blurred_view's Green Lantern Corps #57 - The Weaponer, Conclusion review

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    The Weaponer Gets An Appropriate New Weapon

    Tony Bedard brings his second story arc to a strong end, though it suffers a little from an unnecessary tie-in to Brightest Day that really adds nothing to the story. 
     
    This issue is heavy on the action as the Sinestro Corps go at it against the Qwardians with our cast of Green Lanterns stuck in the middle. Bedard has to juggle the action somewhat awkwardly to maintain the truce between the Sinestro Corps and Green Lantern Corps, which does complicate things a little more than is enjoyable, but it all remains entertaining. 
     
    What Bedard has done best in this arc is showing the multiple facets of the Weaponer. We see his guilt over creating Sinestro's ring and his rage over what came of that decision. We see his anger toward his own people for making him an outcast but also some measure of loyalty toward them. He seems equal parts revenge-seeker and protector at times. He is a villain but with some honorable and heroic qualities. It is not often we see a character be so well developed in their debut story arc. What ultimately happened to the Weaponer here is surprising and probably not what most hoped for. However, it is interesting to see which of the Weaponer's facets win out in the end, and this new development does firmly establish which side of the hero/villain fence he falls on. Still, I hope this is not the final development for the Weaponer. It is a good move for awhile, but he should eventually move on to be a character who stands on his own. 
     
    The narration of Soranik Natu is another interesting part of this issue. It explores how she feels about the entire situation, focusing unsurprisingly on Sinestro's involvement. Her anger toward Sinestro paints her perception on everything else with an interesting harshness. 
     
    Sinestro, on the other hand, comes off a little too extreme in the action. Skill is one thing, but this comes off more like he is exhibiting power levels way beyond any other ring-bearer has in this story. 
     
    But the real drag on this issue is Firestorm. There is nothing wrong with how Jason and Ronnie are written. It is just that there is no point in them appearing here. This is a great example of a bad use of continuity. Does it make some sense for Firestorm and the Green Lantern Honor Guard to cross paths since both are on Qward? Yes. Does doing so add anything to the story? No. There you go. That is how you tell the difference between good and bad uses of continuity. Firestorm adds nothing to this story nor does it add anything to Brightest Day. This is a book with a good-sized ensemble cast. This is a story arc debuting a new villain and prominently featuring a major one in Sinestro. There is no room to waste panels on an unnecessary guest appearance. 
     
    The Weaponer turns out to be another strong arc from Tony Bedard. Hopefully, this proves to be only the beginning of Bedard's plans for the title character, but that will probably have to wait for War of the Green Lanterns to run its course. And despite Firestorm being an unwelcome inclusion this issue, Tyler Kirkham sure does draw a cool Firestorm.

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