Green Lanterns #50 Kills [SPOILER] as the Rings Go Haywire

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for Green Lanterns #50 by Dan Jurgens, Mike Perkins, Andy Troy, and Pete Pantazis, in stores now.

Something is not right in the universe. In the first issue of their run on Green Lanterns, Dan Jurgens and Mike Perkins introduce a new, mysterious threat working its way through the Green Lantern Corps. Kyle Rayner is serving as a mentor to the book's stars Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz when GL Corps Leader John Stewart comes under attack from a new spacefaring army and a superpowered alien dynamo. Solicitations for the story mentioned an infection inside the Central Power Battery, and it looks like trust within the ranks is this new threat's first target.

Green Lantern power rings aren't operating the way they are supposed to, leaving their wielders vulnerable to attacks. Conditions have gotten dangerous on Mogo, the sentient GL who doubles as the current headquarters of the Green Lanterns. And it all ends with a major death under suspicious circumstances that should have all hands on deck. The greatest danger the Green Lantern Corps has ever faced may be one from within their own ranks.

The Rings Have Gone Wrong

A Green Lantern's most trusted weapon is their ring, so what happens when they can no longer trust it? Serving as a weapon, a database of knowledge, and a communication device, the Green Lantern power rings are no longer doing what they are supposed to. John Stewart is on a mission in deep space when he comes across a galactic force and a powerful alien entity known as Eon. Unable to take them all in a direct fight, he tries to call for reinforcements, but the ring does not comply.

Instead of calling in backup, the ring reports that everything is fine from John's location, despite the fact that he is currently engaged in combat. The ring also proves to be unreliable in battle, having no knowledge of his attackers and being unable to track his opponent's location. Just as the enemy is overpowering him, John tries one more time to send out an S.O.S., but this time the ring flat out refuses to obey his command. This betrayal leaves the Corps leader defeated and clinging to death.

Meanwhile, Kyle, Simon and Jessica head back to Mogo, where they find the entire Green Lantern Corps in disarray. The Guardians have lost contact with many Lanterns out on patrol, as well as a multitude of planets under their care. The weather on the planet becomes out of control, leading to destructive winds taking apart entire buildings with ease. The Corps has certainly seen better days, but this disaster could prove to be the group's undoing, as far as securing the known universe is concerned.

Just as Jessica needs her ring the most, it too falters in its duties, declaring that her priority should be in protecting herself instead of saving those who may be hurt by falling debris. "Your priority is yourself, Jessica. The situation is not as it seems," the ring explains. "Guard your trust carefully." The issue ends with Jessica's ring offering her a warning as she stands over a freshly murdered body. "You must not trust Lantern Baz," it says of her long-time partner, "Or anyone else for that matter." It is here we should understand that something is very wrong.

Admittedly, Jessica Cruz has always had a unique bond with her Green Lantern ring. While the rest of the Corps use their rings as tools, she talks to it as if it were a friend, and as a result the ring has grown something of a personality. Its concern for her safety is not the surprising part, it's the fact that the ring is essentially sowing the seeds of distrust among the Green Lantern Corps that make this new threat look ugly.

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Green Lanterns die all the time; it's just part of the job. So what death could is so terrible that it would actually put the entire Green Lantern Corps on high alert? As the Guardians gather in Green Lanterns #50, they realize their near omnipotence has been disturbed, and it is made clear that one of their own is missing. At the end of the issue, during the terrible storm on Mogo, one of the Guardians of the Universe was murdered.

The Guardian known as Kada Sal is no more, and Simon Baz has been found standing over the body. Jessica Cruz's ring seems to suspect him of wrongdoing, and given the fact that Kada Sal seemed to recognize his attacker, things don't look good for the Green Lantern Corps. The death of a Guardian is no small occurrence. Over the years many have died, and it's an event that can never be taken lightly. The original Guardians were murdered during Hal Jordan's descent into villainy. A Guardian is killed in the battle against Superboy-Prime. Scar is defeated during Blackest Night. Krona is beaten at the end of "War of the Green Lanterns." The remaining Guardians are then eliminated by Sinestro in "Wrath of the First Lantern."

Ganthet and Sayd recently joined with the remnants of the Templar Guardians to form a new iteration of the Guardians of the Universe. These six Malthusian represented their dwindling race's last chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of the Green Lantern Corps and the universe at large. Following the Corps' trip through time and their war with the Darkstars, this new group of Guardians was supposed to usher in a new era of safety throughout the cosmos, but there can be no peace when the visionaries themselves are under attack.

The death of a Guardian of the Universe is sure to kick off a sweeping story that could ultimately bring the Green Lantern Corps to their knees. If something has infected the Central Power Battery, like Parallax before, and is now interfering with the abilities of the power rings and the actions of their users, everything changes. This is a cosmic whodunnit in the making, but it's also very close to a doomsday scenario. Can the Green Lantern Corps trust each other long enough to overcome this latest threat, or is the death of a Guardian only the beginning?