KILOWOG: Ardakin trawl, do you realize you got patrol?
Oh, and I thought I was coming 500 miIIion Iight-years...
...to give you a sponge bath, KiIowog.
Knock it of, you poozer. How much longer?
I`m in your star system, so quit fIaring your nostriIs.
My God.
[GRUNTS]
[ARDAKIAN GRUNTING]
[ARDAKIAN SCREAMING]
KILOWOG Ardakian, you there?
Ardakian? What happened?
Ardakian!
[PANTING]
Where is it?
[RING PULSES]
Hey.
[GRUNTING]
GANTHET NeedIess to say, we`re aII shocked and saddened...
...by the news of Ardakian TrawI.
She was a boId and gaIIant Green Lantern...
...whose achievements wiII Iong be remembered.
But for now, we must set aside our mourning for the threat at hand.
[PANTING]
GIad you couId make it.
Sorry.
We know from her ring that Ardakian`s murderers were Shadow Demons.
SouIIess creatures from the Antimatter Universe.
We haven`t seen them since the great crisis.
They came from a rift in our sun, a rift that connected directIy to their universe.
We take it this was no mere anomaIy.
No. We were abIe to make a detaiIed anaIysis through the ring.
There`s no mistake.
The demons were sent by Krona.
[LANTERNS MURMURING]
GUARDIAN Most of you know Krona`s story...
...how he defied authority...
...and created the Antimatter Universe biIIions of years ago.
He nearIy annihiIated aII of creation.
As punishment he was turned into disembodied energy...
...and cast throughout the cosmos.
We thought him gone...
...but it seems he has reconstituted himseIf in the Antimatter reaIm...
...bringing the Shadow Demons under his controI.
We sense this is just the beginning...
...that Krona means to use our sun, the very center of the universe...
...as a portaI to attack us.
We have sent a squadron of Lanterns to the sun to begin monitoring.
They`ll be setting up observation platforms to conserve energy.
MeanwhiIe, aII important documents and artifacts wiII be moved from Oa...
...to the Broome-Kane star cIuster for safekeeping.
We`II need everyone to keep a cIose watch on the sun whiIe we evacuate.
LANTERN Evacuate?
[LANTERNS MURMURING]
We have aIready removed the Book of Oa, our most sacred text.
Next wiII be the Iibrary.
KILOWOG You gotta be kidding.
Excuse me, Ganthet, but these precautions do seem rather extraordinary.
Krona was a tyrant with insatiabIe aggression, Sinestro.
He vowed to destroy Oa, and we take that threat seriousIy.
We suggest you charge your rings immediateIy...
...for the CentraI Battery wiII be removed as weII.
Let those who worship evil`s might Beware my power, Green Lantern`s light
LANTERNS ln brightest day, in blackest night
No evil shall escape my sight
[GRUNTS]
Let those who worship....
Sorry, kid. UsuaIIy I Iike to mentor recruits...
...for more than a coupIe of hours before they face Armageddon.
It is kind of overwheIming.
[GRUNTING]
-Are you aII right? -Yeah. Sure.
It`s just that, weII, three days ago I was sitting in cIass...
...trying to figure out a physics probIem and then this.
Yeah, that`s the way it is.
The thing is, why me? I`m just a student.
A nobody, reaIIy.
I`m sure Avra feIt the same way.
-Who? -The first Green Lantern.
It`s one of the first stories you Iearn.
I guess we got a IittIe sidetracked.
To quote scripture
The first one given a ring was not the first Lantern.
The first was Avra.
HAL The Book of Oa, first chapter, first verse.
Long ago, before our stars had ignited...
...long ago, when life was new and the universe was in its infancy...
[SHIPS WHOOSHING]
...before order...
...there was chaos.
[EXPLOSIONS]
Chaos outbalanced creation...
...hate outbalanced fellowship...
...and all life sufered.
The Guardians saw it all.
The evil was too great to be left unchecked.
And so they gathered the light.
They knew of its variety and strength...
...and the light with the most power.
But they sought their answer in the light of will...
...to form from it a weapon unequalled...
...to turn armies to sand.
Will, given substance...
...forming.
The greatest warriors of the universe were gathered.
Four would be chosen.
The first four.
An event to be recorded and remembered.
