Green Lantern/ Green Arrow Retrospective- ‘Even An Immortal Can Die.'

by Dave Scrimgeour and Kevin McCluskey

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​Story- Denny O'Neil
Art- Neal Adams & Dick Giordano
Edited by- Julius Schwartz

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SYNOPSIS

A traffic accident and an exploding ship result in a near death experience for Hal Jordan.  In saving the Green Lantern's life, The Guardian draws the ire of his own peers and he is summoned to trial.  However, upon our hero trio's arrival, it quickly becomes apparent that the tiny planet of Gallo and its inhabitants, The Tribune, have been the victim of a coup and have been replaced by a self-appointed Judge and his homemade, robotic army.

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Dave
Issue 80 now, I'm liking the noirish, newspaper style cover with "GUILTY" in bold to show what path this issue will take.


Kev
Yeh, man.  It's a nice cover.  I like the newspaper style too, and the fact that they’re referred to as a “Conspiracy Trio.”  That appeals to the conspiracy theorist in me.  “All New!  All Now!”  They’re really leaning into this comic being on the cutting edge of the zeitgeist.  I love how Adams focuses on The Guardian on the opening page,  Even without O’Neil’s text, you can tell that things are not going to go well for him in this issue.  Show, don’t tell.  Nice little bit of foreshadowing.


Dave
It's the Guardians turn to be central character in this issue.  Also, the road trip feel was used throughout 70's cinema too.


Kev
Definitely.  It's a staple of American cinema, and road trips are such a big part of American car culture, and American culture in general.


Dave
It takes a sudden turn, so to speak, with a reckless driver causing Lantern and co. off the road, straight into the water.


Kev
Yeah.  Plus, this is months since we began, and they have crisscrossed America more than once, by the sounds of it.  Nice reference to ‘Easy Rider’ for good measure.


Dave
Interesting how Arrow admits a bit of negligence in dozing off, which slowed down his reaction times.  The things you reflect upon when you are in an underwater cosmic bubble.

Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Kev
Ha, ha!  Yeh, there’s a level of co-dependence developing here.  Hal’d be dead if it wasn’t for Ollie’s reflexes, and Ollie’d be dead if it weren’t for Hal’s powers.


Dave
It's another big step in this buddy/buddy partnership that they are forming.  It's quite interesting how this story takes quite a few turns in terms of what you believe it is going to be about.  The cover clearly shows a trial, then there's the road trip adventure on the first couple of pages, and then we have the environmental theme about dumping waste and the damage it causes.  It's very interesting story telling indeed.


Kev
That's a good point, man.  O'Neil throws in a couple of swerves to play with any expectations we might have about how these stories have been playing out.  The environmental issue is very timely, even for now.  Very Greta Thunberg.  I do like how this friendship has been slowly developing over these issues.  It's good stuff.  


Dave
It probably a theme that O'Neil feels strongly about.  I think he wants to explore this throughout the story.

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Kev
I would say so, yeh.  I get the impression that O'Neil approached this series with a list of gripes he had about the direction his country was heading in, and used these two, contrasting characters, and the road trip format, to get them off his chest.  And I like it.  It lends itself to the procedural feel of this run.  It's like 'Kung Fu,' or 'The Incredible Hulk' TV series.


Dave
True.  That's a good point.  Kung-Fu and Hulk were similar in that they used the theme of wandering individuals, who get involved in the situations they encounter.  But this is essentially a three man team instead of an individual.  Green Lantern's injury and the vessel, causes the dilemma of this story, choices.  And what is the more important choice to make.


Kev
That's another really good point.  Choice is certainly one of the themes of this issue, that's for sure.  Again, Adams’s artwork is superb, there’s just so much personality in each of his characters.  I’m enjoying the focus being on The Guardian a bit more, and I also like that Ollie refers to The Guardians as “...., you fossils.”  Ha, ha!  Tell us how you really feel about them Ollie.

"This council has no hesitation in proclaiming you..... all....." "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty." "Guilty."

Dave
I like the line by Ollie, "corporate scruffs," in reference to the powers that be dumping toxic waste with no regard.


Kev
Ha, ha!  Yeh, Ollie's on good form here.  This is the first time we’ve seen Green Lantern do his oath in quite some time.  Since the first issue in this run, if I recall correctly.

"Electronic castaway. Digital stowaway. Cyborg sea-dog, tell me what you dream of. Robot starfish. Nylon admiral."

Kev
Yeh, Adams is superb at that kind of stuff.


Dave
The story takes another sharp turn here, as Arrow starts to suspect something is going on, with two catastrophes occurring in such a short time.


Kev
Do you think Ollie suspects that they are being manipulated, or maybe even set up?


