Imagine a situation in which Poland and Turkey go to war. At first it seems a ridiculous idea, what could bring these very different and distant nations into conflict, but during the Cold War this unlikely scenario was actually possible. And not only possible, but for many years it even seemed likely. And let us not ignore the MAD– Mutually Assured Destruction – strategy which promised the whole earth would be destroyed if NATO countries, like Turkey, went to war with Warsaw Pact countries, such as Poland.
Of course, in the Rann-Thanagar War Gibbons is not writing about our former Cold War; but I could not help but be reminded of it, while reading a similar scenario being played out on a galactic scale. Rann and Thanagar have been odds for a very long time, during which they have made friends, allies, and enemies with the many worlds around them. In the Adam Strange mini, Planet Heist, which set up this story, the Thanagarian death cultist Sh’ri Valkyr used Rannian technology to move the entire planet Rann into the Polaris system. But in doing so she threw her own planet, Thanagar, out of its orbit, setting it on a course too close to its sun to remain habitable. Its population was forced to take refuge on Rann, where Thanagarian worshipers of the Seven Devils have exploited the situation and provoked the war that is now spilling out beyond all expectations.
These death cultists are even planning their own version of MAD.
The first issue set up the war and now the second has it reaching out to Ancar, Throneworld, and Polara, involving a dozen more worlds and organizations. On Throneworld an attack by Thanagar is met by a force led by its own prince Gavryn, a.k.a. Starman, and Tigorr of the Omega Men. The Khund and L.E.G.I.O.N. are fighting over Ancar when Kyle Rayner of the Green Lantern Corps intervenes. And on Polaras the Thanagarians and Tamaraneans meet and conspire. Finally, on the ruins of Thanagar something happens that promises to shape the course war.
Even with events in JLA I have no trouble naming this comic as the best one of the week. Big events fly off of every page. And as big as the cast is, the star of the issue is Kyle Rayner. With the return of Hal Jordan, and Rayner’s own portrayal in Identity Crisis, I have heard a lot of his fans complain about how Kyle is not getting enough respect. In this issue he walks tall; strong and sure, the Corps personified. Events on Thanagar also impressed me a great deal, though in part, I confess, because it is something I was predicting throughout much of the Adam Strange story.
Following Diggle and Ferry’s work on Adam Strange, Gibbons and Reis are doing a fantastic job. I can only hope that the decision to make DC’s science fiction stories one of the four pillars on which the Infinite Crisis will be built reflects a commitment to expand further on this mini. There is a universe of stories here -- enough to support several monthly titles – and with these two great SF stories DC has shown it has the vision and talent to tell them.
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