Blackest Night #4 (OF 8)

Hey that cover looks familar. I can't wait.

How do you evacuate Earth exactley? I mean the Black Lanterns will just follow you...

Can't wait to see where this issue takes us. Although I hope Johns is focusing on the story and not just a 'wtf' moment like last issue.

I bet I will believe what Hal uncovers.  IF I don't believe it, I might ask for my money back.

So excited for this. I think this is the issue that we've all been waiting for that takes the event past the opening "Zombies attack" phase.

@TNC One word: Mogo.

@Stuclach Obviously, Hal will have to come up with a cunning plan. 

@stuclach agreed.  I really hope we don't follow the story for 20 pages only to find a completely out of left field reveal on the last page.  I fully expect Johns to craft a story that I find internally consistent.  Is that too much to ask DC? 

@Prax: Isn't Mogo getting attacked right not by Black Lanterns? Even if he/it is not; they are everywhere! You cant hide from them.

We're gonna need to shrink the entire population of Earth again.

@TNC  "You better kill them, or they'll get you in your dreams!"

The Black Lanterns better stay away from Coast City.  I don't need another Kyle *shudders.

@Prax-If they are evacuated to Mogo then we won't see the Xanshi V. Mogo fight.  That would suck

Didn't we just get our butts kicked by Darkseid, now I gotta leave my crib because of damn dirty zombies?

How do the major TV networks turn a profit if their audience is constantly being killed en masse or evacuated off the planet?

@PraxJarvin - I don't see Hal as cunning.  He seems a bit like a blunt force kind of guy.  Not Guy Gardner level blunt, but pretty blunt.

@PraxJarvin, again - I also think/hope we are moving past the "Zombie attack" stage and into the "STORY" portion of the book.

@siraim - I feel Mr. Johns will do a pretty solid job of keeping it pretty Deus Ex Machina free (aside from the semi-Deus nature of the Indigo Lanterns).

@MarkS - They loot their houses while they are off planet?  That's what my alternate universe self is doing right now in the DCU.  He also has a six pack and is able to grow a full beard.

@MarkS and Stuclach: Common criminals/burglars must have a field day every other week in this universe. Most of the superheroes are either too busy or not even on the planet to notice a house or Best Buy getting robbed.

@TNC - My DCU self notice that, too.  He's very perceptive (and virile).

@stuclach See, you make a Black Adder reference no one gets it... 

@PraxJarvin - Sorry. I missed that one. Please forgive me.

Here's what i hope happens in this issue.

At the beginning of the issue we're introduced to some random C-list DCU character that Johns really likes. A little bit of humanity is injected into that C-lister's characterisation. Than after 18 pages that character is turned into a Black Lantern....

I don't think i have seen that yet. no, wait! that's what exactly happened in the first three issues!

nah, i'm only kidding. This is really good

Does Hal travel to the darkest depths only to find a White Power Battery? 

Yeah, if "White Power" saves the day, that won't be offensive at all. O_O

@WadeWilson - I think it would be equally offensive if Hal joins Sinestro who is totally evil to defeat the Black Lanterns.

gayest. cover. ever. not that there's anything wrong with that.....

I can't believe this series is already half over!  How are they going to wrap this up in only four more issues?

I'm already wondering how Sinestro will turn out after this is all over...

@Hexsas: Have you seen the cover to Superman Secret Origin #2?

"The colors, Duke! The colors!"

10 million to the first person who knows what that is from! 

pretty colors.

What follows is supposition based on what we know and what I know of the GL universe. Read at your own risk, because I have a feeling this may be part of Johns' playbook. ;-) 

So, I reread Green Lantern #40 (from the 60s), Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #1-3 (80s, and curiously recently reprinted) and Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #1-3 (80s, also) this evening and I suddenly realized.... Krona has to be involved in this. So, despite the fact that the "big bad" has been spoiled (I won't say here, until it is revealed) I have a feeling we're going to get a bigger reveal (explaining away the early spoiling). Why Krona, you ask? (Well, you probably didn't but I have a tendency to prattle on) Well, no character in the DCU has been so singularly obsessed with seeing the moment of creation than Krona. And what, as we found out last ish, is the only thing that can stop the Black Lanterns? The White Light of Creation. Hmm... Krona has also been beyond the veil and crossed over into the Domain of the Dead and came back armed with "dark light" powers (though, they were colored purple). Hmmm. As well, he saw the Anti-Monitor and the Spectre's hands battling just after creation and who are both under the sway of the BLs? Hmmm... I believe I can see the threads coming together! Now... there is one character in the entire DCU who *has* seen the point of creation... Hal Jordan... as Parallax during Zero Hour. Johns is nothing if not a master of continuity. I just wanted it on the record. Krona... in the Oan Library... with the candlestick. :-p

Who's krona?

