Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, Vol. 5: Twilight of the Guardians

Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps

by Robert Venditti, Patrick Zircher (Artist), José Luís (Artist)

It’s action, adventure and conspiracy on a cosmic scale in Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 5: Twilight of the Guardians, as writer Robert Venditti (The Flash) and artists Patrick Zircher (Superman – Action Comics) and Jack Herbert (Superwoman) team up Hal Jordan with his greatest allies against his deadliest foes!

 The word is out: Sinestro has returned. Wherever this tyrannical former Lantern goes, hell is sure to follow. And when Hal Jordan travels to Earth to bring his former partner to justice, hell is exactly what he finds. Another of his oldest enemies is under attack from a surprising source, and he’s unleashed all his powers to save his skin. If that means harnessing the evil entity called Parallax to corrupt the world’s greatest hero, Superman, so be it.

 But an even greater threat than a mad Man of Steel awaits the Emerald Knight. From the darkest depths of the cosmos, the all-powerful Controllers have returned, threatening to settle their ancient grudge against the Guardians once and for all. It will take a strike force of Earth’s first four Lanterns—Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner—to save their old mentors and the universe. If the Lanterns fail, all of creation will pay the price.

 Collects Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #30-31 and #33-36.

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

138 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 12, 2018

About the author

Robert Venditti is a New York Times bestselling author of more than three hundred comic books and graphic novels. Some of his works include the monthly comic book series Justice League, Superman ’78, Hawkman, and Green Lantern for DC Comics, X-O Manowar, Armor Hunters, and Wrath of the Eternal Warrior for Valiant Entertainment, and the graphic novel Six Days, inspired by the story of his uncle’s participation in D-Day. He has also adapted Rick Riordan’s global bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus novels, as well as Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia and Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz. His graphic novel The Surrogates was adapted into a feature film by Touchstone Pictures, and his work on The Flash was the basis for season three of the CW television series.

Venditti lives in Atlanta, where he both writes and serves as a storytelling consultant for some of the most recognizable entertainment brands in the world.

Reviews

[Mizuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.7 stars.

"We've taken a few road trips together."

There you go, Parallax's special sense of humor. LOL

The characters and the stories are kinda nice (e.g. Superman and the God Brain). But the dramas with the Guardians of the Universe and the Controllers, I don't like it so much.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Robert Venditti is finally starting to get it with the Green Lanterns. The first story is a continuation from Superman Vol. 5: Hopes and Fears where Superman fought Parallax. I liked where the story seemed to be headed with Hector Hammond. These new aliens that engineered Hector seem interesting. Patrick Zircher's art has definitely picked up some Steve Epting influence which is not a bad thing.

The main arc reintroduces some characters I don't remember seeing since the mid 90's in the Darkstars comic. Tom Derenick and Jack Herbert make the book shine.

Is this not the most perfect depiction of Guy as a Green Lantern?


I like that DC was able to keep the same artists for each story. That's been one of my issues since Rebirth, having a different artist on each issue. Venditti seems to be taking the Geoff Johns's route of reinventing old characters and I'm all for it. If you can bring something new to them, why not?

[Subham · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was another great one!

Hal travels back to earth to take the Yellow lantern ring from Clark and well teams up with him to save Hector Hammond and its an alright story but the big one is when the Guardians are taken by the Controllers and so its upto the 4 corpsmen to rescue these guardians and fight the controllers and its an epic fight the way it happens and other revelations and all and I loved that plus some cool narration by Ganthet and future threats to come! Its a volume thats more showing how awesome the 4 corpsmen are and showing them at their best plus the art is always good in this book! A must read!

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume feels like a big step-down from the great sustained story that Venditti was writing for the first half of this run. It’s not as intriguing and compelling as before and opens with a bland story of Hal Jordan trying to track down Parallax on Earth, hanging with Superman and Hector Hammond, and then ending with a slightly better story featuring a battle with the Controllers, Maltusian rejects who want to destroy all the New Guardians. It all feels like a cheap setup for the upcoming Darkstars storyline.

[Ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 🌟

Hal works with Superman. The Guardians go up against the Collectors.

[Wing Kee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good solid same old with some big chunk of nostalgia.

World: The art is good, it's kinetic and powerful which is what the GL book needs. The world building here is also solid, it builds on the past and the way way past cause the pieces we see this time has been a long time coming (even before Johns if I recall correctly). The pieces used are a mix of Johns, Venditti and even older maybe even Mars. It's good.

Story: The Superman story was solid, it was short and sweet and predictable but it did reintroduce a character that we've not seen since early early Johns run, he's an iconic villain but I think he's been hard to write, what Venditti plans with him I am excited. The 'Twilight of the Guardians' story is a bit same old same old with the same beats and same emotional cues, it's good but it's been done for a while and I hope that with this new but once again establishment of the Guardians we will see them a bit different for a while (as Johns has pretty much run them through the grinder and made them villains). The Controllers were an interesting choice and a group we've not seen in a long while so the nostalgia was there, let's hope this changing and adding pieces onto the board will lead to better stories in the future.

Characters: The four human Lanterns are firmly established and there was not a lot of time for development here, they were what they were and they served the story. The main through character arc this book was Ganthet which I liked but it has also been done so many times it was kinda old and stale. Not the best character book this time around. Controllers and Hector Hammond reintroduction was solid and I look forward to where it leads, with the Khund before and not the Collectors Venditti is pulling from the past and it's making me happy.

A solid but done before arc that adds some old player to the board.

Onward to the next book!

*read individual issues*

[Jesse A · Rating 4 out of 5]

BMB might be DC's star right now but Venditti has been putting out some very very consistently entertaining books. This is no different. Great fun, well drawn.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Read as single issues]
First up, Hal & Superman visit Hector Hammond, only to run afoul of Parallax, before the remaining Guardians of the Universe go missing; the Corps tracks them to the citadel of their old enemy, the Controllers, and havoc ensues.

The Superman story is a nice little mixture of continuity from the Geoff Johns run and a recent story in Superman; Hector Hammond is one of Green Lantern's weirdest foes (and I say that knowing full well he punched a humanoid shark quite a lot back in the day) so it's nice to see he hasn't been forgotten. The hero worship that he has for Hal makes for an interesting dynamic between them, and Doug Mahnke's art is great here as usual.

The Controllers story starts out pretty well, and again uses a lot of continuity from past stories, but the ultimate conclusion is kind of baffling with regards to where it leaves the Guardians and their relationship with the Corps. It feels like a massive step backwards, and I'm not sure what the point was. Patch Zircher handles most of the art for this story though so I have no complaints there.

More of a 3.5 stars overall really, but y'know, GoodReads.

Note: Oh, #32 is missing because it's part of a Dark Nights: Metal crossover, in case anyone was wondering. It's collected in Dark Nights: Metal - The Resistance.

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Green Lanterns, Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and Guy Gardner, are front and center in this collection of Green Lantern adventures.

The book starts off with Hal coming to Earth after Superman calls him in regards to the Parallax attack that happened In vol 5 of the Superman rebirth series. This leads to a reappearance of Hector Hammond, who is being attacked by some weird little alien creatures. It was a good way to remind us of this villain and the potential of him returning. After that, the Guardians are abducted by the Controllers, who seek to turn the Guardians into Controllers, and have to be rescued by the 4 main lanterns.

This volume was just fun, GL adventures, and really reminded me of previous runs where we just see them deal with the crisis of the hour. And it really just showcased the comradery between the team, how well they work together, and how different they are personality wise. Venditti has a great handle on the characters and how they interact with each other, and that alone makes the book highly entertaining.

