Godhead Act 3

GREEN LANTERN #37: GODHEAD ACT 3, PART 1 We begin with Sinestro, John Stewart, Kilowog and a lot of the Lantern Corps stuck in the Multiversal Prison of the New Gods and trying to find their way out. Sinestro even unleashes Parallax to no avail. Meanwhile, Hal Jordan is stuck under the Big Top with Black Hand and his resurrected souls, including Hal’s father. Hal explains that if the New Gods get the Life Equation weaponized, everything ends and that convinces Black Hand to lend a hand. So they head to the Source Wall and discover that Sinestro is not there to meet them as planned. Orion and his allies arrive but Black Hand brought along the spirits of the fallen Green Lantern to battle with them. As the battle progresses, Black Hand takes great joy to discover the Source Wall is a mass grave.

Welcome to the first part of the final act in the GODHEAD Saga. Robert Venditti and Francis Portela gives us a ton of action, a really awesome sequence in the Black Hand’s Circus from hell, complete with Hal’s reuniting with his dad, and a revelation at the end leads to one of the better GL issues. I seriously hope this momentum doesn’t get lost when this arc ends and the next one begins.

GREEN LANTERN CORPS #37: GODHEAD ACT 3, PART 2: Highfather and the New Gods continue to defeat Lanterns and imprison them in their Multiversal Prison. As Highfather is about to blast Sinestro and John Stewart with the power of his White Lantern powered scepter, Malhedron jumps in front and saves them. Injured, he creates a Boom Tube that allows Stewart, Sinestro, and Saint Walker to get away and design a plan to defeat the New Gods. Stewart convinces Malhedron to arrange transportation for them and stay out of the fight and he reluctantly agrees. Stewart heads back just in time to save Kilowog and defeat Uggha in a battle.

There were only two things I enjoyed about this issue. First, we get to see Malhedron do the right thing and join the good guys. I happen to like his character from previous installments of this saga and would like to see him in his own book. Van Jensen’s story was just okay and the art by Bernard Chang and Mirko Colak is way too stylistic for my taste. The second thing I liked? If you were lucky enough to score a Darwyn Cooke variant cover (yeah-Cooke was the artist on the variants this month and many of them, specifically this one and the one for TEEN TITANS, were spectacular!)

GREEN LANTERN NEW GUARDIANS #37: GODHEAD ACT 3, PART 3: Kyle and Carol are stuck on Old Genesis without their rings when Metron shows up. He blasts a hole in the rubble of Old Genesis, revealing an old Mother Box and suggests they might want to use it to help their cause. Meanwhile, Malhedron leaves John Stewart and Saint Walker to go and rescue Guy Gardner and Simon Baz. Not longer after, Kyle and Carol arrive, much to Saint Walker’s joy. Some of Highfather’s Divine Guard shows up and Kyle unleashes all of his pent-up emotions on them. But two of the Guard capture Carol and Saint Walker and, just when things look grim for them, John Stewart arrives to save the day. Taking on Highfather, Kyle gets his ring back and finds out that the power is now within Highfather’s scepter. Using the Life Equation, he dispatches Carol, John, Kyle and Saint Walker to a place unknown.

Part 3 of the final act is in the books and it makes me further understand why I don’t read this title and why it is getting cancelled. Justin Jordan, Diogenes Neves and Rodney Buchemi give us a nice looking issue with not a lot of substance. Kyle and Carol are just annoying and the rest of the book just plods along. The only major plot point we get is that the Life Equation has left the white ring and now the star of the book is powerless. Yeah-nothing for me here to keep me interested.

RED LANTERNS #37: GODHEAD ACT 3, PART 4 Guy Gardner and Simon Baz break out of their Miracle Cell only to be visited by Malhedron. He explains that he believes Highfather has lost his way and has jumped to the side of the Lanterns. The bad news is that Hyalt, Highfather’s weaponsmith, has the various Lantern rings and is studying them. Simon goes after Hyalt which gives Guy time to get his hands on the rings and join in the fight. Meanwhile, the team of Carol, Kyle, John and Saint Walker arrive somewhere on New genesis after having been sent here by Highfather. The Templar Guardians arrive and explain that it will take all of them, Guardians and Lanterns, to save them.

