Blackest Night Roundtable

With Blackest Night slated to come out on July 15, 2009, we here at The Revolution decided that it would be time to have a little roundtable discussion concerning DC’s big event. We selected ten questions and submitted them to each member for their answers.

Yeah, we even got Shawn to put down his Wiimote and shake off his Mountain Dew and Cheezy Puff daze in order to give his answers. Aww, I kid because I care. Shawn is actually hard at work and currently preoccupied with getting The Revolution’s new website ready to launch.

At any rate, let’s check out what the members of The Revolution have to say about the upcoming Blackest Night event.

1. Which dead DCU character are you looking forward to coming back as a Black Lantern?

Andrenn: I hear Ralph and Sue Dibny are coming back. That has me excited. I loved those two characters. They were so great. Sue’s death really had me down; especially since she was pregnant at the time. Of course, sadly, they are going to be zombies rather than full resurrections. Still, they were always interesting characters and hopefully they can have some kind of impact with their return.

Groovy Superhero: Ted Kord and Booster Gold has to put him down!  Runner-up: Aquababy.

Jim: Vic Sage – the original Question.

Kevin: Originally, I was going to say I wanted to see Superboy (Connor Kent) as a Black Lantern. But, since Conner has returned to life over in Legion of Three Worlds, I am going to go with the original Question (Vic Sage). I really hated that DC killed Vic off and replaced him with Renne Montoya. Plus, I think seeing Vic becoming paranoid about the Black Lantern ring would be interesting to see. That could certainly lead to some fun internal dialogue.

Shawn: I wish I had a better idea of what a Black Lantern really is. If it’s a zombie… well who cares really? Is Jean Loring dead? Hard to think of many “evil” dead… The original Mongul maybe… On the other hand, if the Black Lantern Corps is a method to fully bring characters back, then I hope to see Martian Manhunter, Aquaman and the original Firestorm come back to life. Please.

Rokk: I have to hope that DC takes this opportunity to save two classic Charlton characters that Rucka stomped all over. After killing off Vic Sage and Ted Kord with two incredibly lame and un-heroic deaths; this would be the perfect opportunity to bring back the real Question and the real Blue Beetle.

Of course, the character that DC should be jumping at the chance to bring back with Blackest Night is Vibe! That’s right, baby. Vibe. The greatest Hispanic super hero. Ever.

2. Which current (alive) DCU character do you hope joins one of the Lantern Corps during the war?

Andrenn: Hmmm…I could see Jason Todd as a Red Lantern for sure. The Red Lantern Corps is practically tailor made for Jason. Though, I wonder what would happen if Blue Beetle where to join the Blue Lanterns?

Groovy Superhero: The adorable and underused Misfit.  Nothing like wiping out an army of Starros to get over that teenage inferiority complex.

Jim: Ambush Bug.

Kevin: I have to go with Scarecrow getting a Sinestro Corp ring. Outside of Sinestro there is no character that better embodies fear than Scarecrow. Plus, it was already shown that Scarecrow was going to be the one who was going to be chosen to be the Sinestro Corp member for the Earth sector before Hal took the ring and put the ring on. It would be pretty cool to see Scarecrow get the ring during Blackest Night: Batman.

Shawn: Hawkman with a power ring.  How’s that for willpower?

Rokk: Aquababy and now Misfit? I wonder what goes on inside Groovy’s mind sometimes. 😉 I love the idea of Todd with a power ring. And a red power ring would be a perfect match for Todd’s anger and hate. Unfortunately, Todd is “dead” and I do not think we are going to see him in Blackest Night. I also love the insanity of Ambush Bug as a Lantern.

But, I am going to go with Shawn on this one. C’mon, Hawkman armed with a power ring? That is just wicked. Imagine the incredible force Carter would be if he was armed with a power ring. And Hawkman would have to be a Green Lantern and proceed to lay down the law and some serious ass-kicking.

3. Will one of the four Earth Green Lanterns (Hal, Kyle, John, and Guy) leave the Green Lantern Corps to join one of the other Lantern Corps?

Andrenn: I could see Hal or Kyle leaving. I’m not even sure why but I can see either happening. Kyle seems like someone who may really benefit from the Blue Lanterns Corps. And based on what Johns has shown us, you never know what ring Hal is going to be wearing next month.

Groovy Superhero: It’s looking like Kyle is going to leave. You know, with the no “don’t s**t where you eat” GL Corps rule messing with his love life.

Jim: Guy will join the Red Lanterns.

Kevin: I can see maybe Kyle leaving the Green Lantern Corps and becoming a Blue Lantern as he fits in more with being a character of hope than one of will power. Plus, since Hal has returned and Sodam has become Ion, Kyle has sort of become just another Green Lantern Corps member and not the Torchbearer he was before. Also, it would be cool to have Hal and Kyle as a team as Green and Blue Lanterns respectively that help each other out.

