More carnage, more fighting lanterns, more talk about the impending doom that is Nekron, and… wait, is that? Oh god why does Larfleeze look like that?! Star Trek / Green Lantern #4 continues on its path to make you feel all the negative emotions on the spectrum two issues before ending the pain for all of us. Star Sapphire explain everything that has happened leading to Ganthet releasing the Last Light, thinking he could save everyone from Nekron’s destruction, but instead he has doomed two different universe. From that there are many pages of exposition, the fact that there will be no Corps backup (there goes my dream of seeing Kilowog tear through Romulans), and a reminder that there are bad, mean, angry lanterns wreaking havoc in the universe. No backup, no power battery to recharge, and three different evil lanterns to stop hoping to not run into Nekron on the way. Hal Jordan is in the right ship.

I couldn’t help myself but audibly groan at every page for the first half of this book. It wasn’t just the amount of lazy exposition that I’ve almost gotten accustomed to with this series. Everyone in the bridge of the Enterprise talking, and then talking some more, and then some more. The truly cringe-worthy moments happened when Johnson would try to break the monotony by adding some joke, or a small subplot that is just way too late to introduce in the series, Carol calling Spock a handsome and Uhura having the most expressionless objection to it I’ve ever seen. More forced bather between Hal Jordan and Captain Kirk, and even Bones feeling “compassionate” to Scotty by acting as his own personal waiter. Then we get to probably the most uncomfortable visual of this issue, which is when someone in this creative team decided to make Larfleeze look almost human. The goat-like face is flattened along with the top of his head getting a trendy cool haircut, and he’s given a nice skinny boy body. The Larfleeze that I’m used to is a space Baphomet with elongated extremities, always hunched clinging to his orange power battery for his dear life. I’m pretty sure Star Trek fans are used to messed up looking aliens so there was absolutely no need to make the one man lantern corps look like he could make an orange Uber construct as he leaves his co-op apartment in Williamsburg. That’s half of the comic.

The other half is incredible. Barring Angel Hernandez’ usual problem with expressions, the latter part of Star Trek/Green Lantern # 4 is total nonstop action. We finally encounter the Spectrum War we were promised. The overwhelming power of a lantern against and sometimes combined with Starfleet’s technology. Sinestro ready to conquer this galaxy as Attrocitus is already destroying it. The splash pages make full use of Alejandro Sanchez’ full coloring talents, and they make for a really fun comic. Little dialogue and a lot of punching and flying. So I can only wonder, why didn’t I get any of this in the earliest issues? Some encounters were teased but nothing to this scale of badass action. It makes me sad to see that this is what this series is capable of with only two issues remaining and yet I had to suffer through endless dialogue and people standing around talking, feeling almost as if Kevin Smith had written the first couple issues, then given the reigns to Johnson to cap it off with some asskicking.

Star Trek/Green Lantern # 4 tries to gain some momentum going into its third act and finish the series with some resemblance of the potential the entire series could have had.

Score: 2/5

Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War #4 Writer: Mike Johnson Artist: Angel Hernandez Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez Publisher: IDW/DC Price: $3.99 Release Date: 10/14/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital