GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH, by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, tells the tale that sets in motion the NEW GREEN LANTERN series.
For those who came in late, Hal Jordan, classic Silver Age superhero, became the villain Parallax who, after Mongul wasted Coast City and everyone in it, destroyed almost the entire Green Lantern Corps with him in what has become the stuff of comics legends. When all was said and done, Jordan was gone(even though he attempted to redeem himself by relighting the sun), his major nemesis Sinestro was gone and a new order came forward in the form of Kyle Rayner. And our boy Jordan,proving you can’t keep a good man down, became the newest incarnation of the original spirit of vengeance, The Spectre, doling out grisly punishment in the tradition of his 1970’s predecessor(in classic tales by Mike Fleisher and Jim Aparo).
So Jordan, who seemed to let the cat out of the bag regarding his return during IDENTITY CRISIS, comes back to our realm and decides to pay a visit to some old friends like the former Carol Ferris(Jordan’s old boss and former lover, no married to someone else) before bringing Coast City back with him. Actually, it was Parallax who does that and he isn’t really Jordan. Well, yeah he is.
Yeah...this is where it gets confusing.
It seems that Parallax is a yellow entity(okay-you all remember that the GREEN ring has a weakness to YELLOW? Good!) that managed to creep into Jordan through his power ring and eventually took hold on Hal’s psyche. When Jordan tried to recreate Coast City, the Guardians reprimanded him and he rebelled, going as far as destroying most of the other Green Lantern’s AND breaking Sinestro’s neck.
But remember, no one stays dead forever in comic’s as we learn that Sinestro was responsible for freeing Parallax and that his death was staged, causing Hal to REALLY suffer from a major personality disorder.
In the end(sorry folks: here comes the SPOILER), Parallax is destroyed(just remember-no one stays dead forever), Sinestro is defeated(but left to survive to fight another month), both the little blue Guardians AND the GL Corps are reborn and over a decade of DC continuity is erased with a few strokes of a brilliant script(not to worry as MOST of DC’s continuity will be affected soon by their newest “crisis”).
For die hard continuity fans, this book tears down everything which had been set in place many years ago. The whole mythic concept of the hero being turned into a murderous villain and then redeeming himself is gone. Hal Jordan wasn’t REALLY insane-he was possessed by a lizardlike parasite unleashed by his greatest and most jealous rival. He didn’t really die-he just became a host for both the parasite AND the spirit of vengeance. Next thing you know, we’ll find out that Pieface(now THERE’S a classic ethnic whack!) is really a Guardian in disguise.
If you can bring yourself to accept this tale, and after all, why shouldn’t you because it is only a comic, you will find it a well written, highly rewarding tale of one of comicdom’s most charismatic characters. It’s a beautifully illustrated, highly energetic piece that ties up loose ends and creates new subplots for writers to exploit for years to come. If anyone was going to tear down the storied history of the last temptation of Hal I’m glad it was Johns whose work on such titles as JSA has impressed me for years.The dialogue is typical Johns and often recalls an earlier time called the Seventies when Hal Jordan and Ollie Queen were heroes who “gave a damn”. They’re heroes with attitude, especially when Batman is involved.
Pick this up, even though it will be at inflated back issue prices or one of the various printings which followed the first sold out run. This is a great series that establishes the one true Green Lantern as a hero to be reckoned with.