Shawn: Kyle. Love is all he needs 🙂

Rokk: I am going to have to go with Kyle. The guy always follows his heart and it would be consistent for Kyle to choose love over being a Green Lantern. Plus, we already have Hal, Guy and John already in the Green Lantern Corps. We really do not need four Earthlings in the Green Lantern Corps.

4. Will we see a White Lantern appear in Blackest Night? If so, who will it be?

Andrenn: I imagine a White Lantern would basically be the positive to the Black Lanterns’ negative. Matter and Anti-matter. And they would cancel out each other’s powers and abilities. As to whom would that be? I have no clue. I know it sounds odd, but maybe Shazam.

Groovy Superhero: I’m afraid that the answer to this is going to be the one that a lot of fans have already guessed: it is going to happen and it is going to be Hal.  I was already cracking jokes over the fact that Hal’s two rings currently make him a “Cyan Lantern” according to RGB/CMYK color wheels. But, I realize that is probably actually where this is headed.  Load Hal up with rings until the color scheme turns white.  I hope I’m wrong. It is kind of cliché, but I think that’s what’s going to happen.

Jim: Yes. Alan Scott.

Kevin: So Johns has definitely been building to Hal being the White Lantern as he has worn every Lantern ring we have seen so far. And I am guessing that with the man crush Johns has on Hal; it makes sense that during the middle of Blackest Night that Hal will get all the Lantern rings. At that point, Hal will have to leave the war to try and get control of all the rings. Then, Johns will have Hal comes back as a White Lantern. Hal the White Lantern will serve as the messiah of the Lantern Corps. Hal will then lead them into battle and end up defeating the “unstoppable” Black Lantern Corps.

Shawn: Hal could be the all-color ring bearer… Dude has done it all.

Rokk: I am going to have to go with Hal Jordan. Johns has already had Hal wear three of the colored rings up to this point. If any character is going to play the role of the messianic White Lantern then it has to be Hal Jordan. Johns would not have it any other way. Do I like the idea? Not really. It sounds cheesy and gives the story a bit of a Power Rangers feel to it. Of course, maybe Johns can pull it off in a fashion that is entertaining and works nicely with the story.

5. Which Lantern Corps do you think will form an alliance during the war?

Andrenn: I can definitely see the Blue and Green Lanterns having a pact, since the Blue Lanterns need the Green Lanterns. Perhaps the Sinestro Corps may actually put their differences aside for one of the other Corps, but I highly doubt that based on the solicitations for Blackest Night.

Groovy Superhero: I think it is going to have to happen early, and be an alliance between the Blue Lanterns and the Green Lanterns. They are already sort of in a forced marriage because of Hal’s two rings. And let’s face it, without an army of Green Lanterns the Blue Lanterns are just the universe’s ugliest cannon fodder.

Jim: The Green Lantern Corps and the Sinestro Corps.

Kevin: The only Lantern Corps I can see coming to the conclusion that they need to form an alliance is the Blue Lantern Corps and Indigo Lantern Corps as Hope and Compassion are probably the most reasonable of the emotional spectrum. I can also see Hal, Kyle, and Sinestro leaving their respective Corps and joining the alliance with the Blue and Indigo Lanterns while still wearing their Green and Yellow rings.

Shawn: If I had to guess, I would say that eventually it will come down to all the Lanterns Corps combined together against the Black Lanterns.

Rokk: The Blue Lanterns and the Green Lanterns have to join forces at some point due to the symbiotic nature of the blue and green power rings. The Blue Lanterns and the Violet Lanterns would also make a logical union. Of course, it is possible that Johns might go for the seemingly impossible team-up and shock the reader with a team-up between the Green Lantern Corps and the Sinestro Corps. In the end, it might come down to everyone versus the Black Lanterns. Damn, I am sounding repetitious. Why did I have to go last with all of these questions?

6. What fight are you looking forward the most to seeing?

Andrenn: I would love to see Zombie Superman fighting our new Batman. Bruce could take out Superman with a rock, but does Dick carry around Kryptonite as well? We can only hope so. It would be awesome to see that not only can Batman handle a God-like being, but that he can also take down a super powered zombie.

Another fight that I would love to see would be if somehow the Anti-Monitor rises again and then gets to battle Hal in the climactic final battle of Blackest Night.

Groovy Superhero: Flash vs. Aquaman!

Jim: Anybody beating the Pink Sapphire Corps.

Kevin: I’m looking forward to seeing a Larfleeze vs. Atrocitus fight. That would be an epic fight between two of the most violent and creepiest characters from all of the Lantern Corps. It would be a classic fight with limbs flying all over the place. This would be like watching two characters from a couple of horror flicks going at it.

