Green Lantern: New Guardians, Volume 6: Storming the Gates

Green Lantern: New Guardians (Collected Editions)

by Justin Jordan (Writer), Brad Walker (Illustrator)

Kyle Rayner's experience beyond the Source Wall has left him slowly losing his grip on reality, and the Guardians are gravely concerned. When help arrives in the form of Highfather, the Guardians know the All-Father is not to be trusted, but desperation can lead to bad decisions. Kyle is walking into a trap, and he has more to lose than he can imagine!

Collecting: Green Lantern: New Guardians 35-40

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2015

About the author

Justin Jordan is an American comic book writer. He is known for writing and co-creating The Strange Talent of Luther Strode, Spread, Dead Body Road, Deep State, Dark Gods and Savage Things. He has also written Green Lantern: New Guardians, Superboy, Deathstroke and Team 7 for DC Comics and the relaunch of Shadowman for Valiant Entertainment.

In 2012, he was nominated for the Harvey Award for Most Promising New Talent.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warning: Spoilers!
But who cares? It's a Green Lantern title.
And not just any Lantern. Kyle.



Guh.
If you've been following his story, you know that he is the lone White Lantern, and holds the Life Equation within himself.
What is the Life Equation?
It's a bunch of mumbo-jumbo leftover from the battle with Relic. You remember? The wall at the end of the universe, and...
Yeah. Anyway, Kyle somehow absorbed all of this power, and has these reality altering powers.



Right. So. That.
Also, Carol Ferris and Kyle are a thing now. Which, just pisses me off, frankly. The idea that my least favorite Lantern somehow snaked Carol away from Hal makes me want to rage like a Hulk. It's gross! Stop it!



Whatever. The first half of this is more of the Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead story. Only, you know, broken up into a tiny chunk, so you don't actually see the conclusion.
Rock on, DC!



The basic story is that Kyle gets his widdle feelings hurt because the Blue Brigade lied to him. <--For his own protection, and probably because they realized he's too much of an idiot to be turned loose without a babysitter.
Still. They lied. He got butthurt.
So, what's the smartest thing to do when you realize that you've been played?
Run headfirst into the arms of an insanely powerful being that you've never met before, and then give up all of your super-duper special powers to him!
Duh.
God! I hate you so much, Kyle! *strangle, strangle*



Oh, I almost forgot!
During this time, Kyle & Carol's relationship gets a bit rocky, because he had accidentally turned her into his dead girlfriend (Alex, of the Girl in the Fridge fame) when his reality-altering White ring got out of control.
Admittedly, this may have led him to the decision to turn his ring over to Highfather. Still, it was a bonehead move. I mean, I am a villain - do not trust me vibes are practically wafting off of this guy in waves.
No good guy...ever...poses like that.



It doesn't really matter, though, because the story abruptly cuts off, and we're flung into the AFTER portion of the Godhead storyline.
Great!
Now we're moving on to the Oblivion portion of this volume.
Who/what is Oblivion, you ask?
Well, do any of you remember that Marvel character, Sentry? The one who was constantly fighting his alter-ego the Void?
Yeah. Ok. That's Oblivion. He was created from Kyle's subconscious fears that he would become too powerful and kill/destroy/re-imagine/fix-without-permission everyone he loved.
Kinda like what he did to Carol.



The last few issues should have discussed how Carol was going to dump Kyle's wimpy ass, and make her way back to Hal. Or even stay single!
Just...no more Carol & Kyle. *gags*
But.
That's not what happened.
Nope, this is all about how everyone who loves Kyle (<--and apparently that still includes Carol!) comes together to help him fight his evil clone.



It looks like in order to save everyone he loves, he'll have to sacrifice himself.
YAY!
But after facing his demons, and realizing that he can't do it by himself, he finds that the REAL solution is...TEAMWORK.
{insert me throwing up here}
As in, he (with the help of the blue guys) creates a new team of Lanterns.



Annnnnnd now there is yet another Lantern Corps running around.
Because we really needed that.
And even though Carol & Kyle still aren't 100%, they fly off into the sunset anyway.



*chants*
Dump him, dump him, dump him...

Ok. So, why 3 stars if I hated it so much?
Well, I think my hatred mostly comes from how much I dislike this character, and not because the writing was awful. If I were a fan of Kyle, I would have probably loved this. Maybe.
Thing is, I don't know. And I don't want to turn anyone off of this volume, if they don't have the same prejudice against Lego Face as I do.

[Jesse A · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really poor way to end a fun series.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Green Lantern: New Guardians is probably the most important book to the Godhead crossover after Green Lantern, since the Life Equation is really what everyone's after, but as usual, the three issues here make no sense on their own, so there's little point to reviewing them.

The other 3 issues in this trade bring back Oblivion, a creature that menaces Kyle in the previous volume and represents all his fears about the power of the White Lanterns. This story has an interesting conclusion which could have been fun to be followed up on, but I expect it'll just be forgotten to the comic book vault of unfinished plotlines. It's a shame that the Futures End one-shot wasn't included here, because it plays into Kyle's fears in this three part story and would have helped provide some context for one of the characters that appears in it.

