SOLOMON GRUNDY versus MOLLY MAYNE & THE GREEN LANTERN

Took Ill on a Thursday (DC)
Where: Solomon Grundy #4 When: August 2009
Why: Scott Kolins How: Scott Kolins

The Story So Far...
In the 19th century, Gotham City was home to a wicked soul named Cyrus Gold. Responsible for murder and misery, he was cursed upon death to forever rise from his unmarked resting place in Slaughter Swamp as the beast Solomon Grundy!

Caught in an endless cycle of death and rebirth, the shambling monster is forever drawn to new acts of evil as an unstoppable undead creature - until now..?

A mysterious force has given Cyrus Gold seven days to end his curse, but dark forces conspire to prolong the agony of Solomon Grundy! He was bedeviled by The Demon, delayed by Bizarro, and vexed by Poison Ivy. Now a taunting voice draws him into the suburbs to find the source of his greatest enemy's power!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Solomon Grundy 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Green Lantern 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Green Lantern 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Draw 6 (Generator)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Draw 3 (Street Wise)
Energy: Green Lantern 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Green Lantern 27 (Metahuman)

Solomon Grundy's on the warpath, but we already know all about that: We've tracked his cursed movements through Killer Croc, The Demon, Bizarro, and Poison Ivy. You're probably a lot more curious to know who Molly Mayne is!

In today's battle she's the suburban second wife of the Green Lantern, but in a former existence she was better known as the original Harlequin!

Her costumed alter-ego was an attempt to get closer to Green Lantern by becoming his criminal target. Romantic aspirations meant Harlequin's crimes were never too severe, and she eventually joined the side of angels, before marrying her super-hero sweetheart in the pages of Infinity Inc.

Harlequin's hypnotic glasses probably could've been an effective tool against Solomon Grundy, but the mature-aged retiree hasn't used her gear in quite some time. Good thing GL's Starheart battery has tipped him off to the trouble at home!

We saw the Golden Age Green Lantern school his younger counterpart, Guy Gardner, in the pages of Justice Society of America #9, and he even briefly slowed Superboy-Prime in the Sinestro Corps War epic of Green Lantern #25!

Unfortunately, this Green Lantern's power ring has a weakness to objects made of wood -- which allows the swamp-borne Solomon Grundy to cause all kinds of trouble. He used a tree to smash right through GL's construct in JSA #65!

Although incredibly strong, Solomon Grundy is often a lumbering and slow-witted opponent who can be out-smarted, or even out fought. The latter was the case for Stargirl & Jakeem Thunder in JSA #29, and the otherwise challenged trio of Hawkman, Hawkgirl & Monolith in Hawkman #33.

Grundy is coming off a win against Poison Ivy in today's story, but Green Lantern and the former Harlequin should be industrious enough to come up with ways of defeating. It all just depends on GL getting there in time!

The Tape: Green Lantern Ranking: Green Lantern (#90)

What Went Down...

The entrance to the Scott residence is reduced to splinters as Solomon Grundy explodes through the front door -- smashing his way inside!

Molly Mayne recoils with understandable panic, but she's no ordinary suburban housewife. Even as a fearful tear trickles down her cheek, the former Harlequin steels herself with unique life experience, and rushes deeper into the house.

Slamming a door behind her buys precious seconds as Molly scrambles to rummage through a very specific drawer.

Grundy's massive fist comes crashing through the door right behind her, but she's already found what she was desperately looking for! She discharges the hidden weapon -- punching a hole clean through Grundy's rotting chest!

For a moment the beast looks down at the smoking cavity in his torso -- then swats Molly aside through nearby architecture with the back side of his hand.

Grundy's true target is quickly uncovered by hulking hands that tear through cupboard woodwork like it was paper.

Inside: the glowing green lantern that is the source of his oldest enemy's power!

As the monster reaches for the lantern shaped battery it begins to radiate with burning green energy. The light speaks to him through a familiar oath: "Beware my power!"

Solomon Grundy fights against the energy, grasping for the awesome artifact as if incensed by its powerful resistance. He shouts defiantly that he isn't afraid -- raising the lantern above his head as it spews blinding light all around him!

The monster brings the lantern violently crashing against the ground.

The impact is so strong it causes parts of the house to collapse over a stunned Molly Mayne!

Grundy barely even notices the collateral damage of his outburst. His determined focus remains solely on the lantern itself, now held in the palm of his right hand as he lets out an angry yell.

The furious behemoth brings both his hands smashing together around the lantern and presses with all his unearthly might! He vows to crush it!

Reaching out across the county to Slaughter Swam: the Starheart battery speaks to Alan Scott through his power ring. Alerted to the attack, Scott's mind immediately flashes to the imminent danger threatening his wife.

With the ring hoisted above his head, Green Lantern blazes a trail through the night sky! He flies as fast as he ever has, willing his wife to hold on. Willing himself to make it there before it's too late!

Molly stirs and speaks her husband's name, all the while Grundy continues to squeeze harder and harder around the Green Lantern's power battery. It begins to illicit a small, harsh clicking. Then in a terrible instant -- the lantern shatters!

The awesome explosion of power reduces the Scott residence to rubble -- but high above the smoldering crater is The Green Lantern himself! He cradles his wife, bruised & battered, but safe in the aura of his glowing energy!

The hero slings a green containment field over an unconscious Solomon Grundy and makes a beeline for the nearest hospital. The awful truth doesn't begin to set in until the hero starts to feel dizzy with Gotham Metropolitan Hospital in sight...

The Hammer...
Green Lantern has to make a crash landing outside the hospital as his power ring begins to fizzle and fade. The Starheart literally bids him a fond farewell, lamenting the time it enjoyed sharing with him.

