By Cat Wyatt

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps is back, and so are the Darkstars. I’ve been excited about this plot, so it feels like the wait between each issue is insanely long (I know, I’m super impatient like that). A quick recap, for those that have missed any issues; The Controllers created a force called the Darkstars, intending to control them and have them rival the Green Lanterns. While they succeeded in the later, the former not so much. Now the Green Lanterns are assembling their collective allies to try and deal with the great threat here.

This issue starts off on earth, of all places (I love that this is actually a surprise). Specifically in Iron Heights Penitentiary in Central City. I’m sure you can guess where this is going… Here we find Goldface, sleeping soundly…until Tomar-Tu arrives. Tomar-Tu believes that Goldface is guilty of murder, and we all know the punishment for that crime is death (at least as far as the Darkstars are concerned).

Not that Tomar-Tu is even remotely interested in those debates. I’m pretty sure that even if a jury had found Goldface innocent of murder Tomar-Tu would still find him guilty, and happily carry out the sentence for him. Actually, I take that back. I know he would still find him guilty. That’s basically his job, to weed out the criminals and serve lethal justice, right?

Plus the crime Goldface committed is actually very personal to Tomar-Tu. You see, the man that he’s accused of killing? It was Tomar-Re…Tomar-Tu’s father. It’s a bit complicated, but basically Goldface (and a bunch of other villains) were helping Hal (and the rest of the corps) save the universe (you know things are bad when the villains have to get pulled in to help save the day) and I guess Tomar-Re and Goldface got into a fight over something…and Goldface broke his neck.

The point is that I believe that Tomar-Tu would have hunted down Goldface no matter the circumstances. Hal agrees with this, and that’s the reason why he’s so unhappy with himself about it; he should have seen this attack coming. Tomar-Tu has already gone after criminals he has a personal vendetta against, so why not the guy that killed his dad?

Don’t worry, I didn’t pull all of that from the recesses of my memory; Hal explained the situation to the Flash (who of course showed up – this is his territory after all). It’s so easy to forget that Hal was Tomar-Tu’s mentor sometimes, but having been reminded of that I can feel the pain Hal must be dealing with that much more. I’m sure he tried very hard to do right by his mentor (Tomar-Re) by taking care of his son and giving him the best training he could. He probably even feels like he failed on that quest. The thing I hope he remembers, at the end of this, is that all people make their own decisions. All you can do is handle it as best you can, and always hold yourself accountable for your own actions.

As far as handling the issue goes, the Green Lanterns are on it. As indicated in the last issue, they know their forces aren’t enough to deal with the Darkstars on their own. They’re going to need help. Ironically (considering the memories brought up this issue), they’re going to need the help of some less than scrupulous guys if they want to have any chance of winning this fight.

And just who are these guys, you ask? Well I can’t speak for who all of the Green Lanterns have been sent out to recruit, but Guy is off having a chat with Arkillo. Yep, you read that right. Apparently they actually get together once a month to drink…and destroy the bar they’re drinking in. Which sounds about right. Now, I don’t think the Yellow Lanterns would be an immediate target for the Darkstars (well, with the exception of any that have a high death count on their hands), but I do think the Darkstars would eventually come for them (unlike the Green Lanterns, whom if stood aside would be safe – not that they’re going to do that). For this reason I hope Arkillo sees reason, and gets the rest of them to follow suit. Meanwhile Kyle has gone off on his own mission, he’s off beyond our cosmos, hoping to call in a favor or two. We’ll have to see how that one pans out I guess.

John Stewart also is off on a recruitment mission…and you’re never going to believe who he’s asking for assistance from. No, seriously, I don’t think I ever would have guessed it, and I can’t express how happy that makes me. As much as I want to gush about this scene (and I really really do!) I think this is one of those scenes you have to read in order to get the full impact from. But seriously, I want to gush about it, so if you feel like chatting about it…you know where to find me.

Lastly Hal is off on his own for the same reason as everyone else. I’m impressed by how much traveling he did this issue, but then again, what he saw earlier was probably enough to spur him forward. His choice is an…interesting one, to say that least. Can’t wait to see how that one turns out.

Presumably the next issue will show us the responses for all of the recruiting attempts. I have theories on how each of these will go, but I honestly just can’t wait to see how it all falls into place (or doesn’t). I find it interesting that Hal hasn’t recruited any of earth’s heroes – I know he’s somewhat limited in who to call (not all of them can handle space like he can), but you’d think every single body would count in a fight like this, and there’s some pretty capable ones on earth (Superman and Wonder Woman come to mind, among others). At the same time I actually prefer the pulls they’re making – it’s fun to see shelved characters come out of the woodwork for a fight like this. It keeps things from getting stale (no offense to Superman and Wonder Woman, but if they were pulled into every major fight ever it’d get pretty boring very fast). So I’m happy with this changeup. Here’s hoping it proves to be as interesting as I think it’ll be!

Score: 4/5

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #44
DC Comics