Red Lanterns #10

Last issue I thought The Red Lanterns were ready for a plot. But now they've been distracted by Stormwatch! Good going, Apollo and Midnighter!

While the Red Lanterns, once again, fight amongst themselves (although this time in space since the planet Ysmault is breaking up beneath them), Atrocitus heads off on his own special mission to find Abysmus. He feels an energy that seems to be the warped, strange energy of his first, mutated and retarded Red Lantern.

Atrocitus rages his way into Hyperspace.

Atrocitus finds the Eye of the Storm hidden away in Hyperspace by vomiting on Physics and raging against Reality. That anger can really take you places!

I think the simple fact that you're ship is already sitting in hyperspace fucks up Minkowski's Law of Spacetime, whatever that is. Besides, Atrocitus is really, really angry!

Hmm, looking up Minkowski, he introduced the term spacetime in 1909. I think he might have missed the part where if you get really, really angry, you can distort space and time, opening a wormhole into an alternate area in space where arrogant assholes live.

Once inside Hyperspace, Atrocitus easily breaks into the Eye of the Storm and begins exploring for the source of the strange Red Lantern power reading.

This looks like a scene from a children's adventure story. Dibs! I'm writing The Angry Adventures of Atrocitus and his Kitty Kitty.

Apollo, Midnighter, and Martian Manhnter attack Atrocitus from out of a Teleport Door. Atrocitus is able to stand toe to toe with three of the most powerful super heroes in the universe. Apollo manages to punch him throw a half dozen walls of the Eye of the Storm but it just makes Atrocitus angrier and more powerful. J'onn and Apollo lose sight of Midnighter during the melee but nobody's really too worried about what Midnighter might be up to.

Best fight so far in The New 52! Even though it makes me sad.

Meanwhile, J'onn does one of his Spockian mind melds on Atrocitus and discovers Atrocitus' history: how his family and people were massacred by the Manhunters, how the Guardians of the Universe are complete pricks (as are the Green Lantern Corps), and how Abysmus is killing the Red Lanterns. J'onn tried to convince Atrocitus that Stormwatch has nothing to do with any of this and then Atrocitus senses the Red Power Ring of Skallox on board!

With Atrocitus' help (or rage. Or something), Skallox's ring breaks free and returns to him. He attacks but Engineer opens a Door which he flies through. She suggests Atrocitus follow after him which he does. But he does so angrily!

What about Dex Starr?! Don't forget kitty!

On the other side of the Door, Skallox rages and Atrocitus tries to calm him down since the Red Lanterns only have a limited amount of time. Acting rationally and coolly, Atrocitus is losing himself piece by piece. And then Dex Starr is flung out of the Door, probably by that jerk Midnighter. Atrocitus convinces Skallox that they need to find Abysmus fast or the Red Lanterns will be dead in mere days.

Meanwhile, the other Red Lanterns are descending on the planet of the Star Sapphires.

Bleez believes the Star Sapphires are behind the poisoning of the Red Lantern Battery.

I'm not sure why Bleez thinks the Star Sapphires are to blame for the poisoned battery. I probably missed something somewhere. But it makes sense since every other Lantern Corps is facing a possible extinction event except the Star Sapphires. I mentioned that they were probably getting a free pass because the Zamarrons are the ex-wives of the Guardians and why would the Guardians want to poke that beehive? But here it is! The Star Sapphires big problem: the Red Lantern Corps itself! Anger versus Love! I bet this conflict ends in an orgy.

Red Lanterns #10 Rating: +1 Ranking. I think a lot of weird, wacky stuff happened in this issue that I enjoyed. I also think I've come to grips with the Red Lantern Corps never quite having a coherent plot or mission. They should be ruled by their anger and just fly the handle at any little provocation. Which is really what Atrocitus has been doing from issue to issue. I think Milligan is writing an issue and then rereading it and thinking, "What in this would really piss off Atrocitus?", and then he moves the story in that direction. From the beginning, I wondered how you write a story about a bunch of raging, incoherent monsters that mostly just fight amongst themselves. And I finally have come around. Milligan is doing this thing absolutely right.