Things look about as bad as they can for ol' Alan Scott, but don't worry too much. This isn't the end of the Golden Age Green Lantern.

Next issue he'll need to get a ride from Gotham Metropolitan back to his house in the suburbs, but once he's made that trip, GL will magically reassemble the shattered lantern to restore his powers and status quo.

I've got mixed feelings about this. On the one hand: it's very refreshing, particularly these days, to see a fundamental threat to a hero's existence resolved after only one issue. It's basically a good old fashioned superhero cliffhanger.

On the other hand: this is a cliffhanger based on the lie of a false peril.

You could argue that most perils to a franchise superhero are "false" because they will assuredly prevail in the end. However, what separates the good from the bad is the preservation of that threat, and the agency of the hero to resolve it.

Rather than prevent or see through this crisis with an act of heroic ingenuity -- GL literally resolves it with a simple wave of his hands.

It quickly becomes apparent, next issue, that the threat was never real. The sentimental goodbye from his ring was an illogical, maudlin act of manipulating the reader. An unsatisfying cheat in what feels like a sagging middle issue.

I don't want to judge this issue too harshly. The high-concept thrill of the Solomon Grundy series is a gauntlet of battles through some of DC's other eerie and monstrous characters. It doesn't really need to be much more complicated than that, but even by those basic terms, Solomon Grundy #4 struggles to satisfy.

Alan Scott's power battery just cannot live up to the role of being this issue's title bout. It isn't an entirely inanimate object, but dialogue and colour-tinting can't distract from the fact it's Solomon Grundy wrestling with a novelty lamp. Remember this one?

It might've been fun to see Molly Mayne break out her old Harlequin gear as a lantern-assisted feature opponent. A chase similar to Uncanny X-Men #143, with Grundy taking the role of the N'Garai Demon, could've been fun. Otherwise, the obvious solution is to just bring Green Lantern into the fray right at the start for an obligatory throwdown between classic adversaries.

Fortunately, this issue sets up another exciting opponent for the following issue. A shadowy cameo by Professor Ivo spells the imminent arrival of Amazo, who'll be deployed to take revenge for a failed team-up in a recent Justice League story.

Issue #4 also revisits the torment of Cyrus Gold, whose murder in 1885 set in motion his unending curse to rise from Slaughter Swamp as Solomon Grundy.

Cyrus soon finds himself back in the swamp, where he unexpectedly pulls the knife that killed him from the very same swamp Green Lantern had earlier been sent to search. This in turn triggers memories of the many lives he had claimed.

Mournfully regretting his life of sin, Cyrus is visited by a vision of the Phantom Stranger who guides him to find and forgive his killer if he wants to successfully end the curse. Some will remember we discuss The Stranger's presence way back at the start of the series.

If you want to read it all for yourself you might be lucky enough to find a collected edition via the Amazon link provided. Doing any shopping via these links helps support the site at no extra cost to you! If you don't see it, you may need to add permissions to blocking software.

We're slowly but surely working our way through the macabre saga. If you'd like to revisit previous chapters you should start with Faces of Evil: Solomon Grundy, then work your way through the links listed after Solomon Grundy in the Secret Archive. That's where you'll find every featured fight indexed alphabetically in order of publisher, series, and issue number.

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has featured well over 650 battles and ranked more than 950 characters! If you appreciate what it's all about and want to see these chronicles continue into the future you can join the fight on Patreon. As a thank you you'll unlock additional updates, polls, and custom articles.

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It was tough to render a decision in today's battle, but I'm coming down on the side of a draw. Grundy may've swatted Molly Mayne aside and shattered the lantern, but its temporary destruction also knocked him out cold and left him bloodied. A moot result, with Green Lantern showing up in time to assist his wife.

Winner: Draw
#145 (--) Solomon Grundy
#459 (new) Harlequin (Molly Mayne)
#90 (--) Green Lantern (Alan Scott) [+1 assist]

GUY GARDNER versus GREEN LANTERN

Hearts of Darkness, Eyes of Hate! (DC)
Where: Justice Society of America #9 When: April 1993 Why: Len Strazewski How: Mike Parobeck

The Story So Far...
The Justice Society of America fought for truth, justice, and the American way throughout the 1940s, but when post-paranoia of the McCarthy era set in, they were driven underground by congressional hearings that turned masked heroes into figures of suspicion.

Decades later they return to fight the good fight, but when a current affairs program claims to have uncovered FBI files that prove they worked to spy on Americans, and sold their services to the Soviet Union, a fresh wave of paranoia turns the people against them!

As the owner of the network that made the false report, Alan Scott is quick to leap into action as The Green Lantern -- but it isn't long before he finds himself under attack by one of his loyal viewers: Guy Gardner!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Guy Gardner 3 (Athlete)
Intelligence: Green Lantern 4 (Tactician)
Speed: Draw 3 (Athlete)
Stamina: Green Lantern 6 (Marathoner)
Agility: Draw 2 (Average)
Fighting: Guy Gardner 4 (Trained)
Energy: Draw 7 (Cosmic Power)
Total: Green Lantern 27 (Metahuman)

It's a battle of the ring slingers! Each has answered to the same moniker, but they represent very different spectrums in attitudes and light!

At this point: Guy Gardner had lost his Green Lantern power ring to Hal Jordan, forcing him to take up the yellow light of a Qwardian ring once used by Sinestro. Guy sought out the then-deceased villain's weapon after failed attempts to fight crime sans powers, as seen in Guy Gardner Reborn #1.

