Of all the books in the DC Absolute line, Absolute Green Lantern seems to be taking some of the wildest swings with the larger mythology than its compatriots. With the entire smorgasbord of the cosmos and Green Lantern lore to play around with, there’s certainly no dearth of riches to leverage here—especially for a writer like Al Ewing, who takes particular glee in deep-cut references of the wild and wacky in his books. And this issue does just that, taking a break away from the current ongoings of the Earth team to put readers back in the stars. And hooo boy, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows out there either.
Absolute Green Lantern #13 takes some real effort to show just how far-reaching Darkseid’s universal rewrite has gone. Space, always one of the more gloriously hopeful places in the DC Universe, is now a black abyss of eldritch horrors, entropy, and ultra-fascist space empires looking to enslave and corrupt everything in their reach. We’ve had very direct inklings of this primordial malice throughout the Absolute Green Lantern series already, but this issue in particular takes readers out toward some familiar faces out in space—yet even that feels particularly…sinister.
Space-Man, Take My Hand
Issue #13 takes us far away from the earthly travails of Jo and company, out into the stars where everything really started. We find ourselves on the planet Rann—longtime DC readers would recognize this as the grand setting for where Adam Strange’s adventures take place. But this Rann is different, as it’s another hub for the Darkstars—the current “policing” force in the galaxy. With the “Green Lanterns” not really in the picture and the “other spectrums” operating in strange new ways, the Darkstars are the galactic cops and then some.
We meet Agent Shade, the Darkstar captain of Rann, and he’s a fairly familiar face for DC fans of old as well. Another far more recognizable face is Sinestro, seemingly in charge of all Darkstar operations in the sector. He’s busy lecturing Agent Shade about ongoing happenings with the recent Lantern activity on Earth, as well as the greater issues going on with Rann and beyond. We get a quick look at how the Darkstars are taking over entire planetary systems and cultures and turning them into little outposts that think, act, and work toward helping the Darkstar cause—oppressing local populations, destroying art and culture, and militarizing/brainwashing populations for their own ends. When things get rough, they call in the Black Hands—elite forces designed to do the harder jobs the Darkstars need done (we’ve already had run-ins with them in previous issues).
There’s a clear demarcation here of things to come when Agent Shade has Sardath, a scientist from Rann, executed by his own daughter Allyana (both characters are major parts of Adam Strange’s mythos), who was brainwashed by the Darkstars and their Sacred Laser to become a fanatical soldier in their army. But, wanting to make sure that Sardath’s plans are truly dealt with, Shade and Allyana both go to his lab to investigate his experiments. What they find is a Trans-Materializer—essentially a gateway to other zones. And before they can shut it down, a redheaded special agent-type person by the name of Emily Hawke shows up through the gateway. She makes quite the impact, taking out Darkstars with ease and even killing Agent Shade. But before we can get any real answers or even fully figure out what’s going on, she is teleported away into the “M-Zone” and toward another cosmic force with unknown intentions.
Gestapo of the Galaxy
Al Ewing gets to gleefully flex his lore chops with this issue in particular, opening up an entire plethora of settings and characters for readers in a contained issue that is entirely context-setting/backstory. This is not a dig at the writing at all: it pretty effectively conveys the situation out there in the greater cosmos and most of the players responsible for that situation—while also leaving enough mystery to everything out there. There’s a LOT to unpack here, and that could make this a divisive issue for readers, especially ones who were getting more invested in the Earth-based action before they were shunted into space with this issue.
Since Agent Shade is the primary POV character for this issue, let’s start there. As one of the more obvious pastiches of Adam Strange and Shade the Changing Man, Agent Shade serves as the Darkstars leader here—giving readers enough insight into how their galactic empire and influence have spread and been enforced. I admit, some of the “fascist” aspects are a little too on the nose, with no real room for subtlety, and it’s an interesting paradigm watching how things on Earth and Rann are similar yet different to each other. If readers were expecting the cosmos to be free of the oppression and malice that Earth was suffering under in the Absolute universe, Absolute Green Lantern #13 bluntly frees them of that delusion, albeit with no real tact. We don’t really get more of Shade beyond demonstrations of his power and his fanatic dedication to the Darkstar cause, and I like that this takes the mindsets of both his original component characters and warps them to their darkest possible conclusions. While Adam Strange was always a complicated hero with questionable actions who still meant well, here that aspect is twisted toward making him a full-blown fascist oppressor of his own people on Rann—to the point of effectively lobotomizing his “wife,” Allyana, into following the Darkstar cause. Similarly, the original Shade has his wildly inventive and unique power perverted into a shapeshifting malevolent ooze that operates more like Marvel’s Maker than anything awe-inspiring. Both these aspects create a unique POV character in Agent Shade, who still has his misgivings and chafes beneath the boots of his superior, Sinestro, yet still devotedly follows his orders to the bitter, evil ends. A story that’s far too familiar in this day and age.
