff-E]

Possible spoilers if you haven't read GL 43, so don't read ahead if you havent. Just trying to be safe
...
...
...
...
...
...
..
...
...
...
....
...
..
...
...
...
So each Corps has an "Avatar" as it were. Ion for the Green's Parallax for the Yellow/Sinestro who is the Predator for? I'm unfamiliar with that one, and does anyone have any guesses on the rest?

[galactica]

Possible spoilers if you haven't read GL 43, so don't read ahead if you havent. Just trying to be safe
...
...
...
...
...
...
..
...
...
...
....
...
..
...
...
...
So each Corps has an "Avatar" as it were. Ion for the Green's Parallax for the Yellow/Sinestro who is the Predator for? I'm unfamiliar with that one, and does anyone have any guesses on the rest?

Star Sapphires. The people we see standing in front of Predator are Zamarons, the "guardians" of the Star Sapphires.

[Jeff-E]

Star Sapphires. The people we see standing in front of Predator are Zamarons, the "guardians" of the Star Sapphires.

Cool, thanks, I didn't realize those were the Zamarons in front of it. Thanks. Has there been any other entities introduced in the GL mythos to indicate who other's might be? I ony started reading GL with the rebirth title, so I don't know much about the early history, but GL and GLC have quickly jumped in to my top 5 favorite titles following GotG and Deadpool (Kind of Talking Russian Dogs, and Deadpool, hard to beat those two).

[galactica]

Cool, thanks, I didn't realize those were the Zamarons in front of it. Thanks. Has there been any other entities introduced in the GL mythos to indicate who other's might be? I ony started reading GL with the rebirth title, so I don't know much about the early history, but GL and GLC have quickly jumped in to my top 5 favorite titles following GotG and Deadpool (Kind of Talking Russian Dogs, and Deadpool, hard to beat those two).

We haven't seen any other entities but we know there are others.

[pariah-1972]

Great issue gave me the creeps:eek:

[asdlkgh]

Very excited for this event, not too worried about it sucking since GL/Corps has been consistantly good since Rebirth and especially since SCW. Not too worried about the length or event fatigue as it seems the miniseries will probably be relevant, but not so much where it's forced reading.. besides the scope of this story is ultra-huge so I think it will be able to fill the 8 issues it's planned for. I mean there are just so many characters and so many factions involved in this.

In Geoff Johns We Trust.

[Karl O'Neill]

I think I am going to do my best to actually avoid early spoilers this time around.Don't want to ruin anything for myself.

[janthonyh]

i cant wait to get the black lantern ring that comes free with issue #1! im such a fanboy...

[Name Already Taken]

Question :

What does Black Hand mean, "You're connected to them all" as he hold Bruce's Skull? Is there more meaning to this then we see in the preview?

Question: Which bear is best?

[Sanlear]

Two hours and counting before I have it in my grubby li'l mitts.

[Karl O'Neill]

Two hours and counting before I have it in my grubby li'l mitts.

A few friends of mine already read it. But I don't want to spoil it for myself.

He basically said to me. If you or anyone else loved the sinestro corps one shot special, Then this is ten times better than that.

Exciting times.

[Sean Walsh]

I have it.

And I loves it.

I could go on and on (the dead villain grave at JLA HQ, Barry's reaction to seeing who's died since he did, what Scar does, new names for the BL list) but.........

.....well, the real shock is not who dies in this one (they were mentioned, though cryptically), but............WHO KILLS THEM.

Rollover the following at your own damn risk people, because it's a doozy:

Ralph and Sue kill Carter and Kendra.

And then they come back.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[Karl O'Neill]

So sean, was it 40 pages?

How was the art?

[ShaggyB]

I have it.

And I loves it.

I could go on and on (the dead villain grave at JLA HQ, Barry's reaction to seeing who's died since he did, what Scar does, new names for the BL list) but.........

.....well, the real shock is not who dies in this one (they were mentioned, though cryptically), but............WHO KILLS THEM.

Rollover the following at your own damn risk people, because it's a doozy:

Ralph and Sue kill Carter and Kendra.

And then they come back.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

wow the predictions thread had that called a few days ago......

[Sean Walsh]

So sean, was it 40 pages?

How was the art?

Total pages (including ads): 48.

Art: as excellent as Reis' been giving us for years.


There's also a 2 page spread of dead Green Lanterns (accompanied by a very appropriate "WHAT THE *#&$%" from Guy Gardner).

And the answer, people, is yes................ Ch'p's a Black Lantern too. :eek: :biggrin:

[Karl O'Neill]

There has to be a bigger moment than the hawks fate in this issue?

[Sean Walsh]

There has to be a bigger moment than the hawks fate in this issue?

Besides "what Scar does," which is fairly graphic actually, not really. Just a very eerie (and great) aura of dread - starting from the moment when Alfred arrives at the cemetary.

I mean, knowing a lot of the identities of BL's already kinda ruined some moments (which BL meets up with Barry and Hal) but the buildup is impressive.

And seriously, who does the killing at the end was more of a shock than who gets killed.

[Karl O'Neill]

Here's a question sean.

Does this issue give us an idea how GL and GLC will play out?

Is it like secret invasion, WHere the skrull thunderbolts attack in SI#1 and then that led into the ongoing thunderbolts series and the like?

Thanks

[Sean Walsh]

Here's a question sean.

Does this issue give us an idea how GL and GLC will play out?

Is it like secret invasion, WHere the skrull thunderbolts attack in SI#1 and then that led into the ongoing thunderbolts series and the like?

I'm guessing so.

GL #43 ended with "next issue: J'onn!" so I presume his appearance in BLACKEST NIGHT #1 (he's the one who meets up with Barry and Hal) leads into GL #44.

Also guessing the next GLC, #39, will focus on Oa and the dead GLs rising from the crypts.

[Karl O'Neill]

Makes sense.

I guess the JLA, Titans and Batman Mini's will spring their own starting points.

[SevereTireDamage]

Skipped work early to get it, speed read it and it is awesome! So far living up to the hype!

[Karl O'Neill]

What Scar does? I guess she is due a beat down or even a death.

Is the big bad revealed as krona yet?

[Sean Walsh]

What Scar does? I guess she is due a beat down or even a death.

Is the big bad revealed as krona yet?

No big bad this issue. Just Black Hand (at the beginning and end) and Scar (in the middle there). And, of course, lotsa rings and new recruits.

Basically the Guardians, realizing the War of Lights has begun (with Larfleeze attacking Saint Walker and the Blues, and other encounters all over the galaxy), decide to alert their GLs and have them all return to Oa to prepare, but Scar calmly says that won't happen because the message will never be sent..



..........BTW, Guardian blood is yellow and their hearts are green.


Yeah, that's what Scar does. :eek:

[SevereTireDamage]

What Scar does? I guess she is due a beat down or even a death.

Is the big bad revealed as krona yet?

Scar and the Guardians get into it. She is definitely due for a serious beat down. The big bad hasn't been revealed yet.

[F1uke]

Holy $#!&!! This issue was excellent and insane at the same time. I've always loved Elongated Man, and it gave me goosebumps after he hit Hawkman in the head and said "Hey Sue. I smell a mystery."

It seems like they still have their memories, but they are just evil now? Intense.

Question: Which bear is best?

Black bear.

[Karl O'Neill]

I am hearing of people across the net who took the day and morning off work just to grab a copy of this comic.

Insane in the membrane!:biggrin:

[Green Griffin]

Amazing, That's the only way i can describe it.

Best Moment was Flash seeing all of the heroes that died while he was dead.

Guy said what all the other Lanterns were thinking when the dead rised.

The Death at the end wasn't shocking but the way they were done in was.

[JurassicParkIsAnAwesomeMovie]

awesome issue...exceded my expectations! Bring on issue 2!

[HVulpes]

The Dead Will Rise.... and The Fans Will Buys....

....and take the day off work.

Also Black Lanterns tend to vote often and Early as well as for the Conservative choice Like George Bush and Stephen Harper. They did vote in the Iranian election for Ahmadinejad in large numbers.

The Dead Will Vote...

[big al]

hows about someone post the spoilers for thsoe of us who actually went to work today and have to work late, same thing for tomorrow so the earliest I can get it is Friday:frown:

[CMBMOOL]

No big bad this issue. Just Black Hand (at the beginning and end) and Scar (in the middle there). And, of course, lotsa rings and new recruits.

Basically the Guardians, realizing the War of Lights has begun (with Larfleeze attacking Saint Walker and the Blues, and other encounters all over the galaxy), decide to alert their GLs and have them all return to Oa to prepare, but Scar calmly says that won't happen because the message will never be sent..



..........BTW, Guardian blood is yellow and their hearts are green.


Yeah, that's what Scar does. :eek:

Oh it's offical the GLC and the rest of the Universe is screwed. :eek: :frown:

[Sanlear]

I am hearing of people across the net who took the day and morning off work just to grab a copy of this comic.

Insane in the membrane!:biggrin: While I didn't take the day off, I did skip lunch in order to get to my comic shop, buy and read it. To repeat what Sean said, I loves it. For me, it's definitely living up to the hype. Amazing first issue.

[IvCNuB4]

Get there early to get your Black Lantern ring when you buy this issue ! The band is flexible and split in the center so it should adjust for you with thicker fingers. Mine in it's normal (unadjusted) state fits my middle finger perfect, and I have pretty lean fingers so I think they did a good design with this one .....

http://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/ring-300x300.jpg

[Sean Walsh]

hows about someone post the spoilers for thsoe of us who actually went to work today and have to work late, same thing for tomorrow so the earliest I can get it is Friday:frown:

Okay, here's everything I got. Avert your eyes, those who dare not be spoiled with specifics
.




Black Hand finds Bruce Wayne's grave and digs up his skull. In Sector 666, the Black Lantern rings spew out, all across the galaxy.

Meanwhile, everyone's celebrating the dead heroes of Earth. GLs (Hal, Kyle, Guy, John) in Coast City, Clark & Conner in Smallville, Prof. Stein & Jason Rusch at Ronnie Raymond's grave, the Titans at the Tower, Mera & Tempest at Aquaman's grave in New England (near his old lighthouse), a giant mass of heroes (JSA and others) in Metropolis at the Valhalla graveyard of heroes.....and even the Rogues at their super-secret cemetary. Alfred gets to the Waynes' plot late in the day and.........is horrified by what's left of Bruce's site.

Barry and Hal are at the JLA HQ, in the villain crypt. After the NIGHTWING story where dead villain corpses were being harvested for parts, the JLA dug up all the dead foes of the DCU (Thinker, Fiddler, Psycho Pirate, Major Force, Black Mass, Conduit, Black Bison, Weasel and many others) and collected them in a hi-tech crypt underneath the Hall of Justice. A discussion of death leads to Hal creating a construct of the heroes and friends who've died since Barry was lost to the Speed Force - in particular, he's heartbroken at seeing Ralph and Sue Dibny's images.