Once Guy found a new ring, it wasn't long before he was back with the Justice League fighting the likes of: Doomsday in Superman #74, and Eradicator in Action Comics #688. Neither fight went particularly well for the brash hero.

Long before Earth saw its first recipient of a Green Lntern Corps ring, there was the Green Lantern whose power derived its charge from the mystic Starheart: Alan Scott was a founding member of the Justice Society of America, who used his ring to fight the Axis of Evil throughout the Second World War.

His energy is magic in nature, but can achieve many of the same will-powered functions as a Corpsman -- as long as they aren't rendered against wood: his weakness! We saw his arch-enemy Solomon Grundy exploit that in JSA #65!

When Guy Gardner was a Green Lantern, his ring was unable to affect anything yellow. Now that he wields the yellow spectrum itself, there's no impurity creating a weakness. That gives him a theoretical advantage against Scott.

The Golden Age Lantern has bags of experience to call upon, and a level head that's seen him through countless battles. Guy Gardner may be a better fighter, but Alan Scott is arguably the superior tactician. Let's see how it plays out...

The Tape: Green Lantern Ranking: Guy Gardner (#134)

What Went Down...
Soaring over the city with determination -- The Green Lantern doesn't notice a gigantic yellow fist coming for his chin until it's too late!

The oversized uppercut stops GL in his tracks and signals the airborne arrival of Guy Gardner!

With his yellow power ring charged, the brash hero is full of piss and vinegar over televised reports that the JSA were once involved in post-war collusion with foreign powers. He's come to swat the traitor from the sky, but Green Lantern is in no mood for dealing with "phony Green Lanterns."

GL conjures the cutting edge of a giant chainsaw to cut through the giant yellow swatter swinging at him. Gardner is stunned his yellow construct had no effect on the Green Lantern's construct, confusing the original with his former Corps.

It looks like it's going to be an even match of ring against ring, but the Golden Age hero is unimpressed when Gardner leads with a giant mallet. He's been conjuring those for decades, and easily throws up a defensive shield.

Guy updates his offensive with a more modern tact, launching yellow rockets at his target -- but GL deflects them with a giant propeller just as easily as he challenges Gardner's willingness to believe slander against the JSA in the media.

The younger hero rationalizes their alleged overseas mercenary work as perfect explanation for the JSA's periodic disappearances. He backs it up with twin barrels of mega machine guns, but the Green Lantern catches his yellow munitions in the curve of a green pipe and sends them back overhead.

The Golden Ager questions how a gullible conspiracy theorist joined the Justice League, using the moment of provoked bravado to flick Guy with a giant hand!

Green Lantern continues to lecture Gardner on the dedication, creativity, and intelligence required of wielding a power ring. His coarse style of mentoring only riles Gardner up to be more bullheaded in opposition -- literally!

Guy rides a giant charging bull at his opponent, but Green Lantern tries his hand at being a matador. He steps aside, swishing his purple cape to reveal a great big green anvil that Gardner crashes straight into!

Seeing stars doesn't stop a dazed Gardner taunting the senior hero, who directs his attention to his feet. A green 500lbs weight precedes his plunge from the sky to the streets below, where the JSA has gathered amongst the onlookers.

Gardner emerges from a crater in the road and furiously shakes his fist skyward. It's only then he notices his yellow ring is no longer in his possession!

Green Lantern descends from the sky with a lesson in skills and humility, juggling the ring in one hand before he chucks it back to Gardner and slugs him with an old fashioned left hook!

Wildcat and Flash offer their compliments as Guy Gardner hits the deck. KO!

The Hammer...

The Green Lantern and Justice Society may have aged, but seeing Guy Gardner get kayoed when he's asking for it never gets old!

It wasn't the most diplomatic way to handle the situation, but occasionally a smack in the mouth is all that will do. Especially when there are sinister forces working behind the scenes to whip the public, and Guy, into an anti-JSA frenzy!

It's a situation reminiscent of the anti-superhero hysteria sparked by Glorious Godfrey (as G. Gordon Godfrey) in Legends. The masses become enthralled with a hypnotic mantra of hatred, but this time its laced with the dark sorcery of a Golden Age Spectre villain: the ancient destroyer of civilizations - Kulak.

A mob descends on GL and the JSA immediately after Guy Gardner hits the pavement. Not wanting to hurt the bewitched masses, they find a well-timed getaway driver in Carter Hall. Too bad for them he's under Kulak's spell as well!

Stories that vilify broadcast television were a dime a dozen in the 90s [see; Spider-Man #65], but the way Justice Society of America #9 represents the perils of "yellow" tabloid journalism, and obvious false reporting, feels awfully prescient. As does the transmission of misinformation amongst an audience all too willing to angrily mobilize to destroy institutions working to serve them.

The mysticism enhancing Current Affairs Spotlight's tabloid takedown only seems to bring the analogy forward to the present day's malicious, rapid spread propaganda of online viral channels. I shouldn't want to tinge the tale with too much of a contemporary political perspective, but the metaphors are deliberate.

The story also presents a generational struggle between the WWII statesmen, and Gen X's shoot-first action movie meatheads, who Guy Gardner parodies.

The Justice Society of America series featured in today's entry was actually the second JSA revival for the early nineties. Volume 1 was published in 1991 and set its adventures in the 1950s. Volume 2, as we can see, brings the vintage heroes into the modern age, alongside 90s icons like Guy, and Superman.

There's a modern sensibility but also a palatable sense of nostalgia, provided in part by Mike Parobeck's simple & clean renderings of the characters. It's a very nice looking comic that my scanning doesn't do full justice. Particularly to the colours by Glenn Whitmore, who keeps the world neutral and the heroes bold. Mike Machlan's inks add to the atmosphere with heavy shadows, as well.

