Although February 2014 was dubbed “Green Lantern Day” (because, by the American calendar, the date matched the sector of space assigned to Earth in DC Comics “2814”), the significance of this date has passed as the years have changed. Instead, I celebrate the October 1959 debut of perhaps the most popular Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, who first appeared.
Story Title: “The Day 100,000 People Vanished!”
Published: August 1961
Writer: John Broome
Artist: Gil Kane
The Background:
In July 1940, Martin Nodell and Bill Finger debuted Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern, a magically empowered railroad engineer who became a founding member of the Justice Society of America (JSA). However, following the successful reinvention of the Flash in 1956, fighter pilot Harold “Hal” Jordan became the first of a whole corps of Green Lanterns. Widely regarded as the greatest Green Lantern, Hal soon amassed a colourful domestic and intergalactic rogues’ gallery, though none are more prominent than Thaal Sinestro, Created by John Broome and Gil Kane and modelled after British actor David Niven, Sinestro was formally the most celebrated of the corps before it was revealed that he enforced peace through a dictatorship, disgracing him and positioning him as Hal’s mortal enemy since Hal exposed Sinestro’s true nature. A Machiavellian foe, Sinestro joined the villainous Legion of Doom and Injustice League, led his own yellow-hued counterpart to the Green Lantern Corps, and has regularly waged war against not just Hal, but both the Earth and the entire universe! As Hal’s greatest villain, it should be no surprise that Sinestro has regularly appeared in cartoons and videogames, and was even brought to life by Mark Strong (with scenery-chewing relish) in the much maligned live-action adaptation.
The Review:
Hal’s first encounter with the devilishly alluring villain who became his most recurring and dangerous foe begins on the West Coast of the United States, specifically the town of Valdale, where Green Lantern is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony of the new boys’ settlement house. Luckily for him, Hal’s too busy tying up another case so he’s unexpectedly delayed, meaning he’s absent when the bustling metropolis is suddenly enveloped in an ethereal light (not unlike an aurora borealis) and a strange thunderclap sound, which causes all 100,000 residents to disappear! After learning of this phenomenon, Green Lantern investigated and confirmed to his friend, mechanic, and confidant, Tom Kalmaku/Pieface, that Valdale’s inhabitants have vanished. Green Lantern’s doubly concerned as the incident occurred at nine o’clock, exactly when he was scheduled to be in Valdale but, before he can ponder further, Hal’s suddenly sent a bit queasy by a mind blank. It turns out this wasn’t just a bout of nausea and that Hal’s “astral self” was summoned across the galaxy to Oa, the home of the Green Lantern Corps and their enigmatic alien masters, the Guardians of the Universe. Brought before his masters, Green Lantern was told of Thaal Sinestro, the Green Lantern of sector 1417, a fearless native of Korugar who used the awesome, nigh-unlimited power of his power ring to satisfy his vanity with a throne. Sinestro had people line up and plead for his aid, quickly bored by their petty squabbles and requests and desiring more. When one of his people questioned him, chastising his arrogance and accusing Sinestro of being mad with power, Sinestro flew into a rage and shot down the complainant (non-fatally, it turns out).
Sinestro then decided to depose the ruling council of Korugar and establish himself as the planet’s dictator who forced his people to live peaceful lives or be mysteriously removed from society. Upon discovering Sinestro’s totalitarian ways, the Guardians admonished him and stripped him of his status as a Green Lantern before banishing him to the antimatter universe of Qward. However, the Guardians later learned that Sinestro rallied the malevolent “Weaponers” of Qward to strike back against his former masters and destroy Green Lantern. Thus, Sinestro developed a “viso-teleporter” to transport Green Lantern to Qward, and the Guardians instruct Hal to journey to the antimatter universe to confront the renegade Green Lantern and save those he’s captured. Since his usual route to the antimatter universe is blocked, Hal reasons that Sinestro will attempt to target him again so he uses himself as bait, turning the residents of Coast City invisible, and is soon forcibly transported to Qward. Although Green Lantern easily shields himself from the Weaponers’ attacks, Sinestro forces him to surrender in exchange for returning his captives home. Sinestro encases Hal in a yellow bubble, rendering him powerless, planning to destroy him once his power ring runs out of charge. Despite his ring being ineffective against yellow, Hal’…somehow…manipulates a clock to trick Sinestro into thinking time has passed faster than it actually has. Once he’s freed from his bubble, Green Lantern zaps Sinestro, washes away his allies, and pins Sinestro to a wall with green needles. Sinestro mocks Hal’s morals and lack of killer instinct and arrogantly reveals that he cannot be punished for his crimes since he’s been banished to Qward. However, Hal gets the last laugh by imprisoning Sinestro in an impenetrable bubble of green willpower before returning home to inspire Valdale’s youngsters with a speech about how good will always triumph over evil.
