From DC Database

"Tale of the Black Lantern"

Part of the Blackest Night event

Gallery

Green Lantern Vol 4 #43
September, 2009

Executive Editor

Dan DiDio

Cover Artists

Doug Mahnke

Writers

Geoff Johns

Pencilers

Doug Mahnke

Inkers

Christian Alamy

Colourists

Randy Mayor

Letterers

Rob Leigh

Editors

Eddie Berganza

Previous Issue

Next Issue

Green Lantern (Volume 4) #42

Green Lantern (Volume 4) #44

Alternate Covers

Appearing in "Tale of the Black Lantern"

Featured Characters:

• Black Hand (William Hand)
  

Supporting Characters:

• Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) (In flashback only)
• Hand family

Villains:

• Black Lantern Corps

• Scar
• Guardian of Death

• Atrocitus of the Five Inversions (In flashback only)
• Evil Star
• Sinestro (In flashback only)
  

Other Characters:

• Star Sapphire (In flashback only)
• The Spectre (In flashback only)
• In Black Hand's vision

• Superman (Clark Kent)
• Lois Lane
• Wonder Woman (Diana Prince)
• Neron
• Green Arrow (Oliver Queen)
• Kilowog
• Ice (Tora Olafsdotter)
• Superboy (Conner Kent)
• Wonder Girl (Cassie Sandsmark)
• Flash (Barry Allen)
• Kid Flash (Bart Allen)
• Aquagirl (Tula)
• Atom (Al Pratt)
• Sue Dibny
• Elongated Man (Ralph Dibny)
• Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond)
• Captain Boomerang (Digger Harkness)
• Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)
• Max Lord
• Black Condor (Ryan Kendall)
• Phantom Lady (Dee Tyler)
• Human Bomb (Roy Lincoln)
• Psycho Pirate (Roger Hayden)
• Jean Loring
• The Question (Vic Sage)
• Doctor Light (Arthur Light)
• Martian Manhunter (J'onn J'onzz)

• Emotional manifestations

• Ion
• Parallax
• Predator
  

Locations:

• Oa
• Coast City

• Hand Mortuary
  

Items:

• Black Lantern Ring
• Book of the Black
• Cosmic Divining Rod
• Green Lantern Ring
• Star Sapphire gem
  

Vehicles:

Synopsis for "Tale of the Black Lantern"

On Oa, Scar looks through the Book of the Black. She has been alive for billions of years, but has not died like other things have. Like the rest of the Guardians of the Universe, she knows that if the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum is harnessed, it will herald the Blackest Night, a darkness that will consume the entire universe and all light and life. But unlike the other Guardians, she knows the name of the darkness. And she worships it.

In Coast City, William Hand (aka Black Hand) lies in a open grave surrounded by rotting corpses when he hears a mysterious voice he refers to as death calling his name. While awaiting instructions, he reminisces about his life and how he's heard death calling his name as long as he can remember.

Hand's father was a mortician in Coast City. When he was little, he obsessed about his father's job even though his two brothers didn't. After killing and mounting the family dog, Hand is sent to a psychologist where he begins to develop a false identity that made him simply the black sheep of the family. This worked for a while...until his encounter with Atrocitus during his battle with Hal Jordan and Sinestro ^[1]. Atrocitus gave Hand the cosmic divining rod that he built to "absorb power - including the light from the Green Lanterns' rings."

Hand's obsession with destroying the Green Lantern grew from this. The light of the Green Lantern was so bright it hurt William, and he intended to destroy it. He fashioned a costume out of a body bag and assumed the identity of Black Hand to try to stop Hal Jordan. When Hal Jordan became Parallax, the obsession subsided. The light haunting him had faded to a mere spark. But when Jordan became The Spectre, they encountered each other again. This encounter eventually ended up costing him his right hand ^[2]. Hand eventually got his hand back after meeting up with the Kroloteans ^[3]. This gave him the ability to hear and touch death but also see it. He began having visions of all the dead supers in the world, including those who died and came back to life. The voice wants them all.