Recommended for fans of the original Green Lanterns.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume 5 has the Green Lantern Corps on a new task, rescuing the Guardians from their Controller kidnappers. The Controllers are out for blood, the Guardian's blood. Hal, John, Guy & Kyle all set out t figure out where the captives are and to take them out, one on one. While there have been previous team-up battles before in this series, this is one where I see genuine teamwork by all four human Green Lanterns. They show how far they all come from when they each first wore their rings, and now they pair up together for a master rescue plan. The team shows what it really means to be a Green Lantern.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Twilight of the Guardians, in due to the extra focus it has on the four of them. While each Lantern have their differences in how to solve problems, it is awesome to read of their cooperation when it came to saving the Guardians. They look out for one another, and it really shows here. Prior, there is a short mini-arc where Hal meets up with Superman to defeat Parallex, supposedly, while also rescuing the villain, Dr. Hammond from captivity also. While this collection is much shorter, it is best at developing the character dynamics of our lead Lanterns excellently.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mind Games (#30-31). What a confusing story. Apparently, it's a continuation of a Superman vs Parallax story, but without having read that it's really not clear what's real and what's imaginary in this story. Even when we learn who the true villain is, it's all pretty color-by-numbers: a little delusional reality, an obligatory fight, and we're done [2+/5].

Twilight of the Guardians (#33-36). This plotline turns out to be nothing of the sort. Nonetheless, it's a nice (yet another) return of the Guardians and a nice story of the four Earthly Lanterns working together. Its biggest problem is that it's mainly a setup for the next arc [3/5].

[Adan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Superman/Hector Hammond story was kind of dumb, but I enjoyed the heck out of the Four Corpsmen/Controllers story, even if it was a bit silly. I especially liked the bit where they all wanted to be Ric Flair.

[Aldo Haegemans · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5/5

[Scott Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough to keep going, but not much else to say. The two issue Superman/Hector Hammond story is sufficiently boiler-pate that I forgot it, started on the titular story which occupies the other issues, and then erased that beginning to mention. Not really here or there.

The second story felt like one long build up to a few panels at the very end. I though it was going somewhere else given Ganthet's internal dialogue, and I have to admit I was a bit disappointed with where the guardians themselves ended up instead. It's not bad, it's not that it doesn't matter, it's just..."oh, uh, okay." The other panel, the final panel of the volume shows that Venditti seems to have some big ongoing plans for the villains of this arc. The Controllers return, kidnap the guardians and the whole point of the story seems to reintroduce them and foreshadow their being an ongoing presence in the title going forward.

The best part of the volume is the interaction between the four human lanterns--Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Raynor. Not as much is made of their differences--something that would normally be a flaw--but there's an assumption throughout the whole story (at least it feels to me) that this one is aimed more at long term fans and so the writers manage to get away with accentuating their similarities while leaving the differences mostly implicit. The character work is well done, and of course these four guys make a great team. Still, it feels like a volume of set up for larger stories to come rather than one that accomplishes much in its own right.

[Jesús Bustamante · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ha esperar lo que sigue...

