We begin our story AFTER the JL film. Where John Stewart has become full-time Green Lantern of Earth and a member of the Justice League of America and Guy Gardner is out of the GL after finding out about his Vuldarian heritage and becomes Warrior.
Hal Jordan at this point has gone back to Ferris Aircraft and once again has taken up the post of test pilot. This time around he is testing a new stealth aircraft that is to be the pinnacle of modern aviation technology. It is “invisible” to all radar, has an active camouflage covered body, which in effect actually makes it invisible, it is also not detectable on the infrared or ultraviolet ends of the spectrum. It is hypersonic, and is armed with precision guided antimatter armaments; it doesn’t use controls but instead incorporates a neural interface through a helmet which scans brain patterns through the retina.
Weeks into the program it is on its last leg of testing and Hal takes it out for final inspection and giving the green light for military production. Generals and Admirals are present to see this bird in action, and Hal is no stranger to giving a crowd what they want. The plane performs better than previously thought possible. Hal finds it has almost a way of learning, knowing what his next move will be, and it acts accordingly, he thinks it, the plane does. Showing off every maneuver thought impossible by previous aircraft, the military personnel are astonished and immediately start to put in requests for dozens of these “smart planes” as they dub them. As the men are clamoring for more the plane goes automatically into active camo mode and disappears. Thinking is just another trick up Hal’s sleeve, the men think nothing of it and continue on bidding, until they see what appears to be a small explosion and watch as Hal is violently ejected from the plane!
With the plane in stealth mode, they have absolutely no way of tracking it and don’t know where it could have crash landed, but they do see Hal, freefalling rapidly through the sky, the parachute has not deployed! The men all hold their breath and can only watch as what appears to be the lifeless body of Hal Jordan fall helplessly to the ground. At that moment they witness what seems to be a green glowing “bubble” envelop Hal and disappear. Immediately after, the plane’s stealth disengages and it is just a few hundred yards from the hangar in which the Military personnel are standing! They try frantically to get away from the scene, but at the speed the plane is moving there is no way to get to safety in time. The plane impacts and obliterates the hangar and the cadre of personnel inside. As the explosion erupts, the failsafe for the armaments is damaged and they are activated. With each armament that detonates, a part of Ferris Aircraft grounds are instantly vaporized, and with each subsequent explosion the blast radius increases, over and over until finally, the entirety of Ferris Aircraft is obliterated. As the camera pans out, it is shown that not only has Hal’s place of employment been rendered asunder, most of Coast City has been vaporized as well; friends, family, relatives, schools, hospitals, businesses, daycares. All affected by the accident. All of them, gone in an instant.
Very little is left standing, what is left is just a shell of its former self. There is no life, there is nothing here now but death and destruction.
Fade in and we see Hal awakening in what appears to be an extremely high-tech hospital of sorts. With blurred vision Hal examines his surroundings and finds them vaguely familiar but he can’t seem to make out anything except for a large humanoid figure sitting on a stool a few feet away. “Glad to see your alive.” Says Kilowog. Hal sits up and takes a breath and asks “What the hell happened? Why did you bring me here, and what happened to the plane?!” Kilowog explains “It wasn’t I who brought you here my friend, the Guardians saved you and brought you to me. You were in a state of shock like I’ve never seen before. Some kind of neural feedback from whatever device you had around you.” “Saved me from what?” Exclaimed Hal. Kilowog takes a deep breath and sighs “I was hoping the Guardians would explain this to you; save me the trouble of giving bad news.” “What bad news? Tell me, NOW!” replied an obviously concerned and highly agitated Hal Jordan.
Kilowog spoke softly like Hal had never seen he seemed almost sad. “There was nothing they could do to stop it; it all happened so quickly, all they were able to do was save you.” “What was it that I was saved from? I have to know. Is the plane ok, did it crash? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!” Kilowog explains to Hal the accident, him being ejected, and the destruction of his hometown. “Coast City is no more, Hal. It’s gone.”
As Hal’s mind reels over the possibility that his hometown is gone, the rage builds inside if him and he leaves the medical facility without saying anything. Kilowog tries to stop him but knows Hal is on a mission and stops himself before interfering.