Artwise, most of this volume is by Diogenes Neves, who has proven himself a solid artist throughout his New 52 appearances, and these few issues are again solid if unremarkable work.

[Milo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offering another alternative to the core Green Lantern book, Justin Jordan nailed it on New Guardians as it became during its run one of my favourite DC series. I loved the outer space stuff and the artwork was pretty awesome as well. Kyle Rayner, much like Guy Gardner in Red Lanterns, serves as a nice alternative to Hal Jordan here as well.

[Wing Kee · Rating 3 out of 5]

As good as an ending as any.

World: I love the art, from Godhead to the end, this art team has been great. The power of the ring is evident, the character designs are good, the facial expressions are wonderful it's just a well illustrated book. The world building here is as solid as the series has been. This is the end but it does set up the world well for future stories while leaving the world resolved, it's good.

Story: A quick 3 issue arc that sets up for the future and puts the characters in a good place. It was a bit long for the arc and the action but the point of the story was done well. The art really informed the story making it better than it was. The story as I said was a good end to the series and given I just read the horrible end I saw in Red Lanterns this is absolutely fantastic in comparison.

Characters: Kyle is a fun character and he will always be my Lantern so this end for him is good. I like him, he's the Dick Grayson for the GL universe. I still don't like the Carol dynamic but I can't complain anymore cause this is what it is. I like that arc we saw this arc but it is similar to the Annual but oh well, it's a good end.

A good end to the series when it could have been so much worse. Kyle deserved this.

Onward to the next book!

[Krzysztof Grabowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ostatni tom przygód Kyle'a Raynera w ramach New 52 na szczęście nie zawodzi, ale też nie zostanie zapisany złotymi literami w historii Zielonych Latarni. Może to zasługa tego, iż połowa omawianego tomu stanowi część wydarzenia zwanego Godhead. Sam event broni się całkiem nieźle, a i poszczególne zeszyty tu ukazane od biedy mogą być też czytane w oderwaniu od reszty. Pozostawię je jednak bez oceny, bo samo wydarzenie mam już za sobą.

Druga część ostatniego tomu jest niezła. Mamy wreszcie uregulowaną sytuację z Carol. Jedną bombę fabularną, która wpłynie mocno na ewentualne kontynuacje (ewentualny nowy korpus?) oraz starcie z własnym alter ego, ucieleśnieniem lęków przed mocami (którego facjata wygląda momentami jak Venom albo wampir). Całość wygląda dobrze, a i jest dobrze zrównoważona pomiędzy akcją a dialogami. I nie sposób nie lubić tych bohaterów. Dla mnie 3.5/5.

[Sean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gladly, this run of the Green Lantern spinoff starring Kyle ends. As with most of the run, it ends with a whimper. Here, DC editorial collects a few chapters of its much larger Godhead story and its pretty disastrous and impossible to follow along. Then Kyle gets a conclusion to his evil inner self, Oblivion, and its worse and the ending makes the storyline worse, not better. Kyle's inexplicable relationship with Carol gets fleshed out somewhat which is good but its still not cool. I thought the art was average at best and some of the covers were seriously bad. Overall, this series took a massive downslide after the first volume and never clicked after that.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Lantern series, this one I only read when it was in events. Same as the others Godhead was most of this one then a couple to wrap up the series. Not sure if it ever came back or if the "White Lanterns" became a thing. Sounds kinda racist, totally kidding.

Kyle Rayner was kind of annoying, seemed like this series was more for kids, though this last part was a little dark with him warring against himself.

[Will Cooper · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. The first half of this trade is part of a bigger Green Lantern crossover so these issues don't make any sense if read alone, so it's pointless to collect them in a non-crossover collection. The last three issues are just Kyle has so much power! He thinks bad thoughts! The bad thoughts get power! Kyle realizes he must share the power! It's boring and dumb.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 i love kyle and carol so much eeeee (i think i said the exact same thing with the exact same words in my review of the previous volume but it remains true!) really wanna read more of these characters, i’m sad this run has ended

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great wrap up to the series. A new beginning as well. I think that I'll always enjoy the epic galactic feel of these comics.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best one of the series since the first bunch. (I miss the interactions between the other Lanterns)

[Nicolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know, this was fine. I like Kyle and Carol together. The Guardians showed up. He may have fought Venom at one point. Hard to say. Not a great ending, but not a bad read.

[Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The event was quite good.
A semi adult discussion of an adult relationship between Carol and Kyle.

[Jedi Master Nate Lightray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the reviews, I realized I missed some things not just before this story but in the middle as well. Oh well. It wasn’t the worst.

