Red Lanterns #24

What a surprise. Hal's "talk" turns into a fistfight with Guy. And is Guy dual wielding Red Lantern rings?

Being a super hero is like being the drunk asshole forced out of the bar at closing time to suddenly mix with everybody else on the street. Sooner or later, somebody is going to say something that the drunk can use as an excuse to start throwing punches. If real life disagreements or conflicts ended in violence at the same rate as in comic books, we'd all be walking around with black eyes and fat lips. Physically beating somebody to a pulp doesn't mean you've won the argument. It means you've completely failed to counter the other person's argument so you decided to change the battle's weapons from words to fists. I suppose some people think of that as an effective way to resolve problems. Of course, those people are stupid assholes.

This issue begins on Earth.

I mean Ysmault! It's easy to get confused when DC can't even get their space sectors right. Ysmault is in Space Sector 666. A reader pointed out that this information I've been working with (that Ysmault is in Sector 666) is wrong! I was led astray by Red Lanterns #1 which gave me the wrong information. And that was when I was naive and actually trusted everything DC was telling me about their own universe!

In New Guardians #24, the Indigo Lantern planet of Nok was also said to be in Earth's sector of 2814. Since I don't actually know where Nok is located, I didn't mention it because I thought there was a possibility it could be correct. Now I'm not so sure!

Last issue Bleez caught Guy Gardner screaming into his Green Lantern Ring for Hal Jordan to come drag his ass off of the universal dump that is Ysmault. They have a discussion that doesn't involve putting their hands on each other. It's possible that since Red Lanterns know that any physical confrontation will inevitably end in one of the participants being killed, they see violence amongst themselves as a last resort. Whereas with the usual super heroes, they just love to test their limits against each other because they're mostly sure that nobody will die. So what harm is there in seeing if you can get a really good lick in on The Batman? Although Batman won't hesitate to break bones, so heroes should try to avoid poking him with a Batstick.

See? When fighting ends in death, more people resort to talking!

Guy decides to come clean about his real reasons for having come to Ysmault. The other Red Lanterns don't take it so well but whatever they were going to do about it is interrupted by Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps' surprise visit! That probably makes his revelation that he's done with the Green Lantern Corps seem a little less than honest.

Meanwhile in deep space, Atrocity and Dex-starr share a moment.

Oh, how cu...seriously? The Atrocity Butcher? Luckily that name doesn't last long as Kyle Rayner comes along to corral the Butcher.

Back on Ysmault, the Red Lanterns decide to defend their world from the assault by The Green Lanterns. Seems reasonable. But the Green Lanterns don't have much power, so Hal tells them to simply defend themselves while he tries to talk with Guy Gardner. That works out decently enough with Hal suffering only a fat lip before Guy decides to hear him out.

Guy wasn't really making a joke. He was just pointing out how easily he could be killed at any moment by one of the other Red Lanterns. I guess that's just funny to Hal.

What does Guy Gardner want in exchange for helping Hal defeat Relic? The Red Lanterns get their own sector to do with as they see fit. Guy says where they'll be the law but we all know that "the law" means nothing to a bunch of Red Lanterns. Luckily for Hal Jordan, the easiest sector to give them is the one in which Ysmault resides: 666. And that's pretty much a dead sector thanks to The Guardians' Manhunters many, many years ago. So while Hal is selling out a Sector and taking away its protectors (although, seriously, good riddance!), at least it's a sector that doesn't need much protecting. Probably. 2814. Which means Hal really is going to have to sell out some other sector! Unless he just picks 666 because of all that struck out nonsense.

And out on the edge of the Omniverse, Relic is trying to penetrate the Source Wall. He's on his 42nd try with his automatic ramming piston but, once again, he fails to get off. But Kyle and the Bohemian Guardians arrive to help! For some reason, Kyle also wants to now bring down the Source Wall. Perhaps it's to free up the emotional spectrum trapped on the other side? Because right now, the Lanterns need batteries to tap into the power. But once the power is freed, they won't need the stupid batteries anymore! Right? And there will be some other comic book reason that will prove to Relic that his theory about the Lightswitches killing the universe was wrong! I bet he finds out that they were actually helping to maintain the universe by siphoning off power in much the same way that The Flash helps keep the Speed Force under control by using up the excess built-up power.

Red Lanterns #24 Rating: No change. If Guy Gardner is going to remain a Red Lantern, he's going to have to make up with Atrocitus somehow. Or maybe Atrocitus and Dex-Starr will become the villains of Sector 666 Whatever Sector The Red Lanterns Get. Probably not. I have no idea where the Red Lanterns will go from here. But hopefully they'll stop getting dragged into all of the Green Lantern Corps' cosmic crises!