Death is a constant companion to heroes of all stripes. Many risk their lives daily, knowing they may be called upon to give it all for a noble cause. Such a hero fell in the latest issue of Green Lantern, sacrificing themselves to save the universe.
Written by Jeremy Adams, with art by Xermanico, Green Lantern #27 continues The Starbreaker Supremacy saga. The current storyline found the various Lantern Corps contending with a legion led by the villain Starbreaker, who briefly negated the Emotional Spectrum. This came in the midst of an effort to build new Central Power Batteries for each of the Corps on the planet Oa.
The batteries were reconstructed, but the restoration of the Spectrum was not enough to light them. This left the Green Lantern Corps in a tight spot. They had an army ready to fight, but no way of arming them.
What beloved Green Lantern died?
Thankfully, John Stewart, who had taken command of the Oan forces, had a plan. During the Horatius storyline, Stewart had communed with The Source, the primordial creative energy that made the DC Universe. The Source had empowered Stewart, giving the veteran Green Lantern “an insurmountable amount of power.” Since that time, Stewart had used his considerable will to hold the power in check, suspecting he would know when the time was right to use it.
Over the protests of his friends, Stewart released the power within him, seemingly dying in the process. This sparked a chain reaction as the Central Power Batteries charged up. This restored the various Corps and created an army capable of facing Starbreaker and his followers.
Beyond death in comics rarely being a permanent state, it seems unlikely that this is the end of John Stewart. He was once a Guardian of the Universe. As such, he is not unused to handling vast amounts of cosmic energy. Besides that, if there is any being capable of surviving such an event through sheer stubbornness, it is the Green Lantern John Stewart.
Green Lantern #27 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