Charles Soule and J. Calafiore create a great issue here! This epic story could probably have been told in a four issue mini-series as opposed to being stretched out across five monthlies for three months PLUS an opening and closing one shot. However, this issue gives us lots of action, some wonderfully snappy dialogue by Soule and the always reliable art of Calafiore. By the way, something I forgot to mention earlier. To honor ‘The King’, all the issues in this month’s arc features tribute covers based on classic Kirby DC covers. Represented are THE DEMON, OMAC, KAMANDI, MISTER MIRACLE, SUPER POWERS and this book’s homage to OUR FIGHTING FORCES #156.

SINESTRO #8: GODHEAD ACT 3, PART 5 Sinestro is on New Genesis and gets his hand on a member of the Divine Guard. Convinced he needs a Mother Box, he turns Parallax loose on the poor guy so he can examine the Box. What he discovers it that it links to a central battery. As he looks for it, he sees a Star Sapphire ring that leads him straight to Carol Ferris, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner and Saint Walker. He heads to Highfather’s war room and battle him with a Yellow Ring constructed Darkseid. Defeated, Sinestro has Despotellis activate a Mother Box which in turn activates a Boom Tube, taking Sinestro to Earth. The plan: Highfather and the New Gods head to Earth.

Cullen Bunn and Martin Coccolo bring us the final regular chapter in the saga and it’s…a big letdown. Well, it IS and it ISN’T. I mean, we get to see Sinestro turn Parallax loose and the Lanterns look ready for business. But we also get to see the big bad Yellow Lantern get his tail handed to him by Highfather. And loses his little buddy Despotellis it the process. So all of this leads into the finale in…

GREEN LANTERN ANNUAL #3: GODHEAD FINALE We begin with Hal Jordan and Black Hand at the Source Wall that leads to a four page spread of Lantern resurrecting everyone on the Source Wall, including Relic. A boom tub opens and Sinestro appears, much to the dismay of Highfather who thought he was going to Earth. The battle begins and spills over onto New Genesis where Guy, Simon, and John free the rest of the Lanterns. Kyle pitches in by having a battle of wills with Highfather to gain control of the White Light once more. Hal explains to Highfather that he is taking Free Will and becoming Darkseid. That is when he finally understands that he has crossed the line and relinquishes the power of the White Light to Kyle who once again becomes the White Lantern. The resurrected beings from the Source Wall leave and Highfather destroys the scepter  Saint Walker puts his ring back on, finally comes out of his depression and helps Hal Jordan save New Genesis, which was rapidly dropping out of the sky. Despite Orion wanting to continue the war, Highfather has the soldiers of New Genesis stand down and apologizes to the Lanterns. In the end, the Lanterns rejoice and Mogo gets his ring back, meaning all is lush and green again. But wait! There’s trouble brewing at the Source Wall!

Robert Venditti and Billy Tan come together for the extra length epic that settles everything between the Lanterns and the New Gods. So, we have 17 chapters and it all comes down to Hal Jordan telling Highfather that he is becoming the man he wants to defeat. Really? We killed how many trees to tell this tale? And the fact the Hal turns the other cheek and accepts Highfather’s apology after so much chaos and death may mean that Sinestro sometimes DOES have the right idea. It won’t go down as a true classic tale but it was a fun few months and got readers to pick up a bunch of titles which are getting the axe in March anyway. Oh, by the way, although this IS the end, don’t forget to read my review of INFINTY MAN AND THE FOREVER PEOPLE, as it has a cross over to this last Act. It was not a big enough deal to make me drop it in here, so you will find it in my regular title reviews.