On Oa, the Guardians are overseeing the erupting War of Lights - all over the galaxy, the various Lanterns are at war with each other. They decree that the GLs are all to return to Oa to prepare, but Scar tells them no....and proceeds to start killing them and pulling out their hearts. Many are stuck in black goo, many others are just outright killed.

The rings begin reaching their destinations - many on Earth (at the sites previously seen in the issue) but also Mars, Oa and presumably elsewhere. The rings penetrate the crypts of the dead GLs on Oa and bring them back to life, much to the shock and horror of Guy, Kilowog and the other gathered GLs. And back on Earth, after learning of the defilement of Bruce's grave, Barry and Hal are confronted by Black Lantern Martian Manhunter, who tells them "you should both be dead."

Finally, Hawkman is back in St. Roch, angrily yelling at Ray Palmer at one point on the phone because he wants to visit Jean Loring's grave on this day of rememberence (he admonishs his friend because "she did what no one else could: she made Ray Palmer feel small"). Suddenly, after a typical Hawkman/Hawkgirl "do you love me" discussion, they are attacked.......by Black Lantern Ralph & Sue Dibny, who run Hawkgirl through with a spear and kill her, and then proceed to beat Hawkman to death. Black Hand arrives, pulls out their hearts........and as their corpses begin to cool, rings descend upon them and tell them to "Rise."

[CMBMOOL]

Something tells me that the Deaths within the first issue were kind of expected. :frown:

However this issue prove whether the Black lanterns can be defeat is up for debate as it seems that they're going to be "too powerful" for any one to stop. :frown:

Also why is Hawkman being a jerk to Ray Palmer on this day of rememberance ?

[big al]

holy mackeral, thanks for the spoilers!

[bongoes]

I started to read this thinking "Wow, this is good", and then I got to the page where Alfred gets to Bruce's grave and even though I was expecting it, I thought "Oh crap. It's on." Then it happened about four more times.

[Hawkman]

Haven't had a chance to read this yet (dammit!), but concerning Hawkman and Hawkgirl: totally called it. (http://thestonechatmuseum.blogspot.com/2009/05/this-post-is-more-or-less-duplicate-of.html)

Can't wait to read it!

[Karl O'Neill]

Haven't had a chance to read this yet (dammit!), but concerning Hawkman and Hawkgirl: totally called it. (http://thestonechatmuseum.blogspot.com/2009/05/this-post-is-more-or-less-duplicate-of.html)

Can't wait to read it!

I thought you would hate this developement!:biggrin:

[Hawkman]

You'd think that, wouldn't you? But no, I'm not. Mainly because DiDio told me at Mega Con that they were going to put Hawkman "through the wringer," but that in the end I would be "pleasantly surprised." Personally, I'm sort of expecting Katar and Shayera back by or not long after the conclusion of this event. With everything DiDio's said, both to me and in interviews, it all comes back to the line in last August's Hawkman Special where Carter was first addressed as "Katar," to the puzzlement of both the reader and Hawkman at the time.

[Karl O'Neill]

Yeah I ignored that stoopid special.

Way to mess with the character.

Hopefully from blackest night onwards hawkman will be reiincarnated for the better.

[KevinTBrown]

The Dead Will Rise.... and The Fans Will Buys....

....and take the day off work.

Also Black Lanterns tend to vote often and Early as well as for the Conservative choice Like George Bush and Stephen Harper. They did vote in the Iranian election for Ahmadinejad in large numbers.

The Dead Will Vote...


Only in Chicago. :biggrin:

[HVulpes]

Wonder if Hitler will raise as a Black Lantern Villain? Or Undead Nazis? :confused:

[Karl O'Neill]

Wonder if Hitler will raise as a Black Lantern Villain? Or Undead Nazis? :confused:

and stalin. he is way cooler.

[Buried Alien]

Yeah I ignored that stoopid special.



I enjoyed that SPECIAL, but like many interesting ideas that DC starts, they never went anywhere with it.


Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Karl O'Neill]

I enjoyed that SPECIAL, but like many interesting ideas that DC starts, they never went anywhere with it.


Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

It seemed a bit random to me.They spent years fixing his origin. Which had been all over the place for years. and then they bring out this special. Which flips in on it;s head again.

[Hawkman]

I enjoyed that SPECIAL, but like many interesting ideas that DC starts, they never went anywhere with it.
I liked it, too, and I think they might be going with it right now, just not in the manner they originally intended to. I'm not so much expecting Carter to come back by the end of BN as I am Katar. Remember DiDio's "most recognizable version" quote concerning certain characters from a while back? You take that, their deaths here, and Carter being referred to as "Katar" in the Special after being told he's going to die; I don't think the storyline's been thrown out so much as it's been altered somewhat to fit with Blackest Night.

Also, this way it's sort of on Johns' terms--the man responsible for bringing Hawkman back int he first place--as opposed to leaving it all up to Starlin, who was a virtual outsider when it came to the character.

[I am MODOK]

Pretty darn good. Johns has amped up expectations and excitement so much, it is quite the achievement that this really lives up to the hype!

[Karl O'Neill]

NEWSARAMA'S BESTSHOTS REVIEW IS IN

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/090715-BSEBlackestNight1.html


snippet.

Blackest Night #1 is everything I thought it could be and then some. Sharp dialogue, intense action sequences, and shocking reveals. I'm not sure this book could have been that much better. Johns and his dynamite team, who have worked on Green Lantern with him before, make the panels pop with intense magnitude and the images stick with you well after you put it down. I knew the dead would rise, but I didn't know it was going to be on this scale

[Slyfer]

Hands down the best read of the Month

[Lupek]

I am a grown man who is giddy with excitement about superpowered people in their longjohns coming back from the dead.

Thank you for that Geoff Johns. This was good shtuff!

The Hal and Barry moments were my favorite. All the tributes for the dead were great. But iIt kinda sucks for Aquaman that only Garth and Mera were at his gravesite. It just adds to the feeling I have that the super community didn't seem too moved by his death. When all this black lantern stuff is over he really needs to reevaluate his superhero friendships.

Also....driving home from the comic book store today I aimed my black lantern ring at several people and nothing happened. I guess they have to be dead before this thing works? Next stop...the local graveyard.

Anyone else get an emotional/color spectrum button? I am told there is one for each issue.

[Buried Alien]

It seemed a bit random to me.They spent years fixing his origin. Which had been all over the place for years. and then they bring out this special. Which flips in on it;s head again.

The problem with the Geoff Johns' "fix" for Hawkman is it only settled the Carter Hall aspect of Hawkman, leaving the Katar Hol aspect out to dry. You've got to expect that at least half of the Hawkman fans weren't happy about that development.

I don't think Hawkman will be truly "fixed" until both the Carter Hall and the Katar Hol aspects of the mythology are restored to their proper cases in the DC canon.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Thok]

The problem with the Geoff Johns' "fix" for Hawkman is it only settled the Carter Hall aspect of Hawkman, leaving the Katar Hol aspect out to dry. You've got to expect that at least half of the Hawkman fans weren't happy about that development.

I suspect you're overestimating the percentage of fans who prefer Katar to Carter; remember a significant portion of Hawkman fans just want a bare-shirted guy with wings who smacks criminals with a mace, and everything else is gravy.

[IvCNuB4]

. But iIt kinda sucks for Aquaman that only Garth and Mera were at his gravesite. .

I wonder if Mera's comment about Garth's violet eyes might be a foreshadow/setup for him to become the first male Star Sapphire ! Hmmmm .....

[CYOTI]

^That was Garth's origin. He had violet eyes and was exiled much like Arthur.

Very true. Most people just want a Hawkman with some semblance of a backstory and origin instead of a jumbled mess that occured to hawkman post-crisis.

[Redrumbin]

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

[xorn87]

I am jealous of you guys. I was just laid off yesterday and now cant afford to buy comics. This was one of the most anticipated events for me. It sounds freaking awesome! If you all could keep this fanboy updated on Blackest Night, I'd be much appreciated.

[Davmeister84]

SPOILERY DISCUSSION
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Did anyone else catch Ralph and Sue having "Emotion Vision" going before they attacked the Hawks, pegging Hawkman with Rage and Hawkgirl with Love?

What do people think about the power level increase from killing the Hawks? 0.01% increase from the death of each, which I think is linked to their emotional state. Scar told the other Guardians they were useless because they'd purged emotions from their hearts and here we have Ralph and Sue ripping the hearts from both Hawks and absorbing them.

The big question now becomes "What happens when the power level reaches 100%?".

[BloodOps]

I think we need some scans. :)

[CMBMOOL]

SPOILERY DISCUSSION
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Did anyone else catch Ralph and Sue having "Emotion Vision" going before they attacked the Hawks, pegging Hawkman with Rage and Hawkgirl with Love?

What do people think about the power level increase from killing the Hawks? 0.01% increase from the death of each, which I think is linked to their emotional state. Scar told the other Guardians they were useless because they'd purged emotions from their hearts and here we have Ralph and Sue ripping the hearts from both Hawks and absorbing them.

The big question now becomes "What happens when the power level reaches 100%?".

Freaky creepy moment here.:eek:

[SevereTireDamage]

If the rest of the event is anything like this issue we are in for a wild ride. I noticed the emotion vision too. I skimmed through the issue so I need to figure out what the deal is with the .01% and .02% thing means with the power level. Hate to find out what 100% is.
Oh, and Scar is a little bitch.

[Davmeister84]

Another question that popped into my mind while reading this...

None of the Black Lanterns so far have exhibited anything other than their normal powerset. No energy constructs or autoshields. Does the Black Ring only reanimate them, or will those typical Lantern powers kick in as they charge up from killing people?

[Hullababy]

ok........AWESOME!!!!

Now...I need to go back and read it again.

[HVulpes]

SPOILERY DISCUSSION
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Did anyone else catch Ralph and Sue having "Emotion Vision" going before they attacked the Hawks, pegging Hawkman with Rage and Hawkgirl with Love?

What do people think about the power level increase from killing the Hawks? 0.01% increase from the death of each, which I think is linked to their emotional state. Scar told the other Guardians they were useless because they'd purged emotions from their hearts and here we have Ralph and Sue ripping the hearts from both Hawks and absorbing them.

The big question now becomes "What happens when the power level reaches 100%?".

Black Hand's former ring thing could absorb the power of a lantern's ring, it is possible these new rings or the Black Lantern's power to absorb the other lantern's powers from people's emotions themselves. Like gaining Red Lantern powers by draining the Hulk's anger, the more emotion the more power and types of powers perhaps?