As time marches on, the case against DC's Golden Agers seems to ebb increasingly hard against them. Former DC Publisher Dan Didio makes the case that multiple generations are part of a problem that ages evergreen DC icons like Batman. That was apparently the impetus for excising them, and the third generation Teen Titans, from the New 52 reboot.

Aging was indeed a legitimate problem, by design, pre-Crisis, but streamlining in the eighties facilitated classic returns as historic figures, still fighting evil in feature series like this one, and in mentoring support roles such as Flash #77.

The strength of the characters, and affections for them, constantly confirm their enduring appeal, and the value they offer by embellishing the DC canon. Their place in history is only ever as difficult as the publisher chooses to make it.

As one of the most exciting on-going series of the 2000s, JSA proved this. Its balance of classic and contemporary approach helped cement writer Geoff Johns as a creative force. It also reaffirmed the iconic status of Golden Age characters like Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkman, and Black Adam, creating new fans who are still eagerly supporting them in multiple mediums.

It's been good to see DC Comics restoring some of this legacy of late. Planned celebrations for the Green Lantern's 80th anniversary are exciting, and the development of a live-action Stargirl series, featuring the JSA, is pretty cool too.

If you like these characters and want to see more of them in action, you can dive into the Secret Archive for a complete index of featured fights ordered by publisher, series, and issue number. Links throughout this post are also means to discover more about the DC Universe and related characters!

Secret Wars on Infinite Earths has documented well over 600 battles and counting! If you like rankings and reading about superhero smackdown you can help make it all happen by joining the Patreon. Patrons can access schedule updates and voting polls, as well as levels to request a specific fight.

Subscribe to Secret Wars on Infinite Earths on Twitter and Facebook to get daily links to fights inspired by the topics of the day! Be sure to hit like and share on your favourite battles. Don't worry, they're strictly Kulak free!

Winner: Green Lantern
#90 (+66) Green Lantern (Alan Scott)
#140 (-6) Guy Gardner

Hero of the Week 2010 #5: Green Lantern

GREEN LANTERN (DC)
Real Name: Alan Scott
First Appearance: All-American Comics #16 (July, 1940)
Group Affiliation: Justice Society of America
Gaming Credentials: DC Universe Online (TBR/2010)
Infinite Wars Ranking: #115



The first thing you might have noticed about this Green Lantern is that he's wearing a lot of red.
It's fair to say that this probably isn't your father's Green Lantern, your Green Lantern, and maybe, if you're a super-advanced-infant, not even your grandfather's! If you aren't a genetic freak, however, it probably is just your grandfather's GL -- the 1940s Golden Age original, Alan Scott!

If the runaway success of the Green Lantern franchise in comics hasn't captured your imagination yet, then there's a good chance it will very soon, when Ryan Reynolds steps into the role of Hal Jordan in his third comic book feature, Green Lantern. Of course, that's only a tangential point of interest, because the chances of seeing the original Green Lantern in there any time soon are slim!

Unlike the multitude of other Green Lanterns you'll find in DC comics (and animation), Alan Scott does not hold ties with the ring wielding cosmic policeforce created by the Guardians of the Galaxy. [Scott]'s ring is fashioned from an ancient mystic lantern that existed for thousands of years on Earth, before falling into his hands. Which, believe it or not, makes this particular Green Lantern a very interesting and unique character in the pages of DC comics.

Scott possesses many of the quaint traits that might turn your nose upward when examining older superheroes, but don't let his ring's inability to effect wood and his subsequent battles with the villainous Sportsmaster (wielder of sports equipment) put you off a classic. Afterall, not all of the Green Lantern's exploits have suffered the so-assumed maturation of the comics medium.

The Lantern's undying arch-nemesis, Solomon Grundy, is one of the facets that have withstood the test of time, launching last year into a simple but interesting action-packed mini-series [featured accordingly as HOTW]. There's also the modern incarnation of the Justice Society of America, which is what's hopefully been featured to it's fullest potential in Smallville, running alongside the introduction of Checkmate, another organization Scott briefly held membership with. Not to mention the inspiration the character provided for that previously mentioned franchise which has already been turned into one of DC's biggest cashcows with Blackest Night, and will no doubt continue to expand as we look forward to the feature film -- [now confirmed to be in full 3D, kids]!

I'm surely not doing a great job of selling the character, but sometimes the best way to experience the expansive universe of comic books is to learn at your own pace. I've written in the past about certain popular misconceptions that surround the penetrability of comic book fiction. The simple truth is: as a pulp medium in constant production, one of comics' greatest talents is to tell a story about neverending worlds, which in turn, does not mean you need to catch-up on the last sixty years, but rather, should jump in wherever you like and appreciate the massive world you can play in.

A product like the Smallville TV-movie will probably struggle to adequately capture the spirit that made the mid-2000's resurrection of the JSA brand delightful, but it provides the asterisk that will hopefully spur some of you to explore more. As you do, you will find new branching points, and this is how you will learn to love these characters, and decide which ones it is you do. That's certainly how I came to regard Green Lantern Alan Scott as one of my favourites.

You'll meet Alan Scott and many other characters in the Sony MMO coming some time in the future, DC Universe Online. Another fine cross-promotional product that will give you a glimpse through the looking glass, and provide threads for you to follow to exciting new comic book adventures. It's a good time to become a fan! You can also find Alan Scott fighting the good fight in the pages of JSA, JSA: Blackest Night, and in tiny cameos in the core Blackest Night. Check out DCcomics.com for more info on all that!

