The Year of Magic. Time for Injustice Year 3- Vol 1

 I’ve always been attracted to magic; in all its forms and incarnations. Imagine my delight when its finally given the chance to stretch its muscle into the DC Injustice storyline.

Fresh from the onslaught of the sentient Green Lantern planet named Mogo and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps (Year 2, Vol 2), casualties are abounding and humanity is left to deal with the damage. Be they humans, metas or magical folk, someone has lost someone in the aftermath of the war against Superman, as waged by Batman who recognizes that the Man of Steel has become the opposite of what he stood for; a dictator who is willing to pay the price just to impose and enforce his "kind" of peace. Since the previous issue, a lot of things have happened. Superman broke Batman's back. Oliver Queen, aka. The Green Arrow has died as well as Black Canary; but not before filming her own demise and Superman's magical confession and broadcasting it out into the world for all to see. Along with that, Superman has received a Yellow Ring from the master of Fear, Sinestro, who has taken sides with Superman. I take it that he is living vicariously thru Kal-El as the events remind him of his own reign as sole ruler of his home planet of Korugar. Add to this list of changes, Wonder Woman is also out of commission due to some magical maneuvering on the part of one man who orchestrated the battle at this stage of the game. 

One such person is John Constantine. Yes the radical Mage whose unorthodox methods border on the Machiavellian. He comes to aid Batman in his crusade to stop Superman while uncovering answers on his own. And since Superman has a weakness to magic, this was the perfect element to bring to the battle to ensure victory. And to do that certain things must come into play. First, Raven, needs to be taken out. Second, other magical users like Dr. Fate, Zatanna, Klarion, Jason Blood, Phantom Stranger needed also to be brought into the fold so that magic can have their day in the battle and tip the scales in Batmans favor. Third, Superman needs to be disabled with the use of magic.

Like in previous issues Tom Taylor has once again given us a fun and action filled read that collects the first 7 issues of Year 3. Constantine is his ever manipulative self and would go head to head with Batman as to who is calling the shots. (Yes, can’t have two manipulative folk in the same room) And a con man, pretty much like a leopard, never changes its spots so our charming but selfish mage, wields and deceives until he has quenched his thirst for revenge against Superman for brining the war to Earth, which claimed the life of Constantine’s wife.

  Wait, what? John’s married?

Okay, I give you permission to scratch your head. And he has a kid named Rose, who may or may not have some magical gifts herself. I sincerely hope that they explore this further. For now, I’m just gonna leave it here and because Constantine orchestrated this whole magical element into the fray, expect some twists and turns and no easy way to the the end goal. And any goal that is worth fighting for, is worth gunning for. Like this collected volume, its worth reading. Better yet, its worth keeping. I did.

Green Lantern Corps- New 52

All is new (to some degree) but not well in the GL Universe as this New 52 collection opens with the murder of two Lanterns in their own Sector House in Sector 3599 by seemingly invisible intruders that are immune to the Green Power Ring. With that the mystery is set and we move on to find our heroes, Lantern Gardner and John Stewart having issues with having to find a real day job as a coach and (with some red tape) an architect, respectively. It seems they are coming to accept and realize that they can do more good being a Lantern than having to balance a real and normal life in the process, as according to Gardner, “it’s not all that’s cracked up to be.”

 Returning to Oa, they respond to a crisis on Sector 3599; the water planet Nerro, only to find it drained completely of water with the inhabitants of the planet all piled up with the exception of the bodies of two Green Lanterns skewered for all to see, sending the message to our Corps that this new baddie means business. The planet’s water, as revealed in the succeeding panels, has somehow been transported, or in this case, teleported to an unknown location ruled by a cloaked figure that has “missed the sound of the sea”. He responds to a report of a problem on the planet Xabas. And the problem is really more of Gardner and rest of the Corps trying to prevent the teleporting of another natural resource, this time the trees and forests. They are soon met by a force coming out of the warp hole dressed in black but wielding green energy blades that proves troublesome for our heroes as they are immune to the power of the Lantern ring.

                                                              *spoiler begins....*

Luckily for them, Lantern Porter from Oa with the capability of teleporting fellow Lanterns arrives just in the nick of time and proves to be the much needed reinforcement. But in spite of his best efforts, not all Lanterns were brought safely back to Oa. As it is, Lantern Vandor and Stewart were just some of the GL’s left behind for Lantern Porter was unable to teleport them all back. But in spite of the defeat, Gardner was able to capture one of the new baddies for interrogation and when they couldn’t make any progress, Jonn Jonz aka. Martian Manhunter came in and with his empathic abilities extracted the much needed intel and revealing these new baddies to be called The Keepers. And that they are called such for they are the ones tending to all of the batteries of each and every Green Lantern!