[Anchorpete · Rating 2 out of 5]

The end of the story for Kyle Rayner in the New 52. I was just telling my friend, the other day, that it seems like the New 52 books, where they just continued the story they had from pre-flashpoint, were the only ones that were still around. This included Aquaman, the Batman books and Green Lantern Books.
I think the New 52 was a big mistake, now that I look back on things. They are trying to right that wrong, now, by returning “Legacy” to the characters, but it may be too little, too late.
In the case of Kyle Rayner, I have been around for the duration of his legacy. I was there when Hal Jordan went Mad and killed off the Green Lantern Corps. I was there when Rayner was given the last Green Lantern Ring. Kyle Rayner and Wally West were great successors to their legendary predecsessors. For me, and a lot of fans, Wally West was the Flash, and Kyle Rayner was Green Lantern. Over time, I have come to accept Barry and Hal as the title characters, but I have always felt a connection to Wally and Kyle.
This felt like a true end to Kyle’s story. Boy, has he been through a lot. The only thing that ruins the experience, is that the New Gods have been rebooted. Kyle, interacting with Highfather, is acting like this is the first time he has encountered someone from new genesis. This is what brings us into the murky, confusing continuity of the New 52. I also really do not like the portrayal of the New Gods, especially High Father, in this new continuity. Luckily, they are able to wrap that storyline up, and move to a proper finale for Kyle. Justin Jordan continues to do what he does best, focus on the problems, be they physical or mental, that super powered men face. Good Stuff.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Half of this volume is the Godhead crossover, AKA the Rings against the New Gods. Normally I get annoyed with collections that only include part of the story (and make no mistake, you're missing large swaths of the story here), but I have to at least give them credit for telling a comprehensible story in the collected issues - for the most part it follows Kyle through the events and doesn't show big gaps between issues (although the lack of the climax is annoying). And the whole New Gods as villains thing kind of rubs me the wrong way, but the story at least justifies it.
The rest of the collection concludes the New Guardians series with a final battle against Oblivion and some serious changes for the White Lantern. There's a lot more soul-searching in the midst of battle, and the relationship between Kyle and Carol has some good moments and bad moments, but at least it does try to humanize these characters, even if they tend to drag it out a bit too much.
All in all, this is a decent if uninspiring conclusion to the series, with pretty good art and some decent action moments. It's not particularly memorable, but it's also not an embarrassment to the legacy of the series.

[Daniel Sepúlveda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Final de la serie Green Lantern: New Guardians. Hablaré de la serie en general:
El concepto era genial, un ser capaz de manejar todos los espectros emocionales y sus anillos se convierte en el White Lantern. Todo comenzó bien: Buena historia, la serie involucra a todas las demas series de los Linternas, todo bien, sin embargo empezó a desmejorar, reconozco que me salté un par de números.
Es como si los escritores de Green Lantern no supieran que más hacer y hubieran comenzado a improvisar.

Este final no estuvo tan mal, supongo que por lo que sucede será como un hecho referente para las otras series de los Linternas. No fue el mejor final, por eso mi puntaje es de 3,5 sin aproximación a 4.0. Simplemente creo que pudo haber sido mejor.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since the loss of focus on all the ring guardians working together as a team, this book has gone downhill for me. This Volume, being the last one (as the title has been canceled and with the giant crossover Convergence upcoming...) was ok. Again, just parts of the overarching "New Gods" storyline here, making it slightly annoying for me. But, the creation of a White Lantern Corps was very cool.
Overall, this title started out with a really interesting concept, and changed into "the Kyle Rayner show". Still an ok read, (and crucial if you want to read all parts of the GL crossovers) but I'm glad that Kyle is moving on to other things.

Recommend, but not with much conviction.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first three issues are part of the New Gods crossover with the rest of the Green Lantern titles and should be read in Green Lantern / New Gods: Godhead. The issues are 1/6th of the crossover and make no sense if you don't read the whole thing. The rest of the book is yet another battle with Oblivion. I hate these stories with bad guys who can do anything. It always just ends up being a fight with a big amorphous monster. The only cool thing about it was the end twist. Diogenes Neves's art is just bland and generic.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first portion of this book contains a few issues from an event crossover that need the other chapters to be truly appreciated. If you have an interest in the event it is better read in the book Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead as it contains the entirety of the event.

The last three issues of the book is the concluding story arc for the New Guardians series. Conceptually it feels somewhat interesting, but the quickness and outcome of the story feel too easy without enough buildup. It's not a bad story, I just wish there was more depth expanded over a few more issues.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the art & stories, but they were confusing because they jumped forward thru the timeline so erratically without any telling of what happened in between some issues. Beyond that it was good. The ending was a little flat though. It just seemed like there should be more but wasn't.

[Daniel Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am probably too high on this one. It's probably the best of the New Gods tie-ins...though again the arc ends suddenly with no explanation since it was finished in another title.

There are some interesting ideas playing out...Kyle the all-powerful.

But Kyle needs to make better choices.

[Tomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part of Godhead story arc. Pointless to read separately. Bad even for new guardians standards. Is there someone who cares about Kyle ?

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Same old hat.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sad to see this one go...I have been disappointed by the Lantern titles for some time now.

[Paweł · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decydującą walkę serii Kyle próbuje wygrać sam, jednak szybko zdaje sobie sprawę, że nie tędy droga. Zakończenie daje wreszcie konkretne podwaliny pod kolejne przygody białej latarni. O ile kiedykolwiek takie będą.