[Davmeister84]

Black Hand's former ring thing could absorb the power of a lantern's ring, it is possible these new rings or the Black Lantern's power to absorb the other lantern's powers from people's emotions themselves. Like gaining Red Lantern powers by draining the Hulk's anger, the more emotion the more power and types of powers perhaps?

The cosmic divining rod was built by Atrocitus though, Black Hand only picked it up and used it along the way. While it's been a signature weapon of sorts for him, I don't see a tech device like that being the basis for Black Lantern powers.

Also, we've seen the yellow Manhunter skulls and the Red Lanterns being able to deplete GLs so I doubt they'd want that sort of power duplication.

[Hullababy]

Why does Black Hand need Batman's skull to raise the dead ? :confused:

[Green Griffin]

I am a grown man who is giddy with excitement about superpowered people in their longjohns coming back from the dead.

Thank you for that Geoff Johns. This was good shtuff!

The Hal and Barry moments were my favorite. All the tributes for the dead were great. But iIt kinda sucks for Aquaman that only Garth and Mera were at his gravesite. It just adds to the feeling I have that the super community didn't seem too moved by his death. When all this black lantern stuff is over he really needs to reevaluate his superhero friendships.

Also....driving home from the comic book store today I aimed my black lantern ring at several people and nothing happened. I guess they have to be dead before this thing works? Next stop...the local graveyard.

Anyone else get an emotional/color spectrum button? I am told there is one for each issue.

My store didn't have the rings, but also did you try ripping out some poor soul heart to charge your ring...that might make it work.

[Green Griffin]

I wonder if Mera's comment about Garth's violet eyes might be a foreshadow/setup for him to become the first male Star Sapphire ! Hmmmm .....

Speaking of which i have a feeling Mera will be offed by her dead lover.

[Hawkman]

I suspect you're overestimating the percentage of fans who prefer Katar to Carter; remember a significant portion of Hawkman fans just want a bare-shirted guy with wings who smacks criminals with a mace, and everything else is gravy.
I would wager to say that Carter barely had a fanbase before Johns reinvented him. And as a Katar fan, I was pretty upset when I found out it was Carter being brought back instead, but the way Johns and Goyer managed to infuse much of Katar's mythology and character into Carter was enough to make me happy in the end. That said, I think it's well within the realm of possibility now that Katar (and Shayera) might actually come back, but if he does, I only hope the Hawkman fans that Johns created give Katar the same chance I gave Carter before dismissing him as "Not my Hawkman." Again, if he comes back.

Anyway, read the issue and thought it was stellar. Posted more of my thoughts about Hawkman and Hawkgirl's fates and futures on my blog, (http://thestonechatmuseum.blogspot.com/) but as for the issue itself, I loved it. I had extremely high expectations and Johns definitely managed to meet them. As opposed to Final Crisis, where I felt a bit apprehensive after reading it, there's no doubt in my mind that this event is going to be absolutely spectacular. Blackest Night along with Wednesday Comics have me more excited to be a comic book fan now than I have been in a long, long time.

Well done, Mr. Johns and DC. Well done.

[HVulpes]

The cosmic divining rod was built by Atrocitus though, Black Hand only picked it up and used it along the way. While it's been a signature weapon of sorts for him, I don't see a tech device like that being the basis for Black Lantern powers.

Also, we've seen the yellow Manhunter skulls and the Red Lanterns being able to deplete GLs so I doubt they'd want that sort of power duplication.

It has links as the Black Hand ring had only what power it sucked from a Lantern Ring, which could explain the power rating. Plus Red and yellow never sucked the emotion out of people, did they?

[mosdef]

Loved Guy's reaction to seeing the Black Lanterns.

http://i27.tinypic.com/sgl8x3.jpg

[kamikage]

That was LEGEN wait for it....DARY!!!

Seriously, this first issue blew me away, but can they keep it up?

[stillanerd]

What I find ironic is Hawkman and Hawkgirl were clearly supposed to have been killed during Grant Morrison's Final Crisis. However, DC editorial (much to the chagrin of Dwayne MacDuffie no doubt) decided they somehow survived. The scene in Justice League of America with Roy Harper lamenting to Power Girl about how Kendra broke up with him and went back to Hawkman was probably intended to be Roy lamenting over Kendra's DEATH. And yet what ends up happening--Hawkman and Hawkgirl get killed and made into Black Lanterns. Which begs the question if DC was going to turn them into Black Lanterns anyway, why didn't they just have them die in Final Crisis to begin with?

And I'm sure there are going to be folks confused with how Black Hand removes Bruce Wayne's skull from his unmarked grave (not to mention does gross things with his tongue to it) when, at the end of Final Crisis, Bruce is clearly alive back in Prehistoric times. Of course, Dan Didio DID hint that Batman's corpse Superman was holding wasn't the real Batman. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there some unresolved subplot from the god-awful Countdown to Final Crisis involving one of the Monitor's selecting an "evil Batman" to act as a potential replacement for Forerunner or some such? Maybe THAT'S the Batman who was found dead and, apparently, will get made into a Black Lantern?

[Hawkman]

Which begs the question if DC was going to turn them into Black Lantern's anyway, why didn't they just have them die in Final Crisis to begin with?
To add emotional weight and a level of dread and despair to the story, is my guess. Also, Johns may have wanted to knock them off himself since he was so vital to their presence in the DCU, as I'm not as convinced as others that either Carter or Kendra will be coming back after this.

[SeritoNiN]

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.

Regardless, what a great read. I see no reason why the trend won't continue. This story is Johns heart and soul.

[Seraku]

this was awesome.

[BloodOps]

And I'm sure there are going to be folks confused with how Black Hand removes Bruce Wayne's skull from his unmarked grave (not to mention does gross things with his tongue to it) when, at the end of Final Crisis, Bruce is clearly alive back in Prehistoric times. Of course, Dan Didio DID hint that Batman's corpse Superman was holding wasn't the real Batman. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't there some unresolved subplot from the god-awful Countdown to Final Crisis involving one of the Monitor's selecting an "evil Batman" to act as a potential replacement for Forerunner or some such? Maybe THAT'S the Batman who was found dead and, apparently, will get made into a Black Lantern?

This is what is getting me right now. Or maybe Batman won't come back and some of the heroes will wonder why he wasn't brought back out of everyone and than they start to suspect. To be honest I don't know how they are going to handle this.

Anyone got scans yet!

[stillanerd]

To add emotional weight and a level of dread and despair to the story, is my guess.

Oh, I agree it carries far more emotional impact, not to mention it shows how dangerous and deadly Black Lanterns are. Still, it seems pointless on DC's part, or at least on Morrison's part, to have it clearly appear that they were killed in Final Crisis even though DC said, "No, they're still alive" when they just wind up killing them off anyway. If so, it would have been better if those panels of Hawkman and Hawkgirl apparently going out in an explosion should have just been removed from issue #7 altogether.

Also, Johns may have wanted to knock them off himself since he was so vital to their presence in the DCU, as I'm not as convinced as others that either Carter or Kendra will be coming back after this.

But remember, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, according to their backstory, are supposed to be lovers doomed to be reincarnated for all eternity, right? So, technically, while Carter and Kendra are not coming back after this, a newly reincarnated version of Hawkman and Hawkgirl might.

[Name Already Taken]

You'd think that, wouldn't you? But no, I'm not. Mainly because DiDio told me at Mega Con that they were going to put Hawkman "through the wringer," but that in the end I would be "pleasantly surprised." Personally, I'm sort of expecting Katar and Shayera back by or not long after the conclusion of this event. With everything DiDio's said, both to me and in interviews, it all comes back to the line in last August's Hawkman Special where Carter was first addressed as "Katar," to the puzzlement of both the reader and Hawkman at the time.

Reincarnation reboot to clear up their respective origins. Doing what they did seems like the easiest way to clear that up (again).

[Hawkman]

But remember, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, according to their backstory, are supposed to be lovers doomed to be reincarnated for all eternity, right? So, technically, while Carter and Kendra are not coming back after this, a newly reincarnated version of Hawkman and Hawkgirl might.
Oh, I'm very confident Hawkman and Hawkgirl will be back in some form or another. But I'm not convinced that it will be the Golden Age, Egyptian, reincarnation cycle version as opposed to the Thanagarians. There's no reason it has to be Carter and Shiera/Kendra, after all. Unless they're brought back in the same manner as other dead heroes might be at the end of this event (Aquaman, Martian Manhunter, etc.), there's no reason they can't be out of the DC forevermore after this. They reincarnate. It's not as though when they die they're reborn into fully grown bodies (Kendra was an aberration). For all intents and purposes, if DC wants them out of the picture, we could just assume they're spending their days as anonymous toddlers on a playground somewhere.

The fact that reincarnation is a part of their backstories doesn't automatically signal to that they're destined to come back as Hawkman and Hawkgirl after this.

[Retrodork]

I hope they do bring Kendra and Carter back, personally. This version of Hawkman is the most interesting in my opinion. Plus, I like the relationship between the two of them, the fact that Kendra 'rejects' their love purely on the basis that she doesn't like the predestination aspects of it. I think the confrontation between Roy and BL zombie Kendra should be interesting at least. Any bets on who else will get whacked and zombified? No doubt a whole slew of b-lister cannon fodder, but which big guns?

[PatchMadripoor]

The big question now becomes "What happens when the power level reaches 100%?".

What happens everytime. The Scouter will break and Nappa says "100%!!!! That's impossible!"

[Green Griffin]

I hope they do bring Kendra and Carter back, personally. This version of Hawkman is the most interesting in my opinion. Plus, I like the relationship between the two of them, the fact that Kendra 'rejects' their love purely on the basis that she doesn't like the predestination aspects of it. I think the confrontation between Roy and BL zombie Kendra should be interesting at least. Any bets on who else will get whacked and zombified? No doubt a whole slew of b-lister cannon fodder, but which big guns?

i would go with Aquamans wife to eat it next.

[Wilder Midnight]

dammit.

i was already at the front of the line in a very chaotic comic book shop before i realized i didn't have this and opting not to lose my place after waiting like ten minutes to get to the front i left it behind for later.

it sucks that my lcs is so unorganized...i've missed about five comics i wanted over the past few months and another one today as well as this.

i'm going to have to make a second emergency trip tomorrow after work after the feeding frenzy dies down.

as for the whole hawkman issue well i'm a fan of both from way back and the only time i've ever felt the character got the respect he deserved was in the pages of jsa over the past ten years. i'm all for giving carter and kendra a go again.

[Deadpooligan]

For people who read the story where Kilowog was resurrected, was he given a completely new body?