 If you’d recall, the Lanterns safekeep their personal batteries in an undisclosed pocket universe for easy and effortless access. Now it seems these Keepers want more and are after the Central Power Battery in OA. Their existence was only known to the Guardians after the “Smurfs” discovered the existence of the planet called Urak. Its atmospheric core allowed an instantaneous conduit that allowed unlimited retrieval of a battery for every Green Lantern. The inhabitants of the planet were thus provided for in perpetuity, in exchange for “keeping” the batteries safe. But it was only a short time ago that the Guardians, without warning whatsoever, came in and removed each and every battery from the Keeper’s custody and thus severing the connection that has already formed between all the Lantern batteries and the planet as it served as a “crop” and sustained the planet and its people and infused their DNA with an already potent resource of “Will”. Without the Lanterns, the planet began to die.

 This explains why the Keepers pillaged different planets for their different resources in order to stay alive. Meanwhile back on Urak, Lantern Stewart, Vandor and Kirrt are being interrogated, or should I say, tortured by the leader of the Keepers in disclosing to them the Vibrational Matrix signature that will allow them to breach Oa’s orbital force field without alerting the Guardians to their “stargate”. The interrogation which consisted of electrocution on top of three days without food and water proved to be too much even for a stalwart Lantern. And at the last minute when Lantern Kirrt was about to disclose the code and give way, John Stewart does what we say is the unthinkable, which is dispose of a fellow Lantern by twisting his neck and hereby leaving his ring to look for a new recruit. That served as the much needed distraction Stewart needed to break free temporarily from the Keepers and fly out onto the barren field while running on reserved energy.

 And just when it’s back to square one for my favorite Lantern Stewart, Guy Gardner, armed with military weapons, along with the Mean Machine; a group of bad-ass Lanterns camping out below Gardner’s own bar called Warriors underneath Oa, comes to the rescue and engages the Keepers head on. And of course you could count on Gardner to think of a crazy idea and follow thru. He deduced that the only way to fight someone with that much willpower is to not engage it with the same element that fuels it but give it what it lacks, which is the element of FEAR. So he drops a “Fear Bomb” on the Keepers by way of two Sinestro Corps War prisoners kept in one of the science cells. The cells detonate on contact and imbue the Keepers with Fear and had them begging for mercy; which is pretty much the antithesis of how they were moments before.

The situation is soon resolved and decided upon by the Guardians (of course) that the Keepers dig a grave of each and every one of their victims, which according to Gardner is a lifelong sentence. The compilation ends with Lantern John Stewart bringing Lantern Kirrt’s body to his home planet of Lorror on Sector 2451, where not only was Kirrt regarded a hero by his family and also the recipient of a tombstone befitting a Lantern. All in all Peter Tomasi again has done a whirlwind of a good ride with this First volume of the New 52 for Green Lantern Corps that collects Issues 1-7. While I was expecting a cliffhanger of an ending, it was rather an emotional one with John Stewart accepting his guilt at having to kill Kirrt in order to protect the Corps and leaving it out from his report. Lantern Vandorr doesn’t condemn what Stewart had to do but also reminds John that at times the Corps needs someone to act as their conscience and that he is it.

 Stewart for his most part may be racking up his list of high profile body counts by adding Kirrt to this list, as well as the decimation of the Planet Xanshi and most recently of Lantern Mogo, during the War of the Green Lanterns, who if in case you didn’t know was also a planet. But John Stewart, when you think about it, is the best person to handle radical life and death situations like these, for not only has he made difficult decisions and lived through them, his military background also allows him to focus on the task at hand, prevent his emotions from getting the best of him just to get the job done. Now does that make him the perfect emotionless Lantern that some may label him to be?

