Green Lantern II: Rise of Sinestro
We fade in with the maniacal laughter found at the end of the first installment voiced over Hal Jordan having a sit-down with Guy Gardner, explaining to him his role in the GL Corps. In the midst of their conversation, Hal is interrupted by the voice of Kilowog, contacting him from Oa, describing (visually being able to see this, but the attackers are shadowed, and it’s shown on screen as a scrambled video message) what seems to be a direct attack on the planet itself!
Hal excuses himself from Guy and explains he has “duty to perform” before he flies off, straight through the atmosphere, into space, eventually to the planet Oa. He finds areas that have been severely damaged by what appears to have been an invasion of sorts. He finds nobody around until he comes across the entrance of a laboratory/workshop where there are numerous GL’s who have been badly injured by the attack. He asks questions but nobody is able to truly describe what has gone on until he meets up with Kilowog and is explained what took place…
“They are called the Manhunters.”
A flashback scene to various Manhunters patrolling the galaxies, fighting criminals, apprehending various evildoers.
Kilowog explains (voiced over the flashback scenes) “They were created by the Guardians to be the original force of good in the universe, modeled after the Manhunters of Ma’aleca’andra, or what you know as Mars. (Catching a glimpse of what appears to be Martian Manhunter or someone similar) They served the Guardians well for thousands of years, but they became obsessed with the “hunting of criminals”. They have changed their Oath from “No evil escapes the Manhunters!” to the more malevolent “No man escapes the Manhunters!” and in doing so, their general demeanor has changed as well…They became increasingly obsessed with this oath, as opposed to seeing justice served. Eventually, the decided to rebel against the Guardians, (more scenes of Manhunters plotting and Manhunters versus Guardians) but the coup was defeated and those who remained were cast to the far reaches of space, a planet called Biot, in sector 3601 (a sector which is both off limits to all and unknown to all but the most veteran of GL members), so they could no longer be a threat to the preservation of good.” Kilowog stops for a moment and looks up “It appears they have returned, and want us all to perish, as well as the Guardians.”
Hal, Kilowog and the remaining healthy Lanterns come to rebuild the parts of Oa that were decimated in the attack, as well as heal the wounded and bury those Lanterns which have “burned out”, creating memorials and crypts, and appointing Morro as the crypt keeper of the Corps.
Meanwhile, we see Guy Gardner defending himself from the likes of Goldface, a villain who is clad in a golden suit, and carries a weapon which fires burst of yellow plasma.
The battle rages throughout the city streets, civilians scramble and try to protect themselves, while Guy is trying to do the same, shielding people from falling debris, as well as trying to hold his own against an opponent who seems impossible to defeat with the vast power of the ring. Since the guardians have been kept busy by the partial destruction of their home world, they haven’t had time to inform Guy of the weakness to the color yellow that is inherent in the rings of ALL GL members. After rescuing dozens of people and keeping the destruction of the city to a minimum, Guy finally decides the ring is no match directly for this villain, and instead creates a diversion with his ring, including sending a pack of energy created wild animals rushing head on towards Goldface, while he laughs triumphantly at the audacity of Guy’s actions, he is not aware Guy has taken a post directly behind the villain with severed power lines in each hand (protected by the green aura emitted by all GL’s) and as Goldface easily dispatches the animal constructs, Guy applies the power lines directly to the villains suit, shorting out his weapon and rendering him unconscious! As Guy is relieved to see he has won the battle, he stands over the adversary and states with an arrogant grin “You know, gold IS one of the best conductors of electricity.” And as he removes the helmet from him, he finds inside, not a human, but the blue and red expressionless face of what appears to be a robot, or cyborg of some kind! (it’s a Manhunter)
After these duties are fulfilled, and Oa is back to (reasonably) normal, Hal returns home and is astonished to see that Gardner has been performing the GL duties on Earth in his stead. This infuriates the arrogant Jordan into starting a confrontation with Guy in the middle of a busy street,
during the brawl, Hal is thrown to the side and Guy stands in the street, hands in the air taunting Jordan with a “Is that all you got, old man” type line, but before Hal can respond, Guy is hit by an oncoming school bus (which he couldn’t stop because of the “yellow impurity”) Hal is devastated to see what his actions have caused to his good friend. He creates a stasis chamber with his ring and transports Guy to Oa, so they can find a way to help him heal his one time friend and ally. When the Guardians find out what has happened, they immediately appoint a new backup for Hal on Earth, John Stewart, which they do not tell Hal about; afraid the same thing may happen again. They also inform John to act as Green Lantern of Earth and sector 2814 both while Hal is there and away, but to keep this from him, and others, as long as possible, until they can find a way to teach Hal to control his jealousy and arrogance. Distraught over the events of the previous days/weeks, Hal is reluctant to return to his duties as GL of Earth…He finds solace in the arms of his long-time boss, Carol Ferris. The 2 quickly become lovers and couldn’t be separated by anything. As the relationship grew closer, Hal truly considered retiring completely from the Corps, and settling down with Carol to start a family with her.