Hal goes directly to the Guardian Hall, all the time thinking in his mind of all the people in the city. All the lives that could have possibly been lost, but he refuses to believe it. He thinks it is somehow just another test from the Guardians, just another ploy to get him to be Green Lantern again. As he enters the hall, he finds several Guardians communing quietly and he interrupts. “What in the HELL is going on here?!” Hal shouts. He is ignored. “Tell me NOW! What have you done? What has happened?” The Guardians turn to face Hal, in one of their hands is a power ring “This is for you.” A Guardian exclaims. Hal grabs the ring and puts it on “Is this what you want? You want me to be a Lantern again? Well there! You’ve got me! Now tell me what Kilowog has said isn’t true? Tell me my city is still there and this is all a charade! TELL ME!” The Guardians pause, and look at each other. “There was nothing we could do.” They say in unison. Hal erupts in violent rage and grabs one of the feeble looking Guardians “You are going to tell me right NOW what you have done or so help me God…” Ganthet intervenes and takes Hal over to a monitor where, on the screen, is shown what is now the skeleton of a once prosperous city, with many people bustling about. But, it is now just a vast expanse of hollowed out shells of former buildings, fires rage, and city block sized craters dot the landscape. “No! That’s not my city. That’s NOT MY CITY!” Hal erupts in anger and smashes the console and the monitor goes blank. “I’m sorry Hal; we didn’t have the time to stop it. All we could do is save you.” Ganthet states in a very melancholy tone. Hal brushes past Ganthet to the group of Guardians staring at him. He tells them to bring it back, that they have the ability to do so, and he wants his city back NOW! They refuse. Telling him it’s not their place to interfere. “Not your place?! You saved ME but you couldn’t save an entire city and NOT me?! What is wrong with you?” They don’t answer. Just blank emotionless stares from the crowd. Hal exclaims that if they won’t do anything to help him. He will do it on his own, and a puzzled look comes over the Guardians. They’re not exactly sure what he meant, but they know he means business. Hal rushes outside, to the center of Oa and the Central Power Battery of the Green Lantern Corps. As he approaches it he is stopped by one of the Guardians who tells him there is nothing he can do. To move on. In that instant, Hal changes, he breaks. He is no longer the man who the Guardians entrusted with the Power Ring. He points his ring at the Guardian and in a flash of energy, he obliterates him. Hal has killed a Guardian!
The remaining Guardians scatter and alert the entirety of the GL Corps to come to Oa and aid in stopping this madman. Little do they know, Hal is behind the atrocity that has been brought to Oa. As GL from all over the universe approach Oa, they see flashes of Green energy radiating from the area of the Central Battery. As they get closer, they see Hal in battle with various other GL’s and the corpses of countless dead lanterns lay everywhere.
As Hal is acting completely out of rage, he takes out corpsmen one by one, killing, maiming or obliterating completely, countless lives. The massacre is almost endless, and as Kilowog approaches Hal, Hal turns around to his friend and tells him there is nothing that is going to stop him from bringing his city back. Kilowog tells him there is nothing he can do, to stop this and surrender. Hal’s blank stare is met by Kilowog’s empty eyes, and in a split second Hal fires. It is seen that Hal has acquired 9 other rings from various slain corpsmen. The scene pans over and we see a smoldering skeleton of the once proud and loyal corpsmen formerly known as Kilowog. All flesh and soft tissue is gone, just a skull and bones is all that remains.
Hal approaches the main battery that powers all GL rings, and in a moment of blind fury cracks the casing to the battery. The crack spreads as the endless energy is released into the universe. Through sheer will, Hal absorbs every ounce that he can before being overtaken by the raw amount of energy. An enormous flash of green blankets the entire sector, and as the haze dissipates, Hal is seen standing; alone amongst an endless see of corpses. Bodies that were once Hal’s friends and comrades now lay in waste. The Central Battery is gone, and Hal glows with a brightness that has never been seen before in a single Green Lantern. He has changed. Somehow, he no longer resembles the Hal from not too long ago that took up the mantle of Green Lantern reluctantly to serve and protect the people he loved. Instead, he is a radiating being of almost limitless energy. A searing evil grin encompasses his face. In the events that have transpired, the Central Battery of the GLC is gone, the Guardians have been decimated, and all rings are useless save for the ones worn by Hal.
