In the upcoming Green Lantern: Blackstars, Hal Jordan is going to the dark side… again. From writer Grant Morrison and artist Xermanico, DC’s forthcoming three-issue miniseries will pick up after the events of The Green Lantern #12. The series sees Hal Jordan joining the Blackstars, the cult-like mercenaries who have plagued the galaxy throughout Morrison’s latest run. But where does this fit in DC’s universe?

Morrison’s The Green Lantern ended with a cosmic reality rewrite, one that changed DC’s cosmos as fans know it. Through the use of the Miracle Machine–a willpower-harnessing meta-machine designed by the Controllers (last seen in Final Crisis), the Green Lantern Corps was erased from existence–turning Hal Jordan into one of the brutal Blackstar soldiers. And according to early artwork, sending him up against his former friends on the Justice League.

The story promises further intrigue for fans of Hal Jordan, as other Green Lanterns like Jessica Cruz have risen through the ranks to claim their place among DC’s bravest heroes. Jordan has been on a mission all his own with Morrison and Liam Sharp, but according to the official details from Morrison himself, Green Lantern: Blackstars promises to unveil the group’s secrets, all while they bend the universe to their will—including the planet Earth:

As fans who have been reading comics since the 1990s know all too well, this isn’t the first time Jordan has switched sides. All the way back in 1993, during Reign of the Supermen! the despotic villain Mongul leveled Jordan’s hometown of Coast City and killed millions, driving the Green Lantern mad with grief. It’s after trying to rebuild the city with his ring—including carbon copies of friends and family—that he’s summoned to Oa, home base of the Green Lantern Corps, where the Guardians intend to punish him (having previously refused to help, as is their way). Incensed, Jordan headed to Oa where he slaughtered the Corps and absorbed the power of the Central Battery, which powers every one of the Green Lanterns’ power rings. Armed with the full might of the Green Lantern Corps, he adopted the name Parallax and became one of DC’s most powerful villains. And while Green Lantern: Rebirth explained away most of that villainy, there’s no doubt that Hal Jordan’s return to the ‘bad guys’ will be less than warmly received by fans who remember the first time.

Oa is the skeleton-paved haunt of vengeful demons, and the Blackstars—a sinister cult of universal peace and harmony, involving surrender to the will of the insidious and/or possibly illuminated Controller Mu—are in the process of subjugating the universe to their creed.

With the Green Lantern Corps wiped from the universe, Hal Jordan may yet again be one of DC’s greatest threats. Is this the death of DC’s Green Lanterns? Will Jordan break free of the hold of Controller Mu? Will he once again go toe-to-toe with the Justice League? You’ll have to wait until Green Lanterns: Blackstars #1 hits stands on November 6th to find out:

  • GREEN LANTERN: BLACKSTARS #1 written by GRANT MORRISON art by XERMANICO cover by LIAM SHARP variant cover by DARICK ROBERTSON What has Hal Jordan done? Following the catastrophic events of The Green Lantern #12, no Green Lanterns can be found patrolling their space sectors…and not a single power ring lights the darkness. Across the universe, once-familiar faces now wear a different uniform and enforce a new type of galactic law. The Green Lantern Corps is dead—long live the Blackstars! Who are they? What are they? Answers will be revealed as the unstoppable Blackstars set their sights on the demons of Ysmault, Mongul…and a tiny, backwater planet called Earth. A dangerous new chapter of the Green Lantern mythology starts now!

Green Lantern: Blackstars #1 will be available from your local comic book shop on November 6th, 2019.

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