@edward Krona's a Guardian who became obsessed with seeing the moment of creation. It was believed to do so would destroy the universe, so the other Guardians imprisoned him inside a field of energy and sent it on arc through the universe for millions of years. He appeared in the first Hal Jordan/Alan Scott story, where he was summarily beaten and sent back into prisoner. He popped up years later in Tales of the Green Lantern Corps as the "herald" to a greater power. And then he appeared, most notably, in Crisis on Infinite Earths, where they time travel back to stop him from finding out about the true "cause" of creation. And then he appeared (again in a flashback) in Ganthet's Tale. He's appeared in a lot of Kurt Busiek's work, like JLA/Avengers and Trinity. He's credited as being the "creator" or reason why evil exists in the universe. Sort of a lame one-note villain that ended up being made into something more.

hmm, that's a pretty good theory, prax

*obscure Monty Python joke mixed with DC writers*

Geoff Johns: Gentlemen....I see...WHITE!

Dan Didio: Think of the colors!

@Prax  Didn't we just see Krona as the big bad in Trinity?  Surely Johns won't go back to the same villian we just a couple of weeklies ago.

@Prax  I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!  You have connected a few loose threads.  Number one being Johns' adoration of Crisis events.  Well played sir.  And here I thought it would end when Hal put on all the rings and became the white lantern.

@Prax - I find the idea of Krona playing a role very interesting, but Krona himself generally bores me.  I sincerely hope that if Johns decides to use him, he gives Krona a bit of depth.  

@stuchlach he hasn't let us down yet brother.  why would he start now?

@vadamowens - I am a cynical, cynical man.

Please don't let it be Krona. Seriously villians with
mustaches just ruin the story for me.
Sinestro is of course the exception.

Krona has a full on Saddam that would just be too jarring.

Plus I think he has a receding hair line. And a pudgy stomach.
I don't think that even Ivan Reis could make him cool.

Not understanding how you evacuate earth.  Especially when there's literally nowhere to run since this is a universe wide (lack of a better word for DC) crisis. 

 I really cannot wait to see where this goes.  Every single issue of Blackest Night including the spinoffs have been amazing.

Really ready for this to end, although I know that is a long, long way off.  Have found the Blackest Night spinoffs to be fairly pointless, and the series proper to be good but not great.

@MarkS Krona's mustache Predates Saddam. ;-)

Does anyone know what comes first in continuity? This or GL 47?

@ocdavenger The safe bet is BN #4 before GL #47. I believe BN is a week or two late.

@Prax - Are you sure that Krona's mustache predates Saddam's?  Picture little 10 year old Saddam running around with that huge mustache. You know that happened.

Pick of the Week for me.

This was a return to top form for the event, considering how uneven the last issue was. So many great moments, such great artwork, and a holy shit reveal at the end.....God I love Geoff Johns.

Pretty solid. I gave it a 4 out of 5.  Needs more Hal.

 Spoilers Below.

Pick of the Week for me too. 

The dialogue was fantastic. The art was amazing as always. The Atom and (Barry Allen) Flash both stepped up big time in this book.

Myra: "If I'm Wonder Woman and your (the Atom) Superman, then who is he (referring to Barry Allen) suppossed to be?" 

Atom: "The Flash." 

I loved this book so much I read it again directly after finishing. Even though Hal wasn't in this book, you could really see why Barry and Hal are such great friends.  

This was solid but it has really been playing second fiddle to the plot of Green Lantern.  It still managed to be entertaining even though I really don't care about The Flash.  The short scene with Damage, his father, and Atom Smasher was great though.

...I wish my LCS had that cover for the book instead of the black lantern kobra face one.

soo am I supposed to know who that is at the end??

@RocketRaccon Not really. He's a really, really obscure GL villain. However.... if you're interested in finding out more about him you can check out Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1 which was recently reprinted. (Hmmm...) and you can check out Green Lantern Annual #7 featuring Kyle Rayner.

@Bryce The cover we have featured here is the solicited cover for BL #6 or 7. The variant cover for this issue was equally blah.

That's what I'm talking about.

This was good, but not great.  Some of it felt like a step back.  Or rather, that it would have fit better in the last issue.  Especially some of the smaller scenes.

I really enjoyed this issue. Not quite sure why some people aren't loving this issue, though. Maybe it's just that I'm an unabashed Barry fan? Maybe the fact that Superman hasn't made an appearance in 3 issues? I don't know... but I loved this. Everything felt right about this. This is Barry Allen at his finest, forced to lead the team when he'd rather not, but being by far the best leader they could have. The Atom coming into his own after dithering for years before his disappearance.  There are some fun cameos, here, though. Anyway, this was 5/5 and POTW for me.

SPOILERS: I was a big fan a the JPV cameo in the book, as we as the Scarecrow's immunity. However, the biggest moment of the book for me was the death of Damage. I just... did not expect that. And it being located on a page turn made it more jaw dropping on the other side.

@Prax: Superman has his mini and it's over. He's not the focial point obviously for this event. If he was then they wouldn't just showcase him in a mini. Same goes for Batman, I mean the new one, cause technically Bruce's skull is a key factor in all of this.

I agree that the sequence with JPV and Scarecrow was one of the highlights. Maybe the best moment in terms of cool factor.