Fade in and we see the remains of what was formerly known as Coast City. It is in complete ruins, there is no life, no laughter, nothing. It exists as a barren wasteland devoid of anything except death. We see a green glow in the sky above. It is Hal, he has come back to try and replace what he has lost. He uses every bit of energy he can muster. Buildings start to reform, streets are repaired. Things come back to life, all with an eerie green glow, people are walking around. Life has returned to Coast City.
In an instant it is all gone again; Hal takes a blow from behind! His concentration snapped, the city reverts back to the wasteland he never wanted to see. Hal awakens, standing over him is an unfamiliar figure...He speaks, “I am Mongul!” “You’re pitiful city is no MORE! For the life of my once comrade Sinestro, vengeance on Hal Jordan is finally wrought!”
Filled with rage Hal lashes out with blast after blast from his rings; but nothing. The yellow skin of Mongul is negating anything Hal can do against him. Mongul laughs, taunting Hal. You see Hal begin to glow with an eerie green-yellow flare, he erupts with a blast powerful enough to knock out a city block. Mongul is knocked clear across the former city. He slides across the landscape creating a ditch that looks as if a tank has been dragged through mud. He stands and faces Hal’s position. He sees nothing. Out of the sky comes a streak of light, Hal buries his glowing fists into Monguls chest. Again and again Mongul is pounded violently. He acts swiftly and knocks Hal back, but Hal recovers and fires off another blast. Straight into Monguls face. Down the villain goes. “There is no victory here for YOU!” screams Hal as he forces his thumbs into Monguls eye sockets and releases a blast of energy directly into his skull. Obliterating his entire body. Hal relishes in the “victory” he has just earned, but it short lived as he realizes there is nothing he can do to bring back the city or it’s inhabitants.
We come back to Oa, where from the rubble emerges a Guardian. Badly injured and clothes tattered, he opens his hand to reveal a glowing power ring. He seeks out someone who is able to wield the last ring of the Green Lantern Corps. He searches endlessly, and in a hopeless moment he believes there is no one left who can do serve the ring as it should be. But then, he finds someone who has been in control of the ring before. It is Guy Gardner! Ganthet instantly transports himself across the cosmos to Guy’s location, where he explains the situation and what has occurred on Oa. He offers him the last ring…But Guy declines! He is no longer interested in being a Green Lantern anymore, no matter what has happened! Hopeless, Ganthet returns to Oa, where he sits solemnly aware that there is nobody who can take up the mantle. If there is, he cannot find them.
As he is begins to attempt repairs on his home world, and try his best to honor the fallen corpsmen, his monitor beeps. An urgent sound. He finds someone! On Earth none the less. Ganthet immediately stops what he is doing and rushes to Sector 2814, Earth. Here he finds a young man at his home, toiling away on what appears to be a comic strip. He approaches, not letting this person become aware of his presence. As he watches him, the man looks directly at him! “What the hell are you?!” He exclaims. Ganthet is taken aback by the revelation the man has made. He is rendered speechless. “Well, are you going to answer me? Or have I just been up waaay too long? I need some sleep.” As the man turns to walk away, Ganthet speaks “My name is Ganthet. I am a Guardian of the universe. I am in need of your services.” Ganthet explains to the man what has transpired and what he holds in his hands is the key to stopping one of the most insidious creatures in the Universe. A being known as Parallax.
He offers the man the ring, and he accepts! “Kyle Rayner at your service.” He takes the ring from the Guardian and before Ganthet leaves he explains “There are many troubles for you young man. You will face your worst possible fear. This is a situation of life and death. You have accepted the last ring of the Green Lantern Corps. I created it long ago, and it runs on my life energy. It is not tied in any way to anything except myself.”
