Good news everybody, Jessica Cruz is back in the pages of the Green Lantern 2021 Annual #1, written by Ryan Cady with art by Sami Basri and Tom Derenick, color by HI-FI, and letters by Rob Leigh. This issue is a direct continuation of the Jessica Cruz story in Future State Green Lantern #1, by mostly the same creative team. This issue was actually delayed because of some COVID-related shipping and supply chain problems, so it takes place before the events of Green Lantern #5, despite it coming out the same day as Green Lantern #6. That said, it’s self-contained contained enough that you can read it pretty much whenever without it being a problem, though you’ll get more out of it if you read Jessica’s story in Future State Green Lantern #1 first.
Despite her Green Lantern ring being de-powered, Jessica managed to defend her Sector House from three Yellow Lanterns, and then used one of their rings to travel to New Korugar and return them to Sinestro. But since Jessica isn’t used to manipulating fear this way, she quickly loses control of her own power to a ringless Lyssa Drak, leaving her trapped powerless on a planet under the control of Sinestro and his forces.
Control is actually a big theme going through Green Lantern right now, especially pertaining to the Sinestro Corps. Jessica is granted the freedom to come and go as she pleases while on New Korugar…no guards, no restraints, because they’re not necessary. Sinestro has molded this world into his image of a perfect, orderly society where nobody acts out of turn because they know they’d never get away with it, because Sinestro is always watching. It’s the kind of fearful peace that Sinestro would tell you is idyllic despite it being just totalitarian enough to undercut any positive message he tries to send. Because make no mistake, Sinestro treats individual people the same way he does society as a whole: he controls them through the illusion of freedom. If he has a use for you, you’ll do what he asks, and you’ll even think it was your idea.
Sinestro saw Jessica’s potential to be a member of his Corps, and made sure her only path forward was to accept it, even though he framed it as a choice that was up to her. Even when she rejects his offer, he tells her that a yellow ring is the only transportation home he can offer her, guaranteeing that she has to continue using it. Sinestro knows that the longer she keeps that ring, the harder it’ll be to give it up. This is the kind of manipulation, the kind of control, that makes Sinestro so dangerous…he tricks you into believing you have more agency than you actually do, so you believe you made the decision yourself. Which is great for him, because if you think you chose this for yourself, you’re not very likely to try and rebel against him like you would if he was open about forcing you down this path.
Jessica wants to go back to Earth, and Sinestro created a situation where they only way to do that is for her to put on a yellow ring and fly there herself, knowing that she’d have experiences on the way that would change her mind about the power of fear. When Jessica talks about fear, it comes from her own experience of being terrified all the time, and her perception of the Sinestro Corps is that they inflict that terror on others. Sinestro counters that by saying fear is something that everyone has in common, it unifies us, and the ring can let you find those who are the most afraid and help them. And this is how Sinestro gets you, because that part’s true, Jessica sees it for herself. She’s able to reach out with the ring and feel the fear in the hearts of people across the galaxy, not as an overwhelming experience, but as an empathetic one. And when she finds a badly damaged ship filled with panicking people, that’s when the manipulation really starts. Sinestro’s voice comes through the ring, assuring Jessica that all those people will die unless they start working together, and that she has the power to make it happen. All she has to do is reach out, feel their fears, and use those fears to push these people in the right direction. Using fear to control people is something Jessica would never even consider doing, but that was before she understood that fear could be about empathy, that a little manipulation can be okay if the right person is doing it, that the ends justify the means. This is how Sinestro gets you.
Ironically, it’s Hal Jordan that ensures Jessica will decide to keep the ring. This whole situation with the ship in danger is happening right near Earth, so Hal shows up and is incredibly upset at the sight of Jessica wearing a Sinestro Corps uniform. He is so personally offended that Jessica is wearing yellow, it’s kind of absurd, especially since there’ve been at least two instances where Hal had to use Sinestro Corps rings when he didn’t have the option of using his green ring. Hal is being a tremendous jerk here, to the point that it feels out of character, though I get why it’s like this…Jessica’s had a mostly positive experience with the power of fear since leaving New Korugar, so Hal showing up and ranting about how extremely terrible fear is just reinforces to Jessica that Green Lanterns don’t really get it, that Hal is wrong and fear can be good. I would’ve preferred it if Hal wasn’t so belligerent, but ultimately it was the last push Jessica needed to be convinced that what Sinestro said about the power of fear was right.
This whole experience made Jessica believe that fear doesn’t have to be a bad thing, and that maybe if the right person has this power, they can do a lot of good with it. She still doesn’t trust Sinestro, but now she trusts herself, and thinks that as long as she’s there, the power of fear can be put to good use and help everyone. And maybe she’s right, maybe this is an incredible opportunity that’ll have a positive impact on both Jessica and the universe. Or maybe allowing her to think that is just Sinestro’s way of manipulating her fears, and getting her to do what he wants.
It’s been a few years since Jessica Cruz was the star of a Green Lantern book, and this issue reminds me just how much I miss it. Because of her history, Jessica is in a unique position to explore some of the core concepts of Green Lantern in ways that the other characters can’t, and issues like this hi light the storytelling potential inherent to her, as our understanding of Green Lantern mythology will organically expand just by following her natural character arc.
Using a Green Lantern ring taught Jessica how to muster enough willpower to deal with her fears, how to keep them from overwhelming her. And now that she’s able to do that, using a Yellow Lantern ring will teach her about the nature of fear itself, and let her learn directly about this thing that’s defined her life for so long. I remember seeing some people voice concerns that Jessica joining the Sinestro Corps would mean giving in to fear and regressing as a character, but If anything it’s allowing her to move forward in a way that was never possible before, and I can’t wait to see more of it. I love the dynamic between her and Sinestro, I love this rivalry between her and Lyssa Drak, and I really hope we get to see Jess interact with Soranik Natu, who’s also a former Green Lantern who joined the Sinestro Corps, and has a unique perspective on Sinestro and all he’s built because she’s his daughter. But overall, I’m very happy, and I hope this issue is a sign of things to come.
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