Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War #4 Review

Hal! No, Captain Hal!

Written By: Mike Johnson
Art By: Angel Hernandez, Alejandro Sanchez and Neil Uyetake
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: October 14, 2015

I have been enjoying this series so much and now that we have almost all of the players in place, things can only get better. I can't wait to see Kirk, Spock and Hal save the day and...oh, who am I kidding?  While we want our heroes to win in the end, the best parts are always those darkest before the dawn moments where they tighten up their belts by one loop and don't feel the hunger pains as the shit hits the fan.  After last issue's ending, there is a real good chance that the shit will not only hit the fan, but will spray all over the walls and ruin your brand new comforter you got on sale at Sears.  You love that comforter.  By the way, who squats over a spinny thing with metal blades and drops a deuce anyway? That is just wrong.  Where was I?  Oh yea, I hope you're enjoying this series as much as me and while I call my doctor and ask if he can up my dose of adderall, please enjoy my review for Star Trek/Green Lantern: The Spectrum War #4...

This issue begins with a bit of affirmation that Nekron is indeed in this Universe and after Carol Ferris gives us a quick recap, Spock is there to tell us it's all very logical.  Thanks for being the worst person at the tea party once again, Spock!  I say that because I'm jealous that Carol thinks he's handsome.  It must be that blue shirt.  Note to self...buy more blue shirts.  We do get some new information from Hal...Kyle Rayner is dead and Nekron destroyed all the power batteries.  Hmmm...if I'm not mistaken, we did see one that looked fully functioning.  Orange you glad I wasn't greedy with that information?  I'm truly sorry.

Speaking of which, we head off to Romulus and see Larfleeze, his power battery and Decius having a little "discussion".  I mentioned in my review for the last issue that Larfleeze seemed like the nicest Lantern in the whole universe, but of course, it was only a matter of time before he showed his true color (I won't apologize for that gem) and we know what that means.  Luckily for Decius, the Romulan way of life really fits into Larfleeze's mission statement and it looks like the Federation has a big orange target on it.

Back on the Enterprise, we see that Dr. McCoy may have changed the most since becoming a ring slinger and Scotty is already working on a solution to the ring issue. That's all interrupted by a Federation distress call that sends the Enterprise and Hal off to the rescue.

While everything up until now has been mainly setup, I haven't minded it much due to Mike Johnson's excellent characterizations.  He gets everyone, Lanterns and Federation, just right, but the best is easily the back and forth between Kirk and Spock.  Of course, that's what makes Star Trek what it is and Johnson does not disappoint at all. 

Back to the issue, Atrocitus and Glocon are attacking a Starbase when who should arrive, but...Sinestro?  Awesome!  The two fight a little and trash talk a little bit more until Hal and the Enterprise arrive and I know there had to be someone nearby chanting, "fight, fight, fight!"  Kirk then does what he does best and jumps in without thinking (Spock was right!) which only results in Sinestro showing the entire Enterprise Crew the real power of fear. The issue ends with Hal showing why he mentioned being a Captain earlier in the series and Nekron starting get a rise out of Vulcan.

I mentioned it already, but this issue is a little more setup than I expected four issues into a six issue series, but it ended with some kick ass action which I hope continues right into next issue.  I am still enjoying the hell out of this series, but with two issues to go, I'm already worried about a rush to the finish line kind of ending.

Angel Hernandez's art is just as good as any of the earlier issues which means it rocks.  I said it last review, but it can be a tricky thing when you throw actors' likenesses into a book like this, but Hernandez handles them with ease and tops it off with great versions of every Lantern.  However this series ends, the art really is something to check out, even on it's own.

Bits and Pieces:

This issue continues the setup which was a bit disappointing, but because of the great characterizations and excellent art, I can still recommend it to any fan of either franchise. With two issues left, I hope Mike Johnson picks up the pace a bit and we aren't just heading for one huge battle to end them all.  Actually, that would be pretty cool and if it comes down to that, I'll probably love it.  In parting, this issue was good enough for me, yea, yea, yea, yea...

8.0/10