<< Hero of the Week 02/14: Silver Surfer       [Home]       Hero of the Week 01/31: Black Panther >>

Originally posted: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9019133

GREEN LANTERN CORPS/JUSTICE LEAGUE versus SINESTRO CORPS
Birth of the Black Lantern (DC)
Where: Green Lantern #25 When: January 2008
Why: Geoff Johns How: Ivan Reis

The Story So Far...
The Anti-Monitor - a creature of immense power that once sought to destroy the multiverse - joins Sinestro in creating a new Corps of agents, with the intent to use them as heralds of his conquest over the positive realm. Harnessing the yellow power rings of Qward, the Sinestro Corps operate on a design of fear, using it to control their yellow energy the same way the Lanterns us willpower.

Tricked into believing the Sinestro Corps were to attack Oa, the designates of Sector 2814 soon find themselves four against an army, as the Anti-Monitor and his heralds emerge in the Milky Way. They launch their attack on Earth, but the rest of the Green Lanterns, along with heroes native to the planet, soon join the war. The Justice League, Justice Society, Titans, and more, rally to join the Green Lantern Corps in a stand against a force determined to seek the destruction of all.

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Wonder Man 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Iron Man 5 (Professor)
Speed: The Sentry 6 (Mach-Speeds)
Stamina: Iron Man 6 (Generator)
Agility: Spider-man 5 (Cat-like)
Fighting Ability: Ares 7 (Warrior)
Energy Power: The Sentry 7 (Cosmic)


- The Green Lantern Corps is: John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kilowog, Arisia, Breeon, Adam, Soranik Naru, Princess Iolande, Bzzd, Green Man, Torquemada, Voz, Apros, Brik, Tahr, Kraken, Chaselon, Sir Deeter, Leezle Pon, Lok Neboora, Raker Qarrigat, Salaak, Stel, Isamot Kol, Larvox, & Vath Sarn.
With: Superman, Powergirl, Hawkman, Alan Scott, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Metamorpho, Firestorm, Wonder Girl, Raven, Red Tornado, Captain Marvel, Batman, Starman, Supergirl, Hawkgirl, Plastic Man, Starfire, Bulleteer, STRIPE, Black Lightning, Red Arrow, Firehawk, Miss Martian, Jay Garrick, Nightwing, Creeper, Cyborg, Black Canary, Green Arrow, Robin, & Steel.

Having succumbed to the effects of the Parallax entity; Earth's most famous Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, would lead a grief stricken rampage against his fellows in a bid to gain power enough to resurrect his obliterated city.
At the cost of the few survivors, the Guardians of the Universe would pool their energies to create one final, immensly powerful ring, which would be sent out into the universe with the last surviving Guardian from Oa; Ganthet.

The ring would come to be the inhereted by Kyle Rayner.
The young graphic artist's imagination would make him an ideal recipient, his creative mind opening up a realm of possibilities to the ring's powers of solid manifestation. These iconic Green Lantern powers would come to Rayner with the added responsibility of being the last of the Corpsman - a footnote that would continue to be a part of his education right until the return of the Corps.

- The Sinestro Corps is: Anti-Monitor, Cyborg Superman, Superboy-Prime, Karu-Sil, Haasp the Hunter, Snap Trap, Despotellis, & Yellow Lantern.

While imprisoned in the Central Battery of Oa; former Green Lantern, Sinestro, came in contact with a creature as old as time itself. Parallax, an entity born of fear, had been imprisoned by the Guardians of the Galaxy and consequently instilled in the rings of the Lanterns an impurity that left them vulnerable to objects of yellow -- the colour of fear in the cosmic emotional spectrum.

When Hal Jordan was able to excise the corruption of Parallax from his soul, a freed Sinestro opts to form a new army in the anti-matter universe of Qward. Armed with yellow rings inspired by fear, he summons the most frightening villains from across the universe, joining together to form the Sinestro Corps.

Among Sinestro's most famous early recruits: Superboy-Prime, Cyborg Superman, Amon Sur, Mongul, Fatality, Parallax, and the Anti-Monitor.

Math: Green Lantern Corps Ranking: Batman (#1)

What Went Down...
The Earth plays host to three cosmic armies as the Justice League and other heroes combine with the Green Lantern Corps to resist their fear-wielding counterparts, the Sinestro Corps. At the centre of the melee, the armored giant of destruction - the Anti-Monitor!

From a distance the war is abstracted, appearing as a mass of wills colliding, but on the frontlines the personal struggles make-up the bigger picture. Among the heralds of the Anti-Monitor is Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman that welcomes the lethal force initiated by the Guardians that oversee the Lantern Corps. He provokes their action, crushing the will of Lanterns beneath his cybernetic hand, while burning the wings of the courageous Hawkman.

John Stewart uses his ring to douse the flames as he and Guy Gardner arrive to join their comrades. They are immediately greeted by the venom of Karu-Sil, one of Sinestro's fear mongers. Gardner retaliates against her parallax constructs, generating a swarm of glowing green wolverines.

In the skies above, the Anti-Monitor looms over a city in chaos, plunging his fist into the street with the aim of sucking the planet dry. A wave of energy expands, positive matter turning to anti-matter, threatening to incinerate anything unable to flee it's path. The destruction forces Lanterns to redirect their attention to the innocents of New York City, to whom the wave is the most immediate threat.
Heroes such as Wonder Woman and Plastic Man join Lanterns, such as Arisia and Kilowog, in the desperate rescue.

Two brands of Manhunter collide as Hank Henshaw's cyborg meets the fist of the last lawman of Mars - J'onn J'onnz! His intervention aids John Stewart, who carries the ailing body of Guy Gardner. Yellow blood spits from the sickened Lantern -- a sign of Despotellis, the viral Sinestro, attacking him from within.