Dave
It's when he says, "If I were paranoid I'd say someone up there doesn't like us--"  I think there is some suspicion underlying in that statement.


Kev
Definitely.  Especially considering how almost immediately after he utters that line, The Guardians summon them.  I like when he says "That was the... wildest... trip I've ever taken!"  I suspect Ollie has taken quite a few “trips” in his time.  Goddamn hippy.


Dave
Yeah, Ollie is very much of the hippy ilk.  There’s some good artwork here, with the Guardians all looking down on Arrow.  It's a nice choice of colours and they all work well together.  Also, that's a great panel when they're transported to Gallo.  It puts me in mind of 'Transformers: The Movie,' with that one panel in space.


Kev
The blue works really well against the green and the yellow there, doesn't it?  That hadn't occurred to me, but you’re right, Gallo even looks a little bit like Cybertron here.  However, this is worse than the trial of Hotrod and Kup by the Quintessons in Transformers: The Movie.  And that automaton in the first panel of page 10 looks a bit too much like a shopping trolley for me.  “This is like some badly written parody of a trial.”  Well…..


Dave
And this issue’s special guest star.... Elton John.  It's nice to see Elton take some time off from the gigs to perform his civic duty as a judge.


Kev
Ha, ha!  Jeez, man, you're right.  There is a bit of an Elton John vibe to this guy, isn't there?  Ollie's got another good line here, when he admits, “Okay...I know when I’m outclassed.”  He’s got no delusions of grandeur.

Ollie literally punches a breadbasket.

Dave
Yep, I liked that display of humility by Ollie.


Kev
We are in full-on sci-fi TV show territory here.  It’s like an episode of Star Trek.  How are you finding this more “cosmic” storyline?  You said at the beginning of our reviews of this run that you thought that this would be more what it was like.  How is it holding-up for you?


Dave
I don't mind it here.  It's not overwhelming the story.  If anything, it's actually a nice wee change, as this issue has jumped between more locations than a Bond movie does.  Elton's not looking too chuffed in this issue.  It must be the glasses, eh?


Kev
Ha, ha!  Either that, or the fact that he seems to have misplaced his wig.


Dave
They maybe told him he was getting to perform 'Rocket Man' for a select audience, but it didn't turn out how he expected.


Kev
Ha, ha!  Yeh.  I think O'Neil's probably earned this story by this point.  Like you said, it's a nice change of pace, as well as location and tone.  Plus, after four, relatively speaking grounded issues, it was perhaps as good a time as any to return Hal to his more natural habitat.  He comes across as a bit of a grump anyway, does old Elton.


Dave
Yep, before we had Judge Judy or Judge Rinder gracing our screens, there was the failed pilot episode of Judge John.

"I guess that's why they call it "The Blues."

​Kev
Now THAT would've been a hit show.


Dave
He does a musical number at the end of every sentence.


Kev
"Now I guess that's why they call it "the blues."  Time on my hands...."  Speaking of TV shows again, we’re also into McGuyver/ A-Team territory here, with the fashioning of the bow and arrow from the bed and the cloak.


Dave
"..... the jury is a pile of scruffy, rusty, nuts and bolts."  They are starting to suspect there is quite a lot amiss here.


Kev
Yep.  Being gagged and bound will do that to you though.


Dave
The story takes a turn into the territory of an uprising against a crooked dictator who has cheated his way to the top.  This is some great writing, being able to have so many different levels and layers in one issue.


Kev
And in a pulpy sci-fi story as well.  Although, "a crooked dictator who cheated his way to the top" could probably be used to describe both our Prime Minister and the President of the USA just now.  I do like that first panel, of Ollie aiming the makeshift arrow, on page 15 though.  And the 4th, of Hal, stealthily creeping about in the shadows of the corridor.  The last panel on page 16, of Hal’s hands, as he puts the ring back on is fantastic as well.  Hands, like horses, being notoriously difficult to draw and all.  It shows just how good Neal Adams truly is.

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Creepy lurker Hal Jordan.

​Dave
The last panel on page 14, of Arrow in close up, "spaghetti western" style, is great as well.  It's very striking.


Kev
Definitely.  That's an excellent panel.


Dave
And the escape scenes are well drawn too.  They're nice and visual, and really help to carry the story on, leading to the final showdown with Elton, who is truly a madman, and his flying chair.


Kev
Yep, I agree.  Adams does the action scenes very well, and his choice of "camera" angle is a big part of that. 
“You may be wondering about me--”
“No.  I am able to recognise insanity.” 
Ha, ha!  That’s a cracking exchange between the judge and The Guardian.


Dave
The Guardian accepts his impending death graciously.  He is very much the wise mentor in so many ways.  He certainly seems to be at peace with himself by this point, doesn't he?


