4 Pages from Green Lantern 57

[frostedone]

I love the Larfleeze parts, but am still on the fence about so much of the Star Sapphire's "version" of love.

On one hand Carol's reasoning that it is the host that corrupts the entities (in this case the corruption of the Predator and it's "violent love") idea makes some sense, but Paralax seems to be evil by default.

Without the Predator the central battery no longer had power.

It was revealed that Queen Aga'po gave up her immortal beauty to charge the battery slightly since it would be enough love for a little bit. *Since when does beauty define love though? It has an effect on choosing a mate, sure, but beauty in and of itself is not love.*

Later it is revealed that none of the other Corp's batteries need an entity in them, instead they are fueled by the emotion itself when the users believe in them enough, It turns out the Star Sapphire's violet battery is the same. Instead of imprisoning the Predator they just believe in love to fuel their battery now.

Why not just do that from the start?

On a side note Queen Aga'po's seemed completely unnecessary.

Also the Predator looks like a cross between a Zerg and a Xenomorph with a mix of dinosaur thrown in. Who needs Parallax when the Predator is scarier?

Also the Predator revealed how lonely and sad Larfleeze really is deep inside. He shows him that his family is still alive, and that they might be the only others that he loves other than himself.

Something about the Star Sapphire's still bothers me. All of the other corps seem to embody their emotion in it's truest form, but the Violet light has so far been a corrupted version.

Also they just don't feel like they fit in quite as well with the other lights. Something just seems off, maybe someone else can clarify this if you think of it. If the Zamarans are just the female members of the Guardians of Oa's race then they should have been on the ball more. They should have harnessed the violet light when the Oan's did the green light, instead of relying on the incredibly unstable Star Sapphire crystals. (The crystals were later converted to the violet light I think. I could be wrong though so feel free to correct me if I am.)

It will be nice now that Carol is Queen, and we can see how her definition of true love will be different from the skewed version the Violet Lantern's had before, since she seems to believe in a more complete and healthy version of it.

Larfleeze (and Saint Walker) really are becoming some of my favorite characters in the lantern books. They have been consistently fun to read.












 

Comments

[crinos]

I have to say, when I first heard Larfleeze was going to be staying on Earth, my first thought was "Larfleeze and Hal have a Las Vegas advenure" (Actually, my first thought was "Larfleeze discovers ebay and Hal's credit card. Hijinks and severe financial penalties ensue" but this was second),

It feels good to be vindicated.

Also, Larfleeze wanted to be queen. LOL

[neuhallidae]

I'm sure I wasn't supposed to laugh at the declaration/death/crowning scene, but God, the pacing is hilarious.

[frostedone]

Thats one reason why her death seems so unnecessary to me. In hind site she didn't need to do any of that.

[jaybee3]

Am I the only really tired of Carol? Bring back Cowgirl or somebody. Hal was always a ladies man, he even had a teenage alien GF, Johns want to make Carol the Lois to Hal's Clark and it's not working for me (not to mention the Star Sapphire is tasteless in the extreme and pointing that out in the comic themselves doesn't make any less true).

[aeolos_sakya]

I DO like Carol. But I agree with all of that. Hal is supposed to be dating Cowgirl!

[frostedone]

Carol looks so uncomfortable in the last page. That can't been good on her feet.

[ebailey140]

Bruce Wayne is a ladies man, too. Yet, no matter how many love interests he's given, it ultimately keeps coming back to Bat/Cat. It's the same thing, here.

Carol started as Hal's Lois, introduced as the romantic interest in Hal's very first appearance in Showcase #22. Three years later, she became Green Lantern's Catwoman.



Ah, the Silver Age, when just putting on a mask would fool your boyfriend...

As the Zamarans were the females of the species that the Guardians were from, Hal/Carol, as Green Lantern/Star Sapphire, were the Yin/Yang of the Green Lantern mythology in every way. They even both got screwed over during the Iron Age the same way, with Parallax and the Predator.

