Green Lantern #14
Written by Geoff Johns
Art by Doug Mahnke, Christian Alamy, Mark Irwin, Keith Champagne, Tom Nguyen, Alex Sinclair, and Tony Avina
The short of it:
As the Guardians monologue their nefarious plot to eradicate free will from the universe, the First Lantern lets his thoughts be known…they do not care. All they care about is their mission, and when it is complete…he will no longer be needed.
But to talk about more awesome things, Baz is all wide eyed and staring down the JUSTICE LEAGUE! All the intimidation and comic book logic in the world screams that we’re in for a fight scene, and…we don’t get it! What we get instead is Simon Baz looking to be as helpful as possible in helping the League figure out just how he got the ring. He’s not a bad guy, and he’s not about to punch the super heroes….though his ring would argue with all the might and willpower of former owner SINESTRO! Of course, the League doesn’t take the security system attacking them lightly, and like it or not, Baz has to fight or get the hell out.
With stunning control over the ring, despite no knowledge of how to fly with it, Baz tries to escape the League while explaining to Flash why he need to run. That he’s innocent and wants to stop whoever set him up, that the longer he has to answer questions and be punished for that which he didn’t do the longer this threat has to become more of a threat. With awesome moments, he makes his escape to finally meet with his sister and be given a direction to head in…next issue.
Meanwhile, Black Hand wants answers about the Chamber of Shadows he is now stuck in, while our two former Green Lantern’s are imprisoned within his ring…and not alone.
What I liked:
- Simon Baz. Man, I can’t say enough good about the guy, he’s one of the best original character creations I’ve seen out of the big two in years. At no point in this issue does he come across like a natural superhero, rather, he remains a normal guy in an extraordinary situation. Think about it, how easy would it have been to do the generic superhero fight? His reaction in the opening pages not only makes the issue, but it sets the pace for his entire character arc.
- The League as a whole was well handled, Superman and Flash really not wanting to fight Simon but having no problems using their speed to keep up with him, Batman trying to get that ring off of him as soon as possible, and all of them really just wanting answers about Hal.
- The reminder of just whose ring Simon is wearing was a nice touch both in terms of storytelling and the visual. The ring belongs to Sinestro, there is no chance in hell it wouldn’t lash out at any who tried to remove it.
- Getting back to Black Hand is a good thing, the way that story was left open was going to bug me. Plus, having his story and the Hal/Sinestro story could lead to interesting things.
- Despite the ARMY OF INKERS (I haven’t said that in ages), the art really helps sell this book. Despite the full face mask, Doug Mahnke uses Simon’s face to tell so much, especially the eyes. His eyes convey everything perfectly.
What I didn’t like:
- I still don’t like the level of ‘generic bad guy’ that the Guardians have fallen into. I won’t mind if they wind up blaming it on what Krona did to them during War of the GLs, but right now it’s painful. It just seems so…forced.
- Same goes for the Third Army, but for different reasons. I get why they’re getting the slow roll out, to build the threat, but they aren’t creepy or scary when there’s a panel devoted to them killing people and that’s it. I’m expecting Green Lantern Corps and Red Lanterns to be the books to actually sell them, because unless Baz goes up against them I can’t see this book making room to flesh them out.
Final thoughts:
I really don’t miss Hal Jordan as a lead character in this book. I do, however, miss Sinestro.
Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and Aquaman could have skipped the trip. I think each gets a single line of dialogue.
I really want to see Barry’s reaction to what Simon told him, because I can’t imagine Barry Allen doesn’t want to get to the bottom of things and see if this man really is truly innocent.
Simon’s car construct is fucking awesome looking, built from the ground up just like a John Stewart construct. Seeing all the inner workings reminds us that this is a guy who knows exactly what he’s making, and that he won’t be content with just a shell.
Simon driving instead of flying….I like it better with him than I did with Hal. With Simon, the street racer who worked at an auto plant, it makes sense.
The old hippy Guardians are whiny little bitches that will hopefully display massive power during the Third Army. I really want to see them escape and possibly replace the incumbent crazy as shit and totally evil Guardians.
So, about that extra dollar I want to give DC for eight more pages? Don’t worry about a digital code, I don’t need that, just give me MORE PAGES OF GREEN LANTERN!
Overall: 9/10