 On the contrary, he is the Lantern that has a lot of emotion and heart to go around, and is good at having to distill what amount of it needs to be shown, needs to be channelled in order to continue to be good at his job. That’s why it was no surprise that prior to the New 52 and during the Brightest Day crisis, he was offered to become an Alpha Lantern; to which his quick thinking prevailed and allowed him to deny the post and think clearly at the consequences of being one. All in all it was good, for should that have happened, we probably would have one more emotionless sentry going about their duty and only seeing a situation in absolutes; the black or the white. But lucky for us, John still remains human and is willing to navigate the gray areas of being a Lantern. And that I think is a key ingredient why he has survived thus far and why the Universe is all the more better for it.

Can't wait for the next volume that pits our beloved Corps with a nemesis closer to home and more of the ramifications of John Stewart's decision to kill off a fellow Lantern.

Thank you, Peter Tomasi. :) 

Rise of the Third Army - Fascism on OA

The cover is rather intriguing, not to mention enticing right? The Green Lantern symbol dripping like blood or wet paint. What is the Third Army? And where do they fall into the mythos of the Corps?

Most readers, as well as me, found ourselves asking that basic question. But one other question that perhaps needs to be asked is why the Guardians are doing what they’re doing?

Sure, they’re not perfect and much-flawed in their character and decision making processes but in truth, creating the Third Army is only a band-aid solution to the problem. And the problem lies not in the lack of respect that they have started not to get from the Green Lantern Corps after 3 successive crises like the Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Night-Brightest Day and the most recent, War of the Green Lanterns but in the heart of the Guardians themselves.

History says that they are peaceful lot and wishing only to be the safekeepers of peace and order in the Universe. But the odd thing is, why should emotion be taken out of the question? Should the presence of peace and maintenance of order be done so in such an emotionless manner that there is no room to be happy at the absence of turmoil and injustice? In previous panels as seen in the War of the Green Lanterns prologue, the Guardians of Maltus, have been wearing the White Symbol for Light and it is in this time frame that they banned Krona and sentenced him to die at the hands of the robot Manhunters because he embraced emotion. And in retaliation, Krona rigged the Manhunters programming and have them kill the entire sector 666 on the planet Ryut, thus paving the way for the birth of Atrocitus, the first Red Lantern and the formation of the GL Corps, just to prove a point. That emotion cannot be taken out of the equation in creating the order that one wants and one seeks.

Of course had it gone the other way, there would’ve been no conflict, no Manhunters reprogramming and much less, no formation of the Green Lantern Corps to replace the “defective” Manhunters.

But getting back on track, this GL annual which is preferred to be read before reading the Zero issue of Green Lantern that introduces the new GL from Earth, Lantern Baz, begins with a decision made by the Guardians and that is the root of all the problems that they have had so far is Free Will. In the past it was emotion, which led to the construction of Manhunters, then became Fear which led them to form the GL Corps that had Willpower as their ally; which after that  became the bane of their existence and had to be curbed because they have started to think for themselves. And so Free Will is now the present target for these pesky Smurfs because according to the Guardians, “We know better than they do and eradicating free will is the logical step in maintaining order.”

Yes, from the emotionless mini-Nietzche’s that they are, the Guardians have embraced their inner-Fascist and deemed that no other order is worth following and enforcing other than theirs.

                                                     ***SPOILERS***

Apart from this revelation, the annual also follows the story arc of Black Hand’s revenge in the current GL issues from 7-12 and shows our Hal Jordan trying to dig himself out of a coffin in the Coast City cemetery after being buried alive by Black Hand only to find Sinestro’s tombstone beside him. But Black Hand ain’t finished, he offers Hal the chance to see his father again, for he can bring him back with the use of his Black Ring (minus Nekron) as long as Hal desists in digging up Sinestro and agree to keep him buried underneath.

While this is going on, the Guardians venture off to another sector to free the supposed “First Lantern” from the Chamber of Shadows. Upon opening, it is revealed that a number of fellow Guardians have equally entombed themselves within the prison to guard the First Lantern. The elderly entombed Guardians stressed that them being inside the tomb was an agreement that they have made eons ago and that whoever comes to free the First Lantern must be destroyed. And thus a battle ensues among the Guardians as the ruling smurfs have need of the First Lantern’s power in order to create the 3^rd Army.

Naturally with more experience, the ruling Guardians win and with the energy within one of the slain entombed Guardian is used and directed at the energy shell it thus frees the First Lantern who is taken out and whose essence is later distilled and siphoned out in order to create the first member of the Third Army who is physically in humanoid form but whose silvery limbs are far from human and whose mind and intellect are bonded and only answer to the Guardians.

