By: Geoff Johns (story), Ethan Van Sciver (art), Pete Woods (pencils), Cam Smith (inks), Hi-Fi & Tony Avina (colors)
The Story: The Guardians take a leaf out of the Borg playbook in their quest for order.
The Review: It’s hard to believe that at one point, the Guardians of the Universe were good guys. Once upon a time, they were kind of the sci-fi midget elves of the DCU: wise and lofty, devoted to making things right in the universe. Somewhere along the way, they went from well-intentioned to downright sinister, and that seems to apply to all their actions nowadays: keeping secrets, giving orders, watching over all life.
If you think about it, the Guardians don’t really have any reason to create these armies to patrol the universe and maintain order. As highly powerful immortals, they can just find any picturesque planet and loll about, doing boo-squat-diddly for the rest of their unending lives. So the fact they instead decided to spend their time trying to deliver some kind of peace for the rest of us had a certain ring of nobility.
Then you realize that their mission has very little to do with the happiness of others. This need of theirs to keep chaos in check reminds you of your obsessive-compulsive aunt. You know, the one who’ll come over to your house and tidy everything, not because she’s particularly interested in doing a nice thing for you, but because she can’t stand the sight of a mess. Essentially, the Guardians have turned into the overbearing parents of the universe. “Sentient beings should not be making choices,” they lament. “We know better than they do.”
So there’s a more subtle transformation taking place here than the usual comic book, good-to-evil switcheroo. Johns makes that case by introducing us to the Hidden Ones, direct relations of the Guardians who apparently haven’t changed much since the beginning of time. As a result, you get a full glimpse of the kind of people the Guardians used to be: hopeful, optimistic, loving, compassionate, and definitely selfless. It’s a surprising, but very valuable revelation.
It reminds you, even as the Guardian’s hatch their latest, most self-destructive plan, their intentions comes from a different place than your typical villains. In imposing their vision of how things should be, they seek unity: “One mind. One flesh.” Their execution is unfortunately literal, which suits Johns’ style to a tee. Even though this plotline wrestles with some loaded philosophical concepts, he tackles them with typical simplistic fashion. You don’t have to read too deeply to figure out the metaphor behind the disposal of hearts or absence of mouths.
As always, the strengths of a Johns comic always seem to lie in the intrigue for future plotlines, rather than whatever’s going on now. Although we get introduced to the First Lantern, he remains an enigma. We don’t know if he’s dangerous because of what he’s done or because he’s capable of. We get a sense that his powers come from a very pure source, affecting both the green and black hues of the emotional spectrum. And there’s no indication what role he’ll play in this Third Army nonsense.
Van Sciver has been sorely missed from the DC art world. With his incredible detail and all-rounder mastery of everything a pop comic should have, his style gives the impression of a punk rock Phil Jimenez. Let this be the signal of his return to ongoing art duties. Woods puts in a fine effort too, although following Van Sciver means you notice how much less texture and intensity he has in comparison.
Conclusion: A reminder that the Green Lantern universe remains a bedrock for DC, that its biggest stories have yet to be told. An impressive use of the annual format to launch what is bound to be the splashiest Event of the year from the new DC.
Grade: B+
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: – I am all for the Hidden Ones taking the Guardians’ place. They’re wearing chain mail, for crying out loud. I particularly like the one showing off his respectable (though hobbit-sized) guns.
Grade
Conclusion