Meanwhile, heroes such as the Red Tornado, Starfire, Red Arrow, Black Lightning, and Firehawk do their bit to battle the swarming Sinestro Corps. They buzz and battle around the Anti-Monitor like insects, but each of their blows decides the fate of not only this Earth, but every parallel world that stems from it!

The Anti-Monitor's destructive conversion of energies goes unchallenged, until voices from the void recall the crisis incurred by his last attack on reality. A crisis of infinite Earths that went unchallenged by Oan Guardians in bondage.
Oan Guardians who will not stand idly by as he threatens existence anew!

The Guardians funnel their green energies at the impossible beast, confident in the knowledge that this Anti-Monitor is not yet fully developed beneath the armor that connects him to the old. Their will slams against the Anti-Monitor's shell and tears and shreds at the metal of his robotic heralds, the newest Manhunters. Their captain, Hank Henshaw, remains unphased by the Guardians' power.

Baring a grudge for their role in imprisoning him during Alexander Luthor's attempts to affect reality; Superboy-Prime blasts at the Guardians with his Kryptonian heat vision, while fighting off the advances of Alan Scott, Wonder Girl, and the Lanterns. Anti-Monitor lashes at the immortal Guardians also, trapping one in a giant fist that singes blue flesh with raw anti-power.

On the ground, John Stewart fends off the bizarre advances of the Yellow Lantern, while the increasingly weak Guy Gardner turns his attentions skyward. There, looming above the Earth, is the construct called "Warworld" affixed to the yellow central battery of the Sinestro Fear Corps. A power source big enough to destroy the Earth, or, if contained, one giant Anti-Monitor.

Even as his insides are plundered by the microscopic Despotellis; Guy Gardner pledges himself to the cause, flying into the sky with his ring blazing, forming chains with his fellow to drag the Warworld battery into position.

Other Lanterns rush to aid their brothers, fending off the opposition of Sinestro's agents. With the Guardians doing their part to rupture the Anti-Monitor's armor, the Lanterns toss Warworld toward the New York City streets below, and prepare themselves for the mammoth task of containing the explosion.

Kilowog, Apros, Brik, Salaak, Bzzd, Isamot Kol, Arisia, Torquemada, Sir Deeter, and many other Green Lanterns, all focus their energy into a giant dome over Warworld and the Anti-Monitor. Hank Henshaw is also encased within. With a cold metallic hand pressed to the edge of the translucent green dome, he whisper thanks to the Lanterns, poetically anticipating his long overdue death.

While the heroes of Earth fend off the advances of the Sinestro Corps; the City trembles as Warworld explodes, obliterating Hank Henshaw, and massive portions of New York, with it. The Anti-Monitor emerges, however, with his armor in tatters, but his resolve in tact. He lashes out at the unsuspecting Lanterns, but finally his undoing comes from an unlikely source, one of his allies, Superboy-Prime!

The impetuous youth pierces Anti-Monitor's armor and body with a torpedo-like dive. No longer interested in the Anti-Monitor's attempts at conquest, he puts an end to the creature's rampage, dragging the tattered armor into space, before tossing the smouldering corpse of the Anti-Monitor toward a dark destiny beyond the stars.

Spattered with blood, Superboy-Prime prepares a renewed assault against the heroes of the universe. His tantrum is but a precursor to the true end of the Sinestro Corps War...

The Hammer...
In the interest of clarity, this is technically part one of a two-part scenario. The battle strings out to include the suggested fight against Superboy-Prime, but to save time and my sanity, I've broken it up.

For defeating Anti-Monitor (and Hank Henshaw) we declare Superboy-Prime, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Green Lanterns mentioned who affected and contained Warworld's destruction. For their involvement in repelling the other Sinestro Corps forces, and contributing to varying degrees in the specifics of this fight, we also award a victory statistic to the Earth heroes identified in "the tape". Their involvement, while non-specific, is clearly vital to the victory of the Green Lantern Corps.

For a final piece of house keeping, we also acknowledge confirmed kill stats to Superboy-Prime and Anti-Monitor, who both claimed two lives. Other instances prove too uncertain to confirm a death. Whew.

As you might have noticed, we might be a few weeks behind, but we've assembled some epic battles for the last month of 2008! Following on from last week's symbiote bomb [New Avengers #36], we give you yet another early 2008 major battle you might have been unaware of! True to the name of the site, these epic secret wars involved the heavy hitters of both universes, but neither expanded line-wide like the lynchpin events - Secret Invasion and Final Crisis.

Despite occupying only GL-related titles, it's fair to say Sinestro Corps War went quite a bit larger than the brief symbiote plague in our other example. In fact, reflecting on the year that was 2008 is almost impossible to do without mentioning spillover from the Sinestro event. Even now, looking forward, we anticipate the event forecasted at the end of this issue - Blackest Night!

The upcoming Green Lantern event is but one of several key pieces making up the connective tissue that is the DC Universe. The heavy editorial direction cast across the company has earned criticism from fans and commentators alike, but has also ushered in an undisputed era of cohesion for the DCU. While the heady excitement of the 52-era seems to have passed, DC still manage a tight ship of concept and causality. Reading DC comics has become describable as an experience, distancing them from the hit-and-miss disconnection of Marvel's high selling, headlining events.

