DC Comics Rebirth Spoilers & Review: Green Lanterns #13 Reveals Phantom Lantern’s Fatal Flaw & Secret History Of The Green Lantern Corps & Volthoom!

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(ABOVE: Volthoom, The First Lantern, in earlier days vs. the forces of the emotional spectrum.)

DC Rebirth’s Green Lanterns

Green Lanterns has been one of my favorite series in DC Comics’ DC Rebirth line. The current Phantom Lantern arc is no exception and Green Lanterns #13 just kicked things up a notch.

Green Lanterns #13

With the pages DC released in advance of the issue hitting stands, we learned about the Voltoom and the Green Lantern Corps secret history and how Rami, the rogue Guardian, fit into all this.

Volthoom the First Lantern went insane as his power battery seemingly used his body to sustain it.

The Guardians of the Galaxy want this to end and enlist Rami, who is not yet the rogue Guardian, to help.

He shows them the Green Lantern Corps rings he created that can only use one power of the emotional spectrum; the green light of courage and will.

And the Green Lantern rings are sent into the universe to find their Green Lanterns!

I always thought the failure of Manhunters was the reason for the creation of the Green Lantern Corps not Volthoom’s insanity. Perhaps it can all be weaved together.

DC Comics Rebirth Spoilers and Review of Green Lanterns #13 follow.

The book opens in modern day with the Phantom Lantern Frank Laminksi, whose ring can utilize all of the emotional spectrum – a ring stolen from Rami, in battle with Green Lanterns Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz; the Phantom Lantern wields the yellow light of fear.

However, the Phantom Ring is unstable. And Frank begins shifting from one emotional spectrum light to another uncontrollably.

Rami is the prisoner of Volthoom; he alleges that Volthoom wants to utilize something called the Malthusian Transfer. I assume that is for Volthoom to either claim the body of Rami or Frank Laminski as the Phantom Lantern.

Unlike the current emotional spectrum lanterns in DC Rebirth, and even when Volthoom was the First Lantern, where they utilize power batteries to power their rings. the Phantom Lantern ring is directly connected to the emotional spectrum. Rami warns that Frank Laminksi’s body will be burned out and explode.

Volthoom doesn’t believe Rami and still holds a grudge over how he was treated and mistreated by the Guardians ions ago!

The unstable Phantom Lantern ring then shift Frank Laminski from the yellow light of fear to the read light of hate and rage to…

…the blue light of hope to…

…the yellow light of fear again to…

…the orange light of avarice to…

…to…

…an explosion?

What has Frank Laminki’s Phantom Lantern evolved to? The Phantom Lantern arc concludes in January 2017’s Green Lanterns #14!

So…

A pretty solid arc story-wise. I’m very invested and intrigued by the Phantom Lantern developments. The art is not as strong as the story, but it services the story. 7.5 out of 10.

John is a long-time pop culture fan, comics historian, and blogger. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief at Comics Nexus. Prior to being EIC he has produced several column series including DEMYTHIFY, NEAR MINT MEMORIES and the ONE FAN'S TRIALS at the Nexus plus a stint at Bleeding Cool producing the COMICS REALISM column. As BabosScribe, John is active on his twitter account, his facebook page, his instagram feed and welcomes any and all feedback. Bring it on!