Review of Green Lantern Annual #1

“Death comes for everyone.”

This was a great issue. This really has me looking forward to the “Rise of the Third Army” cross over.

***Contains Spoilers for GL Annual #1 and Justice League #12***

The issue starts with the Guardians discussing their mission and previous attempts at completing that mission. All they have ever wanted, all they have ever strived for over the course of billions of years, is order. Their creation of the Manhunters and later the Green Lantern Corps was their attempt to eliminate chaos. The Manhunters had no emotion and were easily reprogrammed by Krona to wipe out an entire sector. The Green Lanterns are fueled by emotion and prone to acts of insubordination. The Guardians decide that the true power behind chaos is free will and they intend to eradicate it. Before I go on, let’s think about this for a second. I mean the Guardians have always been arrogant, and at times they act like complete douchers, but to eradicate free will? They do acknowledge that this is no easy task, but they are insanely powerful and I think they can do it. They have totally lost it. I can’t help but wonder if there is a larger force at play here. Larger than the Guardians of the Universe? I know it sounds crazy, but you never know.

Back in Green Lantern #12, Hal and Sinestro succeeded in destroying Black Hand’s army and hitting him pretty hard. Sadly the blast wiped out their power rings, left them unconcious and did not kill Black Hand. So, Black Hand did what any smart villain would do. He buried them alive. Hal is able to dig his way out (Willpower!), using his desire to see Carol again to fuel his will. Once free he tries to dig Sinestro out, but Black Hand interferes. He tells Hal that if he leaves Sinestro to die that he will raise Hal’s father. Hal knows that even after all Sinestro has done, he doesn’t deserve to be buried alive, and that even if his dad was raised it wouldn’t “really” be him. But the situation is enough to give him pause. Hal like many of his colleagues lost his father when he was very young, he saw him die. We all saw the emotional turmoil people went through in Blackest Night (If you haven’t read it by now I seriously don’t know what your problem is. Go read it.).

Meanwhile the Guardians have journeyed to the Chamber of Shadows, where they long ago imprisoned the “First Lantern”. They plan on using his power to create the “Third Army”. They mention the “Hidden Ones” and reasoning with them. They arrive at a large vault that has been sealed for billions of years and they open it. Then we find out who the “Hidden Ones” are, they are Guardians. They are dressed differently and several sport long beards, but they are Guardians. Apparently when the “First Lantern” was sealed in the vault they stayed behind to guard it. They have been cut off from the rest of the galaxy for billions of years. Their mission was to kill any who attempted to free the Frist Lantern. Obviously a pretty large fight breaks out.

It turns out the willpower runs in the Jordan family as his father resists being risen, giving Hal enough time to compose himself and attack Black Hand. However Hal is just a regular guy with a powerless ring. He gets in a couple good hits, but soon he is on the ground with Black Hand about to kill him. That is, until Sinestro clocks him in the back of the neck with a shovel. That sort of blow would have killed a regular person; it just upsets a Black Lantern. It did buy them time to run, but where can they go? Hal has the idea to use the residual energy they have in their rings to summon Sinestro’s Green Lantern. It works and they are able to fully charge their rings.

Back in the Chamber of Shadows, one of the Council Guardians kills one of the Chamber Guardians. The energy released from his death cracks the vault open. Once inside he screams “LET ME OUT!” Well, I guess we solved that mystery. Black Hand hears the cry and Hal and Sinestro cover their ears, it is so loud. The Council takes the First Lantern and seals the Chamber’s Guardians within. On the way back through the vortex tunnel thing the Guardians see Hal and Sinestro combating Black Hand. Ganthet and the others immediately port to Earth and take control of Black Hand. He opens up some sort of vortex and Hal and Sinestro are sucked into it. They try to leave a message with the rings, knowing that once they die the rings will reintegrate with each other and be sent off to find a replacement. As the rings recombine it says “error” and begins scanning the immediate sector for a replacement. The Guardians imprison Black Hand in the Chamber of Shadows. With Hal and Sinestro dead they plan on moving on Guy and the Green Lantern Corps next, then the other lantern corps.

The Guardians siphon some of the First Lantern’s power and combine it with their own to create the first Soldier of the Third Army. Just after it is formed a groundskeeper comes over to investigate the lights and sounds. He is attacked by the Third Army soldier and is transformed into another Third Army Soldier. His mind broken, his heart expelled from his chest. They send the original Third Army Soldier to go out into the universe and create an army, while the former groundskeeper begins spreading the army across the Earth.

Alright, boys and girls, the Guardians have basically declared war on free will. The messed up part is that they have a pretty good plan and I can see it working. But let’s talk about the fact that Hal and Sinestro are dead. I mean I understand that no one in comics stays dead(except Bruce’s parents, I am not counting Flashpoint), but this is still a pretty big deal. I think they might actually be dead, at least don’t expect to see them for awhile. The big Third Army promo pic has Guy, Kyle, John, Carol, Larfleeze, Atrocitus, Saint Walker Arkillo, Bleez, but no Hal and no Sinestro. Also no members of the Indigo Tribe. More on that in a minute. In Justice League #12 Hal left the Justice League. Of course DC doesn’t give us an idea of when this occurred(before the War of the Green Lanterns??), but the fact remains that he won’t be appearing in JL #13 or Green Lantern #13. Hell, He won’t be in Green Lantern #0. The covers that have been released for the upcoming Green Lantern Issues feature the new Green Lantern. Is he gone for good? Probably not, but it may be awhile, and who knows what his status will be when he returns. Will there be 5 Green Lanterns from Earth? Back to the Third Army crossover, No Indigo Tribe? I know the Guardians found Nok and that they have plans on taking them out, do they succeed?

This crossover looks like it is going to be BIG, it will take place in the #0’s as a prologue and in issues #13-16 of Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps, New Guardians, and Red Lanterns. So it’s gonna be a big one and in the end expect some big changes. We already know that the new GL will join the new Justice League of America, we know that the New Guardians are going through some line up changes already. I am going to say right now that the Guardians locked in the Chamber of Shadows will end up playing an important role and possibly replacing the current Guardian Council.