The penultimate
chapter of "Secret Origin."
I'll admit right off
the bat, I'm very divided here. On the one hand, I very
much appreciate the attention to character here, the
outstanding character moments and the (re?)defining of Hal
here for a new age... and yet, I can't help but feel like
something is a little bit off here. Like something's
missing.
Then I check myself.
I don't know, I doubt
your garden variety reader will have this problem but
ultimately I find it difficult to divorce "Secret Origin"
from direct comparison to Emerald Dawn I and II, which
"Secret Origin" replaces in current continuity en masse. A
comparison is inevitable. As such, from where I sit, it
seems to me that Geoff is much more interested in setting up
kind of a prelude to his Blackest Night epic to kick off
next year in this arc -- as well as "correcting" things he
didn't like in continuity with retcons -- than he is in
necessarily telling the best "Hal Jordan Origin Story" he
possibly can. I think this is unfortunate.
All of this said, I'm
obligated to review the comic on its own laurels and not
what I wish it to be, not what I expect it to be as a fan, or in
terms of how I believe it stacks against said previous
forays.
Still with me?
So the issue is pretty
good. I'd venture it's very good. Not quite great...
and in the grand scheme of "Secret Origin" it might even be
considered a bridger (I hesitate just shy of using the word
"filler") in between the larger episodes/issues in "Secret
Origin." I think the penultimate chapter of something like
this should be great, so in that way I was a little
let down. It's difficult to believe we're at part 6 of the 7
issue story... and it still feels like there's so
much ground to cover -- in no certain terms the next issue,
GL #35 is going to be fighting a very uphill battle to this
end.
I'll touch upon the
plot points.
We begin with Hal and
Sinestro without powers doing their best to contend with a
royally pissed off Atrocitus. And again, I really applaud
the use of Atrocitus here... it's a cool way of reversing
engineering him into the GL mythos in a big way to setup
what's going on in the present (as long as it feels
organic... which so far hasn't bothered me much at all). We
actually get some remarkably deep blurbs right off the bat.
Hal Jordan: "No one
ever looked at me with any kind of understanding. No one
knew why I was the way I was. Not until I met Sinestro."
This isn't throwaway exposition, this is a rare nugget and a
true glimpse into the character and perhaps soul of Hal
Jordan; what makes him tick; what makes him different from
your Supermans, your Batmans, etcetera. A great way to start
the issue.
Sinestro
busts out his Power Battery from a pocket dimension. You
know, I'd seen this re-conned (yes, I left off a "t" there)
into continuity with the last Secret Files... but I was
skeptical if the concept would ever end up getting used in
GL or GLC. And here it is. I'm impressed, and it's used in a
way that really shows up Hal... I like it (the deadpan line
about "I keep mine in my locker" absolutely sells the
moment).
More of
Sinestro and Hal tag-teaming Atrocitus, Sinestro coaching
Hal as they go. Good stuff... which brings us to...
...
something I'm not too sure about.
Though
the splash page is a little big difficult to make heads or
tails of as far as what is happening, it looks like
Hal Jordan ring-constructs up a green jet and it rams a
yellow tractor to make it blow up next to Atrocitus, then
Hal semi-brags to Sinestro that he was able to conquer
Yellow.
So I'm
confused.
Is Geoff
retconning another aspect of his own "Green Lantern:
Rebirth"? There we were told in relatively no uncertain
terms that a GL can only defeat the Yellow
Weakness/Impurity/What-Have-You if said GL is consciously
aware of the source of it... that being the Parallax entity itself.
Here, Hal Jordan could not possibly have any knowledge of
Parallax or any of that... so what gives? How is he able to
conquer it?
I suspect
it may be a foreshadowing of Anger/Red Lantern Power being a
weakness of Fear/the Sinestro Corps as we head into Blackest
Night (a point is made during the fight here to illustrate
that Hal is acting in anger), but it still gives me pause.
