Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #42 Review and **SPOILERS**

The Final ScienSolution

Writer: Robert Vendetti

Artist: Ethan Van Sciver 

Colorist: Jason Wright 

Letterer: Dave Sharpe 

Cover: Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Morey

Cover Price: $2.99

On Sale Date: April 11, 2018

**NON SPOILERS AND SCORE AT THE BOTTOM**

Let’s shake off those “last arc” dust bunnies and see what’s in store for the next stretch…oh, the Darkstars are back? Well, I’m glad we’ll get some conclusion there, at least. I wonder if we’ll ever see Saint Walker again? Heck, it could be in this very issue! Find out by reading my review of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #42, or the actual comic book if you’re so inclined.

Explain It!

You see this argument pop up in comic book circles all the time: why doesn’t Batman simply kill the Joker? After all, the Joker’s caused the deaths and suffering of hundreds, if not thousands. He has been in and out of Arkham Asylum dozens of times, and is clearly beyond rehabilitation. So why not just punch his card forever? And the answer is that Batman is a hero, and by definition, heroes don’t take lives. Yes, even when it serves the greater good. Heroic vigilantes are not cops, they don’t dispense legal justice. They stop crimes before or as they are being committed. Really, whatever state Gotham City is in should do the euthanizing, but of course there’s probably some namby-pamby, simpering wussy who thinks mass murders can be disabused of their notions. Let me tell you, once you create Joker Fish, you’ll never want to live a normal life again.

Back on Oa, things are pretty quiet, so it’s time to dig up some previous story arcs. For one thing, the Controllers from one arc ago are making their Darkstars, agents of, uh, darkness tasked with preserving evil. The hope is that the Controllers can distill their essences into these robotic servants, but like all robotic servants, they revolt and decide to stay on task without the help of their pointy-eared benefactors. The Darkstars enlist folks to inhabit their bodies much in the same way Green Lantern rings choose new recruits: they can determine that the intended is evil and cruel enough to be down with the Darkstars. And they’ve got just the prime candidate.

The other story being picked back up from…oh, two or three story arcs ago, I think, is that Tomar-Tu is still in his ScienCell after having killed the murderous Romat-Ru. He’s visited by his replacement, the young beaked girl Somar-Le, who still has affection for Tomar-Tu, despite him being a criminal. Hal shows up and tells Somar-Le to toddle off, then has a conversation with this old friend that horrifies him: Tomar-Tu feels guilty about having shamed the name of his father, Tomar-Te, and thinks he could have handled Romat-Ru more efficiently, but he does not feel bad about killing him. In fact, if given the same opportunity, he would do it again. This leaves Hal stunned because he’s the only one who’s supposed to be justified in killing. He’s about to protest, when a Darkstar suit shows up and subsumes Tomar-Te into his form, turning him into a Darkstar.

Which is cool enough, I suppose. I considered Tomar-Te’s story to be done and dusted, but it looks like there’s more life in that yarn yet. But what about the even older loose threads still clinging on? Sinestro awakes in Qward? Saint Walker out there looking for more Blue Lanterns? See, you can’t be selectively aware of continuity, it’s an all-or-nothing proposition. Ethan Van Sciver is back in a rare appearance on pencils, and it looks top-notch. Last time we saw Ethan, I thought it all looked a little rushed, but here he has spent his time and made something really nice to look at. And it’s not a half bad read, either. Unfortunately, that means it’s not a half good read, either.

Bits and Pieces:

Those Darkstars we saw seven issues ago are back, and now they're actually doing stuff. The stuff they're doing picks up a loose story thread from even further back. I'd applaud this, but there are so many other dropped lines in this series, it's a little too late to play "continuity-minded" now. On the plus side, Ethan Van Sciver pulls out all artistic stops for this issue.

7/10