I don't know if this is his old body, or another Lantern from his race (possibly his predecessor?)

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/330/kilowog.jpg

[HVulpes]

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.

[xorn87]

Out of each title I would say...
Bat Family: Alfred, Catwoman, Commissioner Gordon
Supes: Lana Lang, Perry White, Ma Kent, Mon-El
Flash Fam: Linda West, Iris Allen, Some Rouges
GL: Kilowog, Guy Gardner, Salaak,
DCU: Doom Patrol, Challengers of the Unknown, some Titans

These are just guesses...

[Samuraixsithlord]

So The Black Hand is using Batman's skull to create Black Rings. Interesting

[40footwolf]

It's like somebody combined all the worst parts of Geoff Johns' most offensive writing tics, got Ivan Reis to draw it and then charged four bucks.

No, no, wait, that's not what it's LIKE at all, that's what it IS.

Horrid.

[CYOTI]

^Want some cheese with that whine?

[40footwolf]

^Want some cheese with that whine?
Disliking a bad comic is called whining now?

[Jake V]

Disliking a bad comic is called whining now?

The least you could do is explain what you mean and provide an example or two.

I mean, it's possible to like both this and Final Crisis. It's easy for me, actually.

[Tony Bang]

I mean, it's possible to like both this and Final Crisis. It's easy for me, actually.

What does Final Crisis have to do with this?

[Jake V]

What does Final Crisis have to do with this?

That was preemptive. There's gonna be people who compare this to FC, and while they're completely different, people are gonna hold one up as good, and the other up as crap.

[40footwolf]

The least you could do is explain what you mean and provide an example or two.

I mean, it's possible to like both this and Final Crisis. It's easy for me, actually.

It's Geoff Johns' style of preposterous exposition that really sunk this-this whole, "I am a superhero, here is everything that has ever happened to me, I will say something inspirational when I am done talking to you about my feelings" that he seems to revel in so much. Pretty much the whole first third was just the Lanterns of earth being like "Aren't we swell?" and Johns replying "Yes you are, Best Friends!"

Not to mention that nothing happened-the entire issue was pretty much just treading water until the last few pages, and it's like...we don't NEED setup for this, we KNOW what it's about, you've been setting this up for MONTHS, if you wanna go for the zombies than just go for the zombies already.

The dialogue, as well, was just ridiculous-my brother has the copy right now so if you want I could find examples later(does anyone really care THAT much, though?), but pretty much all of the Hawks' conversation was a load of heavy handed, trite "we control our destinies" crap, just off the top of my head.

I don't know, it was just...STRIKINGLY bad to me. I thought it sucked in a big, big way, which is surprising, since I thought that the issue of Green Lantern that preceded this was one of the best things Johns had written in years.

[Bevbos]

For people who read the story where Kilowog was resurrected, was he given a completely new body?

I don't know if this is his old body, or another Lantern from his race (possibly his predecessor?)

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/330/kilowog.jpg

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?

[hYPE]

i cant wait to get the black lantern ring that comes free with issue #1! im such a fanboy...

Shoot, my local comic store didn't even have the black lantern rings! I was so looking forward to that as well!

[Jake V]

It's Geoff Johns' style of preposterous exposition that really sunk this-this whole, "I am a superhero, here is everything that has ever happened to me, I will say something inspirational when I am done talking to you about my feelings" that he seems to revel in so much. Pretty much the whole first third was just the Lanterns of earth being like "Aren't we swell?" and Johns replying "Yes you are, Best Friends!"

Not to mention that nothing happened-the entire issue was pretty much just treading water until the last few pages, and it's like...we don't NEED setup for this, we KNOW what it's about, you've been setting this up for MONTHS, if you wanna go for the zombies than just go for the zombies already.

The dialogue, as well, was just ridiculous-my brother has the copy right now so if you want I could find examples later(does anyone really care THAT much, though?), but pretty much all of the Hawks' conversation was a load of heavy handed, trite "we control our destinies" crap, just off the top of my head.

I don't know, it was just...STRIKINGLY bad to me. I thought it sucked in a big, big way, which is surprising, since I thought that the issue of Green Lantern that preceded this was one of the best things Johns had written in years.

That's weird, because I thought the last issue of GL was exactly what you described this issue as, minus the heroes. Nothing but contrived flashbacks and exposition where everything is significant, topped with some crazy over the top violence where the gore serves no real purpose.

You'd think that in a book like this, that is gonna attract a lot of people who don't know that much about the backstory of all the different corps, or the goings on in the DCU, would really benefit from a little background information.

Yeah, a lot of the "god, we're so great, aren't we?" tics were there, but I didn't find it a bad comic by any means.

[hYPE]

For people who read the story where Kilowog was resurrected, was he given a completely new body?

I don't know if this is his old body, or another Lantern from his race (possibly his predecessor?)

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/330/kilowog.jpg

Dude good catch! Totally missed that! That is strange!

[Jake V]

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...

How is Batman connected to all those dead Green Lanterns?

[Bevbos]

How is Batman connected to all those dead Green Lanterns?

Hm, ok, I feel stupid. Good point. Still, perhaps by "everyone" BH meant just the generalized DCU. But hey, I am, likely, very wrong.

[40footwolf]

Here's the thing: I don't think a new reader is going to care about Hal Jordan's girlfriend, or what old-ass Barry Allen thinks about anything. I think they're going to care about the ZOMBIES and I think that all of this wallowing in the past can't do anything but harm new readership. It's informative, but that doesn't make it interesting.

[Rokkit]

Here's the thing: I don't think a new reader is going to care about Hal Jordan's girlfriend, or what old-ass Barry Allen thinks about anything. I think they're going to care about the ZOMBIES and I think that all of this wallowing in the past can't do anything but harm new readership. It's informative, but that doesn't make it interesting.

Just because it's an event book doesn't mean it should be completely tailored to new readers.

I think that your theory is incorrect, anyhow; the quickest way to alienate new readers is to throw people and situations at them that they know absolutely nothing about.

That 'ZOMBIE' has a lot less impact if it's someone you know nothing about (in this story, at least).

The first half of BN did exactly what all first issues of stories that assume new readers may be on board do; give a little backstory to flesh out what they are about to witness.

[40footwolf]

Just because it's an event book doesn't mean it should be completely tailored to new readers.

I think that your theory is incorrect, anyhow; the quickest way to alienate new readers is to throw people and situations at them that they know absolutely nothing about.

That 'ZOMBIE' has a lot less impact if it's someone you know nothing about (in this story, at least).

The first half of BN did exactly what all first issues of stories that assume new readers may be on board do; give a little backstory to flesh out what they are about to witness.
It did it with the most heavy handed, uninteresting approach possible, though. This should all come out in the dialogue in a form that's not "Hey, I'm the main character, do you want to know everything about me, of course you do, that's why you bought this right". Everyone who knows what this is about is going to buy it, and learning about the history of the GLC isn't going to make a new reader care any more about Dibny zombies.

[TheCrisisKid]

Pretty sure the Black Lanterns will start out powerless because it would be overpowered if they had their regular powers AND lantern powers.

I am sure we will see some Black Lanterns using lantern powers, though.

[stillanerd]

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?

And here's how I think DC will get around this--yes, the skull does indeed belong to Bruce Wayne, but NOT the Bruce Wayne from the main DC universe (Earth-Prime). And that is the reason why Black Hand specifically uses Batman's skull--not only is he connected to all the heroes, he's from a different plane of existence. Maybe that's the key to creating Black Lanterns--the skull used not only has to be from someone who is dead and who knew the dead bodies being resurrected in life, but who also has to be from a different universe altogether.

And lets not forget something else--Didio hinted that the body of Batman Superman found in Final Crisis is not the same as the Batman we saw alive and well at the end of Final Crisis in prehistoric times.

[JurassicParkIsAnAwesomeMovie]

My theory is for every emotion filled heart that is ripped out, it adds power either the central power battery and/or all Black Lanterns. It would take alot of hearts being riped out for each lantern to reach 100% lol.:biggrin:

[JurassicParkIsAnAwesomeMovie]

Did anyone else notice that "Batman's" skull spit out the rings for Hawkgirl and Hawkman? I wonder if skulls can be used as a battery, after seeing Black Hand use the oath on the skull in Blackest Night 0.

[JurassicParkIsAnAwesomeMovie]

For people who read the story where Kilowog was resurrected, was he given a completely new body?

I don't know if this is his old body, or another Lantern from his race (possibly his predecessor?)

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/330/kilowog.jpg

I did catch that after looking at the page for about a minute...It was a kick ass splash page!!

[Bevbos]

And lets not forget something else--Didio hinted that the body of Batman Superman found in Final Crisis is not the same as the Batman we saw alive and well at the end of Final Crisis in prehistoric times.

But to me this would suggest that the original Bruce Wayne body is indeed the one cradled by Superman and now held by Black Hand, whereas the new, but still "real" Bruce Wayne has a new body, in the past. But, you might be right, this is just my gut instinct. And ultimately it's splitting hairs.

Did anyone else notice that "Batman's" skull spit out the rings for Hawkgirl and Hawkman? I wonder if skulls can be used as a battery, after seeing Black Hand use the oath on the skull in Blackest Night 0.

Yeah, I think it's the de facto personal black lattern battery. And it's Batman's skull!!! That's so freakin' awesome.

[Jake V]

When Bruce comes back to life, he's gonna be really annoyed.

[DeadXMan]

Ok This might top Marvel zombies.

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

and what about Bart's adult body?

[Violently Apathetic]

...

I was really looking forward to this event, and then Johns had to go and churn out a terrible first issue. I'll stick with it, I'm into pain, but I am kinda (re. REALLY) disappointed.

[numberONE]

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.

[DMike]

For people who read the story where Kilowog was resurrected, was he given a completely new body?

I don't know if this is his old body, or another Lantern from his race (possibly his predecessor?)

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/330/kilowog.jpg

I have my copy of Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps: Secret Files and Origins in front of me right now (don't ask) and in the two-page spread of Fallen Lanterns (most of whom, if not all of whom, are in this issue of Blackest Night) there is a member of Kilowog's race named Branwilla among the dead Lanterns.

[CMBMOOL]

And lets not forget something else--Didio hinted that the body of Batman Superman found in Final Crisis is not the same as the Batman we saw alive and well at the end of Final Crisis in prehistoric times.

And who know WHEN Tim, Dick or even Booster Gold will figure that out ? :frown:

[James Conniff]

Wow. What great start to this story. Plenty of setup to catch new readers but but enough character work in the set up that long time readers don't feel too bogged down by exposition and explanation. John's continues t show that he is one of the best in the business. There's just so much right with this issue hate to single one scene out in particular that was great but towards the end, the death of the Hawks was chilling. This is just what I was hoping for A DCU horror movie...I just didn't expect Johns to go there with Ralph and Sue. But am I ever glad he did.

