Hal Jordan fights Tomar-Tu, and John Stewart refuses to kill the Darkstars as Robert Venditti wraps up his run with this over-sized anniversary issue of HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #50. Let’s see how Venditti ends his 50 issue run!
WRITTEN BY: Robert Venditti
PENCILS BY: Rafa Sandoval
INKS: Jordi Tarragona
COLORS: Tomeu Morey
LETTERS: Dave Sharpe
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
HAL AND PALS SPOILERS TOO!
To see what happened in issue 49, here.
Summary
Hal continues to fight Tomar-Tu into a stalemate. While outside in space, John tries to hold off Zod from killing all the Darkstars where they stand. Using his willpower, Hal channels everything he has into the Darkstar’s central power battery and somehow overrides their programming tearing the Darkstar suits apart and magically showing all of them the error in their ways.
Zod flies in at the end to kill Tomar-Tu and get his vengeance for his father Tomar-Re letting Krypton explode. However, Tomar-Tu kills himself before Zod could act. Venditti ends the issue by sending out hundreds of new Green Lantern rings while sending Hal to find Carol Ferris to give her a big smooch. THE END… or at least Venditti says “Never The End.”
My Take
Looking at just this issue, I was extremely disappointed. Venditti had an opportunity to wrap everything up within his 50 issue run, but he doesn’t. Extra characters were dangled throughout the issue, as well as the entire arc, for pomp and circumstance. For example, why was Orion in the story? And, what did Kyle really contribute in these last dozen issues?
In addition, what was the point of breaking Hector Hammond out of prison in the first place? Two issues, or more, were spent on Hammond to see him break the connection to the hive mind of the Controllers. Really? Was there no other way to bring this series to an end without using Hector Hammond? He did nothing afterward, like most of the extra’s added to this closing arc.
Furthermore, Zod was the only one with a valid reason to be there, and he wasn’t written well at all. Zod would never listen to a “no kill” order from John, especially after his most recent story on Jekuul. What good would three Green Lanterns do against an angry Kryptonian interested in killing someone? Venditti had Zod willing to fall in line and listen to the same Lanterns that let his planet die. I don’t buy it!
And after Venditti’s last 20ish issues, why is Arkillo still not a Green Lantern? Readers that have been following Venditti’s run thoroughly enjoyed Arkillo. Many could argue that he’s even been a fan favorite. So, why not throw that in as the series ends?
The Art
As always, Rafa Sandoval and Jordi Tarragona do a fantastic job. Their character designs are incredibly detailed, and they demand your attention. These two, mixed with Tomeu Morey’s bright and vibrant colors, are always such a stunning combination. Sandoval, Tarragona, and Morey are a huge reason why I have continued to come back to this series each week. DC. This artistic team needs to stay together and work on another DC property, perhaps TITANS?
Should you buy this issue?
If you’ve been collecting this run, you go for it! Sandoval and Tarragona’s art is impressive and Morey’s colors drive the images right off the page. I had high hopes for this last arc, but it just seemed to fall flat and predictable. There are too many dangling questions that Venditti doesn’t answer. What happens to Zod and Arkillo? How can the Lanterns now suddenly send out hundreds if not thousands of rings? And seriously, why is Hal magically able to jam his ring into the control center of the Darkstars and shut them all down?
If there is one thing I cannot stand in comics, it’s backing your heroes into a corner and getting them out with one last ditch effort at the last minute that fixes everything. Hal’s willpower magically saves the day again. It’s lame and defeats the purpose of ever reading a Hal Jordan story ever again. Why? Well, if he’s ever in trouble or stuck, he’ll just use his willpower. Maybe Hal can fix the Source Wall with his willpower while he’s at it?
Should you add this to your pull list?
No, because the series is over. However, the better question is: should you buy the trade? If you’re reading this article at the end wondering if I give the stamp of approval, I would say that this series has been pretty solid most of the way. It’s had ups and downs but it’s been pretty consistent. However, I could argue that everything started to go downhill around the last 10 or so issues. Again, I was genuinely excited for this Darkstars arc, AND it even began on point, but it just didn’t stick the landing.
What did you guys think of HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #50? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @dispatchdcu. If you would like to read more of my reviews, click HERE!
