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Feb 18, 2010 DC Comics By Kyle Lemmon

The realistically drawn and emotionally written, Secret Origin, retells the beginnings of the Silver Age Green Lantern known as Hal Jordan. Geoff Johns (Action Comics, The Flash: Rebirth) and Wizard 2007 Artist of the Year Ivan Reis (Infinite Crisis, Rann-Thanagar War) deftly revisit Jordan’s childhood, Air Force recruitment, his fateful encounter with Abin Sur, and eventual training on Oa under the tutelage of Sinestro. The rich miniseries (Green Lantern #29-35) masterfully utilizes the warm and cold ends of the color wheel to the advantage of the story. Thank you inker Oclair Albert (52, Infinite Crisis, Superman).

Much like the inks Albert uses, Jordan’s story sees its share of dark and light times: he’s seen as the troublemaker in his family; he’s too quick to anger; and he witnesses his father’s grisly plane crash. The passage where Jordan tries to see his mother for one last time by dishonorablably discharging himself from the Air Force is particularly touching. There’s also plenty of foreshdowing to mull over, concerning William Hand (Black Hand) and the Blackest Night prophecy The Guardians are keeping from the credulous Sur. Overall, it’s a fully rendered “debut” arc for the character and points towards how the boozing Emerald Dawn-era Jordan happened.

Johns writes a very mature Carol Ferris in issue 30. She’s not just a romantic interest for Jordan, but also a straight-talking and admirable foil to the rascaly hero/test pilot. After reading this newly-issued paperback, my mind drifted to how Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) will treat this mythic narrative for his 2011 feature film. Hopefully he takes some hints from Secret Origin. Johns’ depiction of the psionic villain Hector Hammond shows his potential for the screen, but he’s ultimately an easily disposable character. Despite this, Peter Sarsgaard seems like an excellent casting choice considering his chameleon-like thespian skills. The jury is still out on how well Blake Lively will portray Ferris or Ryan Reynolds as Jordan. Let’s hope Mark Strong plays Sinestro.

Hammond gets a slightly different reading here than the previous narratives surrounding a meteorite that also super-evolved Gorilla Grodd and the other gorillas of Gorilla City with special powers. In Johns’ story, he claims to be Ferris’ boyfriend, however in the next issue it is revealed that he’s just a private consultant for Ferris Aircraft. While looking over Sur’s crashed ship, he’s affected by the meteorite shard in its reactor.

Atrocius is overall the most dangerous villain in the story. He’s the reason for Sur’s death and he uses his “Cosmic Diving Rod” to find Hand at his parent’s funeral home to take Hand’s innards back to Ysmault. Naturally, Sinestro and rookie Jordan impeded him. Throughout all these interactions, Jordan’s and Sinestro’s relationship really flourishes into something special and those that know their future will get a pang of sadness during their bantering sessions. It’s also nice that Reis doesn’t put a Lantern emblem on Jordan’s chest until he’s recited the GL oath on Oa.

Little touches like that help this retcon/filler series jettison onto another plane of storytelling. In short: You come for the action and stay for the epic plot development leading up to Rage of the Red Lanterns, Agent Orange, Blackest Night, and Brightest Day. This beats Superman: Secret Origin any day.

(www.geoffjohns.com / www.dccomics.com)

Author rating: 8/10