GREEN LANTERNS versus HOUSE OF ZODZod's Will Part One: First Contact (DC)
Where: Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #37 When: March 2018 Why: Robert Venditti How: Rafa Sandoval
The Story So Far...
The Guardians of the Universe have reinstated their post as overseers for the Green Lantern Corps, and while John Stewart contemplates quitting the ranks over a history of indiscretions, Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner continue to fly the beat as Green Lanterns of Sector 2811.
Where: Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #37 When: March 2018 Why: Robert Venditti How: Rafa Sandoval
The Story So Far...
The Guardians of the Universe have reinstated their post as overseers for the Green Lantern Corps, and while John Stewart contemplates quitting the ranks over a history of indiscretions, Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner continue to fly the beat as Green Lanterns of Sector 2811.
A routine investigation into reported unauthorized resource exploitation on the planet Jekuul brings the pair to a primitive civilization making unexpected advancements. The beginnings of construction signal an occupation by the unlikeliest of welcome parties: Zod!
Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Zod 6 (Invincible)Intelligence: Eradicator 5 (Professor)
Speed: Zod 6 (Mach Speed)
Stamina: Zod 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Zod 4 (Trained)
Energy: Hal Jordan 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: General Zod 33 (Super)
The Green Lantern Corps are: Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner.
Two Lanterns are on call to investigate this case. Hal and Kyle have a complicated history; the latter becoming the last Green Lantern after Jordan completely wiped the Corps out under the influence of Parallax; but they're buddies now.
After Hal's "rebirth", the pair worked together to stop Sinestro and his Yellow Corps bringing war to Earth, but the ringless fisticuffs used to settle that score probably won't help them against today's super-powered adversaries!
After Hal's "rebirth", the pair worked together to stop Sinestro and his Yellow Corps bringing war to Earth, but the ringless fisticuffs used to settle that score probably won't help them against today's super-powered adversaries!
The House of Zod are: General Zod, Ursa, Lor-Zod, and Eradicator.
This family of Kryptonians is headed by the militant despot General Dru-Zod, who was banished to the Phantom Zone before the destruction of his home planet, Krypton. He's cruel & violent, representing a hopeless counterpart to Superman!
We saw General Zod lead an army of Kryptonians against Superman and the Earth back in Action Comics #846, so it isn't unreasonable for the Green Lanterns to suspect invasion and exploitation of the primitive Jekuul inhabitants.
We know Zod and his family are tough enough to stand toe-to-toe with Superman, but what about the most powerful weapon(s) in the universe?
Our closest reference was when Guy Gardner wielded his Qwardian yellow ring against Eradicator in Action Comics #688. Not quite a Green Lantern and not quite Kryptonian, but the pair are at least proof positive that energy rings can hold up against a physical powerhouse in the mould of Superman.
The Tape: House of Zod Ranking: Hal Jordan (#24)
The Tape: House of Zod Ranking: Hal Jordan (#24)
What Went Down...
General Zod casually approaches the two Green Lanterns investigating his nearby construction, extending a welcome, and a willingness to explain the circumstances of his new home on planet Jekuul. The startled Lanterns are not convinced.
Hal Jordan immediately recognizes the Z-shaped crest on the man's chest and springs into action -- slinging his ring to form a giant vice around the General!
Amidst the confusion - Jordan reverts to an intention to arrest the known villain, whose presence has caught both he and Kyle Rayner by surprise, and is presumed hostile. Zod denies any crime has been committed.
A strain begins to emanate through Jordan's ring. "Lantern, do you know what I missed most during my years imprisoned inside the Phantom Zone?"
Drenched in the yellow sunlight of Jekuul -- General Zod throws his arms wide and breaks free from the hard-light construct holding him in place!
Jordan orders Kyle Rayner to make a hasty exit to recruit back-up, but even if he wanted to leave -- he never had a chance. A dark blur is upon him in seconds as Ursa uses her Kryptonian super-speed to hit him in the face like a freight train!
Her son, Lor-Zod, and the Eradicator, float with her overhead, as the Green Lanterns suddenly find themselves surrounded by super-powered Kryptonians!
Back-to-back with his partner, outgunned and outnumbered, Hal Jordan calls an audible, choosing the two targets on the left, while he forms an energy shield shaped like a jet fighter -- and flies straight into battle!
