Green Lantern: Lights Out HC [2013]

   

      

GREEN LANTERN: LIGHTS OUT HARDCOVER

Relic is an anomaly from the old universe which existed of Lightsmiths who exhausted their reservoir and extinguished from existence. Relic is the survivor from the previous universe. The Lightsmiths extinguished life from the previous universe and now the Lanterns are doing the same. It’s up to Relic to stop them by beginning with the destruction of the Blue Lanterns.

Relic arrives on Oa and demands the Green Lanterns to surrender or he will take their planet by force. Relic collects the spectrum from the Central Battery then destroys it. Without the Central Battery Oa is unstable and ready to explode. Hal and John Stewart order to get the wounded off of Oa. The Citadel of the Guardians was an escape rocket that took the wounded from Oa. Hal escorts the remaining Green Lanterns off of Oa while John Stewart distracts Relic. The Green Lanterns escape as Oa is destroyed. 

After the destruction of Oa, the Entities merge with Kyle Rayner however the Green Lantern Corps want to head to Ysmault to unite with the Red Lanterns to stop Relic. The Green Lanterns want to stop Rayner however he sends them on a fast ride to Ysmault. Rayner is missing the Parallax and the Butcher however restores balance within himself with the help of the New Guardians. Rayner reveals to the New Guardians that he needs to help Relic as the Entities intended them to do. Meanwhile John Stewart takes his Green Lanterns to speak with the Indigo Tribe. 

SERIES HIGHLIGHTS

- Atrocitus has merged with his Entity to become the Atrocity Butcher

- Kyle arrives and the Butcher removes himself from Atrocitus and latches to Kyle

- Kyle goes to help Relic breach through the Source Wall

- the Red Lanterns that they will get their own sector if they help stop Relic
- The combined Lantern corps take on Relic and imprison him within the Source Wall
- The Entities empowering the batteries are gone however the reservior has been replenished
- Mogo becomes the new home of the Green Lantern Corps

The story sets a new status quo following the epic Geoff Johns run by destroying Oa, eliminating the Blue Lanterns, and the Entities empowering the batteries. Impact during the finale would have been well served if Kyle Rayner was trapped behind the Source Wall. It would have been a good death and raise his legacy above Hal Jordan as the greatest Lantern. The story behind Relic is amazing as it adds to the mythology of the Lanterns as well as the DC Universe. However the story should have been told over a year to reach a well deserved conclusion instead of a rushed one. 

This hardcover collects

Green Lantern (2011) #24

Green Lantern Corps (2011) #24

Green Lantern: New Guardians (2011) #24
Red Lanterns (2011) #24

Green Lantern Annual (2011) #2

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT – 3 OUT OF 5