“Secret Origin” (part 2)
The road to DC’s next Green Lantern event, “Blackest Night”, continues as Geoff Johns brings us the next chapter in “Secret Origins”. This story-arc is essentially retelling the origin of Hal Jordan and directly relating everything into “Blackest Night” and the prophecies of Alan Moore. Honestly, I’m not sure where to begin. This issue of Green Lantern is incredible. Usually I have some kind of introduction or I usually want a paragraph or two before I praise or bash an issue. But this issue is downright phenomenal. As someone who loves Hal Jordan, and as someone who always wanted to retell his origin, I honestly don’t think any kind of retelling could be better than this. Why? Because Geoff Johns knows this character, Geoff Johns respects Hal Jordan and he sure as hell proves that he respects old school fans and newer fans alike with this issue. Johns is not completely revamping Hal’s origin. Instead, he is taking the best and most prominent elements from the original Hal Jordan stories, updating them, and mixing them with more modern elements, not only more in tune to today’s audiences, but for the “Blackest Night” as well.
For starters, Johns adds an extraordinary amount of depth to Hal Jordan in the first few pages of this issue. Johns has really played up the father issues in Hal’s life since Rebirth and this continues heavily in this issue. After being kicked out of the Air Force by one of his father’s old wingmen, he goes on to work for another one of his father’s wingmen. Then, in a bizarre twist of fate, one of his father’s wingmen’s daughter, Carol Ferris, buys out the airfield where he is employed. Hal has essentially been working on favors from his father’s friends, avoiding the one place where his father died up until they buy him out. While Johns once again proves he is the king of the condensed story, he manages to throw in a few nods to the original origin. Tom “Pieface” Kalmaku makes his first appearance in a long time and Johns makes a nod to the old controversy surrounding Kalmaku’s nickname. Johns also makes a point to express Hal’s attitude towards other pilots while he is grounded. Hal isn’t allowed to fly and Johns cleverly plays up this idea, he lets the idea sit and build until the moment Abin Sur hands him the ring.
Speaking of Abin Sur, he is heavily featured in this issue and there are quite a few things to take note of as Abin Sur stares down death. The first thing to notice is that Johns expands on the ideas that Alan Moore suggested in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2. He expands on the reasons why Abin Sur is flying in a spaceship, why he is headed towards Earth and why he crashes. In Emerald Dawn Abin Sur crashes and dies as a result of a battle with a giant yellow robot named Legion. I think it’s safe to say that the Moore / Johns versions are much better. There is, however, a greater meaning to Abin Sur’s crash. He learned the secret of the “Blackest Night” and remains in direct contact with Sinestro up until he enters Earth’s atmosphere. Abin Sur has also kidnapped an alien that can lead him to where the “Blackest Night” will begin, on Earth. One thing I have always firmly believed is that Sinestro should play a role in Abin Sur’s death. Johns, and Ivan Reis, actually do plant these seeds, just before his alien prisoner frees himself to attack Abin Sur, the Sinestro Corps emblem can be seen in Abin Sur’s eyes. I am truly curious to see if Johns will give Sinestro some direct responsibility in Abin’s death. This is also interesting to note considering a line from Green Lantern #1 back in 1960 when Abin Sur describes his crash to Hal. “A terrible blast of yellow light -- similar to your Aurora Borealis -- blinded me at the controls…” In the panel where the Sinestro Corps logo is seen in Abin’s eye, it’s almost as if he is blinded, allowing his prisoner to break free. There’s also a significant amount of yellow bursts leading up to the crash. I may be reading too much into all of this, but Johns has always been very meticulous when it comes to thing like this.
In terms of Hal actually getting the ring, I’m not going to lie, I never liked the flight simulator. There are too many questions and it would a bit obvious if a green bubble magically took a flight simulator out into the desert. Here he is guided to the ring, abducted even. Although Johns does add in references to his own stories by putting Hal in the cockpit of the plane his father flew him in Green Lantern Secret Files and Origins 2005. However, if I remember correctly, the plane Hal flew in with his dad was not a jet, but a propeller plane, but I can let that slide. Anyways, kudos to Johns for throwing in the abridged version of the Green Lantern explanation Hal is given on his way to Abin Sur. In Emerald Dawn the explanation ran for about five pages, Johns covers it succinctly in 4 panels. I also really like the way Johns threw in his new Green Lantern Corps rank system. When Hal puts on the ring, the white circle on his chest is empty. Since Rebirth, rookie Green Lanterns have had to earn the emblem, I really like that Johns includes this for Hal as well
.
Of course, the idea of Hal yearning to fly again builds and builds to this moment. This moment is similar to Emerald Dawn in that Hal was also grounded in that storyline. Johns also uses his amazing condensing talents to quickly and effectively show a few panels with Hal learning to control the basics of the ring. This is entirely believable because Hal is not only of the most arrogant pricks you’ll find in all of comics, but his willpower is unrivaled. I also notice something very subtle about the way Johns writes Hal in this story-arc as opposed to his writing of the character since Rebirth. In the present time, Johns writes Hal as a weathered veteran, the man who was the champion of the Green Lanterns but is now the prodigal. In this story-arc, Johns writes Hal as if he is 25 years old and doesn’t have a care in the world except his own hide. Even after he gets the ring, Johns writes Hal with a certain anxiousness that is really brilliant considering how long he’s been writing the character as an older individual.
And then there’s Carol. Carol Ferris is one of those female leads that really make a character. She is as important to Hal Jordan as Lois Lane is to Superman. While I still believe that Carol and Hal should have been high school sweethearts, especially considering the relationship of their fathers, Johns really plays up the relationship of the two just as well as John Broome had back in the '60s. Johns just adds a little more depth to the fact that Carol wants nothing to do with Hal by throwing in the business side of things. Carol is all business, having taken over Ferris Aircraft, and to her, Hal is nothing more than a risk. Johns does an excellent job bringing these points to life, but I still believe making them high school sweethearts could have added an extra level of tension for Carol. I also love the way that Johns throws Carol into Green Lantern’s arms. She trips, being caught by Hal as Green Lantern and the two sharing their first real moment. Of course, she doesn’t know Green Lantern is Hal and if you’ve ever read the old Silver Age stories, you’ll know that Hal was courting Carol while Green Lantern was dating her. While a few people I spoke to were shocked by the ending of this issue, it really didn’t come as much of a surprise to me because when Carol first met this character in 1960’s Green Lantern #5, she was “quite fascinated by him.” I rather like the inclusion of this character, as it is not only a nod to Johns’ early work on this series, but also a nod to the original Hal Jordan stories.
Ivan Reis’ artwork continues to amaze me. The man is a workhorse who creates some of the most beautiful images seen in comics. There’s just a higher level of consistency, a higher level of detail and a style that is distinctive. Reis is one of the top artistic talents in comics today. I personally love that he has been working on my favorite character and that he and Johns work so well together. Reis and Johns are the quintessential Green Lantern duo of the modern era and I really hope the two continue to work together in the years after they finish here.
This issue of Green Lantern is outstanding. I say this not as a Hal Jordan fan but as a lifelong fan of comics, a comic analyst and someone who appreciates a great story. Geoff Johns’ run on this title and his run with Hal Jordan has been amazing, not only does he revamp aspects of the character to fit his own storytelling, but he also nods to the original stories that help mold the character in the first place. This is my Pick of the Week.
What did you think of this book?
Have your say at the Line of Fire Forum!