The Green Lantern Power Ring grants a variety of abilities to its wielder, limited only by their imagination and willpower. However, Hal Jordan keeps discovering new uses for the ring he created through sheer force of his own indominable will.
Green Lantern #5 by Jeremy Adams, Xermanico, and Romulo Fajardo Jr. finds Hal Jordan in a race against time. Hal’s former mentor, Sinestro, takes control of several advanced drones. Soon Sinestero is using them to bomb several major cities as part of his campaign of terror. To complicate matters, the conventional military is helpless against the drones’ superior stealth technology. Thankfully, Hal Jordan thinks of a way to save the day,
How Green Lantern’s ring alters his perceptions
Hal is informed that the technology behind the drones’ stealth shield is based around the Rochester Cloak. This cloaking device uses lenses to bend light in a way that causes objects to become hidden. Hal reasons that, while his Power Ring isn’t intended to manipulate ambient light, he could use it to filter his own field of vision.
This feat enables him to take down one of the drones. Unfortunately, while Hal manages track the drones from the upper atmosphere, he is unable intercept the final two himself. This leads him to create two ghostly Green Lantern constructs, on opposite sides of the world. These constructs are able to guide the missiles of the fighter pilots chasing the drones to their targets.
Beyond being an impressive feat that pushed Hal Jordan to new limits, his battle with the drones is also a personal catharsis. Part of the drama of the current Green Lantern series centers around Hal Jordan searching for work as a pilot. This search is hampered by the fact that the American military is phasing fighter pilots out of commission in favor of drones. Hal proves the superiority of a pilot’s instincts over artificial intelligence, though he did have to hack his Power Ring to do it.
Green Lantern #5 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