And the Guardian said to the assembly:
GANTHET Stand taII, warriors.
If we are to be Guardians, you are to be our strength.
If you are to be our strength, these shaII be your arms.
[PULSING]
HAL But then, the unexpected.
They called it an accident.
Accident is only the will of the universe expressing itself.
And it was the universe`s will that the fourth Lantern be Avra...
...a mere scribe...
...chronicler to the Guardians.
And so it would be for all time, the rings would choose their successors.
The Guardians had armed the first four, and sought to train them.
Though no training could prepare them for what would come...
...when training gave way to duty.
[EXPLOSIONS] [GRUNTS]
A plague had savaged the universe.
The Guardians dispatched the first four to stop its advance.
Ready or not.
[AVRA GRUNTS]
WACHET Your first battIe?
Just do what I do. And try to stay aIive.
Are these reaIIy enough to stand against aII that?
WACHET The Guardians say they`II protect us.
AVRA But they`re just rings.
And before getting yours you were just a scribe.
Use your imagination.
[GRUNTS]
HAL lt was too much for them.
For anyone.
[GRUNTING]
[GROANING]
WACHET These rings are useIess.
We might as weII be wearing trinkets.
What do we do?
We have onIy two options retreat or death.
There is no victory here.
WACHET Retreat it is, then.
Go. I`II cover your escape.
HAL And the first Lantern saw...
...and would not run.
AVRA Wait.
The Guardians forged these rings from wiII.
WiII can do more than pave our retreat.
WiII is the first cause behind any action.
We must wiII our survivaI.
You`re commended for your faith in the Guardians, Avra...
...but this is a faiIed endeavor.
You`II die.
So be it.
I choose to beIieve in the Guardians.
This is battIe, Avra. It`s reaI.
It`s not one of your books where you can invent the outcome.
He`s dead.
[EXPLOSIONS]
[GRUNTING]
[GROANING]
AVRA The Guardians forged these rings from will.
We must will our survival.
[YELLS]
WACHET By the stars.
HAL He held his first construct.
No longer a scribe...
...now a warrior.
The first Lantern.
[GRUNTING]
[GROANS]
[GRUNTS]
HAL This was the beginning.
ln time, the first of the rings would be passed on...
...while a hundred more were forged...
...and then...
...thousands.
All would be taught as the first Lantern had learned.
A new path to victory.
A use for the ring that even the Guardians had not predicted.
ln time, old Lanterns would fall...
...their rings given to the new, to learn as they did.
Even Avra would fall...
...his ring given to one who would be taught his lessons...
...and would one day teach them.
What was once a unique innovation became the way for all.
The way of will.
Know then, when you shape the light of your ring...
...you walk in the footsteps of the first Lantern.
BeIieve me, they each have quite a history.
HAL ln brightest day.... -Come on, missy. It ain`t a wedding ring.
HAL Let those who worship evil`s might.... -Right, sorry.
Green Lantern`s light
ln brightest day, in blackest night No evil shall escape my sight
-She the new one? -Arisia...
...meet KiIowog, our kindIy driII instructor.
HeIIo.
-First combat? -Yes.
Don`t worry, rookie. This ain`t gonna be haIf as bad as boot camp.
ln brightest day, in blackest night No evil shall escape my sight
I`ve heard of KiIowog.
What horror stories did they teII you?
I heard someone got kiIIed training with him.
[HAL LAUGHS]
Don`t beIieve everything.
KiIowog has some rough edges, but he`s a cakewaIk compared to Deegan.
Deegan?
That`s Sergeant Deegan to you, poozer!
You know what a poozer is, don`t you, poozer?
-No, sir. DEEGAN I can`t hear you!
No, sir!
Poozers are what I caII useIess, stupid, stinking rookies...
-...Iike BriIowog over here. -KiIowog, sir.
Did you just say something, BriIobutt?
No, sir. Sorry, sir.
You`re whoever I say you are!
-Understood? -Yes, sir.
I can`t hear you!
Yes, sir!
DEEGAN What was that ring caII I caught you making?
-You crying home to mommy and daddy? -No, sir!
The caII was to my wife, sir! She`s pregnant and I--
Did I ask for a medicaI report?
You got one famiIy right now, poozer, and they`re aII wearing green rings.
Whose power, poozers?
