WHICH IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR? GREEN OR BLACK? (Review of Green Lantern Corps #24)

As you might be able to tell from the cover, this issue continues to follow the Green Lanterns as they attempt to eliminate all of the Sinestro Corps rings. Several had been traced to a deep, dark corner of the galaxy where two Lanterns went missing. Guy Gardner, Kyle Rainer, and a few others show up for the heroic rescue like the cowboys they pretend to be. Upon tracing the last of the energy signatures to an uncharted part of the galaxy, Kyle and Guy recognize an entire field of Black Mercy flowers, which tie in of course that Mongul has been collecting Sinestro rings himself for his own diabolical purposes.

So here it is, one of those things that never really needed to be explained, but is anyways, the origins of the Black Mercy flowers. The issue did a decent job of retelling the back story of the Black Mercy flowers and how Mongul had used them in the past and even referenced Warworld, but only so much can be done in a two page spread. So to catch you up more, here I am. Oh you lucky people you. The Black Mercy flowers were used by Mongul on Superman to keep him out of his plans. The Black Mercy attaches itself to the host where it makes the person hallucinate their greatest dreams come to fruition. The person feels they are living it, while remaining completely motionless. Only one of great willpower can break the Black Mercy’s hallucinations, like Superman, who saw through the façade of him ruling over an ever-present Krypton. Of course, the plant can also be killed by an outsider, but you risk hurting the person who it has attached itself to. Mongul is the only known person to know how and where to harvest the Black Mercy flower, until now.

Now back to our story, which ends on the cliffhanger than Mongul has left the planet with a large harvest of Black Mercies and that the Green Lanterns have pried their fellow Lanterns from the clutches of Mother Mercy, a sentient, gigantic, Black Mercy flower that protects the harvest from outsiders like the Green Lanterns. Next issue has the Green Lanterns against Mother Mercy in what should be an interesting battle, especially if any of the Mercies should attach themselves to the Lanterns, and to see exactly how Mother Mercy defends herself. I am guessing something along the lines of a Poison Ivy plant monster, but it should be an interesting battle and to see what the next step is in Mongul’s plans. After all, who exactly are these Black Mercies intended for? If you have not been following the Green Lanterns, get on now because something big is coming folks. I’m talking total spectrum war. If this is any indication, it should be good.

-Ray Carsillo