What this overly verbose assessment leads to is, Geoff Johns.
At first glance the writer appears to possess few special powers, but anyone reading DC comics knows how deceptive his approach can be. The Sinestro Corps War encapsulates the growth that the Green Lantern comics have experienced under the writer, benefitting not only from brand new contributions, but also the expert inclusion of ideas pulled from all the eras. It's a balance of ideals that has made DC the creative powerhouse -- competent in the face of adversity, creative while traditional.

The simplicity of the spectrum of emotion and colour to represent other Lanterns turns what could easily be a dismal concept, into something beautiful. The Rage of the Red Lanterns serves as one of the prologues to The Blackest Night, and is one of the beats we will hopefully talk more about in 2009.

I'd love to find the words to go deeper into this issue, but we're fast losing days in the year. Instead, let the this and the previous entry reveal where the Infinite Wars has come to rest at the end of the year. DC has been superb. In the new year I hope to talk more about Final Crisis, which has also been a series I've been quite impressed with, in stark contrast to Marvel's Skrull-event.

In case you missed it; be sure to check out our last review of this issue, detailing the personal battle between Sinestro, Hal Jordan, and Kyle Rayner. We will no doubt return to this epic issue at a later date for more of the Sinestro Corps War and the Superboy-Prime fight.

Next up, we tackle two of the major events that drove action on the Infinite Wars in 2008! First, I have to tag all these bloody Green Lanterns!

The Fight: 6 The Issue: 6

The complete Sinestro Corps War is available split across two Green Lantern trade paperbacks. You can pick them up at an affordable price via Amazon, and by using purchase links provided, also help sponsor the efforts of the Infinite Wars! Those, plus collected editions of most issues reviewed in the Secret Archive, are also available via the Infinite Wars Amazonian Gift Shoppe. Perfect for ringing in the new year!

JUSTICE SOCIETY versus MORGAUTH
"It was a Dark and Stormy Night..." (DC)
Where: JSA Strange Adventures #1 When: October 2004 Why: Kevin J Anderson How: Barry Kitson

The Story So Far...
In a world where the fantastic powers of the Justice Society of America make even the most bizarre science-fiction story appear pedestrian, the tastes of the masses are changing!

Circulation of the Amazing Stories pulp magazine is falling in a 1940's America concerned with the threat of Nazi violence, and the exploits of the nation's greatest super powered heroes. In an effort to save his business, budding editor, Hugo Gernsback, calls upon his most popular writer to work with a little-known author, whose submissions have been rejected for years.

As a member of the JSA; Johnny Thunder has had a ground zero vantage point of the team's greatest exploits, experiencing them from behind the might of his mystically charged Thunderbolt! His latest submission is yet another tale of personal triumph, when only he and his Thunderbolt have the keys to defeating the mysterious monster menace of Morgauth!

Tale of the Tape...
Strength: Wonder Woman 6 (Invincible)
Intelligence: Spectre 7 (Omnipotent)
Speed: Flash 7 (Lightspeed)
Stamina: Spectre 7 (Unstoppable)
Agility: Spectre 7 (Malleable)
Fighting Ability: Hawkman 6 (Warrior)
Energy Power: Spectre 7 (Cosmic)


- The JSA are: Green Lantern, Starman, Hawkwoman, The Spectre, Dr. Mid-Nite, Dr. Fate, Mr. Terrific, Hawkman, Atom, Flash, Wildcat, Hourman, Wonder Woman, Star-Spangled Kid, Sandman, Dr. Occult, Johnny Thunder, and The Thunderbolt.

During the Golden Age of superheroes in the forties, many of the heaviest hitting heroes united to form a powerful syndicate of heroism called the Justice Society.
Among the well-known founding members were; Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkman, Sandman, the Spectre, Dr. Fate, Hourman, and the Atom.

Despite an ebb and flow through time that has seen the team maintain varying degrees of activity, they have endured to the modern day. Extending the JSA's lifespan is a new legacy policy which allows a new generation of new members inducted by relation to former members, be they by blood, or by spirit.

- Morgauth is a hellish tentacle beast from the darkest depths of occult imagination. The extent of the lovecraftian creature's powers are uncertain, but it's resistance to magic appears to extend even to the might of The Spectre, whose powers only appeared to make the monster grow larger in their only confrontation (in JSA: Strange Adventures).

Math: JSA Ranking: Hawkman (#31)

What Went Down...
"It was a dark and stormy night...," recounts the pencil of Johnny Thunder.
At the mysterious Hotel Necro the JSA are locked in mortal battle with an immortal creature of infernal origins! Dr. Fate and Starman do their best to stem the creature's writhing tentacles as it bursts from every orifice of the hotel!

The Spectre grows to towering proportions to bathe the Hotel Necro in the glow of his wrathful arcane energies! Dr. Mid-Nite delivers a grim prognosis, unable to sense any ill effects felt by the creature. To the contrary, Morgauth bursts from the bondage of the hotel architecture, seemingly invigorated by Spectre's blast!

The Green Lantern joins Starman in an aerial assault on the bustling monster, but their energies, founded in strange science, appear to have no effect on the creature raised from a runestone.

From the ground; the Sandman attempts to turn the tables to no avail, using his custom gas gun to try to give the nightmare creature a bad dream of it's own. All the while Hawkwoman, Hourman, the Star-Spangled Kid, Flash, Mr. Terrific, and Wonder Woman all grapple with the growing sprawl of animated tentacles!

Wildcat's blows bare a brutish charm as he battles the snarling tendrils with old fashioned fisticuffs. On the verge of running out of luck, the champion brawler finds himself surrounded, only to be saved by the pint-sized might of the Atom!

From the neighbouring rooftops above Dr. Occult clutches his mystic disc and compells it's energies to strike at the beast. Instead, the mortal man summons only the wrath of Morgauth, whose giant tentacle reduces his vantage point to firewood! Only the highflying intervention of Hawkgirl saves his life!