By this time Sinestro has already freed himself and upon Hal’s suggestion have managed to jointly summon his own battery so that they both can recharge and eventually gain the upper “hand” against Black Hand. But from a distance, the Guardians have sensed Black Hand’s return and Hal’s connivance with Sinestro and thus aids Black Hand in killing off Hal and Sinestro by sucking them into a Black vortex but not before Hal and Sinestro manage to re-integrate their rings and send it scanning for a replacement. 

And with their aid, the Guardians teleport Black Hand into the Prison of Shadows to await future use in their plan to "save" the Universe. Guy Gardner and the GL Corps would be the next to be replaced along with the other Corps bearing different colors of the emotional spectrum.

And with that, the dices are rolled and the Gauntlet is thrown for a 4-issue crossover in all major Lantern titles; from New Guardians, Green Lantern, GL Corps and Red Lanterns 

And like all other prologues, we are left to wonder whats next in store for the Lanterns of OA and who is the First Lantern and why is he being kept in secret. What damage could he possibly do if he were to get out?

Bring on the Third Army! We are readers are ready and waiting! Go Poozer!

Red Lanterns: All About Rage or...More....

When I first heard about the New 52...my reaction? Why!???

When I saw the line up for the New 52 and it included a separate storyline for the Red Lanterns; borne out of their "following" after the successful DC crisis, "Blackest Night", I made the same reaction (along with some head scratching)... Why!??

And then when I read the recent Vol 1 compilation that collects the first 7 issues of their New 52 run...I had to stop, nod my head and say...Oh, that's why? :)

In short, reading this compilation has surprised me and made me wonder what was the reason for choosing to highlight Atrocitus and his Rage-filled band of Red Wielding Lanterns instead of the others in the Lantern spectrum. As I figured, Rage would be the least important emotion of the spectrum, because aside from destruction and tearing down what you know and love all in the name of Rage, you're pretty much left with nothing save for the consequences of your actions. And if we equate the need to resolve and address consequences in the wake of any destructive streak, it definitely needs to be met head on. And who better than the master of rage, Atrocitus, himself.

And while I don't want to be a Master at SPOILERS, better be warned now before reading further. :)

The compilation which collects the first 7 issues of the series,opens in Ryut, Space Sector 666, Atrocitus' own homeworld, with a hunter named Zuuq flaying a prisoner alive. He is interrupted by the arrival of our favorite Red Cat and later Atrocitus coming to his cats rescue and pondering a change that he has been feeling. Inspite of the carnage that he inflicts upon these hunters, he acknowledges that he seems to be merely going through the motions; that his Rage is not what is used to be. It is waning. And more than that, the effects have already begun to be felt by other members of the Red Lantern Corps, like Bleez, Ratchet and Skallox among others and like a singular organism body, they are restless and have begun to war with themselves.

Atrocitus believes that this unrest can only be solved by making another blood prophecy and he does this by reaching into the corpse of the dead Guardian Krona, killed during the War of the Green Lanterns by Hal Jordan. By Krona's blood and with his own ways of necromancy, Atrocitus offers Krona's blood as payment for his desire to be shown the answer to his dilemna. Thus he is shown visions of his past. From being a father on the planet Ysmault and suffering the brunt of the massacre of his people at the hands of the Robotic Manhunters before the Green Lantern Corps were formed, to other crimes of war and injustice on other planets. He thus accepts the visions as a sign to take on the rage and outcry of the Universe as his own. And is thus recharged and renewed for a new and higher purpose. And in line with this, he accepts the necessity of having a helper, and is left with his ruminations of which Red Lantern to "promote" and join him in his renewed quest. That is, if they really need him, at all.

Meanwhile, in another Sector, on Earth actually and better known as Sector 2814, and more specifally in the UK, another family is undergoing a crisis of its own as the grandfather of Jack and Raymond Moore was the casualty of a mugging. Bereft without a guardian who has become a surrogate father to them, brothers Jack and Raymond are each dealing with the crisis the best way they know how. One decides to punish the guilty by going after the mugger named Baxter, while the other decides to curtail his own anger and frustration and accepts the situation for what it is.

But when an attempt on their grandfather's killer, carried out by the outspoken Raymond and botched and intercepted made by the repressed Raymond which later results in his arrest and subsequent beating by the arresting cops for his refusal to cooperate, Raymond is left to deal with his guilt, his frustration, and his Rage at his situation, and so opens himself up just as a Red Ring flies and slips onto his fingers and thereby makes him the first Red Lantern of Earth; and named Rankorr. Following his insticts, he goes after his grandfathers killer only to be stopped further by Guy Gardner, who like us is surprised to find out that this Red Lantern is able to speak "normally" without spewing tons of napalm at the person they're talking to.

