I...I did not see that coming. I mean, I realized it was a possiblity, and this particular death would CERTAINLY be sufficient to send Guy over the edge into red blood-vomiting rage...but I had read that Geoff Johns was assuring people at the various conventions that Kyle would make it out of Blackest Night alive. So I was more worried about OTHER people, like Kilowog, or Ice or even Salaak.
Not Kyle. NOT KYLE!
Anyway, a we open, the battle between the fast fading remnants of the Green Lantern Corps and the ever burgeoning numbers of Black Lanterns still rages on Oa. Vath Sarn and Isamot are in a particularly tight spot, surrounded by dead GL parents and their very hungry offspring, presumably the babies stolen by Kryb. They all want to feast on living hearts and are putting up quite a fuss about it, as children are wont to do. Fortunately, Munk, the Indigo #2 guy is there, and lending a hand.
Kilowog is still battling against his former mentor, now a Black Lantern, and writhing in agony, as his heart is being pulled out, when suddenly, ALL the Black Lanterns get the eerie message; 100% Power Level Exceeded. Devour Will. Well...THAT can't be good! And they all fly off, leaving the bewildered Green Lanterns. I'm VERY glad that Kilowog isn't dead, but he's still a bit broken, which is sad.
When last we left Soranik Natu, she had just shoved her entire fist inside BL Jade's mouth. It's still there, and Soranik is quite proud of herself. And so is Kyle. He's almost as bad as Hal when it comes to women fighting over him...I think he's getting a secret thrill out of it all. Then Jade gets the message that all the other Black Lanterns are getting and zooms away, dragging Soranik with her, so Kyle has to go and blow her head off, so that Soranik can have her hand back. That's True Love right there.
Well, it turns out that the command to Devour Will, means that they are all around the Green Lantern central power Battery, and are going to destroy it, the way that they destroyed the one on Zamaron. Guy decides that this seems to be the best place for their last stand. The Indigo Lantern can help a bit, but not enough, when Kyle comes up with a cunning plan. He and Guy fly off, and decide to free Vice, the EXTREMELY nasty Red Lantern from his prison, hoping that he'll take care of some of the Black Lanterns. They do, and he does. Oh boy does he.
Then, Alpha Lantern Chaselon, gets his officious knickers in a twist. He decided to blow up Vice, which is incredibly stupid, since he is actually unwittingly HELPING them, but then again, Alpha Lanterns were probably one of the stupidest ideas that the Guardians ever came up with. And they've come up with some doozies. Too bad for Alpha Lantern Chaselon, that the charming little dead children decide that he's a fun shiny ball...and rip him open.
This is bad. An Alpha Lantern battery is a heck of a lot more powerful than a regular battery, it consists of a whole crapload of rings, if I remember correctly, and it isn't going to be pretty when it blows up. Kyle realizes this, from Salaak, and hatches another cunning plan. He grabs Chaselon's battery, and gets a whole passel of Black Lanterns in close, before sealing off the area with a green dome construct.
Then...he says he loves Soranik and Guy.
And...and BLOWS UP EVERYTHING!
But he saves the power battery and the lives of his fellow Lanterns, while taking a whole lot of Black Lanterns with him.
Oh...Kyle!
Say what you will, but that's one hell of an exit. I'm pretty sure that in the end of all of this, Kyle will probably be back somehow, along with any number of heroes who have also been killed, like Hawkman, and Tempest and Firestorm and Ted (hopefully) I also don't think that they'll be able to turn Kyle INTO a Black Lantern. Don't really know why, but he's pretty much at peace with what he's doing.
But I can certainly understand why Guy is going to go nutso in the next issue, because Kyle was his baby and his friend, and he doesn't take this sort of thing too well. God, we have to wait for a whole month!
