Death is cheap in superhero comics. The only thing more likely than a sudden death in a crossover event is a sudden resurrection. The final chapter of a recent Green Lantern event featured two DC heroes coming back from the dead. However, one of them was notable for just how long the hero had been dead.
The resurrections came at the end of Green Lantern Corps #9. Written by Morgan Hampton and Jeremy Adams, with art by Fernando Pasarin, the issue serves as the final chapter of The Starbreaker Supremacy event. This storyline found the various Corps fighting against a race of energy vampires, who sought to destroy all emotion across the universe.
The Corps were able to rebuild new Central Power Batteries on the planet Oa. These proved to be the doom of Starbreaker and his followers. The Batteries drew them in, incinerating them as they tried to feed upon the near-infinite energy. However, even as the Green Lantern Corps celebrated their victory, they were unaware that two of their number were alive elsewhere.
What Green Lanterns were brought back from the dead?
The final pages of the comic follow a Green Lantern ring as it flies into the Dark Sector seeking a new wielder. It flies to a farm, which is being tended by the recently deceased John Stewart. He is standing alongside a woman with magenta skin and dark hair. While the woman is not identified, she appears to be Katma Tui — a former Green Lantern and the wife of John Stewart.
Stewart died in the penultimate chapter of The Starbreaker Supremacy. He sacrificed his life and the cosmic energy he was safeguarding to reignite the Central Power Batteries. With Stewart set to star in the upcoming Lanterns streaming show, it is not surprising that his death was short-lived. The resurrection of Katma Tui, however, is another story entirely.
Katma Tui originally died in 1988’s Action Comics #601 at the hands of Star Sapphire. However, she was later resurrected when John Stewart became the first mortal member of the Guardians of the Universe. She died a second time during the 1994 Emerald Twilight event. Her last appearance of note came in 2017, when Hal Jordan briefly encountered her in the Emerald Space, an afterlife for fallen Green Lanterns.
It is unclear just why Katma Tui is alive now, or why she seems to have a robot leg. Surely, if Stewart was involved in bringing her back, he could heal any injuries she might have acquired. In any case, this seems likely to complicate Stewart’s life. He was recently teased as being romantically involved with Hawkwoman Shayera Thal.
Green Lantern Corps #9 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
