Green Lantern Corps, Volume 8: The Weaponer

Green Lantern Corps (2006)

by Tony Bedard (Writer), Tyler Kirkham (Illustrator)

The Qwardian known as The Weaponer has been constructing a shield from the remaining traces of the White Lantern Energy and has a mean vendetta against Sinestro - and the reason why will shock you! For his retribution, The Weaponer's targeting Sinestro's daughter, Soranik Natu. But first he'll have to get through Kyle Rayner.In this volume the Green Lantern Corps is caught in the middle of all out war between Sinestro and his fear mongrels, the Sinestro Corps, against the Weaponer and the Thunderers of Qward. Can Kyle Rayner, John Stewart and the rest of the GL Honor Guard prevent the destruction of a world and save Soranik Natu at the same time? Learn why no one in the universe messes with Sinestro and lives to tell the tale.

Collecting: Green Lantern Corps 53-57

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Comic Book, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 23, 2012

About the author

Antony J. L. Bedard is an American writer and editor who has worked in the comic book industry from the early 1990s through the present. He is best known for his work at CrossGen Comics, where he was under exclusive contract, and for his run writing Marvel Comics X-Men spin-off Exiles.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ending ruined it.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty decent even if it felt super rushed.

The Weaponer is a powerful weapon's creator who decides he wants to exact revenge on Sinestro. Sounds like a good idea since Sinestro is basically Hitler. Except the idiot decides to take Natu as his priosner after beating the shit out of her and Kyle. This is a bad idea as Sinestro really doesn't give much of two shits about anyone but himself. This leads Kyle and his friends to rescue her but this brings a war with them.

Overall, this is pretty fun. I think the characters kind of act, well, out of character at points. Also everything feels a bit rushed to lead up to the great green lantern war. So all the pieces moving to quickly to relax and enjoy the stakes. But the fights are fun, the art is great, and Kyle gets to shine a bit. So overall worth checking out for fans of green lantern. A 3 out of 5.

[David Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tony Bedard continues his worthy run on Green Lantern Corps in his second story arc before the War of the Green Lanterns. This story takes place around the Weaponer, the Qwardian who forged Sinestro's yellow ring back when he was first exiled out of the Green Lantern Corps. The Weaponer is furious with Sinestro because Sinestro never fulfilled any of his promises made in exchange for the ring and then returned and enslaved the Qwardians to create his own Corps. The Weaponer captures Sinestro's daughter, Green Lantern, Sornik Natu, to lure Sinestro to Qward.

This story runs at an exciting pace but near the end it breaks down into too much action and is one long overdone battle scene. Also, in the last chapter, there is a guest appearance by one of Brightest Day's stars that detracts from the main story and just adds an unnecessary appearance to an already overcrowded roster. The main conflict runs between The Weaponer, Sinestro, Sornik Natu, and Kyle Rayner and they all are used well. The art is decent. A little sloppy with figures in the distance.

All in all, a nice addition to the Green Lantern Corps saga. Not bad but not great.

[William Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the weakest stories to come out of the Brightest Day (which makes this an infant with hemophilia). The only redeeming quality is the artwork.

Grade: D-

[Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the wake of the Blackest Night event, DC started a third Green Lantern based book called Emerald Warriors and handed the writing duties to Peter J. Tomasi, who had been writing Green Lantern Corps up until the end of Blackest Night. I think that maybe did this under a false premise--Geoff Johns had had a pretty successful run on the main Green Lantern title up to and including Blackest Night so why not a third Green Lantern book? They made Guy Gardner the star of Emerald Warriors (I wonder if DC editorial had it out for Tomasi) and essentially made Green Lantern Corps a vehicle for Kyle Rayner and gave writing duties to Tony Bedard, whose work I wasn't familiar with until reading his first arc Revolt of the Alpha-Lanterns . Now, after having read a second story arc from Bedard, I think he's saddled with the same issues that dogged Peter Tomasi during his run.

