Geoff Johns guided Hal Jordan through some of his greatest adventures, from his Rebirth, to the Sinestro Corps Wars, to Blackest Night. He helped position Hal Jordan as one of the premiere figures in the Green Lantern Corps and the DCU at large. He has truly crafted a run on the Green Lantern series that will be remembered as legendary. Well, as the saying goes about “all good things…” Geoff Johns is bringing his time with Green Lantern to an end, and like with the best send offs for a favorite TV series, Green Lantern #20 brings some satisfying closure to this character Johns has given voice to for so long. It also puts things in place for a new beginning, wherein someone else will guide Hals’ fate. Regardless of how you may have felt about the whole First Lantern arc, this is a great finale for Johns’ version of the greatest Green Lantern, Hal Jordan.
Now, as solid as John’s run has been, I have to admit with the whole Third Army arc and the First Lantern stuff, I sort of lost interest. There was just something about those stories that didn’t feel very “Green Lantern” to me, but I’m not the best judge of that, so that’s likely a personal preference. Regardless, I found this issue to be a wholly satisfying conclusion. The wrap-up to the First Lantern stuff deftly puts into place a new status quo for other writers to play with. It feels like John’s way of saying, “I’ve done what I’ve wanted with the character, but just so no one can mess with what I did, I’m going to completely remake everything so whoever follows after me can start fresh and doesn’t have to try and build on what I’ve done.” I think that was a good approach to this particular finale, and fine way for Johns to say farewell.
One of the hallmarks of Johns’ work on Green Lantern was some big ideas to go along with the epic action, and the conclusion to the First Lantern bit is no exception. I find it interesting, however, that whenever someone wants to discuss a “big” idea, one of the first to be addressed is “what is the purpose of life?” I suppose that shouldn’t be too surprising as it’s something we’d all like to have resolved. In his confrontation with the Guardians, the First Lantern accuses them of being afraid of the answer, being afraid that there might not be any answer to that question at all. Perhaps you’re familiar with that fear. Perhaps you’ve feared the same thing that perhaps there isn’t any purpose to life at all. Perhaps it’s all random. After all, isn’t that what science teaches us? We’re all accidents, a byproduct of chemical reactions and evolutionary forces. Well, that’s one view, but the Bible suggests another view; a view that provides a better answer to the question of purpose in life. I remember once one of my college professors, in a rather sarcastic tone, asked if because I was a “religious” person as a Christian if that meant I knew the purpose of life. I said of course I did, the Bible makes it very clear. The purpose of life is relationship; to know and be known and to be loved by God, the Almighty Creator. The purpose of life is to enjoy a relationship with him. That was the whole point of creation; of the Garden and the creation of man and woman. It all centered on relationship; having a relationship with the Creator. Now, I know that all sounds rather simplistic. It’s too easy to say that is the purpose of life. Well, as the Bible shows, there’s nothing easy about it. In fact, that purpose is one that has involved great sacrifice and heartbreak, but it’s also one that’s full of joy, peace, and fulfillment. As Pascal once wisely point out, we all have a God-shaped hole within our soul, and no matter what we try to fill it with, what purpose we try to put in there, nothing will fit, nothing will satisfy until we discover what we were truly created for. To know God, to love God, to be known by him and to be loved by him; something that can only happen through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You know, just once, when that question of existence and its purpose is brought up in something existential like the science fiction of Green Lantern, just once I’d like to see it suggested that perhaps the Bible was right after all. I mean, these types of stories are willing to consider so many other possibilities; why not that one?
While the conclusion to all the First Lantern, stuff is good, and the placement of a new status quo going forward for others to play with is all-fine, the best parts of this issue are the goodbyes. Geoff Johns is smart enough to give us what we really want; his version of where all these characters that he’s spent so much time writing end up. We get a glimpse into the future of everyone from Guy Gardner to Kyle Rayner to John Stewart. And we get the ending that we’ve always wanted for Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris. Some may think it’s somewhat sappy to have so many happy endings; I however felt it was perfect. We even get a great moment of closure between Hal and Sinestro, and I truly can’t think of a better way for these two to say goodbye than what’s been put down here on the page. There’s a lot of heart in these farewells and a lot of touching moments. The guys down at Astro-Zombies warned me this issue would make me cry, and indeed it’s hard to not have a tear or two come to your eyes as you read these farewells.
There are probably few greater challenges than bringing a long and successful run on a comic’s title to a satisfying conclusion. Geoff Johns does it masterfully with his farewell in Green Lantern #20. The Green Lantern universe, and Hal Jordan in particular, has been safe for a long, long time. It’s hard to see Johns go, and I don’t envy those who have to immediately step in behind him, as the comparisons are sure to be frequent and tough to live up to for some time.
Score: 6 of 7
A BIG thanks to Astro-Zombies for providing the material for this review. Learn more about them at astrozombies.com.
Get more reviews, previews, and devotionals when you visit
