You know that tired ol super-hero plot? The heroes team up against an impossibly powerful, cosmic villain, and by sheer will, they find that one little weakness, that one way to trap him, that same trap the monster escaped from at the beginning of the story? Aren't you tired of that plot? Of the plot device? Yeah, me too. That's the heart of the plot of this concluding issue of the limited series. Fortunately, it's not what this issue is really about. The reader knows going in that the end result is the defeat of the villain and the return of Green Lantern Hal Jordan. What this issue is really about is showing us why there's more than one Green Lantern, who they are. This issue is about characterization, and it transforms a generic plot into a strong super-hero story.
Hal Jordan is back among the living, and he's got a Green Lantern power ring on his finger again as well. Backing him up are some close friends and old allies from the Green Lantern Corps, and together, they set out to eliminate the threat of Parallax, the cosmic fear entity that corrupted Jordan years before and led to the destruction of the GL Corps. Before they can carry out their mission, Jordan must contend with an obstacle: a man who sees him not as the hero he once was but as a villain.
Van Sciver does a solid job of distinguishing among the physical mannerisms and fighting techniques of the various Green Lanterns. Jordan comes off as such a lantern-jawed, all-American hero that it's a bit hard to accept, truth be told. The artist oversells it. The Parallax entity really doesn't inspire the kind of fear it should, either. The visual highlight of the issue, though, is courtesy of colorist Moose Baumann. To convey just how much energy is being tossed around, the GL symbols adorning the various Green Lanterns' chests pop off their costumes and glow with power. It's a great 3-D effect.
Johns's script examines what makes each of the several Green Lanterns in this story unique. One could argue that there's no need of so many similar characters, but Johns explores what sets them apart and what binds them together at the same time. Truth be told, the character who's explored the least is actually Hal Jordan. He's built up as the ideal hero, fearless and determined. But we don't get as strong a sense of how he thinks and what he's passionate about, not like the others.
Johns continues to explore the conflict between Hal and the Batman in this issue, and I think it's wise to have such ongoing tension between two of DC's iconic heroes. But in reality, the conflict isn't about the characters and their differing philosophies. The dialogue here is far from subtle, and Johns's use of the characters as symbols is clear. The Batman represents a dark, grim attitude. He represents The Dark Knight Returns and Identity Crisis and a wide variety of moodier stories that are seen as more mature. Hal represents a lighter, more hopeful take on super-heroes, a more traditional one. It's seemed as though DC heroes have been headed down a darker, bloodier and more brutal path as of late, and this struck me as a signal that it's really not the case, at least not in Hal Jordan's corner of the DC Universe. 7/10
