Rating:  -
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights is yet another of the bring Hal Jordan back so we can use him type of stories.
This time, he is again hanging out with Kyle Rayner, and ends up opposing his future self, among other things. Muchness of green stuff to be found here.
Rating:  -
Considering that a) this is a "Return of Barry Allen" DC, if you catch my drift and b) instead of Flash, it's Green Lantern, "Emerald Knights" is a pretty darn good book.
"Emerald Knights" stars Hal Jordan, Silver Age Green Lantern, and Kyle Rayner, the current, somewhat-despised Green Lantern. Apparently, DC wanted to kill off this "despicible", "illegitimate" feature of Kyle Rayner, so what they did was pull off a "Return of Barry Allen"-style comic, in which Hal Jordan is somewhat pulled into the present. After some adventures which involve Kyle Rayner's grim nature, Hal Jordan's (very) confused state, and even Zero Hour Parallax, Hal Jordan legitimizes, so to speak, Kyle Rayner, so that organizations such as H.E.A.T. can shut their traps.
In other words, this book is all about the coming-of-age of Kyle Rayner.
But don't pass it off just as a ripoff of "Return of Barry Allen". "Emerald Knights" is QUITE good, and has a decent, understandable story as well. It doesn't measure up to some of the better Green Lantern titles, but what it DOES do is show off the various natures of both Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner. Don't pass this one off just because of the art, or the ripoffing nature. "Emerald Knights" is good - a farewell to Hal Jordan, and the summoning of Kyle Rayner. Read it.
Rating:  -
I'm not a big Hal Jordan Green Lantern fan, but I couldn't pass up the chance to read the pairing of the Kyle Rayner with a young and cocky Hal. The basic story is that Kyle is sent time traveling only to end up meeting Hal early on in his GL career. Kyle is able to return to his present time, but quickly discovers that Hal was accidentally sent back with him. What follows is a series of great moments as Hal adjusts to finding out the fate of Coast City, the realization of the power-hungry supervillain he eventually becomes, and the shock of having his old friends suspicious of his motives.
This storyarc accomplishes many things in my eyes, the greatest of which is making Hal Jordan an interesting character again. He was shown as a likable average guy coming to grips with a future he's powerless to change. A far cry from the hardened old gruff that he was for years before the "Emerald Twilight" storyline finally gave him some purpose. I highly recommend this wonderful tale to anybody, especially the casual GL reader who wants to see the best of the old and the new.
Rating: -
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: -
I'm a pretty new fan to the Green Lantern series, though I did know about Hal Jordan and the various exploits the character had been through throughout the years. The story is about Kyle Rayner, though the real star is Hal Jordan and to a lesser extent, Parallax. The book collects GL issues 100-105 and the two Green Arrow stories. I would recommend this book to anyone, even if they hate comics because it is a lot of fun to read. I only wish the publisher of this novel had decided to make the paper of a higher-quality like with the various Elseworld books. The artwork is great, though it changes throughout the book. Overall, I think Emerald Knights is a good read.
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