Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz are partners on the earth beat, which they aren't sure they're going to have much longer, since they just lost a Guardian of the Universe that showed up out of nowhere. Laters for that, though, it's trick-or-treating time! They're out with Simon's nephew, possibly to distract themselves from the pressure. Jessica is on the ball enough to notice eyes watching them--namely, a couple Dominators--but wonders if she's seeing things.
The Guardian, Rami, was the creator of the "Phantom Ring," which he claimed could accept any user and use more than just green energy. His invention is not greeted with acclaim and may have been a colossal mistake; I'm guessing because it didn't have any restrictions or safeguards to keep any jerkhole from using it, but maybe there's more to it. Baz and Cruz track him to a local clock tower, but he takes off again, since he thinks they could've been followed. (They are green, in multiple senses...) Snagged, Rami asks for a real Lantern, like Jordan. Or anyone else.
The Dominators attack, and nearly grab the ring; but Baz gets it clear, and Cruz wraps them up. Rami is still not super impressed, but explains the score with the Phantom Ring, which got him excommunicated from the other Guardians. (Considering it feels like they've been wiped out on multiple occasions, they may have done him a favor. Actually, this may explain any time in continuity when the Guardians were dead or gone and the rings still functioned a bit, because there's probably always a couple loose Guardians out there who were kicked out for putting ketchup on ham or something.) Rami has been trying for billions of years to destroy the ring so he could return, with no luck.
Simon tells Rami together they will keep the ring safe, but someone is coming for it...in a van. (Matt Foley?) That doesn't seem that ominous, but he'll probably get it, at least for a while. Things usually have to go south, so they can get better; which is probably true of a lot of books, if not fiction in general...Happy Halloween, anyway!
At least for me, neat little bits like the First Lantern, the Phantom Ring, the GL Nintendo Power Glove, seem like pretty solid inclusions in the mythos, but never really get properly utilized after the first initial stories with them. Damn shame.
ReplyDeleteAnyhoo, Happy Halloween to you as well. Hope things have calmed down at least a little for you personally...
Pitch for a Phantom Ring comic: it's the ring anyone can use, except the user is followed around by two Guardians who neg them constantly. "Give it back. C'mon." "That's trademarked intellectual property! This is theft!" "Please? I'll be your best friend..." Just hours of that.
ReplyDeleteAnd they keep hounding him to sign a NDA or something like that incase the ring falls to deliver on it's abilities and he happens to die & can't sue or haunt them afterwards.
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