Shawn: Yawn. Wake me up when the fights are over.

Rokk: I am looking forward to Sinestro versus Mongul. The Black Lantern Corps should provide with some interesting fights. Superman and Power Girl versus Zombie Superman. Booster Gold versus Zombie Blue Beetle. Zombie Martian Manhunter and Zombie Aquaman versus their old Justice League of America teammates. There are so many great match-ups to look forward to once the Black Lanterns get into the mix.

7. Do you think that Blackest Night has become too convoluted with all the various Lantern Corps concepts for new readers to get into the event?

Andrenn: I think it’s very possible to lose readers by the second issue with so many tie-ins and characters that will be showing up. Of course, there is Blackest Night #0 which tries its best to explain the different colored Lantern Corps. And there is always Wikipedia for the curious new reader looking for more answers. I will certainly be getting Blackest Night itself. However, I may or may not be reading the tie-in books.

Groovy Superhero: In a normal world, I’d say yes.  But, Blackest Night is a billion times less complicated than Final Crisis, Batman R.I.P. and most of what’s going on in Marvel.  I think the big two have pretty much been only about “Crises” and other “big comic events,” and their prologues and aftermaths. Therefore, the only people who still read comics are the ones who follow and understand everything. Everyone else has moved on to other hobbies, like stamp collecting or pinning butterflies to cardboard. (How sick is that?  What the hell is wrong with you lepidopterists?)

Jim: Yes.

Kevin: Let’s see: Red power rings cancel out Green power rings, Blue power rings cancels out Red power rings, Agent Orange can eat any of the other Lantern Corps members and turn them into Orange Lantern Corps members, Star Sapphire Lanterns can “purify” characters into believing in love and becoming part of the Star Sapphire Corps, a Green Lantern needs to be next to a Blue Lantern for the Blue power rings to work, Green Lanterns Corps members who feel fear cannot do any damage to the Yellow Lantern Corps members, and the Black Lantern rings bring back the dead.

That just hurt my head! And that is just the simple explanation of all the various Lantern Corps and we still have yet to learn what the Indigo and Black Lantern power rings actually do. Just trying to explain the concept of how the emotional spectrum powers and the different power rings has already turned off some of my friends that are purely Marvel fans who were looking to get into Blackest Night. And it may be the same way for DC fans that are not familiar with Green Lantern mythos.

Shawn: Not if they stick to Green Lantern, Green Lantern Corps and Blackest Night only.

Rokk: I could easily see Blackest Night being way too convoluted to attract new readers. Of course, Groovy Superhero is correct that in comparison to Final Crisis and Batman RIP, Blackest Night is not nearly as confusing or hard to follow. The problem is that Johns has gone so in-depth with the emotional spectrum of powers and the Green Lantern mythos that I am not sure that non-DC fans would really care much about this event.

Now, the fact that Blackest Night is going to star so many characters outside of the Green Lantern family means that DC fans who don’t normally read Green Lantern may indeed hop aboard for this big event. However, for Blackest Night to achieve its fullest potential it must attract some non-DC readers. For DC to grow its readership, they have to start cranking out big events and titles that entice Marvel and Indie readers to give a DC title a try. And I am not too sure if a title that requires the reader to have a road map of all the different colored Lantern Corps and one that is deep with DCU continuity is the best approach to take in an effort to attract non-DC readers.

Still, what Blackest Night does have in its favor is that it is going to be a straight forward action and adventure story unlike what we got with Final Crisis. And that should make it much more appealing to non-DC readers. In the end, Blackest Night will probably attract more non-DC readers and post larger sales numbers than Final Crisis. And if that is the case, then DC will be satisfied with the end results of Blackest Night.

8. Do you think it was a mistake for DiDio to expand Blackest Night from a Green Lantern/Green Lantern Corps event to a DCU event?

Andrenn: I think it very well may have been. It would be great to get a more self contained cosmic event that doesn’t shake the whole DCU. But, at the same time, this move by DiDio could very well be worth it. This honestly seems like the first really accessible DC event to me and for that I am still excited.

Groovy Superhero: The jury is still out on this one. It might be a good idea since corpses from the DCU, not just the Corps, are going to be shambling around.  Also, any huge event that affects the Earth effects the whole DCU and it would be weird to pretend otherwise. I do, however, think that they should have been building up to the event in all DCU books, as opposed to only GL books. 

Jim: No, it was not a mistake.  But, DiDio has messed up other events before so who knows what will happen with Blackest Night.