Miles away, Hal is seen ascending into the atmosphere, on a course of unknown destination. He stops midway, and turns himself eastward. He senses something on Earth that he shouldn’t. There is a presence that he thought he was rid of. It is a Green Lantern. He flies faster and faster. Racing towards the origin of what he senses. As he comes into New York City, he is struck by the feeling again! He seeks it out, but can’t quite pinpoint it. Then, he sees a young man walking through the crowded streets below. That’s it! That’s him. The one Hal has come to find; and destroy. As Kyle parts from the crowd on the way to his job as a graphic designer, he is awestruck at the series of happenings that have transpired. He doesn’t quite understand what the little blue man was telling him, and he stares in wonderment at the new piece of “jewelry” he wears. As his mind is wandering aimlessly, Hal comes in and lands a hit square in Kyle’s jaw. He is thrown dozens of feet through the air and lands in a fruit stand. Shaken but not out of the fight, Kyle stands and searches the area for his assailant. He sees nobody, just passer-bys staring at him, whispering. He hasn’t got a clue as to what has just happened other than his jaw is extremely sore and he’s covered in mashed bananas and pineapple. As he brushes himself off the ring begins to glow a bright green. His clothes change from street wear to an unfamiliar green black and white uniform. Complete with mask and gloves. “Sweet!” He exclaims as Hal rushes him and forces him to the ground.
“Give me the ring and I’ll spare these people.” Hal states as he holds up several people in an energy construct cage high above the street. Kyle doesn’t seem to know exactly what to do and appears somewhat frightened by the threats the man has over these peoples lives. He tries to remove the ring, but it will not come off. Hal grabs Kyle’s hand and forcibly tries to remove it. As Kyle screams “STOP!” Hal is blasted by an extremely powerful energy beam, which not only knocks Hal away, but also removes one of the many rings on his hands. He was caught off guard and he loses his focus and the people he was holding begin to fall Kyle instinctively raises his arm and creates what appears to be a green blob of energy somewhat resembling lime jell-o. The people land on the construct unharmed and begin to thank the young man for his duties. “Uhm, you’re welcome. I guess.” He states shyly, not truly knowing what has just happened. As he turns to search for his assailant (who is unaware of the lost ring) once more he is taken from behind and dragged by his arm extremely quickly into the upper atmosphere of the planet where he is tossed violently back downward towards Earth. He is frightened at the prospect of falling to his death, and at that moment he stops. Mid-air, he is just floating. He turns to see his enemy fast approaching and moves just in time to see him come back around for another pass. But this time Kyle is not fast enough and is knocked even farther into space. As he regains his composure, Hal is seen coming back once again to assault the newly found Green Lantern. Kyle raises his arm in hopes of creating a wall to stop the mad man. He does so, and Hal is stopped dead in his tracks.
Astonished, Kyle loses focus and Hal again assails him violently. As he is being pummeled by Hal repeatedly he starts to black out and wishes for a shell to stop the beating he is receiving, and he does. He is covered in a thick wall of Green energy that is impassible by the enraged Hal Jordan. “Give it up little boy, that is MY ring and I will have it.” Kyle just stares blankly at Hal and then at his ring. “Well, the little blue guy told me this is the last ring of its kind. Because of some psycho named Parallax; which I assume is you; who destroyed all the other ones like it. So no, if it’s that important for you to have, there has to be a reason. I for one am not going to give it to you willingly.”
“Have it your way child!” Hal states as he uses his own energy blast to rip apart the protective bubble Kyle was encased in. Frightened, Kyle is subdued by Hal with a clamp around his throat, as he gasps for air, his Aura begins to fade and consciousness is slowly slipping away. In a last ditch effort he puts his hand between himself and Hal and releases a blast that disorients Hal and releases Kyle from his grasp. As Kyle regains his composure, he loses sight of his opponent and begins to take off toward the moon. He finds a deep crater and rests. He still isn’t fully aware of what’s going on, but in the space above he sees a green streak of light coming directly for him, he points his ring up…But he doesn’t fire, it is not the person who has been attacking him. The man lands near Kyle and states “Names John. You seem new to this. I don’t know who you are or where this ring I’m wearin’ came from, but it brought me here. So there’s got to be a rea…” He is cut short by the yellow-green energy that encompasses his face. As he gasps for air Kyle uses his own ring to try and break the construct, but can’t. It seems the energy that is encompassing John’s face is now completely yellow and somehow impervious to Kyle’s ring. Panicked, Kyle turns to look for their opponent and finds Hal off in the distance. He fires a blast, but it does nothing to the seemingly impervious Hal Jordan.