Back on Ysmault, Atrocitus himself has his plate full with having to deal with drafting Bleez as his second-in-command and returning her "normal" state of mind by submerging her into the River of blood and making her re-live her trauma and rage until she rises from it fully aware of who she is. (Note: When one becomes a Red Lantern,  your heart stops beating and is replaced by the Red Ring. Along with that you become a blathering drone spewing Napalm from your mouth, as a Red Lantern doesn't have coherent speech, except Atrocitus)

Bleez begins to question her existence and her life before being drafted and flies to exact revenge on her tormentors who sold her first to selected members of the Sinestro Corps. But Bleeze, as the story pans out, isn't the only one thrown into the river as Skallox and Ratchet followed suit and relived their own hellish life before equally questioning the morality of their cause. And it is this speaking and mentally capable band of Lanterns that Atrocitus brings with him on the search for the body of Krona after he returns to find it missing and not on the empty slab of stone where it has been since the events of Brightest Day .

Ironically, Atrocitus blames Krona for the massacre of his people and yet Krona is the only confidant he has and it is only after a ritual involving Krona's blood does Atrocitus  find his sense of purpose once more. For someone being the object of one's hate, Krona still has some use long after his death.

The search takes Atrocitus back to the Abominable Zone, a ruined city built from the bone of marooned space travelers where he began his experiments with first Red Lanterns. And with that journey, he discovers that one of his failed experiments named Abysmus has stolen Krona' corpse, ate is and has absorbed his power. And if that were not enuf, the abomination named Abysmus, has breathed life into the other corpses of the dead Red Lanterns, re-animated and apty named them the Abysmorphs. Add to this surprise is the arrival of James Moore; aka Rankorr of Earth which gives Abysmus the perfect timing to skewer Atrocitus from behind and leaving Rankorr to face the onslaught of the "Zombie"Red Lanterns and we are left to wonder who will eventually get the upper hand and win.

And win is what this first compilation of the Red Lanterns does for me as it certainly mirrors one's struggle in grappling with anger in real life. How long must one be angry? About a person who may have wronged us? About a situation that we feel powerless to change? Or even anger at ourselves for not being as driven as we feel we should be or even anger at how others can impose their expectations upon us. Truly there is much to be angry for and if you have a short attention span like Atrocitus, you may find yourself moving from one thing to another to focus on; from finding a helper only to realize that she will plan your downfall eventually because she shouldn't have been given that much credit, or the things you did in the past will bite you in the ass if you assume that it is dead and buried, or you are surprised to find that your anger is not only abating but equally moving into new territory. Anger can only be a primal source of power if it is focused and unrelenting. Something that Atrocitus should've learned and known all along. In short, no points for wanting too many things all and once and distracting oneself from the task at hand.

But to give our Red napalm spewing Lantern some credit, he himself is focused, its just that the results of his focused planning is not living up to his expectation and hereby as a reader we are thrown in for that unexpected ride, and if you like a semi-rollercoaster ride, with the promise of more turbulence, then I suggest this one should get you started and don't be surprised if you crave for more.


How could you not? With a cliffhanger at the end of issue 7, I can only wait for the release of the next volume next year on my Bday, which is March 12. But in the meantime, let me treat you for the cover of Issue #8. And if that doesn't get your blood boiling for more? Then perhaps better check your Red battery, it may have been affected by a roving Blue Lantern. :)

Catching up on Green Lantern -New 52

** spoiler alert ** When I first heard of the New 52 retcon of DC last year, I feared for the worst.

That is, most of us will have to bear with origin retelling of the stories that we have been glued to and following for the past 5 years, or in most cases for the past decade, including major DC events like Inifinite Crisis, Final Crisis, the earth shattering and successful crisis of Blackest Night and the subsequent Brightest Day and not to mention the much polarized Flashpoint.

But good thing for us Lantern readers, the New 52 GL not only takes on a surprising twist but mainly follows events after the most recent GL crisis which was War of the Green Lanterns and the subsequent sequel called Aftermath.