[John Yelverton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ending was extremely satisfying, but the rest of the book really felt like a book series trying to recapture former, lost glory and not really succeeding.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things that haven't changed: Green Lantern stories are still awesome (and I'm wondering why it took me so long to actually read them), and Guy Gardener is still my favorite Green Lantern. Though, I was happy to discover that Kyle Rayner has stopped being as annoying in this one. He felt more like the Kyle Rayner I got to know when he was working alongside Wally West Flash and Conner Queen Green Arrow. So... that's definitely a plus. Another plus for this graphic novel was a Superman cameo. Come on, Supes is my favorite. Of course I was excited to find him in two consecutive issues. Another strong plus, for me, was the child Green Lantern, who inherited Tomar Tu's ring. I like the innocence and fun that comes with a child character (hence why Captain Marvel is a strong favorite), and that was definitely present whenever she was on the page. Kid characters (when written well--you know, complexly, not just "oh, they're a kid"), bring nice balance to stories that can get very dark. Downsides for this particular volume were that: (1) What happened to Parallax? Him being trapped in a ring seemed like a stretch when I read that in the Superman graphic, but I also want to know where he is. I know that's the writer's intention--to have the reader be curious--but right now, it's just feeling frustrating. (2) I just don't like Hector Hammond. Giant head villains (him, M.O.D.O.K. in Marvel) just seem downright ridiculous to me. The story around him wasn't bad, necessarily (especially since we got some nice Superman/Hal Jordan interactions and even some nice introspection into their moral compasses--specifically why they don't kill), but a story with Hammond as the focus is still a bit of a let-down for me. (3) This graphic felt like a "bridge book." There has been a lot building and coming to a climax prior to this volume, a lot of elements inter-playing with each other (namely in terms of the Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps unification and then fracture). This one seems to be more--I don't want to say filler, because the stories were still engaging--but they seemed to be more about establishing what will be playing much larger roles later--the return of Sinestro and the Guardians of the Universe, a child Green Lantern, etc.--and tying up loose ends of the previous major stories (Kyle and Soranik, Superman's battle with Parallax, etc.). And that's not a bad thing. We need the bridge moments to "breathe" in between the major plot points. We can't be tense all the time; sometimes, we just need good ole' comic book action and fun--what's impressive is that this volume delivered that, plus a pretty "heavy" story, too, with the return of the Controllers. Basically, this graphic was setting up a lot of "returns," so that future volumes can deal with the actual fall-out and plot from those. A solid read, definitely well-written with great characters, but also not up to the caliber of the previous volumes--simply because that wasn't the POINT of this graphic. So I can't give it five stars in comparison, but as a "bridge book," it definitely did everything it was supposed to do, while still being entertaining and interesting.

[Ya Boi Be Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Once again we get two storylines. Overall this wasn't bad. It's another entry in Hal Jordan and the GLC so if you've been vibing with this series it's more of what you like.
The first story is Mind Games. It's apparently a continuation of some Superman story and acts as a bit of a refresher. Really it's two different one offs merged together. It's part Hal vs Superman and part Hal versus Hammond's mind stuff. Part actiony fun and part downer with Hammond trying to kill himself and Hal not able to try and fix stuff with Carol. A bit moody on the end of it but still a nice refresher from the larger stories.
The majority of this trade is in the other story Twilight of the Guardians. It's just a fun story focusing on the big 4 GL members saving the Guardians from the Controllers. It's fun and you really feel the connection and closeness of Guy, Kyle, John, and Hal which I really enjoyed. The writing itself highlights it as well. We also see Somar Le and her titanic large people and animals deal with her constructs reminds me of how Thorne handled Teen Lantern's constructs which I just liked the connection of. While I found the Controllers a bit bland their relation to the Guardians is nice and brings them back in the limelight as part of GL. It also hints that there will be Darkstar stuff in the future which I haven’t read comics featuring yet and they seem neat.
Do note tho that both of these stories include GLs lightly doing some grimy cop stuff like punching people while interrogating them. Venditti has done some similar blue wall-y or similarly violent methods while having GLs be more cop than military (tho neither is good) and its an irk I have with a few GL writers.
You also get a single artist for each story. I do appreciate they're allowing each artist to do a full storyline. It gives each storyline a bit of it's own feel that plays into the longform cop procedural episode-ish feel of Hal and the GLC by having each be it's own "episode" in story and in art.
Patrick Zircher does Mind Games (issue 30-31). He's not bad and has a distinctive style especially with faces but is still neatly contemporary comic book art. I like how the constructs are drawn a bit more cartoon-y for a lack of better words.
Jack Herbert does Twilight of the Guardians (33-36). He also does well done traditional comic book art. He does the Controllers and Guardians well which is good considering there is a lot of just sitting around talking to each other a lot in the story he's artist for. It also helps he can draw some nice emotion in faces and posturing to really sell it and not make the stretches of talking look boring.
Also there is no issue 32. Turns out it's a Dark Nights Metal tie-in for some sub storyline in it called “Bat Out of Hell” so it makes sense.