“I am Parallax. Your’s is not a life I wish to take John Stewart. But if need be, I will. Relinquish the ring and you will find yourself a safe and breathing man.” John refuses and Hal closes the energy around John’s head tighter, relinquish the ring old friend, I do not wish to take your life. John once again refuses. “Fine. Have it your way.” As Hal’s construct shrinks to the size of Johns head, it is seen the man can no longer breathe, and as his eyes begin to flutter, Hal is blasted in the back! John is freed and gasps for air. Kyle and John both look to see a familiar, yet unfamiliar face. It is Guy Gardner! “Get a load of you.” John states as Guy comes in close. “Yea, I’ve had a few…Adjustments.” “Riiiiight.” John says with a smile. Kyle remakrs “Uhm, I don’t know who you are or where you came from, but thanks. I couldn’t have done it without your help.” “Yea kid, I know. That’s why I’m here. That damned Guardian came pestering me about some “last ring, and hope for the universe blah blah blah. I just couldn’t resist the thought of that actually being true. So I went to Oa and found Ganthet again and he explained to me what exactly has happened. So, here I am. The names Warrior, by the way.”
“Nice to have you aboard, Warrior.” John says sarcastically. “What’s with the getup?” “Eh, I changed tailors. Sue me.” “Can we get past the greetings please. I think we have much more pressing matters at hand.” So, the three men stand back to back in a triangular formation, searching the space above, and the surface around them for this person calling himself Parallax. “What’s the deal here anyway?” John asks. Guy explains to him what Hal has done, and what he is capable of. John doesn’t have an answer. He just sits silently awaiting his old friends assault. Unsure of the actions he may be about to take place in.
Suddenly the ground shifts and Parallax erupts in-between the threesome. He blasts Kyle and John away and aims for Guy; but Guy is too fast and moves quickly only to come back with a blast of his own that hits Parallax squarely in the chest, knocking him clear of the Warrior and putting a major gash in Parallax’s “armor”. Guy, Kyle and John regroup and Guy explains that it isn’t truly Hal they’re fighting, while it may seem like him, he is actually possessed by a being known as Parallax, an entity of pure fear that was locked away in the central battery for eons. He also explains that this is the cause of the weakness to the color yellow, as Parallax is the color of fear; yellow. With this knowledge, John and Kyle’s rings begin to glow with brilliance the 2 veteran GL’s haven’t seen before. Parallax comes back and creates construct after construct of demonic looking creatures bent on the destruction of the 3 heroes. John fires a blast directly at one of them, and it’s obliterated! It seems their rings don’t have the yellow weakness anymore. Parallax realizes what has transpired and fires blast after blast of yellow AND green energies at the trio. Dodging and moving the three take their places, while John and Kyle create an extremely dense wall of pure energy, Guy creates several weapons from his body and readies himself behind the wall. As Parallax approaches, the 2 GL release the construct and Guy fires. BULLSYEYE! Parallax is knocked to the ground, wounded badly.
The three heroes regroup and begin to approach the downed Parallax. At that moment, Hal’s body begins to shine a brilliant yellow energy from itself. In a flash of blinding light the Parallax entity emerges from Hal’s body!