With
Atrocitus incapacitated and left for Sinestro to tend to,
Hal flies off to visit Carl Ferris in a bit of a rage.
Despite Carol telling him he's not there Hal charges in
(knowing he's there, of course, because his ring directed
him to the house). He finds Carl Ferris on his deathbed,
presumably fighting a losing battle against cancer/leukemia
of some kind (it's not directly addressed nor is
specifically important). We're told that contrary to popular
-- and Hal's -- belief, while most believed he was out
playing golf and shooting the breeze, he was actually
getting too sick to get up out of bed. Hal is humbled as
Carol tells him how her father wished he had a son like Hal,
then perhaps remembering his father and mother states that
he's "never been there for anyone in my family." Another
profound, surprisingly deep look into Hal's psyche.
Quite a
contrast from the hard-ass Mr. Ferris I remember in Emerald
Dawn... but I needn't go there. I'm not married to that
take, though in this case it seems like it was retconned
mostly just to go for a dramatic/tearjerker moment... except
in this case it actually seems to work quite well.
A couple
pages are well spent on Hal and Carol bonding. Not quite as
lovers -- yet -- but certainly as kindred souls. We then see
Hal recreating his dad with his ring, with his dad smiling
down at him (perhaps in approval?). I was reminded of GL
Vol. 3 #48 here a little, what with Hal looking to his dad
posthumously for some form of approval or affirmation. I
like it, it feels right.
And
that's pretty much it. Sinestro shows up still with
Atrocitus in tow, and the Guardians page Sinestro that he's
"disobeyed our territorial edict" and that he's to "report
to Oa for immediate discipline." That's where we leave off.
Not quite
the mega cliffhanger I was thinking something like the
penultimate chapter of "Secret Origin" was going to contain,
but not terrible either. I mean, what's the worst punishment
Sinestro is going to get for barely violating the Guardians'
"territorial edict"? And plus he's carrying a major fugitive
in tow that would likely exonerate him of such... just not a
whole lot of suspense/"What happens next???" But I don't
want to sell this issue's merits short by its closing --
it's GL Vol. 4 at its very best.
So what
now?
Going
back to Emerald Dawn I and II, and even what we've seen
lately of glimpses into Sinestro's past of a similar era
(over in Geoff's Booster Gold, and I think Countdown's
profile of Sinestro... or was it 52? one of those)... there
is a hell of a lot left to see here, and not just because
"Secret Origin" seems to have accepted the challenge of
usurping ED I & II as the modern age origin of Hal. We still
need to see the big reveal about Sinestro's dictatorship
dominion over Korugar and all the fallout from that,
banishment to Qward, etc.... and it's difficult to imagine
that covered/dealt with amicably over the course of the one
issue remaining.
My
prediction is that we'll see things unfold one of these two
ways (or perhaps a combination): 1) Sinestro will be called
to answer for his "territorial edict" violation with Hal in
tow, and somehow the Guardians' eyes will be tipped to take
a closer look Korugar, which will escalate his violation to
very damning proportions. 2) Events will proceed as
expected, with Sinestro and Hal going to Oa, and over the
course of Sinestro justifying what went on in 2814 and Earth
we get more Blackest Night intrigue about the Empire of
Tears (and after the issue before this, some clarification
is sorely needed) and such. If Sinestro's fall from
grace/exile isn't addressed in the main story (and it may
not at all, it may be saved for a future "Secret Origin"
follow up/sequel) it may be handled in a page or two
epilogue with Hal narration to summarize it. Whatever
happens, if Sinestro's fall from grace is addressed,
I just know that there will be an all-new new spin put upon it by
Geoff (I'm thinking to make Sinestro seem a little more
justified, but now this is just me rambling on)... which both fills me with anticipation and -- to be
honest -- a bit of worry.
I'll
leave it at that. On its own right, an awesome issue of
Green Lantern and a tribute to the talents involved.
Ivan at
the top of his game again. From the credits, it seems he
even inked at least some of his own pages here.
