Green Lantern: Rebirth #6 (2005)

Green Lantern: Rebirth #6 (May, 2005)
“Brightest Day”
Writer – Geoff Johns
Penciller – Ethan Van Sciver
Inkers – Marlo Alquiza, Ethan Van Sciver & Mick Gray
Colorist – Moose Baumann
Letterer – Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor – Harvey Richards
Editor – Peter Tomasi
Cover Price: $2.99

Let’s put this one to bed!


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We wrapped up last time with Batman flinging a ‘rang at Hal Jordan.  We pick up here with Hal, rightly, informing him that this perhaps isn’t the best time to “do this”.  He turns his back, now facing Ganthallax.  Batman ain’t done with this yet, and goes to grab Hal’s shoulder… annnnnd, well… I’d suggest that that doesn’t go quite the way he anticipated.  Har-har, obligatory “One Punch” reference, har-har… moving on.

The Lanterns fly off to confront Ganthallax, and the League prepares to give chase… that is, until Alan Scott stops them.  This is Corps business… the League, especially this League might wind up only getting in the way.

We follow Hal and the Boyz, and get a bit of exposition explaining how different, and complimentary their methodologies are.  John, being an architect, has constructs that actually function as an organized collection of “pieces”.  They ain’t hollow.  Guy just oozes green energy, Kilowog is like a cannon, Kyle is “artsy”… which, might sound and look cool, but seems like a detriment in the heat of battle.  Hal is all about the precision.

The fellas recite the Oath, and lay into Ganthellax… trying to drive the entity back into the Power Battery.  The beast lashes back, taking out everyone… except, naturally… Hal.  He’s able to hold off the attack long enough for his comrades to recover… and together, they make the final push… into the Central Power Battery!

When the dust settles… Parallax is gone, Ganthet is back, we’ve got a functional Oa, a Corps, and a whole gaggle’a Guardians.  It’s time to party like it’s 1980-something!  We return to the League, where… Hal explains everything.  Batman isn’t sure he believes it… which makes him the only one.  Hal, rightly, tells him he doesn’t care if Batman believes him.  The League and the Corps part amicably.

Epilogue the first… back at Belle Reve, we check in with Hector Hammond.  He’s still giddy with the idea of playing with Mr. Rayner… but, the return of Hal Jordan adds a whole ‘nother interesting wrinkle.

Epilogue the second… at Ferris Aircraft.  Hal and Carol catch up.  We learn that Carol is going to keep the family business going, and she offers Hal a gig.  He turns her down, citing other plans for his immediate future.

Epilogue the third (and final).  Hal’s hanging out in Ollie’s basement as they discuss everything that had just gone done.  O.lie is rummaging through his things… and finds Hal’s old Power Battery.  Ollie had snagged it from Jordan’s locker after he’d gone all Parallaxy.  Ollie still can’t remember the oath… but Hal will never forget it.

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And there we have it.  Hal Jordan is back… and is about to receive his own ongoing series.


Let’s dig right in… starting with, Batman.  Wow, what a jerk!  He still doesn’t trust Hal… doesn’t believe him.  As mentioned above, that makes him the only one to still hold ill-will toward him… making him look quite silly.  It’s as though his disdain toward Hal might be personal rather than moral or professional.  Either way, it really makes Batman come off poorly here.  I get cynicism, but when you’re the only one holding firm to a position, it almost doesn’t matter how “right” you might be.


It’s been a while since I read this era of Justice League, but I suppose we can presume that Batman was “in charge” at this point?  Otherwise, Superman and Wonder Woman look like a pair’a mooks for following his lead.  It was neat seeing Alan standing up to them, but still… really makes the League look silly.


Let’s talk the Corps.  Wow, could you imagine fighting evil alongside this Kyle Rayner?  What a pain in the ass… drawing (and erasing!) his constructs because he isn’t satisfied with his draftsmanship?  Yikes!  It’s a good thing he was flanked by four other Lanterns!  Otherwise, he’d have been picked off in no time.  I mean, he’s always been depicted as being a bit more artsy than his contemporaries in his will-construct creation… but here, it looked mighty ineffective.


I said earlier that, while this was decompressed, it didn’t feel like there were any wasted panels.  After wrapping up, I kiiiiiinda feel differently.  I don’t think this required a full six issues… it might’ve been a more satisfying read if it were done in four.  Last issue was a fight with Sinestro… which was a lot of bluster, and ended in unsatisfying fashion.  Feels like the story got a little indulgent.


Even with all that said, I did enjoy the story as a whole… and really dug Hal’s comeback.  Johns made the return feel legit… and filled in a lot of blanks.  He also connected a lot of dots that, at the time, we didn’t even realize needed connecting.  Still not sure exactly how Sinestro came back… but, whattayagonnado?


Overall, I’m glad I revisited this one… had a really good time with it.  Well worth your time… though, as I’ve been saying a lot lately… if you’re reading this piece, you’ve very likely already read this story.


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