GREEN LANTERN #85 – 86

”SNOWBIRDS DON’T FLY!” | “THEY SAY IT’LL KILL ME… BUT THEY WON’T SAY WHEN!”
Script: Denny O’Neil | Art: Neal Adams | Inks: Dick Giordano (#86)
Editor: Julie Schwartz

I think I said this up front when I began this review series, but it bears repeating as we begin a look at this, the best-known story from the O'Neil/Adams GREEN LANTERN/GREEN ARROW run: I don't, as a rule, object entirely to social messages in superhero comics. My objection tends to be more on a case-by-case basis. Look at it this way: when these stories were originally published in 1970-71, comics’ target market was still ostensibly children. And while I do believe children are more complex than we often give them credit for, with their own fears and issues, I don't believe it's the purview of a mainstream superhero comic to introduce them to the concepts of white guilt, overpopulation, or, errm… plastic cities.

But by the same token, I do believe that superhero comics should teach appreciation for all races and creeds, and they should certainly tackle problems which the children reading them might actually encounter. No child will give a second thought to overpopulation. It means nothing to them. But do a story about, say, bullying or drugs, and then you're sending a message which your target audience can comprehend and appreciate, and which may actually resonate with them.

Which brings us to GREEN LANTERN issues 85 and 86. The story follows our heroes as they chase down the junkies who mugged Green Arrow using a crossbow that fired one of his own shafts at him. This quest leads them to Arrow’s ward, Speedy, among the junkies. As the cover to part one implies, this story hinges largely on GA actually being a little ignorant — or at least blind — as he initially assumes Speedy is undercover and never once guesses the awful truth revealed on the final page (and totally spoiled by the cover): Speedy is a junkie himself!

Green Lantern is essentially a supporting character in this tale, serving as Green Arrow’s sidekick as they search the mean streets for Speedy, and functioning as the squarest of straight men — he practically reaches the point of full-blown parody with his “Drugs? What are these drugs of which you speak?” routine as Green Arrow opens his eyes, per usual, to the awful societal truth he's never before recognized.

That said, though O’Neil overplays GL’s naïveté, I don't necessarily mind him serving as a “square” here. Someone needs to be the POV character to learn about drugs on behalf of the audience, and as GL isn't exactly connected to the youth of today, unlike GA, the role suits him in theory. O'Neil just goes a bit overboard with it.

He also comes across well in part two, as Green Arrow abandons Speedy upon learning he's an addict. It's Green Lantern who searches for the boy and brings him to Black Canary for some help while he goes looking for Green Arrow. For perhaps the first time in this run, O'Neil presents Green Arrow as the more unsympathetic of the co-headliners. He may be socially progressive and liberal, but he's no bleeding heart. He has absolutely no patience for addicts and seems to believe they're beneath contempt, viewing them as weak-willed failures rather than victims of circumstance. It's a curious direction to take the character, given what we've seen on him so far, but I appreciate O'Neil giving him a bit of a failing at last.

Green Lantern, on the other hand, is shown throughout both chapters as genuinely concerned for the various junkies, always looking to go easy on them, understanding they need help. He's also interested in how someone could spiral down the path to addiction in the first place. I think (though it's possible I'm mistaken) that later writers would reveal Hal Jordan’s father was an alcoholic, which I suppose retroactively gives some reason for his interest in addiction.

Basically, at this point in the run, O'Neil has found a Green Lantern I like. He's not the black-and-white, blind authoritarian O'Neil tried to present him as early on, but he's still a pretty square, forthright guy tempered by some degree of compassion. It really works. And, as a bonus, part one features a great GL bit in which both our heroes are hopped up on junk by dealers after stumbling into a trap, but the Lantern quickly shakes off the drugs’ effect with some goading by Speedy. It makes sense since Hal Jordan is renowned for his courage and willpower, and it's an exceptionally grand, heroic moment in a series which has had very, very few of them thus far.