R.E.B.E.L.S. #23

R.E.B.E.L.S. #23 (February 2011)

title: "To Be a R.E.B.E.L., Conclusion"
writer: Tony Bedard
penciller: Claude St. Aubin; Kevin Sharpe
inker: Scott Hanna
colors: Tanya Horie; Richard Horie
letters: Travis Lanham
editor: Brian Cunningham
cover: Francis Portela & Javier Mena

Recap: Just as their battle with Brainiac ended, Vril Dox and his son, Lyrl, were confronted by two members of the Green Lantern Corps, Altin Admos and Gorius Karkum. Dox had Lobo attack them, but Admos was hesitant to fight at first because his people held Lobo in such high esteem as a warrior. He soon overcame his reluctance and saw this as a chance to prove himself. Neither Admos nor Karkum were able to get the upper hand, but Admos' pride kept him from calling the Corps for assistance. Their fight was eventually interrupted by the arrival of a L.E.G.I.O.N. armada and a large contingent of the press. Dox broadcast a message portraying L.E.G.I.O.N. as bringing order and prosperity to their member words, and Green Lanterns as a rogue organization imposing the laws of Oa with no regard for local statutes. 

Karkum noticed Starfire among them, a being who always fascinated her. She later encountered Starfire on the planet Norvath, and explained that they suffered a similar fate at the hands of her people, the Psions. They travelled to a prison on Psion, where Karkum explained that most of the women of her race are killed at birth and the remainder used as breeding stock. They battled the guards, but the Psions eventually blew up the prison, killing both the prisoners and guards. Starfire returned to Dox to confront him over their contract with the Psions, and in response, he nullified it. The Guardians were very displeased with the actions of both Admos and Karkum during these events.

Adam Strange and other L.E.G.I.O.N. top brass have gathered to welcome dignitaries from the Green Lantern Corps, including Jon Stewart of Earth. The purpose of their meeting is to deescalate tension that has developed between the two organizations.

Strange is surprised that Jon brought the Green Lanterns Altin Admos and Gorius Karkum given their recent run-ins with the L.E.G.I.O.N. But John explains that they may be on thin ice with the Guardians right now, but they are still official Green Lanterns of the Vega sector.

On the planet Psion, the Empyrical Council, led by Science-Marshal Halor, is meeting to discuss their recent battle with Starfire and Gorius Karkum.

They immediately suspect a bio-attack, which appears to soon be confirmed by the collapse of everyone except Halor. He calls for the guards, but they are unable to respond, thanks to the arrival of a sickly Starro, and his companions, Smite and Storm-Daughter.

Meanwhile, the meeting led by Dox and Jon Stewart is not going well, and Adam Strange is losing hope that anything meaningful will come of it.

The sun known as Vega is an F-type star whose 14 inhabited worlds comprise the most densely populated solar system in the galaxy, so the threat from the Citadel Liberation Front is particularly serious.

Admos and Karkum quickly penetrate the Front's ship and subdue the terrorists, but their rings are unable to scan the module. They call Jon Stewart for help, who suspects that Dox is responsible for the situation, but he orders them to solve the problem. Karkum analyzes the device and theorizes that damaging the shell will destabilize the arming process without causing the core to reach critical mass. Her plan works and upon departing they soon encounter Green Lanterns Rayner, Natu, and Ganthet.

Their success has clearly caught Dox off guard and he relunctantly credits the Corps for their success. After their meeting adjourns, he visits his son, Lyrl.

On Psion, Storm-Daugther forces Haron to assist in her master's recovery, and the procedure he performs appears to be successful.

This issue and the last two were both solid, entertaining stories. But they also felt like Green Lantern stories more than they did L.E.G.I.O.N. stories. I appreciate that we got to see more of Starfire and Adam Strange, given how neglected most of our cast has been. But devoting so much time to GL members is a bit frustrating since we have seen virtually nothing of the rest of L.E.G.I.O.N.'s core members recently.

I do enjoy having our team interact with the larger DCU, so the Green Lantern Corps' presence is always welcome. And Admos  and Karkum are interesting characters, who Bedard portrayed with real depth. Its just feels as if having a few more subplots running alongside the main story would allow for greater focus on the larger cast. This was one of the strengths of the original L.E.G.I.O.N. series, that there were always several ongoing subplots that we checked on each issue, albiet briefly at times. It allowed for us to explore each member a bit more, even if they were not a significant part of the main story. This has been lacking in this incarnation for the most part.

Please do not get me wrong, I do really like this series and Bedard's writing. But knowing how little time we have left has increased my frustration that we did not get more time to spend with these characters. Fortunately, the Corps is not a part of next issue, so please join me next week to see if a few of the secondary characters return to the forefront!