Not to be left out, there’s another whole host of characters at play here too. The focus on the Darkstars having essentially taken over the Green Lanterns’ traditional space in the greater cosmos feels like the kind of twisted inversion you’d expect from this universe, but then goes a step beyond by moving from mere “policing” to straight-up invasion and occupation. Sinestro being positioned as a leader figure in this hierarchy feels probably the most in line with something he would do, and of all the characters introduced here, he seems to be the one closest to his original DC counterpart for the time being. With more information on the Lantern situation and other aspects than readers are being let on to at the moment, there’s clearly a lot that Al Ewing wants to slowly reveal to the audience. Similarly, Allyana, long-time wife/support for Adam Strange, still maintains that role here in the Absolute DC universe, albeit in a far more non-consenting, yet absolutely mind-warped way. Allyana serves more as a plot point than a character at the moment: showcasing just how far the Darkstars are willing to go to achieve their goals and just how much they’re willing to strip people of their agency to make them effective cogs in their galactic conquest machine. It’s a pretty sobering and terrifying sequence of events, but nothing that hasn’t really been seen in other sci-fi over the ages, so that definitely feels like the more uninspired parts of the narrative compared to the rest of Ewing’s world-building.
Finally, the issue closes with another “new” character, Emily Hawke. It’s harder to place what characters she’s a mix of, but my best guess, based on her cavalier attitude, her dimension/time-hopping proclivities, and her name itself, has me leaning towards a Rip Hunter/Hawkgirl hybrid. She probably brings the most intrigue to the goings-on with the Darkstars and the greater “Lantern” mythos being built here, as well as her resistance to Agent Shade’s M-Vest fear tactics. Only time will tell how that goes, but for the most part, this issue succeeds in lore-dumping to a great degree. The only thing that will be up for debate is if that was too much or too little to detract from the ongoings on Earth that people were getting more invested in.
A Change of Pace
A new issue with a whole new scope like this also sees an entirely different art team taking up the reins: namely Eleonora Carlini and Ivan Plascencia on linework and colors, respectively. Having already worked on wacky space fare before, they bring their own signature sense of alien energy to this aptly cosmic book, differentiating it quite well from Jahnoy Lindsay and company’s previous Earth-locked adventures.
Carlini really plays up the alien nature of Rann and its inhabitants, while giving the Darkstars a familiar yet sinister design as well. It’s a stark issue, and the art reflects that perfectly, with brainwashing laser scars on Darkstar agents evoking imagery related to conversion therapy, while Shade’s shape-changing abilities are uniquely grotesque and horrific, preying on the fears of his victims effectively. There’s a real “Flash Gordon”-esque aesthetic to this issue, with the whole “space dystopia” empire vibe, and I think it’s captured really well when Emily Hawke shows up to do her thing, as well as in all the action sequences. Characters, both new and old, are each allowed to visually stand out in striking ways, from the familiar face of Sinestro, who is scheming to his own ultimate ends, to the short heroics of our newest hero.
Backing up this fantastic space-fare foray is Plascencia’s exquisite color work, which brings a murky yet vibrant energy to this rough corner of the cosmos. He really complements Carlini’s linework with psychedelic colors that really bring out the energy in any scene. Whether it’s the redder more flesh-like tones during Shade’s changing sequences, or the more energetic action sequences or quieter talking heads segments; Plascencia has a good grip on lighting aesthetics to really make your money’s worth in this issue.
Something Strange in the Neighborhood
Absolute Green Lantern #13 takes another decisive step in opening up the greater galaxy for readers in this cosmic escapade. There’s definitely enough intrigue to work with everything that’s presented here—from the Darkstars, to Rann, to Emily Hawke, and more—but that also might feel a little overwhelming for people, having so much thrown at them in such a short amount of time. Whether or not the next issue continues this thread, or moves back to Jo and Tomar’s current escapade, remains to be seen, but for now it would make sense that if the Earth cast is headed into the big unknown, it’s best to have something to look forward to.
Whatever little tastes we’ve gotten of the horrors beyond the stars become a little clearer with this issue, and it’s not a fun picture being painted. Fans of DC deep lore will definitely have a lot to sink their teeth into with this one, thanks to Al Ewing’s dedication to the weird and wonderful, but there’s also the possibility of divisive opinions, considering we’re once again treading close to the knife edge of what made the initial issues of this book a little hard to get into early on. Time will tell how things pan out, but for now, the hook is enough to keep readers invested in these characters and the universe being built around them.
Final Verdict: Absolute Green Lantern #13 once again takes a break from the ongoing action to open up the Absolute DC cosmic universe in a big way that can be a little overwhelming for readers having to process so much in so little time or ones who were more invested in the Earth-based action.