As he walks the street contemplating what should be done, he is confronted and attacked by a female with similar powers as his, she reveals herself to be Star Sapphire (unbeknownst to him, it is his lover Carol. She was given a Star Sapphire Gem by an unseen force with a distinctly female voice) a vicious battle ensues and for a while Star is unrelenting in her quest to destroy the Green Lantern.
Hal Jordan soon realizes this is not only a small fight, but a fight for his life; in doing so he unleashes his full power and hits Star with a blast that knocks her several blocks away, throwing her into a building and having that building collapse partially around her. He flies to confront the downed enemy, only to find out, it’s Carol! Now, even more distraught than ever; enraged, Hal seeks out the Guardians and demands they explain why they didn’t tell him who she was!
Ganthet approaches and explains they had no previous knowledge of this woman or her capabilities and explains they have heard, throughout the ages, of women being “possessed” by a force similar to what he has encountered…Then it dawns on him “This has to be the work of the Zamarons!” to which Hal is puzzled and doesn’t understand, so Ganthet explains the beginnings of the Guardian race to him, and tells him of how they were originally called Maltusians, and eventually cane to separate into 3 factions, Guardians, Controllers and Zamarons – with the latter being the female version of themselves, who have come to feel spurned by their male counterpart. He deduces that somehow, they have created a force that possesses women who are lovers of various Green Lanterns to somehow enact revenge on their one-time brethren.
While Ganthet is explaining to Hal the origins of his species, there is seen above the surface of Oa, a vast fleet of what appear to be men, headed directly for the planet. At the front of the pack is a vaguely familiar face and as it approaches closer we see it is none other than Sinestro! He is cloaked in a yellow and black uniform, and a faint yellow Aura surrounds him, he is followed closely by an endless contingent of Manhunters! It is he who has brought the Manhunters back from the brink and has assembled them to enact theirs as well as his, vengeance on the Guardians and the Green Lantern Corps!
The battle begins with the Guardians fleeing and Hal trying to contact as many GL members as possible. While in contact with several at once, Hal is knocked across the surface of the planet by a yellow energy beam! It seems as if Sinestro is somehow in control of the yellow spectrum of light! Hal is taken completely by surprise and must find a way to defend the planet, as well as himself from the onslaught that is upon them. As Sinestro searches for Hal and the Manhunters ravage the planet, GL’s from all across the universe converge on Oa to stand against the relentless Manhunters. A battle between the 2 forces erupts on the surface as well as in the skies above Oa…On every corner of the planet, and every part of space surrounding it, Manhunter and Corpsmen collide in an all out battle that could shape the universe as a whole!
While Hal is reluctant to come out of his hiding place, the ground starts to quake around him, and he realizes that where he hides and the planet are no longer connected! He has been found out! He acts quickly and leaps down from his precipice, only to be caught once again by a powerful yellow energy beam, but this time, instead of being blasted away, he is caught in a yellow construct of a hand, unable to move even his little finger. Sinestro tells him, he has waited for this moment, when he could enact revenge on the one who had him dethroned and eventually imprisoned in that dreadful Universe…He begins to monologue (as all villains do) and we cut to flashback scenes of Sinestro arriving on Qward, and being confronted by the Qward weaponers who attempt to enslave him for their own purposes, but being Sinestro, and physically stronger than the Qwardians, he overpowers them and takes control of one of their weapons which he uses to obliterate the contingent of Qwardians that were attempting his capture. Thusly, he is regarded as the most powerful being on Qward by the rest of the race, and they make him their leader. He instructs them to create for him a ring, using the yellow energy they possess, so that he may enact revenge on those who have wronged him.