I absolutely cannot wait to see what is done through out the rest of the series.

[bongoes]

I have my copy of Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps: Secret Files and Origins in front of me right now (don't ask) and in the two-page spread of Fallen Lanterns (most of whom, if not all of whom, are in this issue of Blackest Night) there is a member of Kilowog's race named Branwilla among the dead Lanterns.

This might be of some interest for those of you who don't have Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps: Secret Files and Origins right in front of you
http://www.dccomics.com/sites/greenlantern/?action=dead

Directly from the website:
Branwilla
Kilowog's predecessor in Sector 674. Died in GREEN LANTERN Vol. 2 #218+

[Name Already Taken]

It has been mentioned often enough.

Holy smokes! Great start so far.

[titanfan]

Reincarnation reboot to clear up their respective origins. Doing what they did seems like the easiest way to clear that up (again).

When will they learn that each reincarnation tends to just complicate things further...

None of the Black Lanterns so far have exhibited anything other than their normal powerset. No energy constructs or autoshields. Does the Black Ring only reanimate them, or will those typical Lantern powers kick in as they charge up from killing people?

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....

[Samuraixsithlord]

How is Batman connected to all those dead Green Lanterns?

I think it has something to do with Batman being "killed" by Darkseid's Omega Sanction Beams

[Samuraixsithlord]

So with the deaths of Hawkgirl and Hawkman and what J'onn said about Berry and Hal, we can assume that the Black Lanterns will be going after ressurected heroes.

[Firebaton]

Um wow.. just wow..should be an interesting ride. I just hope Hal talking about Guy's happy ending so much in the beginning wasn't a big ole foreshadow to the death (redeath) of Tora. That will annoy me.

[Samuraixsithlord]

Pretty sure the Black Lanterns will start out powerless because it would be overpowered if they had their regular powers AND lantern powers.

I figure the Black Lanterns won't be anymore powerful then any other lantern corps. But like zombies the danger with them is that they're so many of them that they just over power you through numbers.

I also think that the only way to "kill" a Black Lantern is to destroy their ring. which would be very hard.

[Ian J.N.]

But to me this would suggest that the original Bruce Wayne body is indeed the one cradled by Superman and now held by Black Hand, whereas the new, but still "real" Bruce Wayne has a new body, in the past. But, you might be right, this is just my gut instinct. And ultimately it's splitting hairs.
Do we actually know how Bruce ended up in the past? With time travel involved, it may well be the same body (resurrected, of course).

[Name Already Taken]

Question :

What does Black Hand mean, "You're connected to them all" as he hold Bruce's Skull? Is there more meaning to this then we see in the preview?

He was referring to himself since he is the main black lantern, connected to all the others through thiers deaths in the cemetary. Not Bruce.

[KiFF86]

The store I buy from, didn't get their Blackest Night Issue shipped............I hate everything.

[CMBMOOL]

Um wow.. just wow..should be an interesting ride. I just hope Hal talking about Guy's happy ending so much in the beginning wasn't a big ole foreshadow to the death (redeath) of Tora. That will annoy me.

It will not be a pretty day when Ice re-dies again. :mad:

[Hawkman]

It will not be a pretty day when Ice re-dies again. :mad:
Actually, I'm more worried about Guy than I am Tora.

[Green Griffin]

Actually, I'm more worried about Guy than I am Tora.

You called Hawkman and Hawkgirl getting killed, so i think whoever you say will die. How do you feel about Aquaman's wife?

[Seraku]

anyone else feel like Blackest Night has done more for Barry Allen's character than Rebirth has so far?

[Green Griffin]

anyone else feel like Blackest Night has done more for Barry Allen's character than Rebirth has so far?

did you just read that off the IGN Review?

[Seraku]

I agree with the reviewer's sentiment

also I noticed JPV was in the death screen :frown:

[wolvie616]

How is Batman connected to all those dead Green Lanterns?

well, the skull spat out black lantern rings, so i suppose that the skull creates the black rings, so he is "connected" to them all

[Detroit2Cali]

My Question is what did Scar do to the Guardians, I don't think she offed all of them:confused:

[GoodClone]

One of my biggest worries about this series is that the Black Lanterns would be mindless zombies. I like the fact that they have some personality - as seen in the Hawks and Ralph scene.

One thing that didn't make sense to me is the corpse of Raymond. He exploded in Infinite Crisis. And during the Firestorm series - when he "really died" - he just kind of dissolved into the Firestorm Matrix.

[wolvie616]

My Question is what did Scar do to the Guardians, I don't think she offed all of them:confused:

she has them in a weblike substance that makes them catatonic by the looks of it, but the chuck norris heart rip was appreciatted.

i hate smurfs, cept papa ganthet

[Retro315]

You called Hawkman and Hawkgirl getting killed, so i think whoever you say will die. How do you feel about Aquaman's wife?

EX-wife ...

He and Mera haven't been together for years, and he and Tempest drifted as Tempest got his own life and Aquaman got more and more frustrated and busy.

If you want people with strong emotional feelings for Aquaman ... look towards Black Manta (HATE) ... Ocean Master (GREED) ... and other enemies who loathe him.

(Can't say I'd be surprised though ... I'm worried for all sorts of characters lives)

[stillanerd]

Wow. What great start to this story. Plenty of setup to catch new readers but but enough character work in the set up that long time readers don't feel too bogged down by exposition and explanation. John's continues t show that he is one of the best in the business. There's just so much right with this issue hate to single one scene out in particular that was great but towards the end, the death of the Hawks was chilling. This is just what I was hoping for A DCU horror movie...I just didn't expect Johns to go there with Ralph and Sue. But am I ever glad he did.

I absolutely cannot wait to see what is done through out the rest of the series.

Agreed 99.9% (only because I thought if DC was going to make the Hawks Black Lanterns anyway, maybe Grant Morrison should have left out the scene in which they were ambiguously caught in that explosion in Final Crisis, but oh well I commented about that already). What I really appreciated was that Johns makes you instantly knew who these characters were without taking up endless time to introduce them and thus accomplished what is rare in big crossovers--you become emotionally invested in these characters even if you haven't been keeping up with them in their own books. Which makes the appearance of the Black Lanterns for the first time all the more effective (especially that spread of slain Green Lanterns--Guy Gardner said it all), as Johns really sets up a scenario in which feels like a real legitimate threat to the the DCU. Terrific way to kick things off.

[Wolf-Man]

So they're using Bruce Wayne as a Bat-tery? :rolleyes:

[wolvie616]

So they're using Bruce Wayne as a Bat-tery? :rolleyes:

more like a processor

[hYPE]

Did anyone else notice that "Batman's" skull spit out the rings for Hawkgirl and Hawkman? I wonder if skulls can be used as a battery, after seeing Black Hand use the oath on the skull in Blackest Night 0.

I heard someone on the other board say something similar. I think your right on the money though!

[SUPERECWFAN1]

You called Hawkman and Hawkgirl getting killed, so i think whoever you say will die. How do you feel about Aquaman's wife?

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.

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

[bongoes]

You called Hawkman and Hawkgirl getting killed, so i think whoever you say will die. How do you feel about Aquaman's wife?

The Hawk's have been pretty much guaranteed to die for a while now.

[Green Griffin]

I wonder if Pa Kent comes back as a Black Lantern. Will Superman lose it and not hold back on the Black Lanterns or Break down with Grief.

[Thok]

It occurs to me: maybe the charging of the Black Lantern battery is actually a summoning ritual and when the battery gets to 100% the cosmic horror that runs the Black Lanterns can return to conquer the land of the living.

[numberONE]

Who's this rouge Guardian Scar? Plus, I thought only those two former Guardians who founded the Lanterns of Hope have names...?

This might be of some interest for those of you who don't have Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps: Secret Files and Origins right in front of you
http://www.dccomics.com/sites/greenlantern/?action=dead

Directly from the website:
Branwilla
Kilowog's predecessor in Sector 674. Died in GREEN LANTERN Vol. 2 #218+

Cool site. When did that get launched?

I think it has something to do with Batman being "killed" by Darkseid's Omega Sanction Beams

Yeah, since Bruce was zapped by an Omega Sanction Beam, he know has connection to people from all different time periods and realities, right?

I wonder if Pa Kent comes back as a Black Lantern. Will Superman lose it and not hold back on the Black Lanterns or Break down with Grief.

That would be something! Superman vs. Pa Kent! Probably the hardest fight of Superman life...

[Slaughter]

It occurs to me: maybe the charging of the Black Lantern battery is actually a summoning ritual and when the battery gets to 100% the cosmic horror that runs the Black Lanterns can return to conquer the land of the living.

I was thinking the same thing. They're harvesting the power of emotions (for example, they harvested Kendra's love and Carter's rage) to power a rift between Earth-52 and the land of the dead. And then whatever gets out is probrably going to make Cthulhu look like a pansy.

Also, they're probrably charging the battery to use the power. I think that what stops them from anihilating the universe in a day with the hordes of dead people with the power of a ring.

Who's this rouge Guardian Scar?

Scar was a Guardian struck by The Anti-Monitor's touch in the end of the Sinestro Corps War. Said touch produced that burnt scar in her face. The Anti-Monitor's energy was used to power the Black Lantern. This caused her to enter in contact with a powerful being who rules over death. Manipulated and controlled by said being, Scar started to manipulate everything and everyone to start the Blackest Night. She told the Sinestro Corps where Sinestro was going to be killed, and as a result, they freed him. She manipulated the Guardians into fighting with the Orange Lanterns, which ended with the Guardians making a deal with Agent Orange: "Stop fighting us and we tell you where you can find a blue ring." So Agent Orange is now fighting the blues. Scar was also responsible for Vice (a red lantern) breakout in Oa, the yellow rings returning to their former owners and the destruction of the defensive shell around Oa.

[Thok]

Who's this rouge Guardian Scar? Plus, I thought only those two former Guardians who founded the Lanterns of Hope have names...?

During the Sinestro Corps war, one of the Guardians was scarred by the Anti-Monitor in the final fight. That Guardian started calling herself Scar and manipulated the other Guardians.

[Rokkit]

It did it with the most heavy handed, uninteresting approach possible, though.

Nope. Far from heavy handed, in fact.

This should all come out in the dialogue in a form that's not "Hey, I'm the main character, do you want to know everything about me, of course you do, that's why you bought this right". .

I didn't see that form at all, and I don't think many other folks did, either. Regardless, I think you are trying to get way too specific about this characterized 'new reader' you have created. I doubt most of them are the 'just give me zombies!!' mindset you seem to believe they are.

