Preludes: Rage of the Red Lanterns

"With blood and rage of crimson red,

Ripped from a corpse so freshly dead,

Together with our hellish hate,

We'll burn you all--That is your fate!" ~ Oath of the Red Lantern Corps

With the Sinestro Corps on the run and their namesake held within the Sciencells on Oa, the Green Lanterns seem to have emerged triumphant. However, the Guardians grow ever more paranoid about the forbidden prophecy - the Blackest Night - and so create the Alpha-Lanterns to watch for disloyalty in the ranks of the Corps. Meanwhile, on the planet of Ysmault, the last of the Five Inversions, Atrocitus, begins the formation of a new Corps, one powered by the crimson light of hate...

Dramatis Personnae:

Hal Jordan

John Stewart

The Guardians

Salaak

Kilowog

The Alpha-Lanterns

Sinestro

Romat-Ru

Atrocitus

Laira

The Red Lantern Corps

Ganthet and Sayd

Saint Walker

Warth

Plot Summary:

Due to the First New Law implemented by the Guardians, Sinestro has been sentenced to death. As a result, Hal Jordan finds himself questioning the edicts of the Guardians, and whether what they are doing is right. Meanwhile, the Lost Lanterns, dealing with the death of Ke'haan, take his body back to his family, only to make a horrifying discovery - Ke'haan's wife and children are dead, and his house burnt. When Laira discovers that the culprit, Amon Sur, is still at the scene and attempting to surrender, she rips him open, killing him. This triggers an internal investigation, and Laira is exiled from the Corps in disgrace. However, on her trip home, a red ring locates her, and she is possessed by it.

Meanwhile, the Green Lanterns are escorting Sinestro, when they are ambushed by the Red Lanterns. Sinestro is kidnapped, and Hal Jordan is wounded by the actions of the enraged Laira, a solitary figure appears to revive him; Saint Walker, the first Blue Lantern. After a conversation with Ganthet and Sayd, Hal reluctantly agrees to journey to Ysmault to rescue him, as it becomes apparent that Sinestro has a role yet to play in the Blackest Night...

Verdict:

Oh, Atrocitus, how angry you are.

Rage, although not as good as Sins of the Star Sapphire in my humble opinion, is still a very solid series, and ties into the whole prelude plotline well. Let's start with the characters. The main focus of the series, of course, is the last of the Five Inversions; Atrocitus. Here, we see his plans come to fruition, and his hate for Sinestro and the Guardians becomes, if anything, even more apparent than it was before. Personally, I love this character; he manages to be simultaneously eloquent and unnerving whilst retaining the obvious physical scariness of a giant hate-filled red alien. His dialogue is, for the most part, very good, and although it can be over-the-top, it's in such a way as to be very effective and actually quite enjoyable to read as opposed to cheesy. Sinestro, the other main villain, is as you'd expect him to be; arrogant and snobbishly intellectual, and completely sure of himself, even when he is at the mercy of the Red Lanterns. Admittedly, you are meant to hate this character, but at the same time it is not perhaps for the reasons the writers intended. It almost seems like they're pushing the "Sinestro is eeeeeevil" idea a little too much, especially when he reacts with near-idiotic arrogance after Hal Jordan finds him on Ysmault. Otherwise, he's still Sinestro, and for the most part that's no bad thing.

Now, the two wild cards in this collection are Saint Walker and Warth, the two Blue Lanterns. Their characters respectively come across as very zen, much like two buddhist monks who have spent years at their temples learning the ways of their religion. Indeed, the light of Hope is supposed to be strongly linked to faith (there are several hints and clues that this is the case) and so this totally fits what a Blue Lantern should be like, in my opinion.

I've always liked Hal Jordan, and I'm happy to say that he doesn't disappoint in Rage. Throughout, Hal finds himself questioning the new approach the Guardians have taken to policing the universe, from the creation of the Alpha-Lanterns through to militarising the Green Lanterns into the beginnings of an army. We also see a great deal of personal guilt , especially over the fate of Laira; clearly Mr Jordan has a chip on his shoulder left over from Parallax, and this helps to humanise him in the eyes of the reader. Of course, he still pulls off levels of coolness which we deserve from a mainstay of the DC universe, although I can't reveal too much as that would venture into the realm of the spoiler.

The art in this collection is somewhat hit and miss. The first half is lavish and very slick, with Atrocitus looking as intimidating as you'd expect him to, being Atrocitus. However, for some strange reason, the artist redesigns him for the second half of the collection, and the result... well, let's just say it reminds me of a red, anthropomorphic whale. Goddamnit. 

Overall, however, Rage of the Red Lanterns is really something any Green Lantern fan should have at least read. It's about the same price as Sins of the Star Sapphire, and this makes it worth buying in my book.

Rating:

7.7/10