Sinestro’s way or the interstellar highway…
What They Say:
FLASH FACT: Abin Sur has lost everything he holds dear to help Earth, but in the end, there is one last thing he can do – if only he has the will.
The Review:
The path that Abin Sur has taken since coming to earth has been pretty difficult to say the least and made much more so because of what the Guardians have been having him do. While Abin has gotten involved in the events of what’s going on with Earth as the Amazon and Atlantean war has gotten so intense, the Guardians simply want him to get the White Entity off of Earth and that’s it. The legend of the Flashpoint event that’s deep in their history has resonated with Sinestro and the Guardians themselves are doing their best to pretend it doesn’t even exist. But as much as everyone keeps going on about what he needs to do, Abin can’t help but to feel that he has to help those in need, which is his primary job.
And the one giving him the most grief for it at this point is Sinestro as he’s intent on rewriting existence into his way of thinking, bringing order into it all so he can put things right, restore his love and bring resolution to everything. It’s big thinking but the kind that’s never really thought through clearly. The back and forth between Sinestro and Abin here is brief overall, and decidedly difficult for Abin considering his ties to Sinestro and the way he believes in the Corps itself. Sinestro for his part is pretty brutal here and he’s made the click in his mind that says that even though he’s making a whole lot of wrongs, it’s for a greater right and nobody will remember once the changes actually go through as they’ll only know the result as being the new normal.
With this being the final issue that leads into the final battle itself, it does go appropriately big in a way that a Green Lantern book should, and especially for someone of Abin Sur’s reputation. His intensity when it comes to protecting Earth at this point is really well done since he’ll use his last bits of power left in order to help Cyborg and the others with the final moments. But it also makes it a really good event for him as well as we see the way he sacrifices things in order to protect others and that the rewards are powerful indeed. It’s the kind of thing where even though it’s technically the end of events, you really want to see more of where it can go from there with him taking on this new role.
Digital Notes:
This Comixology edition of Flashpoint: Abin Sur – The Green Lantern contains the main cover as seen with the print edition with no variants or other extras included.
In Summary:
The Abin Sur Green Lantern book is one that had a lot of potential but got caught up in a lot of other things that felt like it kept the flow from really working well. One way to reshape the way events happened on Earth is to remove the existence of the Green Lanterns as we know them and having Abin show up along the way, survive and move forward with a very different mission. I liked the potential of having Abin and Sinestro in the present time going through things, understanding more about their relationship over time and developing something. But that isn’t where the series really went and it got sidetracked in a few different ways that were interesting but also underdeveloped. I liked the book overall and what it could offer, and it ended on a good note, but it’s definitely a weaker series overall than what it could be.
Grade: B-