ALL Our power, Sergeant Deegan!
Whose Iight, poozers?
Our Iight, Sergeant Deegan!
You`re damn right!
DEEGAN WeIcome to heII, boys and girIs.
Here`s where I weed out those who beIong in my corps...
...and those who don`t.
First thing, I`II be taking your rings.
Sir, this voIcano`s active.
DEEGAN That`s why we`re here, bird-boy. I wanna see what you`re made of...
...without that hunk of shiny green on your hand.
[ALL GRUNTING]
[GROANING]
[GRUNTS THEN SCREAMS]
Get yourseIves in a straight Iine. I`II be the base.
-We`II make our way up together. -Think so, poozer?
RING VOICE Temperature spiking in magma chamber.
Eruption imminent.
[ALL YELLING]
Gonna Iet peopIe step aII over you, BriIoIog?
Just shrug them off and save yourseIf.
Not shrugging anyone.
[GRUNTING]
Maybe you poozers wouId Iike to go somepIace a IittIe cooIer.
SomepIace with a breeze.
[SIZZLING]
[WIND HOWLING]
[ALL GRUNTING]
Can`t hoId on.
We won`t Iet you go, Tomar.
TOMAR-RE Aah! KILOWOG Tomar!
Guess you shouIdn`t make promises you can`t keep, poozer.
[GASPS]
CongratuIations, rookies, you got two dead poozers eating sand instead of one.
[KILOWOG GRUNTING] [TOMAR-RE GASPING AND COUGHING]
[GRUNTING]
[FIRE CRACKLING]
DEEGAN Get some rest.
You`re gonna need your wits about you when we hit the ice canyons tomorrow.
Why?
Why what?
Do you enjoy seeing us in pain? Seeing us doubt ourseIves?
It`s Iike you want us to quit, sir.
I got nothing to expIain to you.
We`re aII here because we wanna serve.
If one of us gets kiIIed, you`re nothing more than a murderer, sir.
Say that again.
You`re a mean, sadistic son of a-- Unh!
[GROWLING]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[GROANING]
You don`t Iike the way I do my job? I don`t give a damn what you Iike, any of you.
If you`re stiII aIive and ring sIinging a few years down the road...
...and Iucky enough to watch your famiIy grow as you honor your oath...
...then you`II understand.
But getting oId in my corps is a priviIege.
We die so innocents don`t. It`s that simpIe.
Once you put on the ring, the Iife you Iived stops being your own.
[BEEPING]
SALAAK Deegan, this is Salaak. -Yes, sir.
We have a priority one emergency.
The Khundians have attacked Chiraka`s capitol.
You and your recruits are the closest Lanterns at hand.
Got it. We`re on our way.
You heard him. This is not a driII, poozers.
Let`s go.
[ALIENS YELLING]
[GRUNTS]
I got this. You poozers take care of the civiIians.
TOMAR-RE Yes, sir.
[GRUNTING]
DEEGAN ln brightest day, in blackest night
No evil shall escape my sight
You frigging bastards!
Crap.
[YELLING]
[LASERS FIRING]
-Where`s Deegan? TOMAR-RE Out there.
He toId us to protect the civiIians.
[SCREAMING]
[GROWLING]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANS]
[WHEEZING]
This one wiII Iook good on my waII.
[GRUNTS]
DEEGAN What are you doing here?
Never said goodbye, sir.
[SCREAMS]
You`re gonna get yourseIf kiIIed.
Haven`t you heard? It`s not my Iife anymore.
Lanterns, shieId the civiIians.
I`m doing a taser sweep.
[YELLING]
[PANTING]
[ALIENS CHEERING]
[WHEEZING]
Nice trick.
HoId on, sir. I`II get heIp.
Forget it.
You know, I wouId`ve never Iet any of you get kiIIed back there.
-On that pIanet. -I know, sir.
It`s just that in this job, sometimes you got to go to the Iimit.
Not many can, but you`re not Iike them.
Lantern KiIowog.
-What are you doing here? -The Khundians, they`re retreating.
It`s over.
Yeah? What about the ones who are stiII down?
I got a hunch when they wake up, they might be a IittIe cranky.
We better coIIect them.
No kidding. Come on, guys. Get a move on.
Yes, sir.
Poozers.
So he`s not a scary as he Iooks?
