I've wanted to do my own annotations ever since this series debuted, inspired by the likes of "Deep Space Transmissions". This issue has a lot to unpack so I hope you enjoy!
Page 1 - Earth 36 is home to the super team "Justice 9". Members include Optiman (who was killed by Superdoom back in Morrison's Action Comics run), Red Racer (Flash analogue), and Flashlight the Green Lantern analogue of this universe. Red Racer and Flashlight were romantically involved until Racer's death during the "Multiplicity" arc in Tomasi's Superman run.
This "Custodian Dextra" also appears to be a Harbinger analogue.
Page 2 - Earth 47 is home to the "Love Syndicate of Dreamworld", who first appeared in Morrison's Animal Man run (Issue 24). "Magic Lantern" seems to be in conflict with aliens resembling the Blue Meanies from the Yellow Submarine animated film.He is then contacted by the Galactic Guru who bears striking resemblance to the Living Guru, a character who appeared in Morrison's Doom Patrol run (Issue 53) during one of Danny the Street's Dreams.
Page 3 - Earth 32 is home to Bat-Lantern who first appeared in the Elseworlds story Batman: In Darkest Knight, which depicts a world where Bruce Wayne received a lantern ring from Abin Sur.
The Shark seems to be Penguin mashed up with... a shark I guess. Since Alfred's death back in the original story, Bat-Lantern seems to be maintaining a construct version of him dubbed as Penny-Two.
Page 5 - We get the dialogue from the ending of last issue from the perspective of Fekk and Samandra, companions of Hal Jordan, who have been trapped on the other side of the crystal prison.Bat-Lantern and Magic Lantern's witty banter is fantastic by the way.
Page 7 - Flashlight teleports the group away from Athmoora, leaving behind Fekk and Samandra, who comment that Hal has left them before to "fight hims battles up an' past the sky." An hourglass is seen in the bottom right panel, and could have some significance with the planet as a concerned Fekk looks at it.
Page 8 - Hal and the Qwa-Man fight between universe as they fall through the Bleed. Also kind of weird how the Bleed is cobalt/metallic instead of its usual red. Could possibly have something to do with the shattering of the Source Wall and the fact that the Multiverse is dying.The pseudo-cg design is reminiscent of the late Scott Clark's art who illustrated the heavily criticized Batman Incorporated (Vol 1) #8 (also written by Morrison).
Page 9 - As the battle comes to a climax, Hal is wounded while casting the Qwa-man into what is later revealed to be the Dark Multiverse. He faints just as he is rescued by the other Lanterns.
Page 10 - Hal awakens on "UUGO" (another planetary Lantern) and is greeted by Strong-Woman (aka Marta) who we last saw leaving to warn the United Planets and GL Corps of the colossal "Gamma Monster" that had decimated her teammates. She also mentions a "hole gouged through space-time".
Page 11 - "...they ripped its heart out" is a reference to Controller Mu operating on the Qwa-Man in Issue 1 (he literally says "extract the heart of the Weaponeer!").
Page 12 - Our first glimpse of UUGO, the conscious planet. Including Hyperia-3 (the living-sun lantern introduced in issue 4), Morrison seems to want to give Mogo some friends (and possible love interests). UUGO is also home to the headquarters of the "Green Lanterns of the Multiverse."
Page 13 - The "Guardians of the Multiverse" in their full glory, including Stan Lee's "Just Imagine"
GL Leonard Lewis (Earth 6), the magical Tangent Universe GL (Earth 9), the Batman Beyond GL Kai-Ro (Earth 12), and John Stewart from Obama-Superman's universe (Earth 23).
Hal explains that some profiteers (possibly from the mining colony) created a rift between the positive and Antimatter universes, allowing "sickness" to spread. He also mentions that this event has potentially caused Green Lanterns from all across the Multiverse to disappear.Abin Sur reveals that he was forced to restrain the Qwa-Man on Athmoora until Hal arrived by a Blackstar "mindwriter" (hence the violent nature last issue). He then mentions that they've received a distress call from Earth 15 sent by their ally Star Sapphire of Earth 11.
Earth 15 was the planet that Superboy-Prime destroyed in Countdown to Final Crisis (Issue 24), while Earth 11 is home to the gender-swapped versions of DC Heroes. Earth 15 was also revealed to be the home of Volthoom the First Lantern (Green Lanterns #17).Page 14 - While Tangent GL gives Hal a rundown of the Multiverse, Abin Sur mentions the "Seven Unknown Worlds of the Multiverse", an idea Morrison introduced during his Multiversity series (Multiversity Guidebook). The seven being Earth 14, Earth 24, Earth 25, Earth 27, Earth 28, Earth 46, and Earth 49.
One of the unknown worlds, Earth 14, was showcased during Tomasi's Multiplicity as home to the Justice League of Assassins (Superman #14). John Stewart theorizes that the worlds could be "cosmic support structures", as "architecture = frozen music" hearkening back to the theme of music and vibrations associated with the Multiverse.
The group then gathers around the "Transmatter cube", a device allowing for instant travel across the multiverse. Grant first introduced the Cube in his Action Comics run (issue 9), where that world's Luthor had built it in a "drug fueled" haze, and it was subsequently used in his Muliversity series. This issue reveals that all Transmatter Cubes are one object present in all realities.
The Lanterns present include Volk (Volcano head), Xax (the bug one), Chriselon (the crystal one) and Brokk (the jellyfish one). They have a humorous exchange with Halk Kar, emulating the interference with police procedurals by (in this case) a superpowered bystander.
Page 17 - Volk surmises that the cargo (containing the Qwa-Man) was transported through the rift created by the mining operation, where it then arrived on Weirweiimm (the bug planet seen in issue 4), then transported through Ventura by he smugglers where it would kill a Green Lantern and be experimented on by Controller Mu.
Chriselon confronts Volk regardng rumors of a secret conspiracy involving Hal Jordan and the Guardians, but they are intrupted by the arrival of the Gamma Monster that crushed the heroes of Superwatch.
Page 18 - The Lantern squadron arrives on Earth 15 only to find it reduced to a decimated wasteland.
Page 19 - As they look for Star Sapphire, Tangent Green Lantern states that "only the dead remain here", as she uses her Lantern/staff to summon them. Also, Bat-Lantern's pose in the right-most panel is fantastic.Page 20 - Tangent Lantern summons the spirits of the dead trinity of Earth 15. On this "perfect earth", Superman was Zod, Batman was Jason Todd, and Wonder Woman was Donna Troy. Tangent Lantern tells them that the Multiverse is sick, asking them if the "cup" (The Cosmic Grail) holds the cure.
Page 21 - The Trinity denies this, stating that the cup holds only "poison", "darkness" and "cruelty". Bat-Lantern loses contact with the Guardians back on UUGO, while Tangent Lantern's staff explodes, causing her to age rapidly.
Page 22 - The group is then confronted by a tall, armor-plated being holding what resembles Tangent Lantern's Lantern/Staff. He refers to them as "Companions of the Living Lantern"; the Living Lantern being either Tangent Lantern, the Cosmic Grail they are pursuing, or something else entirely. He then states that he has a tale to tell, while a planetary object (perhaps Earth 15's moon) prepares to eclipse the Sun.
Thanks for reading!
