The Absolute universe asks its readers one simple question: what if the world wasn’t what it is? Not necessarily an entirely opposite existence, or even one that outright declares that everything is worse in this other place. Instead, titles like Absolute Green Lantern show us that the same systems in the prime universe will exist elsewhere, repurposed and restructured until they look just different enough to make you reconsider if they were ever the same at all.
Al Ewing’s choices in Absolute Green Lantern are perhaps the furthest removed from the mainline universe’s Green Lantern Corps. Obligatory warning here: major spoilers ahead as so much of the newest comic covers ground (and planet!) not yet explored.
Of the Absolute titles, Green Lantern feels the heaviest with the expansion into space and the core concepts of what makes a person choose to act the ways they do, all linking back to why the different
Absolute Green Lantern #13 continues to expand the scope of the universe, revealing another planet under Blackstar control: Rann.
DC
Rann is the “backwater planet” Overseer Shade rules in the name of Blackstar, a man leading a charge of people all wearing Adam Strange-esque costumes. The reason for the contact with Rann is clear: the Green Lantern ship must pass through the system to reach Earth, giving Overseer Shade and his Black Hands the task of stopping them.
Now, onto the subject of Overseer Shade: with the revelation of his M-Vest used throughout the issue to implant the most horrific of hallucinations into dissenters, he does seem to be some sort of variation of Rac Shade the Changing Man.
Ewing’s little details like the M-Vest or the spy-disguise gear that call back to the main universe but are twisted and reformed to fit into the mold of the Absolute universe are so clever. There’s an intention in the inclusion of a tool or weapon that would, at times, be associated with a hero, that’s instead taken a darker course in the Absolute universe.
Eleonora Carlini’s art, particularly in the moments of raw aggression and fear from the M-Vest’s projected horrors, summons such a feeling of unease. The expansion of a character’s face in full panel, making one feel as if they too are suffering at the hands of a terrible illusion. This issue in particular has such a vibrant feel and flair to it, driving the point home on how alien Rann is to Earth.
DC
Like Absolute Earth, things on Absolute Rann are both similar and different. Familiar faces exist in both Sardath and Alanna, the latter who’s had her identity re-written to serve the Blackstar.
Alanna and Sardath’s relationship across comics and adaptations is complex, but something in this particular version was specifically heartbreaking. Alanna, trapped in an in-between prison-zone for initially rebelling against the Black Hands conquering Rann, is now a seemingly perfect puppet for Overseer Shade.
All this time, Sardath was trying to reach her and contact her from beyond Rann, but never succeeded. She never heard from him and by the time she discovers he was reaching out, they’ve already reprogrammed her.
If that wasn’t enough in this jam-packed issue of action and reveals, enter: a time displaced OSS agent by the name of Emily Hawke. She seems to be an entirely new character, with one of the most compelling mysteries surrounding her: why does the M-Vest not affect her?
If you have slacked on reading Absolute Green Lantern or just simply fallen behind with the sheer number of comics available, I encourage you to reintroduce yourself and read on. Absolute Green Lantern #13 is cosmic exploration, war, and horror all rolled into one.
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