This week, I received a special request from reader, "Neil S". Neil has asked that I write a small retrospective describing the essential storylines to prepare for the upcoming Red Lanterns series this June. Please Note that the Red Lantern storyline is just a small part of the larger War of Light storyline which exploded into the Blackest Night crossover. I'd recommend reading the whole thing, but I will be confining this post to items of note with regard to Atroticus and the Red Lanterns only. Also, since this post will be covering a group of characters integral to a major DC Comics storyline, SPOILERS follow beyond this point. You have been warned.
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This book is the post-Infinite Crisis (and possibly post-Final Crisis) origin for Hal Jordan. It depicts Hal receiving his ring for the first time, and the first meeting of Hal Jordan and Sinestro. However, what this book also features is the the first battle between Atrocitus and Hal/Sinestro, and the (fantastically devised) backstory of Atrocitus.
Abin Sur, Hal's predecessor as Green Lantern of Sector 2814, has returned to Ysmault to gain more information about the prophecy of the Blackest Night (his initial visit covered in the short story Tygers, by Alan Moore). Abin takes Atrocitus to Earth, but is killed when Atrocitus overpowers him. The majority of the story sees Hal dealing with the Green Lantern ring for the first time, but the last leg of the book shows a battle between Hal and Sinestro taking on Atrocitus.
The ending of the book (related to the Red Lanterns) shows Sinestro placing Atrocitus back on captivity on Ysmault, as the symbol of the Red Lanterns is shown in Atrocitus' eyes as Sinestro flies away.
This book is the first major incursion of the Red Lanterns. Within it, Atrocitus manages to unleash the rage within him, by killing the remaining lifeforms on Ysmault. This act causes the Red Light to be unleashed, with Atrocitus becoming the first Red Lantern.
The Red Lantern Corps mounts an attack on the prisoner transfer, sending Sinestro (captured at the end of the Sinestro Corps War) back to his home planet of Korugar, and kidnaps him. They fight a fantastic battle, but the majority of the Red Lanterns are shown to be little more than uncontrollable animals. Please note, this book also contains the first appearance of the Blue Lantern Corps.
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Blackest Night and Blackest Night: Green Lantern
The Red Lantern Corps plays and integral part in combating the Blackest Night. I'm intentionally being vague here, as I will be highlighting this metaseries in a spotlight in the near future. In the Blackest Night series, the Red Lantern Corps don't come into play until nearly the halfway point of the story, but they forge a peace treaty with the other Corps, and agree to help fight the Black Lanterns. Blackest Night Green Lantern, on the other hand, focuses on the leaders of the seven Corps, and shows Atrocitus begin to heal from the pain of his past. This series also spotlights the Red Lantern named Bleez, who will play a significant role later on.
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Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps
(AVOIDING SPOILERS for Pwning Pat) During the Siege of Oa, a well-known, and well-loved Green Lantern is killed. Overcome by rage over this loss, his partner becomes a Red Lantern and fights the Black Lanterns. While the dead Lantern is eventually resurrected, and the partner is able to give up his Red ring, this sets the stage for a very important event to come.
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Green Lantern - The New Guardians
As part of the peace treaty forged with the other Lantern Corps, Atrocitus stays on Earth to hunt a being who is stealing the entities which are manifestations of each of the Seven Corps. While Atrocitus is successfully able to control and contain the entity of Rage, he must now face the Entity Thief - The Mad Guardian known as Krona.
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Green Lantern Emerald Warriors: Last Will
In this book, several items of note related to the Red Lantern Corps are revealed. Firstly, Guy Gardner, Arisia, and Kilowog are joined by Red Lantern Bleez in order to find the cause of a power drain across all seven Corps. (This drain is in PART due to the machinations of Krona, but Guy knows that Krona is not the only cause). It is revealed that Atrocitus has developed a permanent link with the Green Lantern who formerly joined the Red Lantern Corps (and honestly, if you can't figure out who I'm talking about by looking at the above picture...well, fail), and Guy, Bleez, and the others find a warlord in the Unknown Sectors preparing to launch an assault on the Green Lantern Corps.
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So that's the Red Lantern Recap of Rage! Sorry for the lack of detail, but I really don't want to spoil this story for my readers. I hope that by outlining which books contain developments related to the Red Lanterns, my readers will be able to read the stories for themselves.
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Stay tuned next week for our weekly reviews, and our Spotlight.
Next Week: Reviews of Captain America #614, Age of X: Alpha, and our Spotlight: The SINESTRO CORPS WAR!
Thanks for reading, and as always, feedback (nextlevelstaff@gmail.com) is welcome.
Thanks Stef! Looks like I've got some work to do...
ReplyDeleteI love it, as always. Bring them on Saturday so I can borrow themm!!
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