That Blackest Night Thread (Spoilers!)

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Well, someone has to start it...

I really liked issue 1. For one thing, I wasn't in the dark after missing the Free Comic Book Day issue (I thought they'd have reprinted that by now!). For another, I liked that while it's Green Lantern-centric, for now, at least, it doesn't require me to know the ins and outs of all the different Corps, because I just don't. I quite reading GL when the Sinestro Corps War started, and planned to but the trade paperbacks by now, but haven't yet. (Heck, vol2 just came out, didn't it?)

So as someone who *knows* the DCU, but isn't exactly in tune with some recent events, I had no problem understanding it. Bitey Guardians? I'm down with that.

My favorite scene has got to be the one in which Hal shows Barry all the heroes who've died in the time between him dying and coming back. I *loved* his reaction to Ronnie -- being the junior member of the league when he was on it, Ronnie was probably the closest person to Wally's age he fought with. He's a kid they took under their wing, and now he's gone. And then seeing Ralph and Sue... but of course, that's setting up a later scene down the line.

The one thing that bugged me was the crypt of dead supervillains the JLA has under their HQ. I don't care if it makes them easier to guard, it's just ghoulish and wrong. Why the hell would anyone want the Fiddler's body? Just guard his &%#@ fiddle, for Pete's sake!

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Oh, man, the Ventriloquist I is back? Someday I'm gonna have to read these spinoff miniseries... I love the idea of the black-light Scarface dummy!

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

I've been following the Blackest Night in the Blackest Night mini, Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps. I don't really have anything to add other than I've really been enjoying it. Ivan Reiss's art on Black Night has been amazing.

Question, who was the guy in issue 2 that appeared at the grave with Spectre, Zatanna, Blue Devil and Phantom Stranger? He was zombiefied but I still didn't recognize him.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

If I'm remembering the scene right, that was Pariah. He was introduced in the original Crisis, cursed to teleport from dimension to dimension, warning them that the white wave of antimatter was coming. He's shown up at a few portentious times since then. At events when the Watcher would show up and stay silent, Pariah would show up and whine.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Lest it seem that I have nothing good to say about Pariah, let me add this: He taught me the definition of the word "pariah." Which is a pretty awesome word, so mad props to him.

[Rich Lane]

The zombie in the cape and hood? Pariah. He was a player in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Jason Marconnet (Lime_Coke) said:

I've been following the Blackest Night in the Blackest Night mini, Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps. I don't really have anything to add other than I've really been enjoying it. Ivan Reiss's art on Black Night has been amazing.

Question, who was the guy in issue 2 that appeared at the grave with Spectre, Zatanna, Blue Devil and Phantom Stranger? He was zombiefied but I still didn't recognize him.

[Doctor Hmmm?]

Rob Staeger said:

At events when the Watcher would show up and stay silent, Pariah would show up and whine.

[Jason Marconnet (Pint sized mod)]

Thanks Rob and Rich. I had never heard of him before.

[Horn'd One]

OK, so from what I've gathered on a couple of other sites (I don't read the comics I don't pick up), GL #46 shows that a BL can be rendered "inert" when completely enveloped by another being, thus returning it to it's former, dead, state.

To me, this means that the BL-rings are working not off a charge from a portable battery (which the other Corps' do), but are linked by some form of broadcast-energy-link. Discuss.

[Cavaliere (moderator emeritus)]

From what we've seen, BL rings are all at the same level of charge regardless of use or location. Their power is building, though. It seems to charge everytime a BL causes a death.

[Horn'd One]

Agreed. The charge they're getting from consuming the emotion-filled hearts seems to be spread out to all 'active' BL-rings.

Also, I finally figured out what the BLs are. They're not necessarilly zombies, they're REVENANTS.

[Dagwan]

Ooh, that's a great term!

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[Captain Comics]

I had an interview with Dan DiDio last week for CBG (and will have a shortened version for SHNS next week), and he said that The Atom was correct: The dead aren't wearing the rings, the rings are wearing the dead.

In other words, the rings are sentient. They find some bit of a dead person's DNA and rebuild the body (complete with memories, apparently) and use those "clothes" to scare the bejabbers out of someone who knew that person. Or to drive them to rage, hope, love, or one of the other seven corps colors. When that person is maxed out on a given emotion, they kill them -- because the black rings are fueled by emotion. As Mera said in the second issue, she could lose the Black Lanterns on her trail when she became calm, centered. The rings can't read "blank."

Also, that's why when one of our heroes chops off a head of a Black Lantern, it just grows back. Because it's the ring they should be attacking.

What happens when the rings are fully charged up? Well, the fourth issue of Blackest Night is titled "100%." DiDio was cagey as to how much we'd learn, but when I asked if we'd get some info, he said yes.

P.S. DiDio also said Blackest Night #4 has been pushed to the last week of October, to allow Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps for that month to get published first, which appears to be important. As to the big news for January ...

... well, you'll have to read my column, won't you?