For most readers who have been following Geoff Johns’ (winning) writing streak and take on our Emerald crusader, Sinestro now seems to be the main torchbearer of the GL Corps after the Guardians disowned and fired Hal Jordan following his actions on War of the Green Lanterns, which I felt was rather harsh. But then again the Guardians will always have their way.  

Now, having gone back to Earth and in search of a normal life, Hal Jordan can’t seem to make ends meet and mend the relationship that he so wants to have with Carol Ferris, who at this time has shelved her Star Sapphire status and current Reign as Queen of the Corps of the planet Zamaron. Hal for the better part of the Compiled 6 issues of the New 52 GL, is a displaced and aimless Lantern wanting to relive his purpose as a member of the Corps and one who feels that he can effect change from that elevated status rather than an ordinary citizen of Earth.

Of course, this doesn’t stop him at an early point in the first issue, from jumping through the window of the next door building after witnessing a woman being attacked by a odd looking skinhead that had veins protruding thru his arms and weird tattoo shapes on his head. He simply does this in a beat only to find himself in the middle of a movie shoot and later had to be bailed out from jail by Carol herself. 

Nothing seems right up until Sinestro arrives for a surprise visit and asks him to do everything he says if he wants to have his ring back. As proof, Sinestro wills and contructs an extension of his own ring which naturally finds its way to Hal’s fingers, and transforms him back to the Emerald Warrior we know. But true to his crafty nature, Sinestro has built specific failsafe precautions into the ring, so much so that Hal’s blast directed at Sinestro the moment he receives the ring is proved futile and inert as the Korugarian reveals that the ring cannot turn against its maker. And that Sinestro can easily take the ring and its power away as he easilly as he gives it. 

It seems that Sinestro has need of Jordan’s help to wipe out the members of the Sinestro Corp harnessing the Yellow Power of Fear on his home planet of Korugar. Naturally, Sinestro still feels that he is the sole savior of his home planet and thus proves to be an effective villain, as one other review said, for he is a bad guy who doesn’t seem to know he is the bad guy. Yup, talk about ultra righteous thinking.

Sinestro then gives Jordan a tempting offer that he can’t refuse. Help him get rid Of the Sinestro Corps on Korugar and he gets to keep the ring.

At the same time this “deal” is being forged, another one is being re-written and wraught on OA, as Ganthet, the former Guardian and once leader of the Blue Lantern Corps that channels the emotion of Hope and later self-inducted Green Lantern of Sector Zero, has been taken by the remaining Guardians and stripped off his emotions.
Ironically, the once champion of conscience and emotion for our Emerald heroes now has become as closed minded as his brethren and is in agreement, that in spite of the Green Lantern Corps embodying the sentient emotion of Will, they are not without fault. Hal Jordan, they deem is the example of all drive and without foresight and Sinestro its extreme polarity of all drive but without a shred of altruism. And on top of the past debacle with the Manhunters and the recent Manipulation of Krona in the recent GL War, the Guardians surprised us all that it is time for the creation of the 3rd army and that the Green Lantern Corps needs to be replaced.

That line has just left me in awe and shaking my head in disgust with the Guardians and by the time I got to issue #6, another wave of change can be felt as the original drawings of Doug Mahnke have been taken over by guest artist Mike Choi who continues the task of softening the look of our favorite GL and aptly making him look younger in his drawings as Hal and Carol seem to have, this time around, officially dated again and are enjoying each others company when she brings him to the Aeronautical Museum of Coast City. This both serves as a good chance for the two star crossed lovers to bond once more as Sinestro flies off to the planet Ogoro in Sector 1417, following the defeat of the Yellow Sinestro Corps on Korugar. 

As it is, I’ve neglected to detail how this was accomplished and would hopefully serve as enough incentive to either read or better yet collect, the first volume of the new 52 GL which is aptly entitled Sinestro. On that planet, Sinestro finds the means of locating his once keeper of the Book of Parallax, Lyssa Drax, who now is enthralled by the Book of the Black. He manages to subdue her but not after ripping out a page of the “accursed” book and getting a glimpse of the future, with the Guardians being true to their word of bringing back the 1st Lantern to lead the Third Army against the Green lantern Corps. As part of that image gruelling visage, he also sees his own death along with Hal Jordan's.


This thus brings more questions to the fore as to who the first Lantern is and who are the 3rd army that the Guardians speak of. With a Guardian holding up the White Ring on the panel depicting Sinestro's vision, could the White Lantern Corps be the Army they are referring to and how much of it as well will affect other members of the DC universe should this come to pass?

