So just what the heck is a Godstorm anyway?
The title of "most powerful Green Lantern" has changed owners a few times in DC. For a while, that user was certainly Hal Jordan's evil counterpart Parallax, after he nearly wiped out the Green Lantern Corps. Later, it would be Kyle Rayner, when he was possessed by Ion, the source of every GL's power. Now, it looks like it's another fan-favorite Corps member's turn to wield the title, although the way he's come by the power is unlike any of the ways its former users got theirs.
You might have first noticed in April 26's Justice League #75, but this all started a little bit before.
In the lead-up to April 12's Green Lantern #12, which was drawn by Tom Raney and Marco Santucci, written by Geoffrey Thorne, colored by Michael Atiyeh, and lettered by Rob Leigh, a rogue Guardian named Koyos sought to destroy the power of the Green Lanterns, claiming it was a mistake against nature.
To accomplish this, Koyos extinguished Oa's Central Power Battery, and with it, much of the energy that powered the Green Lantern's rings. The only hope of saving the cosmos and recreating the GL Corps was to literally reignite the flame in the Oa Battery. Needless to say, that would take a lot of power. Luckily for the universe, John Stewart has found that power, albeit from a surprising place.
During the course of Green Lantern #12, John encounters the Source. The most powerful entity in the DCU, the Source is the origin of creation, the energy behind all that exists in the Omniversal pages of DC comics. The Source is rarely, if ever, actually seen in comics, although for John, it makes an exception, appearing to him in the guise of the King of Comics himself, Jack Kirby. The Source knows of John's struggles and offers him a wellspring of power that would be plenty to rekindle the GL's energy. It calls the power "the Godstorm."
Details of exactly what this power can do are scant, but it seems to be entirely unlimited, stemming from the Source itself. As a result, John is wary of taking on such infinite power, fearing it would turn him into a monster. In a grandfatherly manner, the Source divulges to John a truth he's always known - that power doesn't change a person, it only reveals who they've always been.
John accepts the power and, though his bravery and dedication to good remain the same, there is a kind of change to the Green Lantern. He becomes something unlike any GL has ever been, a mighty, green-sword-wielding, nigh-indestructible character called The Emerald Knight, a being with the power to defeat Koyos and jump-start Oa's Central Power Battery.
Fast forward an undetermined amount of time to the beginning of Justice League #75, also called the 'Death of the Justice League.' In this near-future of the DCU, we catch a glimpse of a restored Central Power Battery, not to mention a couple of GLs seemingly returned to their former power. But that's all we see, as John Stewart is quickly teleported away from the spot.
Like the rest of the Justice League, John is brought into battle with Pariah, the mad scientist who kicked off the events of 1985's Crisis on Infinite Earths. Pariah seeks to destroy the entire multiverse, rigging his Antimatter Chamber to summon an entropic entity called the Great Darkness. To stop him, the JL will have to contend not just with the powers of the Great Darkness, but with the Dark Army, an assembly of the worst villains DC has ever seen.
Fortunately, one of the Justice League is bringing the Godstorm. At the height of the battle, when all hope seems lost, John enters the battlefield out of nowhere. Using his will, ring, and newfound power of the Godstorm, John creates Green Lantern constructs of some of the Justice League's most useful past members and other DC superheroes, including Flash, Mister Miracle, Cyborg, Supergirl, Firestorm, Doctor Fate, Plastic Man, and John's predecessor, Hal Jordan himself. They turn the tide of the battle, at least momentarily, and prove that not only does John Stewart deserve the title of most powerful Green Lantern, but perhaps their most inventive as well.
Unfortunately, Pariah himself has something up his sleeve, and it might just be enough to extinguish even the Godstorm's light…
Want to know how the battle shakes out? Read more about the Death of the Justice League here.
