The Dead Shall Rise…Except Probably These Ones

The Dead Shall Rise…Except Probably These Ones

Jul 13

Despite my moves away from DC Comics over the past three years, I have remained a firm Green Lantern fan and, as such, am unreasonably excited about this week’s Blackest Night #1.

There’s been some hubbub over who exactly is going to get the black ring and come back all Romero-y, but I’m fairly certain that these dead notables will not, and that’s a shame, because there’s some great story potential in every single one of these Black Lantern Could’ve Beens. For instance:

1. David Knight – Between Superman and JLA: Cry For Justice, James Robinson’s stock is not at its highest among the DC faithful right now, but I would freak out over a Blackest Night: Starman one-shot featuring Black Lantern David Knight going after his brother Jack. Pallid zombie David in a black and white Starman costume would be a fitting counterpoint to Starman‘s “Talking With David” issues, in which a black and white Jack Knight has an annual conversation with his dead brother, who is the only thing that appears in color in each issue. Everybody buying those fancy Starman hardcovers would eat this up, and plenty of others besides who would love to see Jack show up to something other than a wedding or a funeral.

2. Alex DeWitt – I’m probably going to get some flack for this one, but hear me out. As the original Woman in a Refrigerator, I can’t help but think this would 1) be terrifying and 2) really mess with Kyle’s head, even more than the stuff that happened to him in the Sinestro Corps War did. And also, since Blackest Night also promises to be a metafictive tale about the permanence of death in comics, it makes a certain degree of sense.

I wouldn’t play it for a joke, either. Just picture it – a stainless steel fridge, Black Lantern insignia clawed into the door, with a clawed, ragged, ichorous hand curled around the edge of the door, black ring on its hand. You never see what’s inside, either. Maybe just a glimpse when it drags someone inside (followed, of course by noises that disturb even Guy Gardner, who has been busy up until this point making bad Indiana Jones “nuke the fridge” quips to Kyle).

3. The Red Bee – The Red Bee is a bit of a joke and gets a bad rap. But Black Lantern Red Bee (the Black Bee?) would probably attack people with zombie bees. If you map out things that I like about comics (Rann-Thanagar War = Hawkman and Adam Strange Vs. Space Zombies, as an example) then you can see how zombie bees hits the ‘fire’ button for me.

4. Power Boy – The post-Infinite Crisis Teen Titans roster was a great chance to inject some fun, kitschy new characters into the DCU. Most of them proved to vary from ill-advised to one-note, but none of them were as obnoxiously odious as Apokaliptian Supergirl-stalker Power Boy. The one good thing about the Titans East special was the murder of Power Boy, which left him with a hole through his chest analogous to the hole in his inspiration, Power Girl’s, costume. Bringing him back as a full-on ravening villain is a great excuse to kill him again.

5. Honor Jackson – Remember the ghostly hobo that sent a drug-addled Bruce Wayne on a vision quest in Batman RIP? There’s no better reminder that he still hasn’t received a case in the Batcave than another appearance.

Who would you pick to bring back from the DCU graveyard?

104 comments

  1. These are GREAT. And you know, I feel like if the GL series had ever had a female writer, we’d have had an Alex resurrection a long time ago.

    I have to admit I’m not following the story at all, and I’ve only got a vague idea what it’s about but any chance of Hal’s sainted father coming back as a zombie? I’d probably pick it up for that. Seriously, the biggest adjustment problem I’ve had in reading Johns’ GL is how unironic the “my Dad was the best man I ever knew” thing is. Why? Because I was raised from a baby-geek by Joss Whedon, that’s why! Father figures are there to BETRAY you.

  2. Jeff

    Between Jonathan Kent and The Flying Graysons, I wonder if there aren’t enough deceased daddies coming back already. If I had to pick one ‘megaton’ GL character that should come back but might not, it’d be Abin Sur.

  3. Chris

    You know, after reading through the current in-active deadite list;

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dead_comic_book_characters#DC_Comics

    I’ve come to realize just how much death doesn’t mean much in comics any more. It used to be a big deal. Now, apparently, they’re killing off characters in scores every year. Even when they announced Batman RIP, we all went, “Oh sure, but he’ll be back.” And I can’t help but think the return of Hal Jordan kicked it all off.

    Oh well.

    Can I vote for Jonah Hex? Cuz that would be badass. Total nonsense, but badass.

  4. Jeff

    Check the ISB yesterday for some more Black Lantern Jonah Hex love.

  5. Matt

    Chris: Allegedly, part of the “thematic” content of Blackest Night is an “exploration of death in comics,” or maybe that’s just what fanboys HOPE it will contain.

    Lately I have my doubts about Geoff Johns’ ability to pull off anything beyond fan-service with a liberal dose of guts and gore…but I do hope I’m wrong. I was totally into his Green Lantern stuff until every other character started vomiting blood.

  6. Oh jeez, I hadn’t heard the Jonathan & Graysons thing. That makes it even weirder they’re not going there with Hal’s dad since he was such a big part of ‘Secret Origin.’

    I’m kind of with Matt on the part where I got bored with the story, though it’s less with the blood and more that the rainbow spectrum lantern thing reminds me of when I used to collect My Little Ponys. And something more serious about Johns not hitting the right notes (or the ones I want to hear) re: Hal & Sinestro and responsibility for genocide.

  7. January’s skip month features a Blackest Night: Starman one-shot. With no Jack but “a Black Lantern Starman,” and I am hoping SO HARD that it’s David.

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