Art by: Cian Tormey
Colors by: Matt Herms, Hi-Fi
Letters by: Lucas Gattoni
Cover art by: David Talaski
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: March 26, 2024
Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #5 opens Alan Scott's eyes to the origins of his power and its connection to the Crimson Flame just as the Soviets' true plan for world domination enters the public stage.
Is Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #5 Good?
Now I'm confused. Where was this level of superhero storytelling through the first three+ issues in the controversial mini-series? If Tim Sheridan had hit the ground running with a script in issue #1 that matched Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #5, overall reception for the mini-series would be in a much better place.
When last we left Alan Scott, aka the OG Green Lantern, the identity of the Red Lantern was made plain. The Russian villain and counter to the Green Lantern was really Johnny Ladd, but Johnny Ladd was nothing more than a Russian sleeper agent who was tasked with infiltrating the American Military's research organization in an attempt to get to the Crimson Flame first, by any means necessary.
Confronted with the notion that the man he fell in love with years ago was a lie, Alan Scott had no choice but to go on the offensive against the Red Lantern. The issue ended with a woo moment during the battle wherein Alan Scott charged his ring with the Crimson Flame.
In Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #5, the Lanterns fight while the power of the Crimson Flame begins to consume Scott. As his power and health start to overcome him, the Green Lantern battery reacts and hits him with a beam of concentrated energy that zaps his mind into a construct where he meets Jimmy again acting as the avatar to explain the Green Lantern's power.
The explanation acts as (another retcon) that merges Alan Scott's Green Lantern lore with the emotional spectrum, the Guardians of OA, and the broader Green Lantern mythology. Before Alan returns to the physical world and the fight, "Jimmy" warns him about a threat that will take the combined power of the Red and Green Lanterns to stop.
Alan returns to the fight, powered up, health restored, and ready to convince the Red Lantern that they have bigger problems to face besides each other. The lanterns fly off when they immediately witness beams of Crimson Flame energy erupting in the city. That's when the Lanterns and the newly-arrived JSA encounter the Crimson Host - a group of Soviet soldiers imbued with the power of the Crimson Flame.
What did we like about Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #5? Tim Sheridan delivers everything this series has been missing - cool ideas, action, drama, excitement, depth, and purpose. Again, if Sheridan had written the miniseries like this from issue #1, we'd be in a much better place. Plus, the retcon presented here is a much more positive change than the silly retcon surrounding how Alan first got his ring.
What didn't we like about Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #5? Sheridan's retcon concerning the nature of the Green Lantern's power is cool, but it introduces innumerable consistencies about Alan Scott's involvement (or lack thereof) with the Green Lantern's starting with the Silver Age and forward. On the positive side, it's nice to bring Alan Scott into the fold of the emotional spectrum, but on the negative side, this retcon makes him part of the emotional spectrum since his JSA days, but he's simply ignored it.
How's the art? Cian Tormey's art delivers the goods with multi-colored flame fights, strong choreography, and dynamic, dramatic panels. This book looks great.
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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Bits and Pieces:
Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #5 gives readers everything this miniseries has been missing - action, excitement, drama, and cool wow moments. There's even a retcon that serves to align Alan Scott with the rest of the Green Lantern Corps in an interesting way. That said, the retcon creates decades' worth of plot holes, so continuity kings may have a tough time with the change.
8/10
It's a new continuity. There is nothing to reconcile.
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