Wes Serafine
Equinox Staff
This month, DC comics decided to release several “Zero Issues” to celebrate the one year anniversary of rebooting their major titles.
The goal of these issues is to act as jumping off points for new readers.
There have been several characters who have carried the moniker of the Green Lantern over the years, and this issue introduces another one still.
The Green Lantern that most are familiar with – Hal Jordan, played by Ryan Reynolds in the 2011 feature film.
The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic police force, each member chosen by the self-proclaimed Guardians of the Universe to wield a green ring with power that is only limited by their own imagination.
When a Green Lantern dies, the ring seeks out a suitable replacement, which is how ace pilot Hal Jordan came to be Green Lantern.
The ring chooses its wielder based on the strength of one’s will and their ability to overcome great fear.
The most recent issue of Green Lantern ended with Hal Jordan presumed dead, and now the ring must search for its next wielder.
The new Green Lantern #0 focuses on the man who will be our next Green Lantern, Simon Baz.
Baz is a young Arabic man who grew up in a post 9/11 world.
Living in America since he was a child, Baz experienced prejudice and racial profiling throughout his life.
Because of this, Baz grows up hardened and cynical while still retaining a good heart and sense of responsibility.
As an adult, unfortunate circumstances force Baz to start stealing cars in order to help raise money for his sister and nephew.
When he steals a car that happens to have a bomb in it, the authorities draw the conclusion that he’s a terrorist.
Baz tries to convince them that he had nothing to do with the bomb, but given how bad this looks, they probably won’t start believing him anytime soon.
All hope seems lost until a small glowing green ring breaks through the window and attaches itself to Baz’s finger.
This story, written by Geoff Johns, exists to introduce this new character, and Johns does a good job introducing him.
There are a few things that seem a little too coincidental, like the bomb in the car, but it does serve to set up the kind of man Simon Baz is.
Despite only having two characters of note within the story, both of them are portrayed perfectly.
This comic doesn’t come out and tell you who these characters are, but rather shows who they are through their actions. The first character of course is Baz.
Even though the first thing he does is steal a car, readers still get a sense that he’s a good and honest man.
As soon as he sees the bomb, he immediately drives the car to a place that he knows will not have people around.
While anyone else might have abandoned the car and run like hell, letting it blow up in a place where someone may get killed, Baz is willing to sacrifice himself in order to prevent the death of innocents.
He may be a criminal out of necessity, but at his core he’s still selfless.
A significant feature of him is his tattoo of the Arabic word for courage, playing into his past as someone who’s had to grow up afraid of persecution, and his future as a Green Lantern where courage will be his greatest asset.
The other character of significance is Agent Fed, Baz’s interrogator.
I like how he comes off as wanting to believe that Baz is telling the truth, but also can’t afford to ignore what’s right in front of him.
They could have easily made the government goons unabashedly evil, but they decided to make one of them an honest man.
My only problem with this issue is the fact that it doesn’t advance the story as much as I’d hoped.
However, Baz’s story is so strong and so engaging that you still feel like you got your money’s worth. I look forward to seeing more from this story and more from Simon Baz.
Wes Serafine can be contacted at wserafine@keene-equinox.com