Kyle creates a giant-sized armored samurai as he launches himself at mother & son, while Jordan's plane takes double-barreled eyebeams, on a course towards Zod and Eradicator!
With a single, almighty punch -- Ursa smashes the gigantic samurai, shaking its hard-light armor plates loose with a rippling impact that ejects Kyle out the back!
Jordan fares a little better, losing a wing from his plane, and part of the fuselage, but aiming true for his target.
He pulls back his fist and charges up the ring as he closes in on General Zod and the remains of his plane break over the target -- but even a powered-up punch is child's play for the sun-charged General!
"So this is the self-proclaimed "most powerful weapon in the universe.""
Zod's cold confidence spells a foregone conclusion as he delivers a short uppercut at super-speed, bloodying the Green Lantern's mouth & nose, knocking him out cold and falling to the ground below.
Things aren't going any better for Kyle Rayner. A curious Ursa delivers a callous punch to the gut, wondering why the Green Lanterns would use a ring, rather than armor, a gun, or "a blade, at least".
A snap of her elbow backhands Kyle, sending him head-first into the rocks and dirt of Jekuul.
A flying right-hook knocks the mask from his face, and another sprays his blood across the air. General Zod grabs her fist and tells her "enough."
Deemed "tenuously" alive by the Eradicator's scan, Hal Jordan does his best to attempt an alert to Corps headquarters, but to no avail. Communications have been jammed. General Zod has prepared for this moment, though the Green Lanterns' discovery has come sooner than anticipated.
The Hammer...I've always kind of accepted that, although messy, Crisis on Infinite Earths set about solving some things...
It revised & refined seminal concepts created without generational foresight, streamlining worlds accumulated through time and corporate acquisition, into a single reality capable of sustaining & exploiting enduring, coexisting pop culture icons.
I think we've come far enough to say the New 52 reboot solved very little. In fact, it might be the inverse opposite of Crisis, causing a lot of ugly and unnecessary problems, reinstating confusion, and generally creating a rift in the DC Comics canon that makes it very easy to invest much less interest. A "jumping off" point.
The New 52, and its marketing department pseudo-reboots, have been the kind of undertaking that makes a guy wonder if Superboy-Prime has lived long enough to become the hero the DC Universe needs -- but I wouldn't say it's all been bad.
Movies would have you believe General Zod is an integral part of the Superman mythos, but his comic book footprint was actually relatively small until recently. There were only a handful of issues between Zod's 1961 introduction in Adventure Comics #283, and big screen debut in Richard Donner's Superman.
As the lead antagonist of 1980's Superman II, Zod left an indelible mark on the broader consciousness, but the obscurity of a character already best known for his imprisonment in the Phantom Zone was exacerbated by the post-Crisis reboot, which sought to restore Superman's status as "Last Son of Krypton" -- the sole survivor of his doomed home planet.
Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, wasn't fully reinstated as Superman's cousin until 2004, and attempts to resolve the disparity between mainstream awareness of General Zod, and comic book canon, was clumsy and inconsistent.
Movies would have you believe General Zod is an integral part of the Superman mythos, but his comic book footprint was actually relatively small until recently. There were only a handful of issues between Zod's 1961 introduction in Adventure Comics #283, and big screen debut in Richard Donner's Superman.
As the lead antagonist of 1980's Superman II, Zod left an indelible mark on the broader consciousness, but the obscurity of a character already best known for his imprisonment in the Phantom Zone was exacerbated by the post-Crisis reboot, which sought to restore Superman's status as "Last Son of Krypton" -- the sole survivor of his doomed home planet.
Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, wasn't fully reinstated as Superman's cousin until 2004, and attempts to resolve the disparity between mainstream awareness of General Zod, and comic book canon, was clumsy and inconsistent.
The most egregious revival of Zod was 2001's Russian super-villain of the same name, with a fever-dream stopgap in the highly publicized '04 For Tomorrow story, before goggles & grey became Kryptonian chic with Richard Donner himself collaborating with Geoff Johns on a shaky, but full-fledged comeback, in 2007.
Despite the looming influence of Terence Stamp's performance in films, no real consensus seemed to be reached about design or characterization, even when Zack Snyder reprised the character for 2013's bleak, and generally unhelpful, live-action cinematic franchise-starter, Man of Steel. Which presents a rare problem the New 52 era of comics could -- and maybe even did -- solve.