The issue with the Green Lantern comics that aren't Green Lantern (the Hal Jordan vehicle being written by Geoff Johns at the time) are really ancillary to the narrative that ran throughout Johns run on Green Lantern and into Blackest Night which is essentially a Green Lantern story with a little of the Flash thrown in for good measure. The creative teams on Green Lantern Corps try their best, but everything has to feed into what Johns is doing, and so the creative teams, first Tomasi and then Bedard feel like they are going through the motions with the scraps Johns was willing to throw them. In this collection, the scraps are Sinestro, who takes time from Green Lantern: Brightest Day to make an appearance here. Like on the pages of Emerald Warriors (which I've read but apparently forgot to review) the big bad who will be driving The War of the Green Lanterns has been revealed--but I'm certain that this was only after it happened in the pages of Johns' Green Lantern. Again, it isn't that these comics aren't enjoyable, but I've felt the whole time I've been reading all of these Green Lantern titles that I can get the story just in Johns' Green Lantern. These side stories are good for fleshing it out (and apparently there is a connection to Brightest Day --yes these books are branded as such, but the "cross-over" has been tenuous at best) but ultimately they aren't necessary for what's really going on here.

It's the throwaway nature of the non-Jordan Green Lantern titles that I have found disappointing. The stories are enjoyable in a "gee that was fun" sort of way, but feels like a side dish as opposed to the main course. Johns kept that all for himself. Is that a good or a bad thing? I'm sure the trees that got pulped for these trades might have an opinion on that.

[Seth Abernethy · Rating 4 out of 5]

While not the most groundbreaking of the GLC volumes, "The Weaponer" was still highly entertaining and quality GL content. Volume 8 Was the second story arc that Bedard wrote for Green Lantern Corps, and suffered only slightly compared to Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns. Critically speaking, there were a few moments that can take a reader out, such as the titular Weaponer - a being from the Anti-Matter universe, another dimension entirely from our own - makes an Earth literary reference, reversing the famous quote from Paradise Lost ("Better to serve in Heaven than to rule in Hell, he says). An odd choice, creatively, but not such a cardinal sin that it makes the story "bad". The Weaponer himself has rather questionable motives throughout the story, and his compass is very difficult to follow. On one hand, it can be argued this is a sign of detailed writing giving depth and complication to a character to showcase that things aren't always black and white, but on the other it could be argued that it was just choppy writing and they didn't know where they wanted to take the character. On a positive note, it seems Bedard absolutely understood the character of Sinestro. The yellow villain has some of the best moments in his long history here in this volume of GLC, and is truly proving to be a real threatening presence. Sinestro has come a long way from the days of the Silver Age. An unfortunate failing of Vol. 8 however was the absence of Guy Gardner, who was off in another important GL run happening concurrently. Couldn't be helped and not the fault of Bedard, but he was missed nonetheless. Overall, The Weaponer should be nobody's first Green Lantern Corps story if they're looking to get into it, but for readers who'd been following up to this point is a delight as always, and proves that even when GLC isn't great, it's not going to be bad.

[Lilli W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another okay volume, I think Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns was better, minus the repeated story. I feel like the reveal of Soranik as Sinestro's daughter was skipped? I don't remember her ever admitting it to anyone and now everyone knows? Seems like a wasted opportunity for some drama. The actual plot was fine. Wish we could've gotten more of a confrontation between Kyle and Sinestro, or even Soranik and Sinestro. More John also would've been cool. What was Firestorm doing there, he didn't contribute anything, he didn't even fight Sinestro. Just felt tacked on; and took away from his story in Brightest Day. Yay, another big crossover next!

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another new villain is introduced and is part of Sinestro's backstory and its done really well. The Weaponer is smart, strong, and has a compelling reason for his actions. Seeing the Corps have to be creative to fight a war without breaking a truce was interesting. The ending and subplot involving the next arc were really good. Tyler Kirkham's art is sketchier than most GL artists but it worked well. Overall, another very good read.

[Chuck Ventura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Similar to Bedard's last trade, this is a pretty good story that continues the GLC adventures. Doesn't measure up to Tomasi's run, but still gets the job done.

GLC has to fight The Weaponer while simultaneously defending him and his people from the Sinestro Corps. This is made even more difficult because there's been a truce where the GLC can't use their rings against the Sinestro Corps, which leads to disastrous results.

[Evan]

I liked this storyline! Tony Bedard takes over for Tomasi, and I don't like his work quite as much, but The Weaponer plot is plenty entertaining. I like Soranik Natu with a gun. Why does Firestorm show up though ? He’s my least favorite part of Brightest Day by far.

