Death Quest to Qward

 

Cover art by Dick Giodano

Green Lantern #125 (Feb. 1980) begins with GL blocking off a portal that leads to Qward. That won't keep either Sinestro or the Qwardians in Qward, but will keep a stray human from wandering into that less-than-friendly world.

Writer Denny O'Neil and artist Joe Staton keep things moving quickly. Hal tries to report to his new job at Ferris Aircraft, but he ticks off his boss by almost immediately getting a signal that someone has set off the alarm he left set near the portal.

At the portal, he discovers Sinestro returning to Earth, clearing the rock barrier around the portal to do so. There's a brief ring-vs-ring battle, then Hal sets off gas bombs he had planted earlier. This gives him enough of an advantage to take Sinestro's yellow power ring. 

Sinestro retreats through the portal. Hal knows Sinestro can get a new ring from the Weaponers of Qward, but takes a moment to recharge his ring before pursuing. While he's doing this, though, a kid wanders into the portal.

On Qward, Hal dodges a convoy of Weaponer vehicles, reaches the Weaponers' fortress, outsmarts and knocks out a guard, then gains entrance. He soon knocks out the Weaponer who is in the process of making Sinestro's new ring. (The guy also mentions that General Fabrikant is developing a weather control device for an invasion.)

It looks like Hal is in position to take Sinestro by surprise, but that Earth kid shows up and gets underfoot. Sinestro gets his ring. And Hal's ring--well, it doesn't work inside the Weaponers' fortress.

               

Hal keeps his head, though, using one of the lightning javelins carried by the guard he early knocked out to stun Sinestro. 

Once back outside, his ring works again. He quickly returns to Earth with the kid in tow.

Once back, though, he sees evidence that others have been through the portal. He adds up the convoy he saw, the absense of men & weapons from the fortress, and the mention of a weather control device. This tells him that the Weaponers have invaded Earth.

 

This is a great issue. It starts out in high gear and keeps moving rapidly, telling the story well and keeping the action almost non-stop. Hal is required to use his brains in addition to his ring to survive. Also, the story drops in a clue to a plot development we'll see in the next issue. The Weaponer general whose name was mentioned is Fabrikant. The kid who "accidentally" wandered into Qward and "accidentally" messed up Hal's chance to get Sinestro is Fabian. It's a nifty clue that gave the readers a chance to pick up on it, but subtle enough so that many readers would miss it. 

Next week, we'll return to the Marvel Universe to see how the Thing and Thor are doing against an army of undead. In two weeks, we'll return here to visit again with Hal Jordan.