Kevin: Secret Invasion and Final Crisis have recently showed us that turning an event that really is suppose to be its own self-contained event for specific titles/characters (Avengers for Secret Invasion and Seven Soldiers of Victory and the New Gods for Final Crisis) into a universe wide event just does not work. And even though Johns did a great job with Sinestro Corps War; the last time Johns had to handle the whole DCU in one event, Infinite Crisis, it turned out to be too cluttered and rushed. On top of that, add the huge hype machine and the general impression from readers that turning Blackest Night into a DCU event was a bad move. That simply places more pressure on Johns to be able to handle all the DCU characters perfectly.

Shawn: Not yet. We’ll see how much DiDio has bloated the Blackest Night main series. The potential for ruination is certainly there.

Rokk: At this point? No. But, it is still very early. Let’s see what it looks like mid-way through Blackest Night. I did think that it was a huge mistake for DiDio to force Final Crisis from being a self-contained story into a DCU event. And Marvel forcing Secret Invasion from an Avengers event to a 616 Universe event was an equally terrible decision. There is no doubt that DiDio has managed to screw up plenty of stories that were initially good ideas before DiDio got his hands on them. So, it certainly would not surprise me if DiDio’s meddling in Blackest Night ends up hurting this big event.

There is something to be said for DiDio having decided to keep Blackest Night a cosmic big event that is only slightly connected with the rest of the DCU. Kind of like how Marvel has handled War of Kings. Not every big event has to be a gigantic Crisis event that impacts ever single little nook and cranny of the DCU.

9. Will we see a major character death, Black Lanterns excluded, during the war? If so, who?

Andrenn: I saw that Carol Ferris joined the Star Sapphires. This pretty much spells death to me. We know Hal and Carol have a deep history so it would certainly push Hal far and could drive him wild for all we know. Also, Carol just joined right before Blackest Night so it’s a given that Johns brought her into the mix in order to play a prominent role in Blackest Night.

Groovy Superhero: I truly believe someone will die. I cannot say who with a lot of confidence, but if I really have to guess I would say Wally West.  I also believe Wally will then be back within 18 months.

I so wish that the Most Honorable Justice Ninjas of Super Happy Kung Fu would die in the most gruesome manner imaginable, and that Black Hand would sew a new costume from their entrails.  Sadly, that’s probably not going to happen.

Jim: Yes. Kyle Rayner.

Kevin: If I had to guess it will be John Stewart. Since the end of Sinestro Corps War, John has not played a major role in either Green Lantern title. On the other hand, Hal, Kyle, and Guy have had some time to shine since the end of the war. Plus, John is a big enough character where it will impact many characters in the DCU, similar to Martian Manhunter’s death in Final Crisis, and shock readers. But, John’s death would still have little impact on most of the DCU titles.

Shawn: If Nightwing weren’t currently occupied… 🙂 I don’t see one… no…

Rokk: I’m going to have to go with Kyle Rayner. We have four Green Lanterns from Earth. That is just too many. And of those four, I see Kyle as the most expandable. Hal Jordan and John Stewart are untouchable for obvious reasons. That leaves Guy and Kyle. I say it is not Guy because his character has been around longer and Guy’s personality makes him a more interesting and entertaining character for writers to employ compared to Kyle’s more muted personality. Also, Ion has really stolen Kyle’s purpose within the Green Lantern Corps. And I get the impression that in a battle royal fight between Hal, John, Guy and Kyle, that Kyle would be the first to get eliminated.

10. What are your overall predictions of how Blackest Night will turn out?  A dud or a big seller?

Andrenn: No question that Blackest Night will sell well. DC has been pitching this story very well and I have seen a lot of people around the comic shop who are really psyched for this event. Though as for the actual story, it’s stretched out along 8 issues which has me a little worried that during the mid-point of this event, like in Secret Invasion, it could slow down and get boring. Still, Johns is a writer who knows how to keep things interesting so my hopes are high.

Groovy Superhero: It is going to be a big seller, but by the standards of modern comic sales.  I think it will be in the top of the Diamond monthly sales lists – unless Marvel has something unbelievable in the works, like Jean Grey bare-knuckle boxing with Norman Osborn – but it’s not going to break records or anything.

Jim: Mediocre because of the confusion over the different colored Lantern Corps.

Kevin: It will probably be the biggest seller of the year. The only thing I would watch out for is that Blackest Night will not live up to fans’ expectations as there may be too much for Johns to handle. But as long as Johns focuses this being a big cosmic epic, and not just another DCU event were Superman flies in to be the end all be all that he has been in all the other DCU events, then I have faith that Johns will turn in a good read.

Shawn: It will be a big seller, at least by DC’s standards (not a slam). Whether it is a dud probably has a lot to do with any potential “editorial mandates.”

Rokk: Jean Grey bare-knuckle boxing Norman Osborn? Hot damn! Sign me up for that big event now! Blackest Night is going to be a big seller by DC standards. I do not believe that Blackest Night will be as big of a seller as Marvel’s big events like Civil War and Secret Invasion.