And at least knowing who the Ralph zombie was, for example, will be considerably more useful to these 'new readers' than throwing Ralph out there with no background whatsoever.

[numberONE]

Thanks for answering my questions about Scar, guys.

As far as this appealing to new readers, I'm a fairly new reader it appeal to me, even if I don't know the backstories of all the Black Lanterns. Anyways this is the first time I've read an event as it's come out (I started reading around the time Final Crisis started, but didn't read it untill the hardcover came out)...and I am having a blast so far!

Someone should add a poll on this thread. Like the one on the Batman and Robin #1 thread...

[lakers420]

It occurs to me: maybe the charging of the Black Lantern battery is actually a summoning ritual and when the battery gets to 100% the cosmic horror that runs the Black Lanterns can return to conquer the land of the living.

I has that same thought. Ralf and Sue each crushed a heart and instead of each of their rings being charged 0.01%, there was a single status update of 0.02%.

[Seraku]

So they're using Bruce Wayne as a Bat-tery? :rolleyes:

More like a Pez dispenser for rings

[Andrenn]

great debut issue.

Johns really packed the first issue and it was great.

Never been a fan of the Hawk characters so I'm not too worried or upset over their deaths.

Really loving the Black Lanterns, can't wait to see more next month!

[Seraku]

It did it with the most heavy handed, uninteresting approach possible, though. This should all come out in the dialogue in a form that's not "Hey, I'm the main character, do you want to know everything about me, of course you do, that's why you bought this right". Everyone who knows what this is about is going to buy it, and learning about the history of the GLC isn't going to make a new reader care any more about Dibny zombies.

At my lcs, the vast majority don't read any DC at all but about two dozen of them had absolutely no problems following it in their first read

[Samuraixsithlord]

I too think the slow recharge of the Black Lantern power battery is a summoning ritual to bring about the lovecraftian horror behind the blackest night.

Something far more powerful then the Anti-Monitor, something that makes Darkseid and Mandrakk look like pussies. a being of sentiant entropy, a being of sentiant death.

[Samuraixsithlord]

I wonder if Pa Kent comes back as a Black Lantern. Will Superman lose it and not hold back on the Black Lanterns or Break down with Grief.

I'm sure he'll be upset at first, but then he'll see Pa start killing people and realize that it's not really his dad and go all out.

Since they're dead, i'd like to see Superman really cut loose with his powers.

[Green Griffin]

Something far more powerful then the Anti-Monitor, something that makes Darkseid and Mandrakk look like pussies. a being of sentiant entropy, a being of sentiant death.

It's Loeb?

[Samuraixsithlord]

It's Loeb?

exactly, The Death Lantern's will bring Loeb into the DC universe and he will create new character's and every DC comic will feature this new character beating the crap out of an established character for no real reason at all, they'll be pointless character cameos and pointless character deaths for no reason other then pure shock value. It will be the end of all life!!!

[krammocon]

Please don't frakkin' kill Tora again. Oh and her costume isn't sleeveless. lol

[lawman]

I have to admit, I went into this with very low expectations... DC hasn't had a great track record recently with overhyped crossover "event" comics. But so far I'm very pleasantly surprised (http://blog.smartmemes.com/2009/07/blackest-night-1-sometimes-hype-is-merited/).

[big al]

For people who read the story where Kilowog was resurrected, was he given a completely new body?

I don't know if this is his old body, or another Lantern from his race (possibly his predecessor?)

http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/330/kilowog.jpg

I'm just working my way through this thread so if this is answered since it was originally posted sorry.

Can anyone name all the characters in this shot for me?

[Samuraixsithlord]

I have to admit, I went into this with very low expectations... DC hasn't had a great track record recently with overhyped crossover "event" comics.

Really? I've felt they've done better in that department then Marvel. I know some people don't like Morrison, but i enjoyed Final Crisis. Legion of the Three Worlds is good, just wondering when the final issue comes out. Infinite Crisis was great. Sinestro Corps War was awesome if you count it as an event comic.

[Bevbos]

I'm just working my way through this thread so if this is answered since it was originally posted sorry.

Can anyone name all the characters in this shot for me?

Sure can't! :) But funny... I don't see Tomar-Re anywhere... that seems like a major omission, right?

[daveageallen]

I'm just working my way through this thread so if this is answered since it was originally posted sorry.

Can anyone name all the characters in this shot for me?


i dont read much dc at all, so i had a hard time knowning who alot ofthese people were, or the one who came down from the sky. was that martian manhunter?

also what are they talking about with the hawk duo, about when they love eachother they die? and re incarnation? can someone fill me in.

[galactica]

i dont read much dc at all, so i had a hard time knowning who alot ofthese people were, or the one who came down from the sky. was that martian manhunter?

also what are they talking about with the hawk duo, about when they love eachother they die? and re incarnation? can someone fill me in.

That was Martian Manhunter. I don't think it important to know the backstories of every BL.

The Hawks are reincarnated time and time again but once they fall in love again they die.

[Sean Walsh]

Legion of the Three Worlds is good, just wondering when the final issue comes out.

According to the Geoff Johns Prime Q&A posted yesterday here at CBR, it's out next week.

[dupersuper]

It seemed a bit random to me.They spent years fixing his origin. Which had been all over the place for years. and then they bring out this special. Which flips in on it;s head again.

Why confuse things again by saying Carter is Katar? Just bring Katar back and have both.

[Sean Walsh]

When did Kreon (the GL with the gold eyepatch) die? I thought Jack T. Chance and Laira were the only Lost Lanterns to die since returning earlier in Johns' run...

Ooh wait, seems Ke'hann died too - gotta re-read SCW it seems. (Yay!)

[Vic Vega]

Why confuse things again by saying Carter is Katar? Just bring Katar back and have both.

If it had been up to me, I'd of kept Carter the way he was and used HAWKWOMAN as the Science-Based hero. It worked in the cartoon.

Shayera was different enough from both the Hawks to stand out.

[galactica]

When did Kreon (the GL with the gold eyepatch) die? I thought Jack T. Chance and Laira were the only Lost Lanterns to die since returning earlier in Johns' run...

Ooh wait, seems Ke'hann died too - gotta re-read SCW it seems. (Yay!)

Kreon died in Revenge of the Green Lanterns, he never made it off the Manhunter homeworld. Hope he comes back because the way he was described in that story made him look pretty interesting. Plus he has an eye-patch.

[galactica]

If it had been up to me, I'd of kept Carter the way he was and used HAWKWOMAN as the Science-Based hero. It worked in the cartoon.

Shayera was different enough from both the Hawks to stand out.

Why wasn't it up to you? That sounds like a great idea. Maybe they will bring Shayera back and go with that.

[Sanlear]

Just curious, how does Hawkman and Hawkwoman's reincarnating work? Do they start all over and live out a full life (complete as babies?) or does someone who's already been around for awhile suddenly gain those memories of past lives?

[Corey Dalton]

It's Geoff Johns' style of preposterous exposition that really sunk this-this whole, "I am a superhero, here is everything that has ever happened to me, I will say something inspirational when I am done talking to you about my feelings" that he seems to revel in so much. Pretty much the whole first third was just the Lanterns of earth being like "Aren't we swell?" and Johns replying "Yes you are, Best Friends!"

Not to mention that nothing happened-the entire issue was pretty much just treading water until the last few pages, and it's like...we don't NEED setup for this, we KNOW what it's about, you've been setting this up for MONTHS, if you wanna go for the zombies than just go for the zombies already.

The dialogue, as well, was just ridiculous-my brother has the copy right now so if you want I could find examples later(does anyone really care THAT much, though?), but pretty much all of the Hawks' conversation was a load of heavy handed, trite "we control our destinies" crap, just off the top of my head.

I don't know, it was just...STRIKINGLY bad to me. I thought it sucked in a big, big way, which is surprising, since I thought that the issue of Green Lantern that preceded this was one of the best things Johns had written in years.

I'm right there with you, man. I just recently became interested in this whole Green Lantern thing and quite enjoyed the recent collections of Rage of the Red Lanterns and Sins of the Star Sapphires. I thought Blackest Night #0 was crap, but I told myself that it was terrible because it was a freebie issue trying to get people up to speed. If only Blackest Night #1 had been a freebie issue as well, maybe I wouldn't feel so let down. To me, the comic just read as extremely heavy handed introductory material. There was so much poorly intergrated information forced into the various characters' dialogue and narration that I was bored half-way through the issue. And then, to make matters worse, they re-introduced Hawkman and Hawkwoman (two charactes that I thought died in Final Crisis) only to kill them off again at the end of the issue. I think I'm done with this series now....

Oh, and to add insult to injury, I picked up that $3.99 Tales of the Corps (or whatever it was called) book on a whim. I barely made it through the first story about the intergalactic fundamentalist before I tossed the comic aside. Bad art (and I can usually tolerate Ordway), bad writing, bad concept. Blech.

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.

[Vic Vega]

Just curious, how does Hawkman and Hawkwoman's reincarnating work? Do they start all over and live out a full life (complete as babies?) or does someone who's already been around for awhile suddenly gain those memories of past lives?

They usually live out full lives. He was Prince Kufu in Egypt, the Silent Knight in mideval Europe and a gunfighter called Nighthawk in the 1800's.

The last time 'tho he got a whole new adult body after his last body got killed in Zero Hour.

[big al]

I might be wrong but someone said that the black lanterns that have reappeared seem to have thier bodies healed, wouldn't it be an interesting plot twist to have ex teen titans member Risk trying to off himself so he could become a healed black lantern? I mean the guys had both arms torn off and he seems like a pretty crazy character...

just a thought.

[NickFury90]

It's Geoff Johns' style of preposterous exposition that really sunk this-this whole, "I am a superhero, here is everything that has ever happened to me, I will say something inspirational when I am done talking to you about my feelings" that he seems to revel in so much. Pretty much the whole first third was just the Lanterns of earth being like "Aren't we swell?" and Johns replying "Yes you are, Best Friends!"

Not to mention that nothing happened-the entire issue was pretty much just treading water until the last few pages, and it's like...we don't NEED setup for this, we KNOW what it's about, you've been setting this up for MONTHS, if you wanna go for the zombies than just go for the zombies already.

The dialogue, as well, was just ridiculous-my brother has the copy right now so if you want I could find examples later(does anyone really care THAT much, though?), but pretty much all of the Hawks' conversation was a load of heavy handed, trite "we control our destinies" crap, just off the top of my head.

I don't know, it was just...STRIKINGLY bad to me. I thought it sucked in a big, big way, which is surprising, since I thought that the issue of Green Lantern that preceded this was one of the best things Johns had written in years.