[Jacob Shaffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sooooo first there’s Superman and he’s like I put Parallax in this Sinestro Corps ring and Hal’s like nah nah nah and then Hector Hammond has actually been infiltrating Hal’s mind and sending him these delusions but also asking for help; “Hal you’re a hero! Be my hero!”
These lil yellow things impregnated his big ol brain like an egg I guess, they give Hal perfect world delusions wow imagine that, then Hector blows all their heads up. Tehe
Hal goes to see Carol, and never knocks on the door when John rings and says he needs Hal’s help

We see some of Somar-Le; the new Xudarian the ring chose to replace Tomar-Tu, getting trained by Ganthet and Sayd, and then the aforementioned Saydthet (power couple) are abducted by The Controllers. So if you’re Maltusian, you could’ve evolved in to Guardians, Zamarians, or Controllers. I think.
Hal, John, Guy, and Kyle, are on a Four Corpsmen mission to save Saydthet, it’s cool but boring.

And then; final spoiler, the Controllers reveal they’re bringing back the Darkstars. Woahhhhhh, this book wasn’t a hit

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than a team up between Hal and Superman, pitting them against some aliens who are attacking Hector Hammond, this Volume covers the abduction of the remaining Guardians (Ganthet and Sayd) by the Controllers. They are an ancient enemy of the GLC, having spawned from the same race as the Guardians.
The Four Horsemen (even making a wrestling joke and arguing over which of them is Ric Flair LOL), or Hal, Kyle, Guy, and John, go to find the Guardians and battle the Controllers, who are turning Guardians to their side. (This battle is amazing as we rarely get to see them really go all out!) At the end, the Templar Guardians join with Ganthet and Sayd and there are now 6 Guardians for the Green Lantern Corps.
.... but there are also 7 Controllers now.... and their first action is to awaken the Darkstars, an army to combat the GLC.
Hopefully we can bring the whole Corps into this fight in the next Volume. Recommend.

[Adam Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

We get two stories in the book. the Two Issue Mind Games and the titular Twilight of the Guardians.

The first is Mind Games which features a team-up between Hal Jordan and Superman. This is a follow up on a recent story in Superman where the man of steel was possessed by Parallax and met up with Sinestro and at first, it appears to Hal that Parallax is back. This is a decent story that does a good job focusing on the relationship between Hal and Superman.

The second is, "Twilight of the Guardians" which features all the surviving members of the Guardians of the Universe being kidnapped by the Controllers who come from the same planet of Malthus. This story featured a child from Xundar who became a Green Lantern and a husband and wife guardian pair. These were nice touches. They also tried to highlight a team dynamic between all four of the Human lanterns, which I don't think worked very well. The story seems in love with continuity with the Controllers not being a compelling villain and the series moving towards a more traditional status quo at the end. Reaching that point seemed to be what mattered most as opposed to telling a good story.

This isn't a a bad book, but it's below the standard of what I've come to expect from this series.

[Ashlight Grayson · Rating 5 out of 5]

We get a bit more time with Hal at the beginning of this volume as he goes on a mission back on Earth. Despite his pride in being a Green Lantern he has things he misses from Earth, namely his love interest Carol. I'm hoping that we get to see him be able to reunite and talk to her again at some point. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be any time soon. I would also kill to see Hal hang out with Clark's family. I'm sure Jon loves the happy go lucky Hal Jordan.

We also begin another separate arc where the guardians are kidnapper and all the human lanterns on Mogo team up to go get them. This was my favorite arc in this volume because even more importantly than making a great team, all of them are amazing friends that have each other's backs and we get to see each of them shine in what they do best. I'm still really happy with this run and I'm looking forward to seeing Zod for the next arc. Great volume!

[José · Rating 3 out of 5]

65/100.

Es entretenida, pero no demasiado más. Parece que los dos primeros números son un cruce con Superman (y no habiendo leído Superman, pues solo tenemos el final). Básicamente, tiene una batalla con Parallax.

