Tony Black reviews Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #5…
“Sinestro’s Law” part 5! Sinestro’s Fear Engine powers up as the Green Lantern Corps streaks across the universe to find Guy Gardner, but instead come face to face with a battle-ready armada standing in their way.
We are now well and truly racing toward a conclusion to this opening arc now in ‘Sinestro’s Law Pt 5: Joining Forces’, as the different threads in play within Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps all begin lining up to converge on the same destination: Warworld, the central hub where Sinestro has constructed his Fear Engine to dictate absolute will through power over the universe, and where now he begins to worry everything he has built may come tumbling down. Robert Venditti does a good job of weaving Sinestro’s justifiable concerns alongside the building other storylines, all of which get an equal purchase here.
Captive on Warworld, inside the Fear Engine, Guy Gardner remains sparky and bullish, attempting to summon Green Lantern power against the religious Administer Lash and his unorthodox baptism. An even more interesting channelling of power is happening with the titular Hal, having been rescued by Sinestro’s turncoat daughter Soranik–who’s own reasons & psychology we finally get a grasp on here–as Hal begins to realise the will inside the Green Lantern ring is started to evolve him into some kind of, presumably, ‘super-Lantern’, or quite possibly a variant on the Guardians – this should provide an interesting exploration of Hal’s powers. Let’s not also forget John Stewart and his small crew of returning Lanterns, still searching for Guy, who come across what they think is a new enemy only to find unexpected allies.
Colourfully drawn as ever by Ethan van Sciver, Hal Jordan & the Green Lantern Corps continues the better form from last week, balancing good character moments alongside the epic space opera plotting and a real sense of building toward the climax. It’s still been far from the strongest Rebirth run, but it could well end on a high.
Rating: 7/10
Tony Black
Originally published October 6, 2016. Updated April 16, 2018.