So, Johns isn't creating a relationship and history, here, just acknowledging it and building on it, especially the Yin/Yang aspect that's always been it's heart. I remember hardcore Morrison fans accusing Paul Dini of ignoring continuity and history by "inventing" the Bat/Cat thing in Heart of Hush. Hell, people are still accusing Dini of inventing that out of whole cloth.

[windiebird.livejournal.com]

I would be so, so, so happy if someone shopped that frame with the Predator saying something like "I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME!" to "I WANT YOU TO WANT ME!"

Very fun issue, Larfleeze just steals every scene.

[frostedone]

He is pure awesome.

[mullon]

I've always been bothered by this comic's depiction of love.

[sherkahn]

It's love that involves Hal.

of course they're going to get it wrong.

[darkblade]

So since she's the Queen she can put some clothes on now right?

[hyperactivator]

Yes. But unfortunatly it must all be in hat form. You know the alien queen code. Itty bitty bikini and the biggest most ornate headress your neck can hold. A long silky cloak is avalible but only so it may thrown off dramaticly.

[pyrotwilight]

That felt completely unnecessary. Now Queen Love is dead.

[halloweenjack]

Larfleeze's theme song.

[comicoz]

I still consider the "mine? mine?" seagulls from Finding Nemo to be his theme song.

When we went to Disney a month back, and walked by the animated ones they have there, I almost fell over laughing when they started going "mine? mine?". I could imagine them in little orange jumpsuits...

[sweettart1823]

I want you to be Queen too Larfleeze. <3

[thatnickguy]

I think it's hilarious that the "predator" looks an awful lot like something out of Aliens.

Also, having just recently read Blackest Night, there's something I'm starting to realize about Johns' writing: there's little to nothing in the way of character develoment. Development in power, maybe, such as Carol obtaining the Sapphire powers, but character? Nada. It's just flashy event after flashy event. And the dialogue and pacing, as someone else mentioned, is atrocious. And he relies far, far, FAR too heavily on splash pages.

So yeah, I think my love of Johns' writing has diminished greatly over the years. I think it may have to do with finding better comics outside of DC and Marvel.

[jaybee3]

Well remember this is the guy who had Carol get a quickie divorce 5 seconds after Hal came back to life after pleading and saying constantly again and again (especially in the Hal/Spectre series) how much she "loved her husband". But then she gets divorced and Tom Kalmaku thinks she's the happiest she's ever been? It was obviously because of Hal but have they ever talked about it? No. Has her husband ever been mentioned since? No (heck he wasn't even seen in Rebirth just heard over the phone). Character development, Johns-style! Getting inconvenient people out of the way and never mentioning them again (until the next major ret-con, that is).

[starwolf_oakley]

This sounds weird, but maybe Quesada should have used elements of this in ONE MOMENT IN TIME. Mary Jane could tell Peter, "It's never been Spider-Man that's the problem." Or something.

I posted earlier that Hal has suddenly become a player on par with Ollie. But Ollie became a player rather abruptly as well. And this leads to the idea that superheroes have overactive libidos.

[bruinsfan]

Honestly, given that famous professional athletes are probably the closest real-world analogs of the super-heroic lifestyle, I don't have a problem buying that.

[cuntfucius]

Lol, the way this franchise (GLC included) writes romance and love...........lolol

I am hoping for Carol to become her own character one day and go back to her sweet husband :( I like Carol, I just want her to have interactions outside of Hal Jordan.

[joasakura]

one thing that bothers me really REALLY badly is that, the entity of love is called "Predator"

... that's just not right.

[akodo_rokku]

Johns' opinion seems to be that unfiltered love (remember, this is love without Hope, Compassion, or Will to filter it) is dangerous and selfish.

[harpers_child]

i'm still stuck trying to figure out what carol's collar is attached to. it seems to be some sort of ridiculous, ugly necklace.

[akodo_rokku]

I believe the original version of the "new" Star Sapphire costume didn't have the gloves attatched to the sleeves, and the part that went up over the boobs went right into the collar.

