By Cat Wyatt

Issue number 37 of Hal Jordan and the Green Lanterns is starting a new plot – and this one was not one I was expecting (okay, not the full truth – I knew to expect it once I saw the cover, but before that, it never crossed my mind). Zod is back from the Phantom Zone, and he’s looking to start fresh. So, of course, the odds were likely that a Green Lantern would come across them first. Just looking at the cover, it’s clear that Hal gets put up against one of Superman’s greatest villains. I honestly had never thought about this fight, so I can’t tell you who I’d expect to win. Probably whoever had more time to prepare? (which doesn’t look good for Hal, in this case).

So this issue starts off in a way that’ll make any fan of Hal cringe (for his sake, that is) – with him bleeding and on the ground. I always hate to see that happen to my favorite heroes. To see Zod and crew standing over him? Even worse. As if that wasn’t enough of an awful sandwich, we can clearly see Kyle covered in rubble and blood. This just keeps getting better and better (please note my sarcasm here). I’m sure our heroes will get out of it somehow, but man do I hate seeing them in a rough position like that.

But for the moment that is all set in the near future, meanwhile, in the present John Stewart is resigning from his command in the Green Lantern Corps. Yes, you read that right. It’s just one gut punch after the other, isn’t it? Though once the context of his resignation is made clear, I actually get it. The Guardians are back, well what’s left of them anyway, and they want to go back to meddling (erm, ordering/directing) the Green Lantern Corps. John was around the first time things went catastrophically bad with that, so I don’t really blame him for assuming the worst this time either. While I trust Ganthet and Sayd, I can’t say the same for the rest of the Guardians, so what assurance do we have that they won’t simply repeat their ways?

If I was ever going to trust anybody to call the Guardians out on their bullshit, and to step up and stop them from repeating past grievances, it’s John Stewart. I’m glad that he was able to see reason in this, as I’m not sure any other Green Lantern would recognize the warning signs as quickly as him, nor act in a quick and precise manner in response. Knowing he’ll be there, should the worst occur (again) is a relief, to say the least.

Clearly I’m not the only one that feels this way, as the other three members of our famous Green Lantern quartet express relief as well. While I’m sure any one of them would have stepped up to keep an eye on the Guardians, I’m not sure they would have done so happily or confidently.

During this whole conversation, we’re steadily creeping closer and closer to that bloody present we saw earlier. Hal and Kyle are responding to an unauthorized resource exploitation (I’d love to see the paperwork for that – ok not really, but I am a bit curious) on the planet Jekuul. We already know how badly things are going to go there.

Zod (and his followers, of course) has claimed Jekuul for himself. Presumably there’s a resource on this planet he desires access to, or why else would he have picked this specific one. What’s more concerning is that it appears that he intentionally baited Green Lanterns to showing up here. While I’m sure he had no way of knowing which lanterns would show up, the fact that he wanted any to arrive is concerning. Surely he knows that if one or two were to go missing, others would investigate. Which means he either needed access to a couple of them, and it was urgent enough to be worth the risk, or he is willing to take on all the Green Lanterns if necessary. Neither are comforting thoughts.

The odds end up being even worse than I anticipated; with two Green Lanterns (albeit they’re without a doubt two of the best out there) against four Kryptonians. While I do believe that Kyle and Hal could figure out the solution to most problems, I’m not sure falling into a trap such as this is the best thing for them. I’m still more concerned about why Zod wanted them there in the first place.

I’ll be the first to confess that I’m not terribly up to date with Zod and what he’s been working on (thus my surprise when I saw what could only be his son), but I still found this to be a pretty interesting issue. I never would have anticipated mixing Green Lanterns with a Superman villain, though I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised about it, other cross overs like this happen all the time. Still, I appreciate the unanticipated twist, if nothing else. I don’t know where they’re going to go with this, or how Hal and Kyle are going to get out of this predicament, but that’s what makes a series good.

The artwork was pretty decent for this issue – the blood from our beaten lanterns wasn’t gory, but it was in large enough quantities for us to understand just how bad the situation was. And as always, we got some dramatic Green Lantern posing, which is fantastic. What really struck me though was the background for the first fight scene shown. It’s so easy to forget that there are backgrounds when something major like a fight is occurring, so I’m really happy to see that the artists didn’t overlook it here. The landscape and plants are so lush; it really adds an extra element to things, especially with the blood spattering over it.

Score: 4/5

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #37
DC Comics