I'm glad I'm not the only guy who felt this way. It wasn't to the level of Claremont or anything, but close enough. When he mentions things like Abin Sur and junk, either A) you already know about because they mentioned Abin Sur's death like a dozen times in this run, or B) You have no idea the importance he has to Hal, so just briefly mentioning him isn't gonna help matters. I thought the entire issue was like that, until the last few pages where stuff actually started to happen with Scar and Hawkman/Girl and their super contrived conversations.

[galactica]

I'm glad I'm not the only guy who felt this way. It wasn't to the level of Claremont or anything, but close enough. When he mentions things like Abin Sur and junk, either A) you already know about because they mentioned Abin Sur's death like a dozen times in this run, or B) You have no idea the importance he has to Hal, so just briefly mentioning him isn't gonna help matters. I thought the entire issue was like that, until the last few pages where stuff actually started to happen with Scar and Hawkman/Girl and their super contrived conversations.

But why do you need to know about Abin Sur? If he mentions him either you know him and know the importance to Hal Jordan or you don't and there is no need for you to know.

I think the people who know the continuity talk about new readers to getting things more than new readers themselves. If all a new reader knows about Abin Sur is that he was a Green Lantern that is enough for him/her because they don't know there is more to the story, they don't care.

Just because there is continuity does not mean it's actually important.

[IvCNuB4]

^That was Garth's origin. He had violet eyes and was exiled much like Arthur..

Right. I'm familiar with the backstory here. I just thought it was odd how violet was bolded when that is one of the Lantern colors.


more like a processor

Most likely because hasn't it already been hinted at that the Anti-Monitor is being used to power the Central BL Battery ?

[Sean Walsh]

I might be wrong but someone said that the black lanterns that have reappeared seem to have thier bodies healed, wouldn't it be an interesting plot twist to have ex teen titans member Risk trying to off himself so he could become a healed black lantern? I mean the guys had both arms torn off and he seems like a pretty crazy character...

I think we'd postulated some time ago that Risk's arms will in fact return as Black Lanterns. :wink: :tongue:

[Batman was taken]

So, people are complaining that an introductory issue had an introduction to the story?

Man, people confuse me sometimes...

Anyways, I thought it was a great issue. I can't wait for the next one!

[ShaggyB]

I'm just working my way through this thread so if this is answered since it was originally posted sorry.

Can anyone name all the characters in this shot for me?

Click here for the dead lantern list (http://www.dccomics.com/sites/greenlantern/?action=dead)

[ZeoVGM]

This was awesome, though I wouldn't say it topped Secret Invasion #1 as the first issue of an event book.

[Seraku]

guys, it's the first issue and a whole lot of new readers are gonna pick it up who don't know crap about Marvel.

like I said before, the vast majority of my LCS only follow Marvel/X-Books but the owners pushed BN on them and most of them so far have commented on how much they appreciated the way the book caught them up. and I mean these are guys who don't know who Hal Jordan is.

[Dave Hackett]

Hated the Hawk scene, which served to encapsulate a lot of what I've hated about Didio's reign: Identity Crisis, Dead Ralph, discarded Kendra, and Carter the thug. All together in a mega-violent, over-the-top, juvenile scene.

ugg.

[PlumeNoir]

Been lurking here for a very long time...finally signed up today so I could comment.

Since we see that the resurrected dead do have some personality and are not just mindless husks, I was wondering what their motivation was, so to speak, to attack the living.

I had a thought I figured I'd throw out into the ring.

Spoiler:
We see that the rings are charging when their victims hearts are torn out. I was thinking about this. So far, we have only seen BLs attack heroes who have returned from the dead (There was even a checklist of sorts in the latest GL). There has been a lot of hints that "death" has been cheated, so to speak. (Insert scales must be balanced, yadda-yadda, here.) In fact, we've seen a lot of people return from the dead, now that I think about it.

Maybe the BL rings aren't powering up a CPB, at all. Maybe the dead have been "stuck" in limbo, so to speak, unable to move on to the hereafter - stuck in a place between death and life. (Sue and Ralph were walking around as ghosts, as I recall.) It does seem to be pretty easy to come back to life in the DCU, so perhaps there is some "problem" going from life to death; those that die can't actually make it to their final slumber/ whatever. Maybe charging the ring to 100% will allow the dead to finally cross over completely and leave the land of the living.

The dead might be pretty angry/ unhappy/ etc about not being able to continue on. And there could be an unspoken agreement that "If you go after these people, you'll be able to rest peacefully." Why else would Sue and Ralph go after the Hawks? (Not that they weren't friends or allies, I just found it interesting that they were chosen to go after them. Also, was it just me, or did Sue seem really quiet...even regretful, whereas Ralph enjoyed the taunting.)

So, the BLs are acting as bounty hunters for death, and at 100% charge, they get to go to the hereafter, also; this balances life and death (maybe even making comic book death seem more realistic instead of "unscheduled vacation from life"). Given that thought, I can understand why heroes, even dead, would attack their former mates.

As for the Hawks becoming BLs after death, we have only seen Black Hand rise, and he has a role, so he had to reanimate. Maybe other deaths from BLs won't reanimate, zombie-esque, but the Hawks did because...well, it is their thing. If they're going to cheat death anyway, one might as well slap a BL ring on them and use them as a tool.

Yeah...I know, this doesn't seem like it'd make sense, given the way the story seems like it'll go so-far...I just felt like speculating.

Also, I'm surprised that no one has commented yet that the black rings cut through GL shields like nothing. I think that's pretty interesting, personally.

Forgive me if I may be off on any facts; I don't have the issues in front of me at the moment.

[Hullababy]

After reading for the 4th time, I noticed this....

Zombie nose twitch= EPIC WIN !

[Karl O'Neill]

Wow. That was epic.

Best issue of the year.

More thoughts later.

[Joe Acro]

How are people like Jade and Firestorm going to get rings?

They don't have bodies that can be used.

[chrisgiff]

incredible issue.

dark reign has nothing on this.

[ZeoVGM]

Hated the Hawk scene, which served to encapsulate a lot of what I've hated about Didio's reign: Identity Crisis, Dead Ralph, discarded Kendra, and Carter the thug. All together in a mega-violent, over-the-top, juvenile scene.

ugg.

What a ridiculous thing to complain about. This is essentially a zombie story and what, they're supposed to hold back on the violence?

[pariah-1972]

I'm disappointed in this issue: it was about 20 or more pages of hero's going to other hero's grave and mourning and that got old for me.

And then one of the Guardians pulled out another Guardians heart and ate it:mad:
What was the point of that? besides showing how grim and gritty DC is and this is the "blackest night" :confused: and now we have a bunch of zombies of former heroes and villains attacking the remaining good guys? i thought the whole Zombie trend was over:mad:

I found it ironic that Dr. Lights grave is under the hall of justice but i'm not sure why and if that was intentional.



I did like the art i have to say.

[Hullababy]

I'm disappointed in this issue: it was about 20 or more pages of hero's going to other hero's grave and mourning and that got old for me.

And then one of the Guardians pulled out another Guardians heart and ate it:mad:
What was the point of that? besides showing how grim and gritty DC is and this is the "blackest night" :confused: and now we have a bunch of zombies of former heroes and villains attacking the remaining good guys? i thought the whole Zombie trend was over:mad:

I found it ironic that Dr. Lights grave is under the hall of justice but i'm not sure why and if that was intentional.



I did like the art i have to say.

Uh after all the previews and the hype, what exactly were you expecting ? Vampires ?

[ZeoVGM]

I'm disappointed in this issue: it was about 20 or more pages of hero's going to other hero's grave and mourning and that got old for me.

And then one of the Guardians pulled out another Guardians heart and ate it:mad:
What was the point of that? besides showing how grim and gritty DC is and this is the "blackest night" :confused: and now we have a bunch of zombies of former heroes and villains attacking the remaining good guys? i thought the whole Zombie trend was over:mad:

I found it ironic that Dr. Lights grave is under the hall of justice but i'm not sure why and if that was intentional.



I did like the art i have to say.

Uh, Johns has had this story building up for like 3 years.

[Karl O'Neill]

Just reading peoples comments across the internet. I can't believe how overwhelmingly positive this issue and event has been recieved.

Which is a surprize to me. As by definition events always have detractors and haters.

[pariah-1972]

Uh after all the previews and the hype, what exactly were you expecting ? Vampires ?I like Vampires and i ignored most of the previews and the hype.

[Jim Thompson]

Just reading peoples comments across the internet. I can't believe how overwhelmingly positive this issue and event has been recieved.

Which is a surprize to me. As by definition events always have detractors and haters.I'm sure this one will, too, but I think Johns has been doing phenomenal work on GL, and this sure looks to be staying on that track.

DC is just putting out great comics right now!

[big al]

I think we'd postulated some time ago that Risk's arms will in fact return as Black Lanterns. :wink: :tongue:

along with pantha's head?

[Karl O'Neill]

I'm sure this one will, too, but I think Johns has been doing phenomenal work on GL, and this sure looks to be staying on that track.

DC is just putting out great comics right now!

And It won't surprize me. This is, the nature of the net/beast!:biggrin:

[Captain Smith]

Thought it was a pretty grim start but good.

Couple of questions:

1. Ralph and Wife were floating around as kind of ghost detectives before. So is the Zombie Ralph really Ralph or are the souls/spirits of the dead elsewhere and these are reincarnated bodies. Didn't GA come back without his soul for awhile.

2. When they were reviewing the Ion entity, Parallax - they showed another one - the Predator - who dat? I've missed it.

3. Seems like this is a job for the Spectre - or make Crispus a BL and what happens to the Spectre?

[Seraku]

1. Ralph and Wife were floating around as kind of ghost detectives before. So is the Zombie Ralph really Ralph or are the souls/spirits of the dead elsewhere and these are reincarnated bodies. Didn't GA come back without his soul for awhile.

Deadman is also a Black Lantern, so I'm guess this'll be a major plot point later on

2. When they were reviewing the Ion entity, Parallax - they showed another one - the Predator - who dat? I've missed it.she's Carol Ferris' evil split personality thing she gets when she's a star sapphire. the retcon is that she was being influenced by the predator

[jbwbubba]

This is what is getting me right now. Or maybe Batman won't come back and some of the heroes will wonder why he wasn't brought back out of everyone and than they start to suspect. To be honest I don't know how they are going to handle this.

Anyone got scans yet!

It is odd that Bruce's skull is being used as a "power source"?? for Hand instead of bringing him back as a Black Lantern. I think the skeleton could be an actually Bruce Wayne Skeleton, but he was reborn after Darkseid's OMega Sanction sent to live his torture.

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.

[Thok]

Just reading peoples comments across the internet. I can't believe how overwhelmingly positive this issue and event has been recieved.