All the while, he is unaware the Hal has managed to slip his right arm out of the construct due to Sinestro not fully paying attention and losing some of his control over it. He blasts Sinestro directly in the face with a fully powered energy beam! Sinestro is rendered immobile momentarily, but quickly regains composure and states “My boy, you are a sly one. But I am Sinestro! My Yellow Ring of Fear is far more powerful than your puny toy you call a weapon!” The battle rages between the two, and while Hal is the more cunning, he can not overcome the yellow impurity in his ring to completely overpower Sinestro. They continue to fight, while around them, Manhunter and Corpsmen clash endlessly, both sides losing members on a grand scale, neither gaining, or losing any ground.
As the 2 main players clash endlessly with one another, a single green streak is seen from the ground on Oa, it is coming in fast and headed directly for Hal and Sinestro. Hal realizes, but does not give Sinestro a clue as to what is taking place, Hal isn’t sure exactly who it could be, but they have to be here to help, so he wrestles with Sinestro and turns him around just as the streak of light comes into contact with their position and SLAMS Sinestro directly into the ground, dragging him for hundreds of feet before releasing and returning to Hal. Hal realizes it is a Green Lantern who looks oddly human, and before he can ask who he is, John Stewart exclaims” The names John, Green Lantern of sector 2814, at your service. What? You thought you and Guy were the only ones?” Hal is somewhat put off by the comment, but before he can reply, John is blasted in the back by Sinestro, who has regained consciousness and although he is beaten and tattered, he still has some fight in him.
Thinking another of his replacements has been seriously injured Hal becomes infuriated and leaps for Sinestro with a bright green glow in his eyes. He thrashes his nemesis repeatedly with bare fists, not relying on the ring at all, but on sheer brute force and determination. Again and again he pummels Sinestro and eventually knocks him unconscious again…But he doesn’t stop there, he keeps going, murderously ravaging the villain, beating him to a bloody mess…He does not realize that the fighting around him has stopped, the Manhunters have been defeated on all fronts, and various Corpsmen are watching Hal with great amazement and fear, at the ferocity in which he uses against his enemy. Thrashing and pummeling without empathy…Until a large hand grabs his arm, Hal whips around and lands a solid punch square in the aliens face! Kilowog is thrown back several yards, and Hal realizes what he has just done, regains his composure and turns to find what he has done…Beaten his former Instructor into a bloody mess, a shell of his former self, barely alive or breathing. The Guardians appear and inform Hal that both Guy and John will be okay…But they are suspending his duties as a Green Lantern until they are sure he is fit to serve the Corps and conduct himself accordingly. They remove his ring and transport him back to Earth, to his home, where he is seen falling to the floor and breaking down in tears from the events that have transpired.
It is revealed (through the Guardians knowledge and of course MORE FLASHBACKS) that Sinestro is the reason for the first reemergence of the Manhunters, for the missile that Hal encountered on his first mission out, and for the villain Goldface that Guy faced while on duty on Earth as Green Lantern.
Finally, we see the Guardians and numerous Lanterns, including John, Guy, Tomar Re, Arisia, Kilowog, Salaak, Sarrek, Bzzd, Ch’p, and various other members surrounding what looks like a line of caskets, all emblazoned with a GL Corps symbol, and a green glow, except for one, which is solid black and has no identifying markings. They GL Caskets are laid to rest in each members constructed Tomb, and sealed by Morro, the crypt keeper. The final casket is taken by the guardians and flung to the farthest reaches of space, to what is known as the Obsidian Deeps, where no light exists. The scene closes with John and Guy returning to Earth being halted by what appears to be a space station, but none like they’ve ever seen before, it’s massive in scale and completely far beyond anything a human could have built. As the Sun comes around the dark side of the Earth, we see lit up on the side of the station in ENORMOUS lettering: JUSTICE LEAGUE!
Credits!