Colorbrite unite!
Before I get into this issue I really need to address something, and that something is Larfleeze. I feel he's being used inconsistently and I'm bothered by it.
Basically this alien is a self-contained lantern corp. Before he and the Guardians of the Universe came to an agreement Larfleeze was able to murder a dozen Guardians with his light. In fact during the Agent Orange storyline he was able to just materialize through a branding into the Guardian's inner sanctum and threaten them. He has no fear of the Guardians or of any other lantern corps because he's aware of what he's holding onto. That's how powerful he is, that's how destructive and deadly his orange light is, but UNFORTUNATELY that's not how Geoff Johns has been writing him during Blackest Night.
So I'm confused why Geoff Johns would establish Larfleeze as an unstable, incredibly powerful, and deadly opponent only to use him as some sort of "comic relief" during Blackest Night. He's used like an inside joke, just for laughs now instead of the savage and power hungry villain he was. I just feel it's inconsistent and throughout this issue it was something I kept becoming aware of.
Anyway, that complaint is minor when compared to how fucking fantastic this issue was. We were finally treated to an event that's been highly anticipated and talked about since Blackest Night was first whispered: the assembly of the seven lantern corps. This issue was driven purely by dialogue and character and I felt Johns did a fantastic job. These avatars he's created for each color in the spectrum (Atrocitus, Larfleeze, Saint Walker, and Indigo-1) have real life and personality flowing off the pages.
When Atrocitus roars his rage and blood starts pouring from his mouth it's seriously palpable.
When Saint Walker tries to assuage his rage it's incredibly sympathetic.
When Larfleeze refuses to cooperate unless there's a deal brokered it's insanely irritating.
And it's all perfect. It's all genuine and consistent with what's already been established with these original creations that Geoff Johns has given us. I couldn't get enough of how these characters communicated with each other.
There are some truly golden moments within this issue. One of my favorite scenes was when Sinestro tries to broker a deal with Atrocitus. Sinestro offers his services after the war of light is over allowing, his corps to join the Red Lanterns in their mission to destroy the Green Lantern Corps. Of course Sinestro says this right in front of Hal and Carol, and their responses were genuinely funny… Then Atrocitus frees himself and starts trying to massacre everyone. It was really cool. There was another cool scene where Indigo-1 channels the power of a black ring and her face starts to decay while she's channeling… But probably the best moment would have to be what causes Atrocitus to finally agree to cooperate… I don't want to reveal much but it was probably the first time I've sympathized with Atrocitus's character and it revealed much about the turmoil bubbling up inside of him.
This is easily, EASILY a five out of five.
