Written by: Jeremy Adams
Art by: Fernando Pasarin, Oclair AlbertColors by: Romulo Fajardo Jr.Letters by: Dave SharpeCover art by: Aril ColónCover price: $4.99Release date: July 10, 2024
When last we left Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris in Green Lantern #12, Hal barely escaped the UP headquarters after discovering Thaaros had replaced the council with shape-shifting Durlans. When Hal was swarmed with UP forces, Star Sapphire arrived in a blaze of glory to save Hal, beat back the UP forces, and transport the hero home. The issue ended with Karshon and Amanda Waller’s forces arriving to capture the loving couple.
In Green Lantern #13, Jeremy Adams dives head-first into the Absolute Power event with a torturous interrogation scene. Hal gets fried with pain inducting bonds and beaten with Karshon’s mighty fists while Amanda Waller questions him about the origin of his new ring and the source of its power. As usual, Hal is not so eager to comply with Waller’s demands.
Admittedly, the start of this issue makes sense for where the last issue left off and where the story needs to go to accommodate Absolute Power. Adams gets the character voices right, and Waller does spend some time posturing about her tenuous working relationship with Thaaros to explain why she’s interested in the ring. That said, the jump from issue #12 to issue #13 is jarring because we don’t see how Hal was captured or what happened to Carol. Waller’s posturing still makes no sense when you consider the raw power Thaaros has at his disposal, further confirming that Waller was a poor choice to be the central villain of Absolute Power (not Adams’s fault).
Meanwhile, we catch up with Jessica Cruz on Oa as she gathers intel with her fellow rebels as they strategize what to do about Thaaros. We learn Jo and Baz were captured after the previous fight, and more importantly, Kyle Rayner’s unsettled behavior manifests through him in waves of emotional spectrum energy.
This scene is a decent albeit small catchup to inform readers about the fallout from the confrontation in the UP council chamber. But the much bigger deal is whatever is happening with Kyle Rayner. It’s too soon to tell what Adams is cooking up, but it appears Kyle is evolving into… something.
Elsewhere, Sinestro finds New Korugar has been decimated, giving him even more reason to put his Red Lantern powers of rage to good use by embarking on a revenge quest.
Alan Scott and the JSA battle with one of Waller’s Amazon robots in Battery Park. The fight goes poorly for the heroes, but at the last moment Alan Scott, Hourman, and Stargirl are suddenly teleported away.
Nate, Carol Ferris’s jilted fiancée, laments being left at the altar. Overcome with a deep sadness, he stares at the wedding ring he’ll never get to place on Carol’s finger. Suddenly, the ring begins to smoke with power, and Nate is transformed into the galaxy’s first Grey Lantern, drawing energy from the emotion of Sorrow.
Whoa! There’s a lot to unpack in this short sequence of events, and in truth, almost all of them are interesting. New Korugar’s destruction is a strong start to a mystery for future development. The disappearance of the part of the JSA to parts unknown is curiosity-inducing, although the editor’s note about finding out in Absolute Power: Task Force VII #3 does NOT bode well considering the first issue of that miniseries was terrible.
Kyle’s transformation into something new is hype-worthy if you’re a Green Lantern fan and lament the lack of Rayner’s prevalence in recent years.
Last but not least, a new Lantern has entered the fray. At first glance, the idea of a Grey Lantern powered by Sorrow seems a bit goofy, but there is potential. Sorrow and Grief make strong counterpoints to Hope, so Adams could be making a play to bring the Blue Lanterns back in more than a supportive role, which would be a huge positive.
The issue ends with Hal escaping capture by giving the huge Karshon a head butt to his shark jaw and using his strength of will to overcome the pain of his bonds. When Hal sneaks around the base to find his ring, he happens upon a depot area where Waller’s forces are cataloging, storing, and shipping off all the gadgets and weapons of Earth’s heroes and villains… mostly villains.
The ending sort of works, but it’s more puzzling than mysterious. Why would Waller need to specially crate and ship Harley’s mallet or Captain Boomerang’s boomerangs? Yes, Hal should be excited about finding a huge cache of weaponry, but the inventory, and where Adams is going with this discovery, is a head-scratcher.
Backup Story
Marc Guggenheim and Matthew Clark deliver a short story delving into Thaaros’s childhood and the tragic events that led to his evolution as a villain. If you want to know what’s Thaaros’s problem, this short tells you everything you need to know.
What’s great about Green Lantern #13? Unsurprisingly, the great stuff is all the cool developments Adams worked into an Absolute Power tie-in that generated a fair bit of excitement for the return to the main arc. From Kyle’s uncertain evolution to the introduction of a new Lantern on the spectrum (*ahem*) to Sinestro’s rage-filled quest, Adams is cooking with Bolovaxian propane.
What’s not great about Green Lantern #13? Tying this series into Absolute Power isn’t the super-jarring leg sweep that readers endured with Knight Terrors, but it’s still not good. The jump from issue #12 to issue #13 cuts too hard, Waller’s ability to have all resources and stand up to any villain continues to defy reason, and the JSA battle, cool as it was, felt disconnected from everything else happening in this issue.
Overall, Green Lantern #13 turns out to be one of the better (best?) tie-ins to Absolute Power, but the least interesting thing about this issue is everything related to Amanda Waller and Absolute Power.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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