The compilation ends once more with Thaal Sinestro coming back to Earth, powering up Hal’s ring and summoning him to another mission, just after Hal has finally accepted the state of normalcy that has to happen in his life in order to have that normal life with Carol.

After reading another brilliant and layered compilation effectively brought to us by Geoff Johns, I am so half-tempted to pick up the loose issues that follow. As of this writing, the current issue is #9 and I would have to wait till next year to get on track with Vol 2 of this edition. But patience will always be the value to cultivate when collecting hardcover graphic novels and with Geoff Johns we know we are always taken cared of and will be very much rewarded.

Justice League #5- The New 52

            If you’ve been following my previous Justice League New 52 entries, then you know the new Big Bad that has finally come to town, but should you not want to and have yet to read it, then just go to the first entry. But if you don’t mind the spoilage then I thank you for reading on.

So with the arrival of the Big Bad by way of Darkseid in the last issue, our heroes, just by looking at the cover by Jim Lee are all in readiness and awaiting the fray. As you can see it is, it’s a group shot and Vic Stone, aka. Cyborg seems to be on the road to fully embrace his new path as part of the “League”. The league as we know it has yet to be officially formed as our fallen heroes have yet to deal with their initial defeat and are reeling from the arrival of a foe that none of them have ever encountered. I guess, Geoff Johns wanted a big event to be the catalyst that would bring our heroes together. And you don’t get any better than Darkseid.

But the issue opens with almost all our heroes all down for the count save for Flash. In his recovery, he witnesses Darkseids Omega beams (coming from his eyes), take down two government aircrafts. So, it’s not a match.

 By this time, the Man of Steel comes around and is ready for some action but Flash, after seeing what Darkseid did, knew better & scuttles him out just before Darkseid sends out two more beams to take them out. Here the running pair, find 
out for the first time what we already knew (prior to the New 52) which is, that Darkseid's eye beams can follow you around till it makes contact.


Flash & Supes split up in the hopes of evading it, but only Flash got the idea of diverting the beam to a group of Darkseid's creatures before Superman himself got hit by the beams and gets carried out by the winged creatures to the tower that rose up from the sea in Issue 3.

By this time, Hal has taken upon himself to be "the hero" by engaging Darkseid directly, hitting him with a “green mace” and shielding himself with a green shield after Darkseid retaliates. To Lantern’s surprise, and ours, he hardly flinches, as Hal’s constructs have no effect on the huge and menacing interloper. In addition to that, Darkseid probably regarding our Green Lantern as a pesky and troublesome gnat, grabs him and breaks his arm! (okay, Shock #2) In just a few panels and with the damage that he has wrought so far, Darkseid is proving to be much of the daunting villain of this issue as he doesn’t talk much and simply lets his might do all the talking. After dispensing with the “pesky” Lantern, he simply turns around and walks away, pretty much the stance of a confident and all encompassing villain.

 At this point the action tapers down and I find myself surprised (yes, again), as Batman does something that is something considered out of character, and that he reaches out to Hal, telling him that charging this otherworldly foe is not doing the “bright” thing and he wonders out loud what propels Hal to do what he does as he feels that they are similar. In a gasp-worthy moment, Batman tells him who he is, how his parents were murdered as he takes his mask & cape off. But instead of marveling out loud at the revelation, and probably a result of him being too ensconced in his life of a bubble in Coast City, Hal Jordan remarks that he doesn’t know who Bruce Wayne is. Yes, the brag-mouth doesn’t know the “enigma”.

Bruce feels that they are alike & what is going on is bigger than any one of them. He adds that its time for them to be a team and then goes off.

  

 Lantern then rounds up the rest of the heroes and decide to follow Darkseid into the city while keeping out of sight. Of course, another banter-set, courtesy of Hal & Barry ensues as the remaining heroes decide to distract Darkseid while buying Bruce some time in his reconnaissance mission. The Lantern and Flash exchange clearly follwing Hal's Battle cry of "We Got This" shows us readers the ease and the candor between these two friends, as it has always been them two who have gotten along even prior to the New 52. Batman, or in this case, Bruce Wayne for his part allowed himself to be taken by the winged creatures and finds himself entering another portal and sees another city, one that can be mistaken for a refinery of an oil plant, or a big giant industrial furnace of a city, replete with pipes, smoke, burning pits of fire, but, for a change, more winged creatures.

