By Cat Wyatt

In the last issue of Green Lanterns we saw the return of Singularity Jain, and while we all knew this wasn’t going to end well we were powerless to stop what was bound to happen. The issue ended with Jessica getting turned into a black hole (at least I’m assuming that is the case – she could have just been sucked into it, theoretically) that is hovering over the city (creepy). It probably goes without saying that the situation is not good.

This issue starts off in Jess’ past; I can only assume that Jess is being forced to relive these moments (how else would she be granted the ability to remember the guys who did this?), which is all sorts of horrifying.

Jess and her three friends were apparently on a camping and hunting trip when they were attacked. Jess has alluded to the events before, but obviously we’ve never seen it or had it told in any real detail. It was Jess’ idea, since her father was a hunter (and all around macho guy) and he raised her this way, and she even picked the spot for them to camp out at.

I hate to say it, but this explains so much about some of the guilt we’ve been seeing her carrying.  I had always assumed Jess was dealing with a serious case of anxiety and survivor’s guilt (both of which are undoubtedly true), but it never occurred to me that there would be multiple layers of said guilt. To Jess’ mind it likely seems like she lead her friends to their deaths, no matter how irrational that thought may be to us. This little revelation has my heart absolutely breaking for her. I hope that is the end of the heavy revelations for this issue, but I know that isn’t the case.

A black hole suddenly appearing over a city is a big deal; a black hole that may be or have swallowed a super hero? That’s a huge deal. Simon was absolutely in the right for calling in the bigger guns; this is not something to be handled lightly. The safely of Jessica and all of the civilians around the black hole are at risk, to put it lightly (and that’s assuming it doesn’t start acting like a true black hole…which thankfully doesn’t appear to be the case at the moment).

Surrounding the black hole (I feel odd calling it that, since while it looks like one I don’t actually think it is one) we have Superman, Wonder Woman, Cyborg, and Batman; and of course Simon and Jess’ sister, Sara. With the exception of Sara (who was there to meet her sister) these are all really good pulls for backup. Oh and the Flash is here as well, but he’s trying to take care of the reports and cops (whom are understandably being kept back for their own safety).

The timing for everything that happens makes it pretty clear who is behind the whole thing, and thankfully Simon sees the trail clear as day (I’m not sure what would have happened otherwise). He lugs Jain into the mix – and I’ve got to say it was pretty satisfying seeing her in the Hannibal getup.

If anyone can get answers out of Jain about what she’s done to Jessica, it’s the team currently facing her. Obviously I’m giving most of the credit to Wonder Woman and her marvelous lasso. But even that can only go so far against somebody as corrupted as Jain.

Here’s what we know; Singularity Jain feeds off of pain and the memories of pain. Unfortunately that is what made Jess a target – the horrible events of her past causing no end of misery for our girl. Which obviously Jain zeroed in on. Apparently Jess not knowing who the killers are is even more satisfying to Jain – probably because she could use that as bait to get Jess to agree to this.

So in effect Jain offered to give Jess back full memories of the event, but under the condition that Jess accepts whatever the truth is. Maybe it’s just me, but that last bit sounds pretty ominous. I’m hoping it just means that Jain wants her to face it head on (and thus go through more pain) and not that Jess actually knows the people who did this…

The nice part about Wonder Woman interrogating Jain, other than getting some information on what she had done to Jess, was we got some clear cut facts about what happened to Jess. Finally – no more dancing around the edges, trying to hide from the truth, it is all laid out. And thankfully it was done before we had to see it in person, so hopefully this will give us time to steal ourselves for when Jess relives that moment. Jess and her friends were hunting in the woods when they witnessed two men burying a body. The men wanted to eliminate the witnesses (naturally), which is how her friends ended up being killed. Jess made it out alive by running, which again explains more of the guilt she’s been dealing with. Man, I am not looking forward to seeing those events happen to her again.

Wow, so apparently the superhero cameos aren’t done. None other than Constantine himself shows up to help out; which sort of makes sense, if you look at the black hole as a way to another dimension or a portal into Jess’ memories/mind (but not if you look at it like a scientist would, naturally). I was more excited by his appearance than I would like to admit.

Constantine has some pretty good insight, even if the rest of the Justice League doesn’t trust his presence. While nobody else can get in, a backdoor of sorts was left open for Simon. Now, we can go ahead and theorize about what that could mean all day, but Simon personally believes it’s because Jess wanted him to save her. I guess we’ll find out how true that is, but not this issue.

I’m on the tips of my toes here – I can’t wait to find out what happens next. I mean, I really don’t want to see Jess’ friends killed, so I’m hoping that Simon gets there before she relives that, but I also really want her to see who did it. I’m very conflicted about this, which means the creative team did a great job of making me care about the situation. Well done.

The cameos were a nice touch as well – fun to see but also totally logical given what was happening (I can’t imagine Superman ignoring a black hole suddenly appearing over earth). Obviously I’m especially happy to have seen Constantine, but mostly because I wasn’t even remotely expecting that one to happen. I like it when little surprises like that occur.

I loved the artwork for this issue. The distortion around the black hole was beautifully done – it’s enough for us to know something is seriously wrong, but it isn’t exactly overdone either. It’s a hard balance to find. The world Simon was seeing, upon entering the black hole was interesting as well. I thought he would see what Jess was seeing, but instead he sees a world tinted by green. I’m not sure if it’s the green of the woods everything happened in, or the green of the rings. Perhaps a bit of both?

Score: 4/5

Green Lanterns #45
DC Comics