The first week of Blackest Night brings us the official Prologue and some of the creepiest imagery that DC has put out in a while. If you’d like to read a full review of the book, check out my reviews
HERE. This article will bullet point the issue, provide some information on major happenings, and be a forum for speculation as to what may happen next. Enjoy and obviously, spoilers will be discussed. Click below for more :
Books Released This Week (1):
Green Lantern #43 (Blackest Night Prologue)
Story by Geoff Johns
Pencils by Doug Mahnke
Inks by Christian Alamy
Color by Randy Mayor
Cover by Mahnke, Alamy and Alex Sinclair
Variant Cover by Eddy Barrows and Nei Ruffino
What Happened :
• Black Hand’s origin gets fleshed out a bit more to cover his creepy fascination with death. We learn that he performed taxidermy, including an unauthorized taxidermy project with the family dog that began his visits to a psychiatrist.
• A very creepy and contently smiling Black Hand lays in the rain in a grave with 5 skeletons while caressing one of them (click on image to the left). Ummmm…what did he just do??
• Black Hand returns to his family’s mortuary and home, after a brief moment of recognition by his brother at the front door Hand proceeds to slaughter his family and when his father asks “Why?” right before his death, Hand responds with “Because it’s what I do.”
• Sitting down at the dining room table just after his killing spree, the voices that guide Black Hand tell him that there is one more death which leads him to blow his brains out as he topples onto the floor in a pool of blood.
• Scar or Scardian as she is sometimes called, appears suddenly and literally vomits up a Black Ring which quickly finds the dead Black Hand, repairs his wounds, and turns him into the zombie-like state that we’ve seen for the other preview Black Lanterns. She explains that he will be on the level of Ion and Parallax, in other words the embodiment of the Black Corps and their lord’s herald.
• We see the first full Black Lantern as Black Hand is reborn as a zombified version of himself. He swears to use his power to extinguish the light (click on image on left).
New Characters Introduced :
The Predator – While I don’t believe this is a totally new character judging by some internet research, this is the first time that we are seeing it as the “Emotional Entity” for the Star Sapphires aka Violet Lanterns.
Black Lantern Black Hand – Described by Scar as an equal to Ion, Parallax or The Predator it seems that Black Hand is not only the leader of the Black Corps, but their herald and “Emotional Entity”. That was unexpected but well done.
Deaths :
Marbles the dog (killed by young William Hand…then stuffed and displayed on a bedside table with a tennis ball in his mouth)
Black Hand’s parents and two brothers (killed by Black Hand)
Black Hand (suicide)
Speculation :
I’m still curious as to who the Black Lantern’s “lord and master” is, but I’m thinking from what I’ve seen online that it points towards Nekron. Not much else to speculate on since this issue was basically setting up Black Hand and had a razor sharp focus on him. Also, I’m guessing that all of the dead heroes and villains that were named here will not be Black Lanterns or might just show up as background characters, but I have a feeling that the characters that have cheated death (Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Hal Jordan, etc.) will be key in the story.
Next Week’s Releases :
Blackest Night #1
Blackest Night : Tales of the Corps #1
Green Lantern #43 (Blackest Night Prologue)
• A very creepy and contently smiling Black Hand lays in the rain in a grave with 5 skeletons while caressing one of them (click on image to the left). Ummmm…what did he just do??
• We see the first full Black Lantern as Black Hand is reborn as a zombified version of himself. He swears to use his power to extinguish the light (click on image on left).
Judging from the images that we’ve seen so far, when the individuals are inducted into the Black Lantern Corps they get, besides the obvious black ring, a new black and silver costume that looks like a mix of their old costume and Black Hand’s costume. Also, those that have capes get a fancy new split cape that looks like it forms a five-fingered hand when it’s blowing around…pretty slick, huh?
In Blackest Night #0, (you can check out my original review HERE) we see Black Hand track down Bruce Wayne’s unmarked grave. He rips the skull out of the ground and begins to chant the Black Lantern’s oath while holding the skull. To me, this would put Bruce Wayne as the first Black Lantern, but I think they may save him until later. I really, really, really am dying to see what a Black Lantern Batman costume would look like.
Assuming things ship on time (which has been an issue with DC events) check back next week for the prologue to Blackest Night : GL #43. I have much respect for Geoff Johns though, who wrote a personal letter to the fans in Blackest Night #0 that addresses the common flaws of major event books and he is taking the lead in making sure that everyone works together to put out a book that is worth the money and shipped as scheduled.
For those that don’t know, the prophesized Blackest night is descending on the DC Universe and no one is safe. The Black Lanterns will be here soon, powered by death and raising the deceased heroes and villains of the DC Universe in order to achieve their goals.