He easily knocks the 2 GL’s aside and grabs hold of Warrior Guy Gardner before he can create another weapon. He pummels Guy over and over, repeatedly until he loses consciousness. As Parallax is rendering Guy immobile, John goes to check on his friend, who his barely alive and breathing. He awakens him, and as Hal is dazed and feels out of place, he sees this enormous yellow creature beating to a bloody mess an innocent man and Hal instinctively fires a precision beam directly at the monster. Hitting it directly in the arm and severing it. He drops Guy and Kyle rushes to his aid. The Parallax entity turns it’s focus on Hal and John, and while John is helping his old friend to his feet, he is knocked clear and Hal drops back to the ground. Still dazed and groggy, Hal is grabbed by Parallax and squeezed with such immense pressure that the man screams in agony. As Kyle helps Guy regain consciousness John rushes to the aid of Hal and creates a construct of armor around himself, looking like an Emerald Knight he flies directly into the abdomen of the entity and fells him. Hal is released and thanks John. He turns his attention to the other 3 heroes and takes off a couple of the rings, he gives the 2 GLs 1 ring each and offers Guy 2. Guy refuses telling him he doesn’t need rings. He IS a weapon. Believing that the extra rings give them even more power, the 3 remaining GL’s and Guy go directly for the Parallax entity, they find the beast and begin to blast him with extremely powerful blasts of energy that can be seen from the surface of the Earth. The battle rages and as the 4 heroes work together, Parallax is slowly being defeated. Energy blast and armored constructs abound. Parallax uses his own energy to stave off the onslaught momentarily, but can’t continue his defense.
The 4 heroes continue the salvo and Parallax is beaten back repeatedly, and every now and then comes with his own energy beams, inflicting fear into the hearts of the men attacking him, which is soon pushed aside as the heroes work together, endlessly beating back the monster at all turns. Parallax flees the surface in a last ditch effort to save itself, as the creature flies through space, the heroes follow and continue their onslaught, repeatedly firing and being fired upon. Faster and faster they travel until the come upon a devastated planet, which looks to have been wrought by war for centuries. But it hasn’t it is Oa! What remains of the planet does not go unnoticed by the heroes, especially Hal, but they are aware they have to defeat this creature at all costs for it may be the difference between life and death of the entire universe. They hit Parallax with a combined blast and knock the creature to the ground. It lay unconscious momentarily before awakening and fire blasts that send the heroes in all directions. Knocked back, but not out, the heroes recover and move in towards the creature that is badly damaged and unable to get up; it fires repeated blasts at them, which are deflected over and over until they are on top of the creature. The heroes begin to pummel it with large fist constructs, Guy hitting it with all the energy he can muster from himself. The entity screeches in agony and tries desperately to releases a wave of energy, but it dissipates as quickly as it came. The creature has no energy left. It is defeated. John and Kyle encase Parallax in a Green energy cage and Hal goes to where the Central Power Battery once stood.
He is ashamed, but somehow, he finds the will within himself to begin to recreate the destroyed battery. As it grows and becomes a solid construct, beams of light pulse from all sides of the battery, bodies of dead corps members begin to rematerialize, flesh and tissue are repaired and replaced; life is put back into the bodies of the dead. Guardians reemerge and begin to breath life into those who are still fallen. Hal begins to glow with the brightest light ever produce by a single Lantern, his body becomes pure energy and as he is approached by the Guardians and his newly risen comrades, he smiles and states “I am sorry for what I have done to you all. It is time I replace what I have taken, what has been lost by my actions.” As he continues to speak, his body becomes more and more translucent. Finally he gives a barely audible “goodbye” and vanishes.
The Guardians look to John, Kyle and Guy who are holding the entity captive. The Green Lantern Corps surrounds them and begins to question what this thing is. Ganthet explains to all that this creature is the reason for the yellow impurity in their rings. Now that they are all aware of its existence, they can overcome that impurity. No longer held to the constraints of being defeated by yellow, The Green Lanterns rejoice at their newly found power. At this time, they Guardians imprison Parallax once again in the Central Power Battery. “If Hal is truly in there, he will know how to deal with this one.” Ganthet says.
Fade in to a memorial service in Hal’s honor, attended by all the GL Corps past and present, retired and active. It is shown, once again, Oa being rebuilt by the Guardians and Lanterns. The Guardians vowing to never again keep secretes from the Corps. As the doors to Hal’s bodiless mausoleum are closed, we pan out from the planet seeing the bustling Oa alive and well. Many Corps members training and many new recruits gather at orientation. The Central Battery glows brighter than ever before, and shines a beacon of hope throughout the universe.