"Secret Origin: Part 5"

The pacing of Green Lantern throughout the "Secret Origin" storyline has been very fast. Geoff Johns is covering the basics of Hal's origin while also tying everything to the coming "Blackest Night" story arc. While I have loved the re-telling of Hal's origin, probably one of the most needed re-tellings of the DC Universe, I have also been slightly put off by the fact that it is moving so fast, putting elements such as his relationship with Carol Ferris on the back-burner to ideas such as connecting Hector Hammond and the Black Hand's origins directly to Hal and the Green Lanterns. Of course, I am in the minority of wanting this story to be a bit slower and longer because I am a big Hal fan, but on the same token I can't deny what a phenomenal job Johns is doing with it.

Then we come to this issue, which is by far the strongest of the series thus far. This issue features two stories that run parallel and come together in the end: first, the origin of the Black Hand and second, a team-up between Hal and his mentor, Sinestro.

Johns picks up this story where the last issue left off, first offering a teaser of the Black Hand and then heading back to Ferris Aircraft. Hector Hammond's mind has been altered by the meteorite that fuels Abin Sur's ship, and he's attacking Hal at Ferris Aircraft. When it comes to Hammond, Johns has remained relatively true to the character's origins. He just cleverly tied it directly to Hal and, from the looks of this story, "Blackest Night" as well. The opening scene of this story is a great characterization of Hammond. Hammond appears to be in a vegetative state, but his mind has developed powerful a telepathic ability, and he's thumbing through Hal's mind. Johns connects this moment to issue #6 in this series when Hammond wants just a taste inside Hal's mind to experience one of Hal's sexual escapades. In this issue, first Hammond wants the Green Lantern ring, but when he gets beyond that, he notices Hal's feelings for Carol and will kill Hal to keep her for himself. I like the way Johns portrays Hammond and Hal as similar men, both the best in their field and with an affinity for gorgeous women. Hammond becomes a great villain for Hal because Hal is living the life Hammond wants. Johns introduced that notion in issue #6 and creates the root of it here.

Of course, Sinestro comes in to save Hal and Carol. He nearly kills Hammond and then takes Hal away to Abin Sur's crash site. What's interesting about this scene is that it starts out with Sinestro acting as the "hard-ass" mentor, claiming that Kilowog and Salaak's ring skills are intermediate compared to his. However, when Hal mentions his confusion over the yellow impurity, Sinestro lets his walls down and shares a moment with Hal. This is a key moment in the relationship between the two and may also be a key element to what I think is coming down the road. Sinestro is a man who questions the Guardians, much like Hal who will become the greatest champion of the Corps but also the most outspoken against the Guardians. This scene leads into the two coming to the site of Abin Sur's death where they continue to forge a friendlier bond.

The bulk of the middle of this issue is devoted to a message from Abin Sur to Sinestro stored in Hal's ring. Anyone following this Green Lantern saga cannot miss out on this bit of information. If you are skipping the "Secret Origin" storyline, you have to at least grab this issue as Abin Sur reveals the massacre of Sector 666, the birthplace of the Black Lanterns. Abin Sur reveals that the massacre was a direct result of the Guardians and the Manhunters as five survivors formed a terrorist group hell-bent on destroying the Guardians. Johns begins to tie everything together when he reveals that Atrocitus, the being responsible for Abin's death, has come to Earth searching for the source of the "black power."

Abin Sur's story and the involvement of Atrocitus ties directly into the origin of the Black Hand, an origin updated and detailed by Johns. Originally, the Black Hand's origin was kind of generic. He was the outcast of his family and developed a life of crime to distance himself from his siblings. It's a standard and quick 1960s origin, but there was never any detailed explanation for the Black Hand's abilities. Of course, Johns ties this directly to the "Blackest Night." He introduces William Hand as an awkward teenager who is obsessed with the dead bodies that come into his parents' mortuary. Johns keeps the outcast element of Hand's origin intact and highlights his desire to touch a dead body. This comes into play towards the end of the issue when William sneaks into a visiting room to view a body. As he touches the body, Atrocitus crashes through the wall revealing that the "black power" he seeks rests within William. As Sinestro and Hal enter to stop the beast, Johns gives readers new and old the power that becomes the Black Hand's cosmic divining rod, the device that absorbs Green Lantern energy. Hal and Sinestro are left powerless to battle Atrocitus as this issue comes to a pulse-pounding end.

I'm not even going to take a lot of time to comment of Ivan Reis' pencils, Oclair Albert's inks or Randy Mayor's colors. If you don't already know, it is some of the best artwork in comics today. It's consistent with every issue; it is epically rendered and just stunning.

This is definitely the strongest issue of "Secret Origin" to date. It is also an absolute can't miss for the continued evolution of the "Blackest Night" storyline as Johns takes the focus off of Hal a little bit and shifts it towards Sinesto and Abin Sur, furthering the "Blackest Night" epic. This is without a doubt the best book in DC's arsenal and one of the best continuing epics in all of comics. This is my Pick of the Week.

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