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Green Lantern : Emerald Knights

Green Lantern : Emerald Knights

List Price: $12.95
Your Price: $9.71
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My favorite Kyle Rayner/GL storyline.
Review: Kyle Rayner is the only Green Lantern I've ever really known, though back issues, TPBs, JLA, Zero Hour & Final Night, etc. have let me get to know Hal Jordan - a tragic, poignant character (can characters be poignant?). Seeing the two together is great, but the story's not about Kyle; it's about Hal, dealing with his past and future. We see the quintessential GL realize all that he will lose and the decisions he makes to deal with it, and also gives some modern-day characters a chance to get to know Hal, or see him (the real him; not Parallax) one last time. An excellent opportunity for both superheroes and readers.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: It's Nostalgia
Review: Prepare for the old to meet the new, when a young Hal Jordan is catipuleted into the Future and learns of what the New GL Kyle Rayner deals with. It has alot of good artwork & the story gives a good link to build upon with how it would have been, had Hal Jordan not become Parralex

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: They said they wouldn't do it, but.....
Review: Ron Marz said that he wrote this story more to further develop the character of Kyle, and not on the part of readers who wanted to see Hal Jordan again, but come on, who is he trying to kid? This is one of the worst Green Landarn stories ever published, with Marz adding insult to injury as he first destroyed Hal Jordan and now gets to mess around with him even more. It is cheap writing like this that has turned so many readers off of comics in last decade. For a much better reading expereince, read Justice Leage of America; The Nail, by Alan Davis.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: This proves WHY the current GL doesn't work...
Review: Sad to say, but this is one of the most horribly contrived and predictable comic storylines in recent history.

Ron Marz, in all his mediocrity, once again reminds those of us with at least half a brain, why he's a bad comics writer. With an obvious team-up, he once again cashes in on the celebrity of a character (Hal Jordan) which he helped destroy five years ago... all so he could bolster the rep of the most misbegotten, horribly contrived, most obviously committee-created character ===> you guessed it folks, Kyle Rayner!

Yes, he stole and incorporated the plot of Broken Arrow into this unremarkable storyline. Yes, he brought back Hal Jordan (however briefly), and yes, by the end of the story, it's obvious nothing will change about the status quo of the current DCU...

And yes, Kyle Rayner is STILL a pretty damn weak comic book character.

Methinks Green Lantern deserves a) a better writer; b) a better editor; and c) the return of the character to the role who made it great, Hal Jordan.

Unfortunately, with the current inept editorialship at DC and the joke writer they have on GL, it won't happen anytime soon...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The GL Version of "Return of Barry Allen"!
Review: The most wonderful (as well as most over-exploited) thing about DC Comics is the long history of the characters. For example, we have the Golden Age Green Lantern, Alan Scott (who first debuted in 1940) and the Silver Age Green Lantern, Hal Jordan (1959) and finally the current Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner (1994). That's not to mention the other GLs like the 1970s John Stewart and the obnoxious (but cuddly!!) Guy Gardner. Same thing with the Flashes (Jay Garrick, Barry Allen, Wally West).

The usual view of comic creators and readers are somewhat like this: The Golden Age gave us the original concept, the Silver Age gave us the penultimate version of the character and the Modern Age version is either a farce or a personification of the fan-boy's hero-worship for the Silver Age version. Case in point, Wally West, the current Flash - who is often portrayed as the substitute for the comic-fan who learn his "values" and "life-lessons" by emulating the oh-so-great Silver Age Flash, Barry Allen. We finally got to see Barry and Wally together in Mark Waid's now-classic "Return of Barry Allen" tale. In a way, Wally's Flash is "legitimized" by Barry's approval of him at the end of the tale.

Kyle Rayner, the current GL, however suffered the abuse of comic-readers who constantly call him a farce and pretender. Looking at the character objectively, I have to say that Kyle suffered because of the fate of his predecessor than through any fault of his own. You see, his predecessor, the beloved Hal Jordan went crazy and became this villain called Parallax (long story - in short, the readers were none too pleased!). Long-time readers took out their frustration on Hal's replacement, Kyle - even to the fanatical level of forming a Jihad-like group called H.E.A.T. to insist that D.C. Comics reinstate Hal as the "one and only REAL Green Lantern". This volume here is another "Return of Barry Allen"-like response by D.C. to "legitimize" Kyle Rayner. Did they succeed? Well, the results are pretty predictable. Hal shows up in Kyle's present-time. They go through several adventures together and meet up with a few "old" friends like the JLA, the current Green Arrow and the other "ring-bearers". Kyle feeling like the fifth wheel now that Hal is welcomed back (you'll never guess who comes to "comfort" him!). And finally an encounter with the Parallax from Zero Hour (don't ask!!). Ends with Hal saying how "happy and proud" he is of Kyle (there... the "legitimizing" moment) and Kyle "knowing" that Hal will always be that measure of a hero that he aspire to. Nothing overtly deep or anything here.

"Emerald Knights" is really a simple, fond farewell to the Hal Jordan that we knew and loved. It doesn't really change anything. Except Kyle maybe. The past few years, we have seen Kyle getting "recognition" from the JLA, the other Green Lanterns, etc. We finally get to see him meeting the "real" Hal Jordan and see how he measures up. I don't think this story did much to appease the H.E.A.T. (I just HAD to say that!). But for a reader like me, I'm pretty happy that they did a story like that. It shows how much these characters are loved and the affection that both the creators and readers still have for them. I am neither a H.E.A.T. supporter nor a Kyle supporter. I just like the way things have progressed so far. Kyle IS the Green Lantern. Alan Scott is Sentinel of JSA (recently started calling himself G.L. again!) and Hal is performing his "penance" as the Spectre (see "Day of Judgment" miniseries).

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Hal Jordan is the only real GL.
Review: This story showed me how much of a good character Hal Jordan really was, and it still is amazing why Ron Marz destroyed such a great character. Anyway that story turned off a lot of GL fans and this story does nothing but insult them even more!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good but not great
Review: well it is at times closer to 3 stars but some of the stories in it make it a 4 star comic and worth buying. Well you start off with Kyle time jumping and landing in the past, he fights side by side with the greatest GL ever Hal Jordan. well with some work they end up in the future and it has some really goo stories like Hal learning what he will become later , a killer who will wipe out the corps and almost destory the universe, but then you have stories like green arrows that could have been better if only a couple of thing was changed, like Hal some how runs into the guy who got him kicked out of the Air force and he happens to work with the guys who are after Green arrow...come on even in a comic a time jumping Hal running into this guy? what are the chances? had they left that out it would have been much better. but all in all it's worth it and you get Hal back for a little while with lots of cameos from the JLA and others.

Now one thing that bugs me all the way through it.....is the time jumping! they never explain how he can be there and everything still be the same and all they ever do is have Hal or Kyle say "i don't know how this is possible, but that's for a smarter man to figure out" they say this or close it a LOT and it bugs me ot think they just mean "well there is no good way ot explain it we just wanted to team these guys up so don't think abou it" and it gets worse at the end with Parralax showing up due ot time traveling... buy only if you like GL because it's far from the greatest.


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