Snow storm in Denver and the books didn't come in!!! so want to participate, but can't :(

@TNC My point is I think people are disappointed that the "JLA" haven't appeared yet, properly. I think Johns mustn't like the JLA all the much because he seems to like making the Trinity look useless compared to second-stringers. (Flash, GL, the JSA). Indeed, neither Superman nor Batman appear in the "Barry makes the rounds" sequence. I'd love to go a whole event with Superman sitting it out. ;-) 

@PraxJarvin: He likes the trinity. it's fairly obvious he adores Superman. I wouldn't read into it that way, rather as giving som other people a chance to shine.

He loves Superman so much that he decided to do a story that has nothing to do with the current storyline with the character. That's dedication ;)

@Prax: Well Superman and Batman have made a splash during this crisis. It's just that their role is lesser then what the other characters are doing in the main series. I find it refreshing not to see that the holy trinity isn't going to be the one's to solve this. Barry/Hal/Ray and others should be the heroes once and awhile.

It hasn't bothered me at all that the trinity isn't playing a big role in this event yet.  

One of my favorite parts was when Palmer took Flash and Mera on a fantastic voyage through the phone line.   

Seems like the odd issues have contained gripping storytelling, while the even issues have moved the complicated plot forward.

hehe, I thought it was great.  The mini's are a way of showing that EVERYone is occupied right now and not a way of leaving people out.  the superman mini does address the current superman status quo. 

The only thing I'm wondering is when this does take place in relation to the other storylines.  I'm loving the new krypton thing, but this must take place after its conclusion right?  hmmm...just don't know.

Other then the baddie showing up the other biggest thing to happen this week was in Blackest Night Titans. You gotta see what Dove did.

@speaknspell
I think Blackest Night takes place right when Supes left New Krypton during that Reactron arc throughout the Super-titles. He also appeared in Adventure Comics right around the timing of that arc. If I had to wager a guess as to when the BN stuff happened in regards to Superman, it'd be right around then. But, I don't have to do that, so I won't really; before, after, during, it doesn't really matter. It's taking place in that weird nebulous time outside of time that we call comic book crossovers. And if your mention of the Superman mini is in reference to what TNC's last comment, he is referring to Johns' Superman: Secret Origin, which, it being Geoff Johns, I bet will have some precursorial (is that a word?) events for whatever may be in the near future/present of our favorite primary color-clad friend.

SPOILERS:

Nekron is NOT the biggest bad. I agree with above, I'm thinking Krona. Black Hand COMMANDED  Nekron to Rise. Not the other way around. 

If the atom is superman, Mera is wonderwoman, wouldnt that make the flash batman??

@brassai: I didn't notice that before, but your right. Maybe Nekron is just another member of the Corps and not the leader,

@TNC, Brassai Nekron is the Lord of Death. Black Hand has been calling someone Lord throughout the series. I think Krona is tied into the "Secret of the Guardians" that is mentioned a few times this issue. Also...I believe Black Hand is summoning Nekron, as opposed to commanding him. It's a semantic difference. I can go into more on Nekron if anyone asks, but bear in mind, it's probably going to be explained in BN #5, appropriately titled "What is Nekron?"

@smeee Nope. Mera and Atom need the motivation of being compared to those figures to step up and take charge of the situation because Mera's never been a superhero, really, and Ray Palmer has been down in the dumps in Identity Crisis. Barry Allen doesn't need that motivation, because that's just the type of person he is. He's already sacrificed his life once to save the cosmos, he's not afraid to do it again. Hence the Atom's line. 

@Prax: Now I'm confused, I can see it in your way, but also in Brassai's! Well I guess we'll have to wait until the fifth issue like you said.

remember how everyone thought the indigo lanterns were a dues ex machina last issue?

If you read The Book of the Black at the end of the issue you'll see that Black Hand refers to Nekron as "his lord".  I go with Prax; Black Hand is Nekron's servant.  Whether or not Krona plays a role, I'm not entirely sold on that concept yet.

I don't know how anyone other then Nekron could be the main baddie. I get what you guys are saying that there could be someone else behind all of this....But a 50ft tall skeleton with a sickle for a power battery gives me the impression he's the main antagonist.

Cause if it is Krona or just someone else, that would be mighty disappointing to me.

"If I'm Wonder Woman & you're Superman, what's that make him?"

"The Flash."

Awesome. 

Wicked!

I love this! I'm most escited by the prospect of finding out what the "Guardians biggest lie is".

Having a bigger bad than Necron would help explain why DC didn't mind spoiling it.  I'm still confused as to why they did that. 

My only problem with this book is that the issues of GL & GLC are more interesting than the mini-series itself.

This was excellent. All the characters were really engaging, good to see a larger scope of the DC heroes the pace seems to really be picking up, and I think it's a good contrast to what's happening over in GL. I'm sad the two stories couldn't be more integrated, and I personally think the art in GL is more appealing, but put together it's by far the fav read of the month. 

@ed I think they still kind of are, at least in part.

You know what would be cool? If this story would estblish rules governing death in the DCU...