Aunque me hayan gustado los números siguientes, con un caso casi policial con Hal, John, Kyle y Guy como protagonistas, me gustaba más la dinámica de la primera parte de la etapa con los Linterna Amarillas. Los Controladores han raptado a los Guardianes, por lo que estos tienen que descubrir dónde están para rescatarlos. Ha sido divertido y bastante entretenido leer cómo se daban de hostias. Pero no me ha aportado demasiado.

No veo tanto peso dramático en la historia para la vida de ninguno de los cuatro personajes principales y... es una pena. Ya solo quedan dos volúmenes para acabar la etapa.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection is two separate tales and the first is far better than the last. The first tale sees Hal & Superman team-up with the threat of Sinestro arising and it turned very interesting even though it was only two issues. Venditti shows a serious threat, interesting dynamic between the two heroes, and an intriguing swerve. Patrick Zircher's art was also very good. The second story was steeped in more Guardian lore and because of that, it was a letdown. The least interesting characters in the book get highlighted. The antagonists were boring and one note despite what they accomplished. I did love the the main 4 Lanterns being showcased with their individual strengths. The art was fine but not spectacular. Overall, this book does better when the book should start showcasing more Lanterns if its going to be a book about the Corps.

[Will Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely read this after Superman Rebirth vol. 5 because the first part picks up right after a two part Superman story where they are tracking Parallax. Then we got Hector Hammond, which is fine.

And then we have the Controllers vs The Guardians, which really only resets that the Guardians wear their Green Lantern frocks again.

And while at first the 4 Corpsmen was fun, they did the classic thing of "We are doing well! Oh no, now they have us where we will lose! That's ok, we are Green Lanterns, and we decide we won't lose, let's win!"

How about for superheroes to overcome their challenge, they have to change tactics as opposed to letting magic willpower win?

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot synopsis is a bit of a red herring - the Green Lantern/Superman team-up story that references the return of Sinestro has a very different reality, that is actually pretty silly. Then, the rest of the collection focuses on the Guardians and their alter-egos the Collectors. The story isn't great, but it at least gives the classic four Earth Lanterns a chance to cut loose, and some strong art supports their raid on the Controllers' fortress. It doesn't provide much in the way of closure, instead setting up later volumes in the series. As such, while it feels like it has some important aspects for the overall plot, it doesn't stand for much on its own.

[Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

quick little hector Hammond and kroloteaen story.
that was fine. I guess it shows us where Hammond has been since his last appearance. nothing exciting or too fun.

skips the dark knights metal dawnbreaker issue. worth skipping. nothing lost there.

ends with a story of the controllers coming back in a horrible way, killing the guardians. they try to explain why only the four earth lanterns are involved int he story but I was hoping that this series would be highlighting more of the corps than these four. at elast Stewart gets limelight as the corps leader.

a status quo returns with the guardians.

[Andrés · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe it's because it's been a while since I reviewed Vol. 4, but I really enjoyed Twilight of the Guardians. The stories are entertaining, the art looks great throughout, the characters feel the way they should... a huge step up from Venditti's New 52 GL run, which I have also been reading of late. If Venditti can keep this up for the last two volumes of his run, I think I'll be able to call his Rebirth run a success.

[Iris Nevers · Rating 5 out of 5]

[Read in single issues]
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps is definitely shaping up to be one of my favorite rebirth titles. Between the four corpsmen aspect and the team work I'm seeing between the 4 original Green Lanterns from Earth, I'm just really starting to love this title and I'm always so excited for the next issue.

[José Miguel (TheHudson) · Rating 3 out of 5]

El primer arco (30-31) es realmente confuso sin leer los tomos de Superman. ¿Sinestro en la tierra? ¿Y no que estaba moribundo en Qward? ¿Y dónde fue a dar el anillo amarillo que en el siguiente número nadie se acuerda?

El segundo arco (33-36) es un clásico de puños y acción de parte de los 4 jinetes.

Voy a necesitar leer Metal y los tomos se Superman para saber que ocurre en esta historia.