Meanwhile; Johnny Thunder was receiving a helping hand of his own from Wonder Woman and her indestructable golden lasso! Her rescue leaves Johnny Thunder able to cite the mystic command, "Cei-U," calling forth the mighty Thunderbolt!

Johnny directs his friend to the menacing monster, whose weak point proves to be it's gigantic central eye! The Thunderbolt streaks directly into he beast, reducing it to slop with his triumphant emergence!

The Hammer...
Well, of all the tangled tales to tie into... We're tempted to call this one a shared victory for the entire Justice Society, but it would be not without some contrivance. Technically Thunderbolt deserves the win, even though the story is told from Johnny Thunder's perspective, and we could assume the already admirable efforts of the JSA deserve more than a statistical assist credit. This isn't the only layer relevant to our on-going statistical tally, however...

The presence of characters like Dr. Occult and Star-Spangled Kid have raised certain questions about the situation of the story in DC history. With only the most unique exception, we analyse characters from alternate universes as part of the potential of their key-universe counterparts, so it's effectively a non-issue.
Strange Adventures could, however, very easily be interpreted as an untold tale from late in the pre-Crisis (or Earth-2) JSA; if not a stand-alone story.

Whew. If you found that paragraph utterly asinine, more power to you!

I like the Justice Society! I like the Golden Age!
I can't claim to be any kind of expert on the intricate histories of all these heroes, but there's an instant asthetic that makes them instantly recognisable, and delightful. It has come to my attention, however, that there are shade of ignorance that can radically change the interpretation of what these characters are.

If you've been reading the Infinite Wars of late you know that October is all about monsters and spooks, and that before that, we'd been paying quite a lot of attention to the meeting of Mortal Kombat and the DC Universe [ie; Dark Kahn]!

It's been an interesting interpretation that the T-rated departure for the blood soaked franchise is an admission that the appeal of the series skews toward a younger demographic. It's quite possibly true, but at the very least, I've found, the MK audience has a far less exposed palate with which they taste the fictional domain. For many, brightly coloured characters like Captain Marvel and Green Lantern were bitterly received, with no notion of the irony.

This trend might cast a lot of aspertions toward MK fans, but to look inward, it probably also reminds us how important perspective is to understanding, and appreciating, some of these most beloved relics of comics' Golden Age.

A regularly recurring subject has been the asthetics of "darkness" read as both adjective, and abstracted noun. The word's use as a buzzword in mass media has ensured fans of all walks of entertainment have their own shallow expectations of the word. It's fair to say even in comics there is a widespread misconception about what darkness might entail and how it applies to the DC Universe.

For the original heroes of the thirties and forties -- a certain amount of thematic darkness was retained from it's pulp predecessors, before being sanitized and reprocessed as post-Werthem goo. Heroes like Batman, Green Lantern, Sandman, and many others of JSA fame, all tackled macabre and horrific tales in their early adventures. While the debate is an evolving one, these World War II era characters also shared a moral compass that has come to accept certain extremes of violence, in the case of some, prosecution by murder.

In recent years DC comics has gone to great lengths to give it's characters and universe a hard edge of consequence. Despite being well recognised for their accessible materials for children, the publisher has managed to avoid being as conservative with it's sacred cows, placing violent stakes on the threats they face with a conceptual drive that has fairly justified them [see; the totem of justice].

Wonder Woman's penchant for swordplay and fatal brutality (breaking Maxwell Lord) garnered much more attention than the genocidal mass murder of three million undertaken by Black Adam. These hero-driven events say nothing of the controversy stirred by novelist Brad Meltzer's 2004 mini-series, Identity Crisis, which set the tone for the DCU with the rape of a beloved supporting character and a string of murders.

Attentive writing has really been on DC's side for the past decade as they've rebuilt the DC Universe as a cohesive entity. It's fair to say of most comics that they challenge the shallow nature of "darkness" as defined by gimmickery and trinkets, benefitting so from a language and precedent developed over seventy years. The emotional, psychological, conceptual, and ethical are all on display.

What is darkness? I think it's all these things.
I do hope, however, that fans of both Mortal Kombat and DC Universe can come to accept certain grounds of perspective. The DCU deserves full credit for the luxuries it is afforded by it's extensive network of titles, characters, writers, artists, and decades of history. This perspective is communicated through it's properties in ways the uninformed may not appreciate, but do not diminish.

I cannot communicate adequately the particulars of what it is about these antiquated heroes that is so charming and valuable. In meeting the much younger, less exposed audience it really has brought this home.
I suppose what I'm musing is that it's a misconception that does them the disservice. These characters in their long lives possess so much of the same make-up that their many descdents have - and then some!

At the same time, the great charm of a Sandman or Starman might just be the quaint simplicity that encompasses their character. They are the among the purest superhero concepts, summed up by their design and place in the world.
The popularity of retro-modern in the mid-00's really captured that and while it might have been better done in Detective Comics or JSA at the time, it's still very evident in Strange Adventures.

Suffice to say, there is still much to ponder, and more spooks and monsters to see as the month progresses. [EDIT: However, Mike fell ill after writing most of this entry, and consequently the month may be condensced upon his return.]

The Fight: 4 The Issue: 4

To the best of our knowledge JSA: Strange Adventures has not been collected, but you'll find plenty more on offer in the Infinite Wars Amazonian Gift Shoppe! Collections featuring most issues reviewed previously on the site are all on offer and by using purchase links provided you not only benefit from Amazon's services, but also help sponsor future entries in the Infinite Wars!