Hand eventually ends up back at his father's mortuary where he murders his entire family and then himself using the cosmic divining rod. Scar appears next to the corpse of Black Hand stating that the murder/suicide pleases the mysterious voice. She then vomits up the first black lantern ring and proclaims that Black Hand is the embodiment of the Black Lantern Corp (much the same as Parallax, Ion and The Predator). Black Hand is prepared to use his power to extinguish the light once and for all.

The Black Lantern Corp is born....

Notes

• First issue of this volume that has not featured a non-flashback speaking role for a Green Lantern
• DC Nation features Dan DiDo's rumination on his favorite Justice League team.

Trivia

• No trivia.

See Also

• Discuss Green Lantern Vol 4 43 on the forums
• Cover gallery for the Green Lantern series
• Images from Green Lantern Vol 4 43

Recommended Reading

• Green Lantern

• Green Lantern (Volume 1)
• Green Lantern (Volume 2)
• Green Lantern (Volume 3)
• Green Lantern (Volume 4)
• Green Lantern Corps (Volume 1)
• Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2)

Links and References

• Green Lantern at Wikipedia.org
• Green Lantern at DC Comics
• Great Book of Oa
• Green Lantern Corps
• Green Lantern Shrine
• Emerald Dawn Main Page
• Green Lantern at TV Tropes

Crossover Blackest Night is a 2009 DC Comics crossover event featuring the dead rising, and attacks by the Black Lantern Corps. This is the culmination of the War of Light. This template will categorize articles that include it into the Blackest Night crossover category. Core Issues Blackest Night #0 • Blackest Night #1 • Blackest Night #2 • Blackest Night #3 • Blackest Night #4 • Blackest Night #5 • Blackest Night #6 • Blackest Night #7 • Blackest Night #8 War of Light Green Lantern #43 • Green Lantern #44 • Green Lantern #45 • Green Lantern #46 • Green Lantern #47 • Green Lantern #48 • Green Lantern #49 • Green Lantern #50 • Green Lantern #51 • Green Lantern #52 • Green Lantern Corps #38 • Green Lantern Corps #39 • Green Lantern Corps #40 • Green Lantern Corps #41 • Green Lantern Corps #42 • Green Lantern Corps #43 • Green Lantern Corps #44 • Green Lantern Corps #45 • Green Lantern Corps #46 Miniseries' Batman Blackest Night: Batman #1 • Blackest Night: Batman #2 • Blackest Night: Batman #3 Flash Blackest Night: Flash #1 • Blackest Night: Flash #2 • Blackest Night: Flash #3 Justice Society Blackest Night: JSA #1 • Blackest Night: JSA #2 • Blackest Night: JSA #3 Superman Blackest Night: Superman #1 • Blackest Night: Superman #2 • Blackest Night: Superman #3 Tales of the Corps Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #1 • Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #2 • Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #3 Teen Titans Blackest Night: Titans #1 • Blackest Night: Titans #2 • Blackest Night: Titans #3 Wonder Woman Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1 • Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #2 • Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #3 Crossovers Adventure Comics #4 • Adventure Comics #5 • Adventure Comics #7 • Atom and Hawkman #46 • Booster Gold #26 • Booster Gold #27 • Catwoman #83 • Doom Patrol #4 • Doom Patrol #5 • Green Arrow and Black Canary #30 • Justice League of America #39 • Justice League of America #40 • Outsiders #24 • Outsiders #25 • Phantom Stranger #42 • Power of Shazam #48 • Question #37 • R.E.B.E.L.S. #10 • R.E.B.E.L.S. #11 • Secret Six #17 • Secret Six #18 • Starman #81 • Suicide Squad #67 • Superman/Batman #66 • Superman/Batman #67 • Teen Titans #77 • Teen Titans #78 • Weird Western Tales #71