“Fearful Symmetry”
Writer: Ron Marz
Artist: Adriana Melo, Marlo Alquiza (i), Jason Wright (c)
Published by: DC Comics
The Sinestro Corps War is one of, if not the most important Green Lantern story in the history of the character. The story arc has been the hottest event of the summer and the most talked about story everywhere. The saga has everything, wild space action, high body count, epic space battles and perhaps most importantly, a great deal of character. There are a number of important personalities who play a larger role in the Sinestro Corps, but with the madness ensuing inside the pages of Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps, Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons can’t focus in on every player. Aside from the very strange fact that DC hasn’t done anything to push this storyline into the forefront of their arsenal, this is the one series to be released in the past year that absolutely should have tie-ins and crossovers. With that in mind, the first of a series of one-shots hit shelves this week focusing in on Parallax and the demon’s newest host, Kyle Rayner.
I love the idea of one-shots zeroing in on specific characters involved in the Sinestro Corps War. With the primary focus of Green Lantern on Hal Jordan and an exclusive group of veteran Lanterns and Green Lantern Corps focusing more on the younger Lanterns, some of the most important characters such as Cyborg Superman, Kyle Rayner and the Anti-Monitor haven’t been given a huge amount of page time. I wasn’t sure what to expect from “The Fall of Kyle Rayner” contained in this issue, but the results was far more than satisfying.
Ron Marz, the creator of Parallax and Kyle Rayner, provides a much more psychological look into the Sinestro Corps War. For anyone who didn’t read the 12 part Ion series, the latter half dealt with a mysterious illness that lead to the death of Kyle’s mother, Moira. This virus was brought on by the sentient virus Despotellis of the Sinestro Corps. The death of his mother left Kyle emotionally vulnerable and Sinestro took advantage of this, kidnapping Kyle, ripping the Ion entity out of him and giving Parallax a new host. While Countdown did indeed jump the gun and Kyle is a Green Lantern again, there are still questions that need to be answered in terms of how Kyle got to the point of being a GL again.
This issue provides an interesting insight into the psychological torture that Parallax puts the mind of his host through. Kyle can only watch as Parallax uses his body and darker side of his personality to wreak havoc amongst the Green Lantern Corps. One thing I liked the most about this issue is that Parallax traps Kyle in a place that is both maddening and comforting. Parallax confines Kyle to the house he grew up in, referred to as his mother’s house, while this may seem okay, it’s also quite awful because the house is empty save for one portrait of a boy lost in a field. Kyle mulls over this portrait, going through the stories his mother told him about the history of it and where it came from.
This issue is no doubt geared more towards Kyle Rayner fans than anyone else, but as a Hal Jordan fan, my imagination was running wild following the appearance of Parallax inside Kyle’s hell. It’s fun to think what prison Parallax made for Hal Jordan. An empty Coast City? The ruins of Coast City? Did the demon confine Hal to watching his father crash over and over? While this is most definitely fun to think about, the struggle between Kyle and Parallax is well done.
Years ago, I never would have thought that Parallax would infect Kyle. That was always Kyle’s greatest fear, and while Sinestro took advantage of this, Kyle has always had a strong mind. Inside his personal hell, Kyle keeps himself sane by doing what he does best, drawing. While Parallax feeds off of Kyle’s imagination, Kyle still maintains enough control to maintain his own sanity. Even when Parallax appears and gives the typical run down of the four major women in Kyle’s life who have died, Kyle refuses to break. The actual fight that takes place between the two is extremely well-done and only furthers the psychological plot of this issue. Kyle doesn’t give up, even donning an old but familiar costume to fight Parallax inside of his mind. Parallax tries everything to break Kyle, because as long as Kyle has some sense of hope and self-worth, he is a danger to the demon. But Kyle fights to the very end and before he breaks realizes something about the portrait. It’s the only real big revelation of this issue that can easily be recapped in a page once Kyle breaks free from Parallax, but it is a touching and emotional revelation.
This book isn’t an absolute must have as part of the Sinestro Corps War, but it is a perfect example of a tie-in to a major event. It is, though, an absolute must have in the sense that it is a very well done story by the creator of two of the most important Green Lantern characters in the past twenty years. This story is so well done and captures elements of the greater story, the characters and the feelings if despair and hope so well that it just adds to the overall superb quality of The Sinestro Corps War. For Kyle Rayner fans, this is the issue you’ve been waiting for.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I have ever seen Adriana Melo’s artwork. She’s worked on Witchblade and Birds of Prey, but I don’t think I’ve ever really seen it. Honestly, I’ve been missing out on some outstanding artwork. Melo’s pencils are fantastic and when mixed with Marlo Alquiza’s inks and colors by Jason Wright, this is one of the most beautifully drawn comics of the week. It simply looks fantastic. I’m planning on finding some more of Melo’s work just to enjoy and I hope she gets a regular gig on some of the bigger books at DC.
Completely focused on Kyle Rayner, this is an issue that recaps his life in the DC Universe, and also provides a well-told psychological and emotional tale by his creator Ron Marz. This is an excellent companion to The Sinestro Corps War and while it doesn’t necessarily do anything in terms of major plot revelations for the greater storyline, it’s still a fantastic story to read.
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