Also I don’t think I’ve said this anywhere but John Stewart is nothing to me. I just don’t think anything interesting has happened with him this entire saga. What a bummer.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent Kyle Rayner showcase and it provides more insight into Sinestro’s relationship with the Antimatter Universe. It starts off pretty exciting but then fizzles at it’s rushed finale. It also functions as an awkward Brightest Day tie-in with the white energy and the weird inclusion of Firestorm.

[Eric Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Weaponer was a surprisingly good character, and his past experiences with Sinestro are fleshed out here, building on the lore, which I always appreciate. The Weaponer, as his name would suggest, has a lot of weapons, and there are some fantastic fights with green lanterns and the Sinestro corps alike. The ending also surprised me a bit!

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the back story with Sinestro and his fight with Rayner.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 🌟

The Weaponer kidnaps Soranik Natu to get Sinestro to see him.

[Russell Pearce of Sector 2814 · Rating 3 out of 5]

If a Fallout side quest could be made into a graphic novel this would be the result.

[Nathan Grozan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Will Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot is rushed and doesn’t fully explore its premise, a real shame because I like The Weaponer and a “Cold War” between the Green Lantern and Sinestro Corps is a really interesting premise.

[Sebastian Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Divertido todo lo del weaponer, pero ese final fue muy malo, no solucionaron nada y metieron a firestorm a estorbar otra vez

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Action packed, explores the truce between two Lantern Corps' - not very deeply. The extension of the universe learning about Qwardians was interesting.
Nice art and colouring.

[Korel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beklediğimden çok daha iyi aq baya baya iyi

[Christian Kotsur · Rating 4 out of 5]

Green Lantern is one of those sub par heroes for myself, I have never been able to engage with the character. However I found myself completely sucked into this volume and finished it within a sitting. Lots of action packed sequences and gorgeous artwork. 4/5

[Wing Kee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I good start and a wonky finish.

I really like this arc when it started, it played with a lot of history and also had some nice character dynamics but yeah the end is a bit too convenient for my taste.

World: The art is great, I liked the power of the rings, the constructs and the facial expressions. This is a story that is about emotions and the facial expressions needed to come through in the art and it did, great stuff. The world building here is great, it calls back to the lore of Sinestro and his ring and it also deals with the current status of Sinestro and Natu so yes it was wonderful world building. The pieces that they use and also the new pieces of the Weaponer and his relationship with the Thunderers was very interesting. Impressive.

Story: I really liked the start of the story, the pacing of it was great, the ratcheting of the pressure and the dialog of the Weaponer and Natu, they really made this arc have weight and consequence. I especially love the art and the subtle dialog between Kyle and Sinestro when he brings him the news. However the end was a bit too abrupt and convenient for my taste, but I kind of understand. The story pushed the characters into a hard place and I think this is the only solution that made somewhat of a sense. It's good but yeah the end annoyed me.

Characters: I really liked the background of the Weaponer is fascinating and his arc is wonderful. I really liked the call backs to the canon of these characters. I also really liked the arc of Natu, Sinestro and Kyle for this tale. There are pieces here and there that are great to give small little development that will pay off in the next arc. It's good, that's why I love these GL stories, because characters matter.

I liked the book it was fun and was exactly what I like about the GL universe. Wonky ending but other than that highly enjoyable.

Onward to the next book!

[Emmett Spain · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ripping, action-packed tale to add to the Green Lantern collection, this story serves as a minor aside before the upcoming War of the Green Lanterns story. It's essentially a very simple tale--the Weaponer who created Sinestro's yellow power ring now seeks revenge by kidnapping his Green Lantern daughter Soranik Natu--and an excuse to ignite some fist fights and ring slinging action. That said, the simple story is handled well, with strong writing and dynamic art. Tyler Kirkham & Matt Banning's splash pages really elevated this work, with particular reference to the entrance of Sinestro, and the no-rings no-powers fist fight between Sinestro and Kyle Rayner. Their brawny, detailed style served the story well.

There's really not much to this collection it must be said, but I found myself swept up by the confidence with which the simple story was told, and the style with which it was executed. A great example of a slickly executed story, and a worthy addition to the Green Lantern pantheon.