This dark haired, bearded Zod clearly isn't Terence Stamp, but there's a sense of acknowledgement in the design that also builds on elements of Jim Lee's mirrored zed emblem, and Adam Kubert's shock-haired interloper.
It feels like this Zod exhibits a stage of revision and refinement that's approaching a definitive incarnation -- a rarity for this era of DC Comics.
Along with just being an intuitive place for a super-powered alien criminal to turn up; The House of Zod's showdown with Green Lantern feels like another knowing reference, calling back to their 1979 encounter in Green Lantern #122 & #123.
It's not necessary to box the character into past appearances -- and they haven't -- but in an era of confusion and book burning, it's nice to feel like there's some knowledge and awareness informing what's going on. Although, again, I wouldn't want to downplay the natural intuitiveness of moving these characters away from Superman, and into a collision with DC's resident space cops.
Of course, in doing so, this also satisfies the increasingly familiar trope of the evil Superman, without any of the baggage that deteriorates Superman himself, or the innate concept of a true villain with absolute power.
To some extent this scenario satisfies the dream match of Superman vs Green Lantern, and the question of what Superman might do with his powers if he was a militaristic conqueror of worlds. The only difference is exploring and expanding upon General Zod in the DC Universe is ultimately far more satisfying and valuable than a less convincing tangent, like Injustice.
That seems to be part of the conceit of this appearance, which in my estimation, places a little bit too much of a premium on the unbridled power of the "bad guy Supermen". The Lanterns are pretty soundly outmatched, which doesn't gel with past appearances, and downplays the powers of the Green Lantern ring.
If Ursa was smacking Kyle Rayner in the face like this, I feel like he should have more to worry about than a bloodied lip. I'm not sure if this a conceptual problem stemming from the script, or an aesthetic conceit. The Lanterns are depicted as having energy shields around them, but it's a little subtle for my liking, and the pencils don't quite gel with my conception of that shield completely surrounding the body (and face), rather than just being a two-dimensional outline.
Rafa Sandoval's action is dynamic, but the layouts are a little bit all over the place. The balance of detail in panels shifts from a little cluttered, to a little sparse -- unconscious habits I associate with digitally created comics. I could be presuming too much, and on the whole, it's a solid read, with good clean lines.
This is only the first chapter of this arc of Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps, though. There's more to talk about and I'd like to come back to examine more of this story, and perhaps past battles. By becoming a supporter on Patreon you can help make that possible, while also unlocking access to additional updates, the new Discord server, and sponsored content like Rank & File Top 10!
That seems to be part of the conceit of this appearance, which in my estimation, places a little bit too much of a premium on the unbridled power of the "bad guy Supermen". The Lanterns are pretty soundly outmatched, which doesn't gel with past appearances, and downplays the powers of the Green Lantern ring.
If Ursa was smacking Kyle Rayner in the face like this, I feel like he should have more to worry about than a bloodied lip. I'm not sure if this a conceptual problem stemming from the script, or an aesthetic conceit. The Lanterns are depicted as having energy shields around them, but it's a little subtle for my liking, and the pencils don't quite gel with my conception of that shield completely surrounding the body (and face), rather than just being a two-dimensional outline.
Rafa Sandoval's action is dynamic, but the layouts are a little bit all over the place. The balance of detail in panels shifts from a little cluttered, to a little sparse -- unconscious habits I associate with digitally created comics. I could be presuming too much, and on the whole, it's a solid read, with good clean lines.
This is only the first chapter of this arc of Hal Jordan and The Green Lantern Corps, though. There's more to talk about and I'd like to come back to examine more of this story, and perhaps past battles. By becoming a supporter on Patreon you can help make that possible, while also unlocking access to additional updates, the new Discord server, and sponsored content like Rank & File Top 10!
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Winners: General Zod & Ursa (w/ Eradicator & Lor-Zod)
#124 (+109) General Dru-Zod
#362 (new) Ursa
#654 (--) Eradicator [+1 assist]
#651 (new) Lor-Zod [+1 assist]
#27 (-3) Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
#87 (-6) Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
#124 (+109) General Dru-Zod
#362 (new) Ursa
#654 (--) Eradicator [+1 assist]
#651 (new) Lor-Zod [+1 assist]
#27 (-3) Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
#87 (-6) Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)
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