Star Trek/Green Lantern: Stranger Worlds Review

Welcome back to another installment in the latest Star Trek/Green Lantern crossover. When we last left our heroes, they had learned that Oa, the planet from which the Green Lantern’s rings originate may exist in the Star Trek Universe and went off in search of it with the hopes of recharging Hal and the others’ rings. However, en route to Oa, The Enterprise was attacked by Manhunter Robots. Hal thinks that since the Manhunters of this reality have yet to go all kill crazy and wipe out a section of the universe, he may be able to reason with them. Hal shows the robots his ring as a way of identifying himself as an ally of the Guardians, but the Manhunters take it as a sign that he’s a thief and attack. Fortunately, the Enterprise manages to lock the robots in a tractor beam.

Meanwhile, Guy, John and Killowog have tracked the Red Lantern, Attrocitus to a seemingly abandoned space station, only to find that the Red Lantern has woken up the villainous Khan Noonien Singh and his army. Quickly deducing that Khan is an enemy of Starfleet, the Lanterns aren’t about to let them leave, but given that they’re vastly outnumbered and Khan has the Red Ring in his possession, they may not have a choice.

Over on Qo’nos, the throne world of the Klingon Empire, now ruled by Sinestro, Sinestro has fashioned himself a suit of armor from the remains of one of the Manhunters with the intention of compensating for the diminishing power of his ring. However, the Manhunter armor alone isn’t going to be enough to get Sinestro to Oa, he will also require Larfleeze’s ring for extra power. In exchange, Larfleeze will be named Vice-Emperor of the Klingon Empire in Sinestro’s absence. And… Larfleeze actually agrees to this.

*Deep Breath*

Okay! I’m going to assume that if you’ve been reading Green Lantern for the past… I don’t know, eight, nine, however many years it’s been since Larfleeze was introduced, then you know what’s wrong with this picture. However, for the benefit of those who are not in the know, we’re going to table this discussion and come back to it at the end.

Meanwhile, back on the space station, The Lanterns are busy getting their butts handed to them by Khan’s genetically enhanced followers. Khan, who has quickly mastered the power of the Red Ring, manages to subdue the Lanterns and leads his followers, claiming that they will not stop until they’ve had their revenge.

Back on the Enterprise, our heroes have managed to capture a Manhunter and attempt to convince it that they are not it’s enemies, with less than success. However, they are soon interrupted by a distress call from the USS Bryant, the same ship that was Transporting John and the others. Kirk and Jordan transport aboard the ship only to learn that they’ve fallen into a trap set by Khan.

Back on Qo’nos, the Klingons aren’t exactly pleased that Sinestro left an animal with no honor in charge of the Empire, but are too fearful of their emperor to do anything about it. Larfleeze knows this but doesn’t really care as he believes Sinestro will never find Oa. However, as it turns out, Larfleeze could not be more wrong as our comic ends with Sinestro locating the planet Oa.

What Works: I actually like the way the Manhunters are presented in this comic. We’ve only ever really seen them as kill-crazy robots, but it’s interesting to see them as the force for Justice they were intended as. The inclusion of Khan is a very nice touch and provides for a great threat that combines elements from both Star Trek and Green Lantern, which is what you want from a crossover of this nature.

What Doesn’t: Ok, let’s talk about Larfleeze. You might be wondering what the big deal is with him giving Sinestro his ring. I’ll tell you what the big deal is. As most Green Lantern fans will know, each colored ring is powered by a different emotion. The Orange ring that Larfleeze, and only Larfleeze, possesses is powered by greed and avarice. As long as he’s wearing the ring, Larfleeze essentially becomes greed incarnate, living only to obtain what he does not have and destroy anyone who tries to take what he does. Among Larfleeze’s most valued possessions is his ring, which he is obsessed with to the point of madness, making him a lot like Gollum in that regard. It doesn’t matter what titles he was offered, the idea that Larfleeze would just casually hand over his ring to anyone, let alone Sinestro, is laughable to anyone who understands the character. On top of that, to further the Lord of the Rings comparison, the Orange ring has a corrupting effect on its wearer that is responsible for Larfleeze’s obsessive greed and gluttony. But, like with any power ring, once it’s removed, the wearer no longer has access to its power. For Larfleeze, if his ring is removed, so to is its hold over him. In the past, there have been instances in which Larfleeze has been forcibly removed from his ring and he actually reacted with terror at the thought of the ring taking hold of him again. Here though, he takes off the ring and and nothing happens. Hell, he doesn’t even lose his Orange Lantern outfit. I don’t mean to harp on a comparatively minor point, but this seriously bugs me and demonstrates a lack of understanding for this character.

Overall: 4/5

Despite that one glaring flaw, this was still a solid entry in this crossover.