Brightest Day completists should note that the tie-ins to Brightest Day are tenuous at best, with a brief appearance by Firestorm and an unexplained appearance of the White Light being about all to even suggest that Brightest Day was happening around this time. In that sense, it's inconsequential to the wider story, just as an FYI.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've recently spent some time catching up on the pre-New 52 GLC trades, and although I've enjoyed all of them, this one is probably my favorite for several reasons:

- Great characters
The Weaponer is a fantastic character, and I was impressed with how much depth Bedard was able to give him in such a limited amount of time. His motivations are clear, and his actions make sense given the circumstances. He might be a bad guy, but I was pulling for him, which made the ending even sadder. It was also great to see Soranik Natu, Ganthet, Kyle, and of course Sinestro in action again. With the exception of a rather pointless cameo by Firestorm, this was a great cast of characters.

- Excellent artwork
Dear Tyler Kirkham-- Please come back to Green Lantern: New Guardians. I miss you. That is all.

- Fun story
This was a technically a Brightest Day tie-in, but aside from a few references to the event, it works very well as a stand alone story. It's not as complex or over the top as some of the other GLC trades, but it delivers an engaging story with lots of action and some genuinely great character moments. If you're looking for a serious Brightest Day tie-in you'll probably be disappointed, but I hope you'll give it a chance and enjoy it for what it is-- a ridiculously fun GLC story with a few ties to Brightest Day.

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is solid story about an old ally that Sinestro betrayed coming back for revenge. The Weaponer forged Sinestro's original power ring with the promise that Sinestro would help his people. So, the Weaponer kidnaps Soranik Natu, Sinestro's daughter, and girlfriend of Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. The battle ensues from there as John Stewart, Ganthet, Boodikka, and Hannu face the Weaponer, his people and the entire Sinestro Corps to get Sora back.

This was a much more interesting storyline than the Alpha Lantern stuff, but fell a bit short of the main story. This is partially due to the somewhat forced Brightest day tie-ins that really have little to no place in this story. They could have been taken out and the story would have been better for it. In there place I would have like to see some more growth from Sora and Kyle. We did get some interesting ideas about relying on weapons to fight your battles, but I think there were some glimmers of character growth that could have been taken farther. That said, I do like the Weaponer and I can't wait for him to return, hopefully as more than a grunt.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Green Lantern Corps finds themselves caught in the crossfire in this Brightest Day installment of their self-titled series. The Weaponer from Qward, who crafted Sinestro's first ring, seeks revenge on the former Lantern for his planet's disgrace. With Sinestro's daughter held prisoner, Kyle Rayner and the Lanterns must battle the ever-prepared Weaponer to free their Lantern comrade, then side with him and the Qwardians against an invasion force of the Sinestro Corps. Tony Bedard's attempt to craft a ringless duel between the Green and Sinestro Corps feel like another DC mandate, designed to keep things complacent while a larger event is put into motion. Even worse is the sudden allegiance shift by the Weaponer, who opts to abort his vendetta and join the Sinestro Corps instead. Though the Weaponer's harnessing of White Lantern energy is unique - and brings in guest-star Firestorm for an issue - it remains an unsolved MacGuffin. Lantern fans looking for a great use of weaponry and imagination should look elsewhere for their fix.

[violetDelights · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the weaponer character, he's at least a little interesting, and I like that Sinestro's ring's origin is taken further. That's about it though for positives.

Soranik becomes a damsel in distress, the Green Lantern Corps and and Sinestro Corps fight each other, circumventing a supposed truce between the two by not actually using their rings. Kyle lampshades the ridiculousness of it, but that doesn't justify the ridiculous premise.

Very little character development. Overall, this did feel like a filler storyline, not much in the way of consequences to the canon except that the weaponer joins the Sinestro Corps.

I also wasn't a fan of the art.

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The worst of all the GL Brightest day tie-ins. I simply can not believe that the events in this collection will amount to anything in the grand view of the GL story arc. A waste of Sinestro's time.... One of the greatest of the DC super villains, and a set up with so much potential (he's going to save his daughter!); but, nothing gets played with... No ret-con, to character growth, nothing insightful to his personality whatsoever! And then there's a Firestorm cameo!!!! Über-lame. Über, über-lame. 2/5

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm usually not too crazy about theses Corps books, but this was actually really enjoyable. I thought the Weaponer was a cool character, and I much prefer Kyle to Guy as a protagonist.

We discussed this series in our Green Lantern spotlight over on the All the Books Show: https://soundcloud.com/allthebooks/ep...

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bedard's Corps run is a lot better than his New Guardians run has been, and he introduces an interesting character here. I love the expansion on backstory that gets introduced, and he uses the tension between Rayner and Sinestro to great effect.