Also, Icon Love.

[yaseen101]

For fucks sake, love is not just limited to your sexual woes and women. A father to his kids, a mother to her kids, your relationships with your best friends and family are all love to a certain degree.

I know I'm supposed to be the targeted demographic for Carol's costume , but that costume only serves to make me consistently fidget in my chair in discomfort and take me out of the story. The only place I want *that* costume is on the next porno I'm viewing.

[punishermax]

"You know, in my defense, I honestly did not think he would be interested in any of these stores."

"Shut the fuck up Ollie. Just shut up. How are we going to fix this? Half of this mall is destroyed because you and Hal didn't realize that a god damn alien warthog was following you. Again, our lives our inconvenienced by your fuckheadesness. Jesus"

"Look. We can fix this. All we need to do is get a lot of cardboard and-"

"Hal we're not fucking putting up fake store fronts to fool Clark. God dammit, I hate you. Any other ideas?"

"Well-"

"Any ideas that you fuckheads didn't just crib from a rerun of Boy Meets World?"

"Well, there goes all my ideas."

~Larfleeze runs by. He's covered head to toe in lingerie and sex toys.~

"THIS IS ALL MINE! NOW TO THE TOY DEPARTMENT!"

~As Larfleeze bolts, Clark enters~

"So. Anyone wanna tell me why I just say an alien dressed in a black teddy with a dildo strapped to his forehead run by? I was hoping not to see that today. Crazy, I know."

~Suddenly, a group of Star Sapphires bursts through a hole in the mall's roof~

"Oh come the fuck on. Now God is just TEASING ME!"

~flash cut~

"OH MY CHILD. I DO NO CONTROL ALL THINGS AT ALL TIMES. JUST LIKE I DID NOT CONTROL YOU WHEN YOU HAD SEX WITH ARISIA. MY CHILD, WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT SHIT? I SAY FORTH THROUGHOUT THE LAND AND ALL TIME: THAT SHIT IS GROSS. SO SAY THE LORD."

~flash cut~

"Hal Jordan of Earth. We will take the Orange Lantern into custody. Oliver Queen of Earth, please desist in staring at my ass."

"That's how we say "Hi" in my city! Also, having a boner is a compliment. Ya know....if anything should happen"

"Jesus, that costume. You look like you should be telling a conveniently naked and hairy chested man that to save earth he has to fuck you."

"That...that was a pretty specific analogy there Hal."

"As beings of love, we will control him and take him to our planet and teach him of love. How it makes you wear extremely revealing clothing, act insane, and use a being known as The Predator as your totem. We're sort of winging it if you notice,. NOW FLY MY SISTERS! LET US DEFEAT HIM WITH THE POWER OF THE STARS ON OUR GROINS!"

[dorksidefiker]

I actually fell out of my chair laughing. Now I hurt, but there is funny!

[silverzeo]

What about Mr. Fat Snake head... and there goes my idea of what would changed Carol's outfit...

[jlbarnett]

perhaps the problem with the Star Sapphires is desire is the only thing that just generates love or something. For example raising your children because you love them is an act of will. Taking on a wild animal attacking your kid? Well that's will and fear and rage.

The Zamorans didn't like the way the Oans did things, that's why they did things differently. As for Queen Aga'pe's sacrifice, maybe the Lantern wasn't designed to function the way Carol suggested, but her pointing out it could made Aga'pe realize it could. Her sacrifice was using what was left of her power to make the alterations before any Star Sapphires ran out of power.

[silverzeo]

Wait... won't this mean that Earth's sector needs new Sapphire... and why do I feel like that Hal's cowgirlfirend is going to be it?

[eightleggedbeast]

This is less ridiculous but what bothers me so much is the assumption that love is romantic love: we've had several aliens in DC which are sentient and capable of love but without genders or sexes. How would a planet Sapphire work in this case? It's a bit poorly thought-out, considering love is as versatile as fear and hope.