Kev
Completely.


Dave
He's an intergalactic Buddhist really.  O'Neill has cleverly written Arrow and Lantern as supporting characters in this story even though they have just as much to do. 


Kev
Ha, ha!  Yeh, this issue certainly focuses a lot more on The Guardian than it does either Lantern or Arrow.


Kev
​With the incident on the ship, O’Neil is also tying the issue of plastic pollution back to the start of this story.  That’s quite clever actually.

MSOC 'The Guardian' action figure, from Hasbro.

​Dave
The ties are a sign of top notch writing.  He still wants to address the environmental themes.


Kev
Totally.  And again, this environmental theme is perhaps even more pertinent in our time than it was 50 years ago.  Well, until pandemics became the flavour of the month, this is.


Dave
I wouldn't be surprised if in future issues there is a virus outbreak related story.


Kev
We'll have to wait and see then.  If there is though, Denny O'Neil is a prophet and should have been betting on sports.


Dave
The finale, and attempted killing of Guardian, is very movie-like.  The classic mad villain making the mistake of trying to kill someone slowly, allowing our intrepid heroes time to come to his rescue.  Don't these villains ever learn that a quick death is the best option.  "Do you expect me to talk?"  "No, Mr Bond.  I expect you to die."  Even Goldfinger blew his opportunity to off Bond quickly.


Kev
Ha, ha!  It's very much like the cliffhanger between two episodes of the Batman '66 TV show.  "Will The Guardian escape his plasticised fate?"  "Can the Green Arrow and Green Lantern prevent him from becoming a cheap statue?"


Dave
"Will Elton find his missing wig?"


Kev
"Find out next week.  Same Green time.  Same Green channel."  More respect for Hal by Ollie here.  As they continue to realise that they’re reliant on each other, their respect for each other deepens.  And yet another great panel of Hal at the top of page 21.

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Hal looks like he's been skipping leg day. It's an upper body business, I suppose.

Dave
That’s a great half page panel on 19 as well.  The one of Arrow firing the ring, it has such a powerful presence to it.  Also, their common bond with the Guardian has made them kind-of forget about all the squabbling over differences of opinions, like they usually do.  As I said before, the colour palette is great.  It's not overpowering in the slightest, and it has a great blend of colours. 


Kev
That's a really good point.  After the tension, and how divided they were last issue, it's interesting to see all three of them on the same page when faced with such an imminent threat to one of their number.


Dave
I actually thought the Judge was going to escape, but he was quickly shot down and landed amongst the rubble that he once created.


Kev
Yeh, there was no way in hell that Ollie was letting him get away scot-free.  Not after what he had just done to The Guardian.


Dave
The first panel on the last page, of Lantern picking up The Guardian like a small child, shows his affection for him, and again, the Guardian is unphased by this, he just accepts it and doesn't seem uncomfortable with this action.


Kev
Definitely not.  There's been a strong bond that has been built between these three characters over these five issues.  And yes, The Guardian is as philosophical as ever.  Yeh, I love that panel of Hal hugging The Guardian at the top of page 22.  Ollie, however, is clearly is not quite as sentimental as Hal.  “If that’s the way you want it, old timer...so long...and God bless!”  “Yeah...let’s leave this mud-ball…”

The Guardian waving goodbye to his hairline.

​Dave
Also, it actually ends on a cliffhanger, but it is quite a subtle cliffhanger, as The Guardian still has to face trial, yet Arrow and Lantern are leaving with waves and smiles.


Kev
True, The Guardian still has to face the music, but at least this time he has a shot at a fair trial.  Again, perhaps this issue is a bit rushed at the end too, as well as being a bit too neatly tied up.  Although, that was still kind-of the style of the pacing of a lot of comics in that era.


Dave
It might have benefited as a two part story.


Kev
Maybe.  I think even one more page might've been enough.  Just ever so slightly more breathing space for the epilogue.


Dave
Yeah, but I'm still impressed by the quality of these stories.


Kev
You got any other points you want to cover?


Dave
They really have set a high bar, and as someone who never really bothered with these characters, I'm surprised at how good this series has been so far.


Kev
I thought this was really good, and I wasn't sure I was going to be on board with the change of scenery and tone when I first started reading it, but it won me over pretty quickly to be honest.  It was different, but it was an enjoyable different.


Dave
I can't say any of the issues in this series so far have been bad.  But then again, it does have a great pairing at the helm, in O'Neil and Adams.


Kev
Definitely.  You shouldn't expect anything less from them, should you?


Dave
True.


Kev
I'd just like to end on a quote from our philosophical friend, The Guardian. “Where there is life, there is hope.”  Words to live by.  Especially at the moment.

(D) & (K)

Next: 'Death Be My Destiny.'