Thursday, September 17, 2015

Green Lantern 75th Anniversary: Green Lantern: Emerald Twilight #2 Review and *SPOILERS*

Written by: Ron Marz
Art by: Fred Haynes, Dennis Kramer
Release Date: January 31, 1994


One Man Lantern Corps.


This is the second part of a three part review. If you didn't read the first part click HERE .

Last time we left the Hal Jordan of the past, after mourning the loss of his entire city, he became angry after the guardians scolded him for misusing his powers. Rather than come quietly, Hal punched the projection of the guardian in the face and took off for the stars...to get more power.


I loved the first part of this arc, both then and now, so this second part actually has a lot to live up to. Its time to see how far Hal Jordan is willing to go to get the power...




We open up the second issue with Hal Jordan fighting two Green Lanterns, Kee'han and Laira. Both are strong and try to tell him that the Guardians have issued orders to stop him. That pushes Hal over the edge and he takes down both of his former allies. To rub the defeat in even more, he then removes each of their rings, effectively tripling his power...yeah...that ain't good sign.




The second challenge he faces comes in the form of Tomar Tu, who tries to convince his former ally to stand down by creating a parasite construct. Despite his best efforts, Hal just shatters the construct, takes Tomar's ring and just flies off, leaving him floating in space. The next few panels...don't really push the story forward. They are drawn well and look great, but it really just shows how powerful and angry Hal has become. The best part comes from the Narrator, who I can only assume was the narrator from the first issue as well. He gives the background history of each Lantern's interaction with Hal Jordan. While one looked up to him, another would be someone who trained alongside him. 
We then reach a battle with Boodikka, a Green Lantern who was recruited by Hal himself a few issues earlier. Since she is his equivalent on a physical level, he takes it one step further: CUTS OFF HER FRIGGIN' HAND! It's not even implied he left something to keep her alive like Laira and Ke'haan. He straight up murdered a Corps. member and left her for dead with a bloody stump of a hand.Its hard to see how far Hal has fallen
With the Guardians realizing they are running out of options, they prepare their secret weapon against Hal, after they send the one Lantern who has the best chance of stopping him; Kilowog. While Kilowog is powerful, he isn't as powerful as a man with 13 lantern rings. He catches each blast, then Hal knocks out his greatest friend to deal with his former bosses. We then close the comic on finding out not only what the Guardians were preparing, but also who the Narrator has been this entire time...Sinestro...the final battle is about to begin.


 That's it for the second issue of Emerald Twilight, and while it was pretty good, it wasn't as emotionally charged as the first issue. The art is still holding up, surprising me even more at how I'm okay with old looking art. Well there is one issue left, and we will see if the story as a whole still holds up after all these years; So far it has, so I'm really not worried!

Bits and Pieces

The second issue of Emerald Twilight, while not as emotionally investing as the first issue, was still brutal in its action.  The art is still pretty good, and I think it has aged pretty well. The action may be the meat, but in the end it really felt more of a set up for the final battle, but I'm okay with that.


7/10

6 comments:

  1. Wow, Hal is bat-sh*t crazy!! I've heard about this version of Hal but haven't gotten around to reading it yet. What exactly does he do to Laira and Ke'haan so that they do not die in the vacuum of space??

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    1. He says that he left a little energy in them to float to another world....but seeing how insane Hal is, it's hard to believe

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    2. My thoughts exactly. Can't wait until the third part comes out! Heh do you know if there is a Reign of Superman trade or something similar? I've tried to look it up but it's very confusing. After reading your part #1 review I really want to read RoS. Or would I be better off reading the Green Lantern events that occurred at the same time? If so is there a trade for that?? Thanks

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    3. The Reign of the Supermen really doesn't have a trade, but the GL issue 46 is the one where coast city was destroyed.

      The Reign of the Supermen panned across numerous comics and followed the 4 supermen that replaced Superman after his big doomsday fight

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    4. Ah you knew exactly what I was fishing for thanks! I will look for GL #46. Would you recommend any issues before or after GL #46??

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    5. didn't read the before #46, but #51 started the New Dawn story arc, which is Kyle Rayners origin

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