The Summary:
I’ve always liked Sinestro. I grew up in the 1990s, so I have a bit of a thing for dark doppelgängers of righteous heroes and Sinestro’s one of comic’s most memorable and visually interesting corrupt counterparts to a beloved hero. However, I haven’t read many stories that feature the character and many Green Lantern stories I’ve read either don’t feature him or take place during one of his many real or faked deaths. However, I definitely feel I’ve been spoilt by the likes of Emerald Dawn II (Giffen, et al, 1991), which went into far greater detail about Sinestro’s complex character and his unique relationship with Hal Jordan. Emerald Dawn II set a new standard for their dynamic, casting Sinestro as Hal’s mentor and the greatest of the Green Lantern Corps, only for it to be revealed that he wasn’t just a pompous, arrogant taskmaster with high standards but also a totalitarian dictator who enforced order with an iron fist. You can imagine my surprise, then, to find Sinestro’s first appearance was a twenty-page story based around a bizarre plot to teleport Hal into the antimatter universe. Now, I’m no expert on Qward or the Weaponers; it’s entirely possible Green Lantern had run-ins with them in the past, hence why they’d relish Sinestro’s aid. However, they are the most useless and ineffective people I’ve ever seen. Sinestro doesn’t even utilise their tech, instead creating his own devices, and they blindly follow the charismatic devil as he conjures a clock and boasts about how he’s going to destroy their enemy rather than just doing it. I’d be questioning Sinestro’s effectiveness the moment his viso-teleporter transported a bunch of randomers to my home world, to say nothing of asking why Sinestro doesn’t just pluck the power ring from Hal’s finger or suffocate him to death inside his yellow bubble.
On the plus side, a sizeable portion of the story is spent exploring Sinestro’s backstory, even if it is just the highlights. The idea of a celebrated and formidable Green Lantern falling from grace and abusing his power is a powerful one and perfectly places Sinestro as Hal’s polar opposite, especial as Hal is such a bland do-gooder during these days. He’s the unscrupulous bastion of “right” and “good”, eagerly obeying his masters and opposing Sinestro simply based on the Guardians’ warnings. Sinestro shows a glimpse of how dangerous a Green Lantern can be if they become obsessed with power, first constructing a “sumptuous headquarters”, then forcing people to beg for his help, and finally deposing the ruling government to become absolute authority on Korugar. It’s not stated how long Sinestro ruled his people, but he presumably would’ve continued enslaving his people had the Guardians not stopped by to check on him. His punishment is severe, but strangely humane, with the Guardians simply banishing Sinestro rather than executing him despite it being implied that he executed anyone who spoke out against his rule on Korugar. The Guardians also shoot themselves in the foot since, although they can teleport individuals to Qward and observe the antimatter universe, they “have no power there” and thus cannot intervene when Sinestro plots his revenge. Thanks to a one-way cosmic “back door” of sorts, Hal does return home but cannot truly punish Sinestro because Hal’s too righteous to take a life and Sinestro cannot leave Qward. Thus, Hal leaves Sinestro in what sounds like a fate worse than death but, to me, seems like a prison he’ll easily escape from, making for a pretty lacklustre ending. Everyone starts somewhere, that’s for sure, but Sinestro’s first appearance is an unfortunately forgettable, villain-of-the-month story that really should’ve been given the entire book to be told. Sinestro has a great look, with his devil-red skin, pencil-thin moustache, and striking black-and-blue colour scheme, and his backstory is certainly intriguing. However, it’s undercooked and basically a throwaway story that’s memorable only for introducing one of DC Comic’s best villains, whose future plots definitely extended further than clock-watching!
My Rating:
Could Be Better
What did you think to Sinestro’s debut story? Do you think the Weaponers of Qward should’ve been portrayed as a greater threat? What did you think to Sinestro, his backstory and characterisation? Were you disappointed by how pedestrian Sinestro’s first appearance was? What are some of your favourite Sinestro stories and moments? Which Green Lanterns your favourite and why? How are you celebrating this pseudo-Green Lantern day today? Whatever you think about Sinestro, or Green Lantern in general, leave your thoughts below, drop me some change on Ko-Fi, and go check out my other Green Lantern content.
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