It’s been a little while, and with time and a lot of comic conversations over the weekend, I have some final thoughts on the Green Lantern universe. Also, most of my previous posts focused on the stuff that I thought was a mess. Since I actually DIDN’T hate everything I thought I should perhaps mention some of the things that I liked about the Green Lantern world and the Blackest Night.
That paragraph right there just drove off 95% of the people who started reading this post. For those who have soldiered on, welcome to geekdom. 
The Guardians. They’ve existed for as long as light has in the universe. They’re the ones who create the rules which the various Corps function by. One thing that I did enjoy about the whole universe in which Green Lantern happens is that the Guardians AREN’T the overly benevolent god-like characters who lead the universe that they could have been. Nope, these Guardians are not exactly a force for good.
They arbitrarily write up rules that their own followers, and everyone but them, can see as self serving and ridiculous. They break their own rules whenever they feel like, often for no reason other than the fact that they can. It often doesn’t really help anyone’s situation, but they do it anyway. They cause more problems in the universe than they prevent, mostly because they’ve grown arrogant and somewhat corrupt with power. Really, the Blackest Night comes about primarily because one of their own has had enough. Their own hubris and loss of grip on morality nearly brings about the end of life.
Guy Gardner. His whole identity is driven by an outright loyalty driven largely by the fact that his childhood was a gigantic lump of shit. He witnesses the death of his best friend during the Blackest Night series and flies in to such a fit of rage against the Black Lantern rings trying to take him that he ends up wearing a Red Ring. Kyle is brought back to life, but when he goes to show his friend that he’s okay he’s stopped. After all, Guy is almost singlehandedly giving the Green Lantern Corps a chance. Perhaps they should risk his becoming a permanent member of the Red Corps in order to hold off the hordes of the dead?
That was one of the biggest “Damn.” moments in the whole story. Just the thought of a collection of superheroes being so completely desperate for survival that they’re willing to potentially sacrifice one of their own is compelling. Too often, superheroes are shown as invincible scions of good. This completely shattered that. The most loyal person is the entire group is essentially abandoned, if only on a temporary basis.
Black Hand. A messed up human being with a death obsession. He used to visit dad at work just to watch embalmings, having a clinical detachment from the whole thing even as a child. He goes on to become a villain, dressed in a costume made of disassembled body bags. Then he REALLY becomes Black Hand.
If Nekron is to come to Earth, he needs a ‘tether’ so to speak. Black Hand will be that tether. He returns to his family home, where he brutally slaughters every one there before finally turning his weapon on himself. There’s a particular panel where the image is one of shock on his face while a beam slashes its way through his head where the artwork really just jumped out. The fact that he seems to be surprised at what’s happening makes you wonder just how in control he really is…is he a homicidal maniac, or is he completely under the thrall of another power? All that we know is that he rises up as the undead version of himself, and The Blackest Night begins.
Larfleeze. The sole holder of the orange lantern, he is a creature of avarice and lives in desire of everything around him. Long ago, he and another found the orange light…The Guardians allowed one to keep it, and Larfleeze killed his compatriot. Now he lives in the Vega system, restricted from leaving but never to be bothered, as the Guardians hope that will leave the orange light away from everyone else in the universe. With it, Larfleeze can devour anyone and have them reborn as a member of his corps.
One of the biggest acts of treachery in the story is the Guardians going back on their promise and sending the Green Lantern Corps in to the Vega system. After his Corps fights the Green Lanterns to a standstill, they make a bargain with him…they’ll again leave him alone, and let him attack the Blue Lantern Corps so that he can have a blue ring. This was one of the biggest indications of how duplicitous the Guardians can be and how quickly they’ll sell out anyone to save what they can of their power in the universe.
The best part of the Larfleeze character is how well he’s balanced. He’s been hopelessly twisted in to a covetous bastard who is never sated by the very light which he has, and that part of him is portrayed quite seriously. Yet, he is often used quite successfully as comic relief. The scenes where he and a temporarily deputized Lex Luthor fight over each other’s rings is goddamn hilarious. In the end, one of the Guardians agrees to become Larfleeze’s own Guardian. I’m curious to know how that turns out.
Ermey. Really briefly appears in the back story of Green Lantern Kilowog. Everything Kilowog learned about being the hard ass drill sergeant in training new recruits he learned from HIS hard ass drill sergeant, Green Lantern Ermey. The character is CLEARLY based on R. Lee Ermey, a man who really was a Marine Corps drill instructor and who went on to play that role in many movies, and that’s what he’s famous for. I love the fact that the writers used that infamy and kind of snuck it in there. You don’t miss anything by not realizing what the reference is, but it’s an extra little ‘Easter Egg’ for anyone who picks up on it.
I’ll end this off with a little dose of R. Lee Ermey in his best known role.
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