Green Lantern #36 (Legacy #603)
"Second Chances"
Writer: Jeremy Adams
Artists: Ig Guara and Montos
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Cover Artist: Eddy Barrows, Eber Ferreira, and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
I was a huge fan of Kyle Rayner's original run as Green Lantern in the 1990s. As a teenager who had no real connection to Hal Jordan, I was excited to get to see the adventures of a new character in the title role that I could relate to a little better. One of the things I remember most clearly from that time was Kyle's relationship and partnership with Jenny Hayden, aka Jade.
Rekindling Old (Green) Flames
Green Lantern and Odyssey find themselves faced with the bizarre and horrible true visage of the alien Dr. Skin. Although he's not one of the escaped Oan prisoners that Kyle is hunting, he's incredibly powerful and brushes off some of GL's best attacks. Our hero is left with no choice but to go full White Lantern, using the full power of the Emotional Spectrum to take the doctor down.
While Kyle recharges, Odyssey is just about to finally tell him her "origin story" when his ex-girlfriend, Jade, appears. She has been sent by the JLA to claim Dr. Skin so he can be properly imprisoned. After a very awkward conversation, Kyle works up the nerve to ask Jade out, and she says yes.
A few days later, Odyssey has to appear at a movie premiere, and Kyle acts as her bodyguard. As soon as she's secured, he takes off to meet Jade. Their night ends up being a little more exciting than planned when an out-of-control food truck almost takes out a hungry crowd. It appears something rotten—and alien—is afoot at Big Belly Burger...
Big Enough for the Both of Us
This was more like it.
I was very excited when DC announced that Kyle Rayner was taking over as the lead of the Green Lantern title with issue #33 (Legacy #600). I was even okay with him splitting the spotlight with Hal Jordan that first issue, as the elder Lantern was heading off on a new adventure of his own. Then the next few issues still did the "split lead" thing, and it didn't feel like there were enough pages for either of them. Plus, some of the things in Kyle's half were just weird. Now, Hal has been sent off to a crossover with Aquaman, and Kyle gets a whole issue to himself. It's about time.
There's still some weirdness here, but overall, this issue is so much more like I was hoping for when Kyle was announced as the lead. I think a big part of that is the appearance of Jade. Don't get me wrong, I like Odyssey, but I needed to see Kyle interacting with some other people, too. He has too many friends that he would have lost touch with while he was out in space; he should be trying to catch up with them.
The fight with Dr. Skin was short, thanks to the White Lantern moment. I actually didn't know Kyle could do that, so that was cool to see. I'm glad that wasn't all forgotten about when he became a Green Lantern again. Plus, his need to recharge after using that power gave him and Odyssey a chance to have a needed talk. She's a fun character, but she's so much of an enigma it's hard to get a read on her. I thought the gag of her starting to tell Kyle her origin, and then Jade shows up, was actually quite well done.
The various scenes between Kyle and Jade were all great. They both came across as two adults who had history but had grown and changed since then, so they were getting to know each other anew. I'm really glad they took this approach with Kyle, considering prior issues had him written a bit too childish for my liking. If the way these two's time together played out is any indication, I think Jenny might be sticking around for a while, and I'm all for it.
Now, the weirdness I mentioned. There's a subplot where Big Belly Burger, arguably the most famous burger chain in the DCU, is trying to boost sales. Their solution? Mascots! It's as dumb as it sounds. But, it looks like those mascots—or maybe the executive in charge of them—are some of Kyle's escaped aliens. They appear to be staking their claim on the burger trade by taking out their competitors, such as the food truck that interrupts Kyle and Jenny's date. It's really strange, and I'm not sure where it's going. Can't Kyle fight some "normal" villains for an issue?
Corporate Conflict
Kyle Rayner's continuing adventures are once again brought to us by the creative team of writer Jeremy Adams and dual artists Ig Guara and Montos.
Adams seems to have a better handle on Kyle's voice this month. He doesn't come across as as immature as he did in prior issues, but rather a bit more like the experienced hero that he's become. Not saying he doesn't still have childish tendencies, but they should be toned down a bit by now. He's slowly giving more depth to Odyssey, which is appreciated. I just wish it were happening a little faster. His take on Jade is solid; she feels consistent with other recent appearances that I've seen. So the character work here is overall strong. I just wish the plotting itself were a little less weird, and maybe we got a bit more straightforward heroic stuff.
The art duties are again split between Guara and Montos by subplots, so one of them handles all of Kyle's scenes while the other handles the parts with the executive and the mascots. The mascot portions are done in more of a dark and realistic style, which is ironic given the ridiculous mascot costumes, but it works for the darker tone of those scenes. The rest of the issue is done in a brighter, more expressive style that is maybe a little too abstract at points. Neither artist is really my favorite, but their styles both work for the different parts of the book, and their work is solid overall.
The colors by Romulo Fajardo Jr. follow the same mix as the art—the mascot scenes are much darker and more sinister, while the remaining portions of the book are much brighter. The ring constructs all stand out in a nice green glow effect, and Kyle's explosion of White Lantern power is very striking. Overall, there's nothing too flashy, but everything here is very effective.
Second Chances
Green Lantern #36 is an enjoyable read that has a lot more to like than previous issues have, as Kyle is reunited with an old flame and we get some Green and White Lantern action. The building subplot about the burger mascots and whatever they're plotting is a weird one that I'm not sure how I feel about, but at least it seems to tie back to the escaped Oan prisoners. For the first time since his return to Earth, it feels like Kyle Rayner is actually moving forward, and not just revisiting old steps.