So care to take a guess where they are exactly? ;)

            Well, like you I am equally guessing and getting antsy for Issue #6.

Justice League #4- The New 52

Throw a King into the mix, via Aquaman certainly uppes the ante in anyone’s books and thus leaves room for a little more focus on the remaining member of the group who has yet to fully embrace his evolution and journey to become a new man. That new man is Victor Stone whom we all know as Cyborg and who at the start of this issue finds him deep in the Red Room at Star Labs undergoing a painful transformation, or more aptly, the grafting and replacing of the metal Prometheum with his damaged tissue from the previous issues.

And just when the metallic winged hounds of Darkseid penetrates Star Labs does he get first hand of his transformation as his hand automatically goes into defense mode and blasts one creature away, blowing it to bits. But by the end of the panel, we see that it is not only the monster that is blown away, but also the traces of a bond between father and son as Dr. Stone can only call out to his transformed cyborg of a son, Vic, as he breaks away in rage, and in disappointment at what his father has done to him and at the monster that he has become.

Back at Metropolis, the newly acquainted heroes are having mixed reactions at having met a new super being in their midst and with the revelation at that, that these creatures set some kind of device and tore open a hole in the water that eventually ushered more creatures out from it. He assumes that the land-based heroes before him have gathered to fight them but does not see a leader in their midst.

This is where the lines get snappish and acerbic once more as each hero quips a line (or two) that reveals further much of their persona; or like Hal Jordan who blurted out that he thought Aquaman, was a sketch on Conan O Brien (insert LOL #1), gives them ample smart-aleck highlights under the klieg lights of a building catastrophe. Batman, for his part, has his line of asserting leadership as he alludes that Aquaman was not looking at him when he was looking for a leader. Aquaman assumes leadership status as he is the rightful heir to the throne of Atlantis.

Of course, this doesn’t bode well with our Lantern, who apart from having issues with taking orders, doesn’t appreciate Batman, another wananabe super-hero giving out orders and bossing people around. With that said, he goads the Sea King to prove his worth to which Aquaman does via his telepathic connection with various aquatic lifeforms. Yes, it does shut Hal up. But I don’t know about you but Hal is getting more cocky by the issue. Heck if he keeps it up, he could give Guy Gardner a serious run for his money.

Vic Stone, aka. Cyborg, unaware of the chaos around Chicago stumbles outside and manages to help a woman who was being attacked by the winged creatures and somehow assimilates information from them and showed him how Darkseid was conquering one world after another by harvesting and processing organic materials and turning them into the creatures that have just attacked Chicago, Metropolis and other cities around the world. Lucky for him, and for us readers, his self defending and pro-active armor traces the signal being emanated by these creatures and transports him via a portal to Metropolis to join our heroes in the fray against them; just in time to warn them of who is behind the attacks and how he goes from world to world and is coming to Earth. And on cue, the Big Bad of the issue makes a grand and disastrous entrance for all the world to see.

     All in all, I am loving the elements of the storyline so far and how each and every piece of the puzzle is being fitted to complete the big picture. But like in the past issues, there were still some room for unwarranted but much welcomed humor to dispel the seriousness of the storyline like Batman laughing after Hal inadvertently admits that what he does is solely to impress people especially, Wonder Woman.  But Hal doesn’t really readily say it just for honesty’s sake, his hand was just absentmindedly touching Wondy’s golden lasso, which makes one tell the truth. (insert LOL #2)

      Now to break off from the funnies, one line that struck me in this issue was what Superman said to Flash as he flew off to divert attacks being made by government choppers on them. Supes said, “You seem to be someone who wants to do the right thing, but the same can’t always be said for everyone in positions of authority.”

         This observation about people in power holds much truth for me as we all know that too much of it corrupts even those with the best intentions. Of course, unless you have the heart of Mother Teresa or you’re a strong willed leader who knows what he wants to accomplish and sticks by the means to doing so, then at least that alone grants the exemption to this notion. But unless people in government, without the need to say about ours, do certainly acknowledge and know their responsibility and accountability are to the people, then, there will always be a cycle of repeat offenders. There will be be some who think that they can go above the law, much less rewrite it. Good thing there are heroes in their world. How about ours? How many heroes have we got?

And how many heroes will be left standing after Darkseid's arrival? Time to check out the next issue.