Slowly but surely, the new Absolute Universe is being populated with familiar faces from DC‘s main Earth-Prime setting. Absolute Green Lantern continued this trend, recently introducing a hero most often associated with Batman. It also revealed a classic hero of the Golden Age. However, these two characters are introduced in drastically different roles.
Written by Al Ewing, with art by Jahnoy Lindsay, Absolute Green Lantern #8 is the most straightforward issue of the series so far. To date, Absolute Green Lantern has been focused on redeveloping the Green Lantern mythology. While beloved characters like John Stewart and Guy Gardner have appeared, they’ve had little character development. Indeed, some have barely appeared beyond brief cameos. This makes the new issue, which acts as an origin story for Sojourner “Jo” Mullein, a breath of fresh air.
What DC heroes did Absolute Green Lantern introduce?
Absolute Green Lantern #8 opens on Jo as a child, as she and her father move to the town of Evergreen, Nevada. We see how she befriended Hal Jordan while still in school. Later, we see her join the local police force, where she meets another young officer named Renee Montoya.
Renee Montoya will be immediately familiar to fans of the Batman comics. First appearing in Batman: The Animated Series as a beat cop, she was introduced into the comics in 1992. She later became a Detective with the GCPD in both mediums.
Renee plays a major role in in the life of the Absolute Green Lantern version of Jo Mullein. She encourages Jo to seek opportunities outside of Evergreen, even if she doesn’t follow her to Gotham City. She also becomes the first woman Jo kisses and, years later, the woman with whom Jo had the affair that ended her marriage.
The flashbacks in Absolute Green Lantern #8 introduce another classic Green Lantern character. Specifically, the very first Green Lantern, Alan Scott. Originally, Scott was a railroad engineer who later became a radio engineer and broadcasting magnate. In the Absolute Universe, however, Scott ran a diner, which was taken over by his son, Todd Rice.
This issue marks Alan Scott’s first physical appearance in the Absolute Universe, although it is little than a cameo. He appears in one panel as one of the many Evergreen residents being extorted for protection money by the former police chief. However, his existence was teased in earlier issues, which revealed the name of the Evergreen diner as Alan Scott’s Atom Bomb Café & Diner.
Absolute Green Lantern #8 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