Which is a surprize to me. As by definition events always have detractors and haters.

At least so far, this has been the strongest event of the current events age. It has a simple but accessible premise, no obvious plot holes, no obvious mischaracterizations, no confusing panel structure or story telling quirks, no delays in shipping so far, good art, and enough mystery and action to keep people intrigued while connecting with a lot of plot threads that having been drifting through the DCU.

Moreover, with the exception of the Guardians, none of the heroes are "to blame" for this event happening (unlike most of the previous events in both Marvel's and DC's recent event cycle which were at least partially caused by multiple mainstream heroes making deliberately stupid or evil decisions; Annihilation/Annihilation Conquest and maybe Final Crisis are the only real exceptions.) Even the Guardians have the excuse that while they should have been more cautious about Scar, they couldn't have expected this level of corruption from her.

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.

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.

[Draconomicon]

Been lurking here for a very long time...finally signed up today so I could comment.

Since we see that the resurrected dead do have some personality and are not just mindless husks, I was wondering what their motivation was, so to speak, to attack the living.

I had a thought I figured I'd throw out into the ring.

Spoiler:

I thought about it, and it's having a interesting premise, but I feel it may be the wrong direction. Maybe, filling the ring up to 100%, doesn't allow the dead to cross over, but to be allowed to return to life instead? Like a "fair deal" kinda thing, which it, most definitely, would be for the bad guy running things.

[Dr Manolis Dooplove]

that was absolutely brilliant :D :D

glad to see more people picked up on the auras of the Hawks. Kendra's aura turning from red to violet was a very cool Geoff Johns-ism indeed. I only figured it out during the second leaf through

full review up at http://comicsnexus.com/2009/07/15/leave-your-spandex-at-the-door-132/ along with a BAD parody (you have been warned, but please click anyway ;) )

I'm very interested to see the Indigo tribe come into play soon. their lanterns seem to turn the other rings' powers against themselves (the green lantern losing the will to live, the yellow lantern consumed by fear). i wonder how they would against a star sapphire's powers tho :o

[Mat001]

And then one of the Guardians pulled out another Guardians heart and ate it What was the point of that? besides showing how grim and gritty DC is and this is the "blackest night" and now we have a bunch of zombies of former heroes and villains attacking the remaining good guys? i thought the whole Zombie trend was over

The point of the attack on the Guardian was to show that the worst fears the Guardians ever had are coming to light. And the Zombie trend has never died out. You've got "Marvel Zombies" and "Evil Dead"/"Army Of Darkness". But the Black/Death Lanterns are a whole new ball game. Besides, what did you expect when the last page of Green Lantern #25 says that the dead will rise?

[Kiryu]

Guys, in the panel where the Black Power meter "Charges", notice that both Black Lanterns devour a heart. So the meter jumps to .01, to .02.

I would bet anything that the Black Lanterns aren't charging their own rings, but are charging the Central Black Battery to power up the big bad.

[HVulpes]

From what I have heard/ seen, The Black Lanterns seem to be a vampire/zombie mix with blood replaced with emotion energy. Maybe a bit of the Lich in them as well with the hearts.

[Karl O'Neill]

Oh shit. I just noticed.

Bruce wayne's head is Black hand's personal power battery that the new recruit rings come out of.

Geoff. You magificent bastard!

[Scott Taylor]

My LCS was giving out Black Lantern Rings for purchasers of either Black Lantern book. Haven't read the book yet, but the ring is fantastico.

[Karl O'Neill]

The point of the attack on the Guardian was to show that the worst fears the Guardians ever had are coming to light. And the Zombie trend has never died out. You've got "Marvel Zombies" and "Evil Dead"/"Army Of Darkness". But the Black/Death Lanterns are a whole new ball game. Besides, what did you expect when the last page of Green Lantern #25 says that the dead will rise?

Good point matty.

I am so glad this is not like marvel zombies. I like the fact that the cosmic black lanterns retain their personalaties. or have new evil ones anyways/instead.

[trickster]

When did Conner come back?

And I can't believe that no one asked this so far. Why was Alfred so panicked? "Oh, no, what have I done?" What does he mean when he says he "made a terrible mistake"?

[Karl O'Neill]

When did Conner come back?

And I can't believe that no one asked this so far. Why was Alfred so panicked? "Oh, no, what have I done?" What does he mean when he says he "made a terrible mistake"?

1) He came back in legion of 3 worlds #4 which is brilliaint. Ask people about that one. Issue 5 actually comes out next week. it suffered delays but the story and action is great.

2) Because he realised he shouldn't have buried bruce's body in that grave now that somebody(black hand) has horribly desecrated it.

[IvCNuB4]

2. When they were reviewing the Ion entity, Parallax - they showed another one - the Predator - who dat? I've missed it.

The DC Wiki (http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Carol_Ferris_(New_Earth)) is your friend .....

[Buried Alien]

I like Vampires and i ignored most of the previews and the hype.

DC already did vampires in FINAL CRISIS.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[Karl O'Neill]

Bye Bye Hawkman.

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/4014/blackestnight137ismella.jpg

[Karl O'Neill]

CREDIT TO TENZIL TIM FROM COMICBLOC.

The image can be seen here:

http://tenzel.net/rise.jpg

Here are the ones I can identify:

2 Adara
3 Ahtier
6 Archon Z'gmora
8 Arkkis Chummuck
9 Avir
10 Ayria
13 Barin
14 Bivvix
15 Blish
17 Branwilla
21 C'hp
23 Chogar
25 Cundiff Cood
28 Diamalon
31 Ebikar Hrui
32 Eddora
34 Flodo Span
36 Galius Zed
37 Kreon
39 Hollika Rahn
40 Jack T. Chance
44 K'Ryssma
46 Ke'Haan
47 Kendotha Kr'nek
59 Priest
66 Rori Dag
70 Spak Drom
71 Squagga
74 Tanakata Z
72 Starkadr
78 Tylot
86 Zharan Pel
87 the Unknown Lantern

And a few that died after the special.

88 Bzzd
89 Arx
90 Remnant Nod

On Wikipedia the following are named but I can't seem to find them.

Alisand'r
B'rr
Cherniss
Chthos-Chthas Chthatis (might be the one in between numbers 87 and 89 right at the left border of the picture

[Jkid099]

Amazing. Just freaking amazing. Need to score me one of those black rings ...

[Bakura]

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?

Also who else thinks Bruce Gordon (aka Eclipso) should be with the Red Lanterns?

[SmashDown]

A really strong issue, and I'm glad that the Black Lanterns are coming across as scary and not just another group of villains to fight.

I hope we get more of the Black Lanterns emo vision. I'm dying to know how other heroes fall across the emotional spectrum.

Hawkman as a Red Lantern would have been awesome.

[JWangSDC]

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?

Also who else thinks Bruce Gordon (aka Eclipso) should be with the Red Lanterns?

I think it's more

Guardians
Avatar
Corps.

Can you give some examples of leaders?

[Bakura]

I think it's more

Guardians
Avatar
Corps.

Can you give some examples of leaders?

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

[Captain Smith]

Amazing. Just freaking amazing. Need to score me one of those black rings ...

I got a free plastic black ring at the comic book store. So far it refuses to raise anybody.

[JWangSDC]

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

That's interesting, but I don't see it that way.

Sinestro is a leader true, but then where are the guardians? What have we seen of carol fenris being the star sapphires leader? Hal Jordan was never meant to lead the Blue lanterns in that respect...and I do see Saint walker as their point man...but he's literally to blue as Hal is to green; just an extraordinary corpsmen. Atrocitus is the leader of the red lanterns, but then where are the guardians? And Agent orange is also the leader and he probably has the avatar within him as well; but where are the orange guardians?

To me, I always felt like Attrocitus and Sinestro were leaders but those corps have no guardians so it makes sense. Larfleeze is essentially everything...the leader and probably has the avatar in him. I just don't see any concrete structure among the colors. Only Blue and Green have guardians. Only red and yellow have actual leaders.

[Bakura]

That's interesting, but I don't see it that way.

Sinestro is a leader true, but then where are the guardians? What have we seen of carol fenris being the star sapphires leader? Hal Jordan was never meant to lead the Blue lanterns in that respect...and I do see Saint walker as their point man...but he's literally to blue as Hal is to green; just an extraordinary corpsmen. Atrocitus is the leader of the red lanterns, but then where are the guardians? And Agent orange is also the leader and he probably has the avatar within him as well; but where are the orange guardians?

To me, I always felt like Attrocitus and Sinestro were leaders but those corps have no guardians so it makes sense. Larfleeze is essentially everything...the leader and probably has the avatar in him. I just don't see any concrete structure among the colors. Only Blue and Green have guardians. Only red and yellow have actual leaders.

First off, Ganthet and Sayd even said he would lead them if he accepted. You may want to interprut that in some way but I go by whats on the page.

Anti-Monitor was the Sinestro Corps Guardian.

The Agent Orange Avatar is still int he Lantern, Johns even said thats what was speaking to Hal Jordan when he held the Power Battery,

True Carol has not been named as leader in the comics, nor have the garudians for all the colors been shown yet, This is only the first issue after all. You may not see a structure but there seems to be one reagrdless.

[the4thpip]

So far, I loved, loved, loved Sinestro Corps, was lukewarm about the recent Star Sapphire and Rage of the Red Lanterns plots, but I really liked Agent Orange and the Blue Lanterns.

I could not have hated Blackest Night more, though.

First, I hated it for existing. We don't need a blackest night: We've been through years of blackest nights in the DCU. Enough already. Give us a new dawn, like, yesterday.

Secondly, the fan-fic style dialog. It's almost as bad as the one in JLA: Cry for Justice. And the schlock and gore, my god. Hey, Kids! Comics!!!

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.

[Karl O'Neill]

Maybe the hook of the brightest day will bring you back:smile:

[Bakura]

So far, I loved, loved, loved Sinestro Corps, was lukewarm about the recent Star Sapphire and Rage of the Red Lanterns plots, but I really liked Agent Orange and the Blue Lanterns.

I could not have hated Blackest Night more, though.

First, I hated it for existing. We don't need a blackest night: We've been through years of blackest nights in the DCU. Enough already. Give us a new dawn, like, yesterday.

Secondly, the fan-fic style dialog. It's almost as bad as the one in JLA: Cry for Justice. And the schlock and gore, my god. Hey, Kids! Comics!!!

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.
First off it's nopt a kids book, more adults and teens by comics then kids these days. Second Johns has sad over and over again the series is meant to be a Sci-Fi/Horror. It's called "The Blackest Night" if your looking for sunshine and smiles, go read "The Super Friends".

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

Also, yes it did need to occur, it's what the entire run has been bulding towards.