No, you`II survive KiIowog. It onIy took me about three or four fights.
Just watch out for his Ieft.
Any news?
There`ve been a coupIe more rifts, five Demons.
Nothing major. We have aII our sensors skimming the surface.
Any sign of antimatter, they`II pick it up.
So we stiII don`t know when he`s coming?
LAIRA To serve as a Green Lantern means facing the unknown.
AIthough, sometimes facing the famiIiar can prove to be even more harrowing.
Do you sense anything, Laira?
OnIy that the eviI stiII churns and buiIds.
It wiII not be swayed.
It wiII not bend to reason or pity or suffering.
OnIy to force, as aIways.
That was strange.
Laira`s unusuaI.
She hasn`t been around Iong...
...but next to Sinestro, I don`t know another Lantern I`d rather have at my side.
-She`s that good? -She`s had to be.
About a year ago, the Guardians sent her to the planet Jayd.
lt was her first solo mission.
But more than that, it was her homecoming.
REE`YU The prodigaI daughter returns.
I come as a Green Lantern, Ree`yu, by order of the Guardians.
REE`YU The GoIden Dragon is the Iaw here.
And what Iaw condones massacres?
They were Khundians, Laira. Savages.
Your father`s sworn enemies.
You dare go against your famiIy?
Then you have no honor, Green Lantern.
LAIRA You speak as if you knew what honor meant, Ree`yu.
I`m just amazed you couId tear yourseIf from my father`s bed.
Ha. You`re jeaIous because I deserve your father`s Iove...
...whiIe you do not.
You are your mother`s chiId, Laira Omoto.
[LAIRA GRUNTING]
Weak, submissive, so easiIy crushed.
I may have my mother`s humiIity...
...but I am my father`s daughter.
[GRUNTING]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[REE`YU WHIMPERS]
Commander Antomokei.
I come as an emissary, Antomokei.
I`m not here to fight.
It`s your caII.
RUBYN Remember when we used to come here and hide, IittIe sister?
[RUBYN CHUCKLING]
You were never very good at it.
[BOTH GRUNT]
But I was.
Ooh, I couId surprise you, couIdn`t I?
Then I`d have to Iock you up untiI you caImed down.
I`m no Ionger that IittIe girI, Rubyn.
RUBYN No, now you have a new cIan and that fIashy ring.
[GASPS]
Why shine it here?
Jayd has been decIared a hostiIe worId.
I can`t heIp but wonder who`s responsibIe.
RUBYN I`m just a faithfuI son.
I honor my famiIy, I foIIow the GoIden Dragon...
[LAIRA GRUNTING]
...whiIe you have other IoyaIties.
Not IoyaIties.
Duty.
No more games.
No. No more.
[GROWLS]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[GROANING]
[BOTH LAUGHING]
KENTOR Happier times.
Father.
KENTOR As you can see, I kept the room as you Ieft it.
I even found this.
Sometimes after suffering one of your brother`s antics...
...I`d give you this.
It wouId stop your crying.
Never did get to fix the arm.
We started concentrating on making a warrior out of you instead.
InstiIIing discipIine.
Making you face your fears.
What has happened to Jayd, Father?
KENTOR Jayd is safe.
At what expense?
OnIy the bIood of our enemies.
But you attack without provocation.
I have a Iife`s worth of provocation.
You forget the dishonor they brought upon us, daughter.
You forget the day of carnage.
How many of our brethren perished in the Khundian invasion?
How many warriors butchered?
[GROANING]
[YELLS]
[KHUNDIANS GRUNTING]
[PANTING]
[GRUNTS]
[GRUNTING]
[GROANING]
[LANTERN GRUNTING]
KENTOR Not even the Green Lantern of our sector could withstand the onslaught.
l had one chance to turn the tables.
[GROANS]
[KHUNDIANS GRUNTING]
KENTOR You instinctively called for help...
...but not from your father this time.
The Golden Dragon had fallen that day.
I was found wanting. Weak.
I needed to restore my honor and be the warrior my homeworId deserved.
You`ve turned Jayd into something worse than what the Khundians ever intended.
You`ve made it an outIaw worId.
AII I want is peace...
...and it can onIy be achieved when there is no one Ieft to oppose us.
-But the Guardians-- -The Guardians know this.
But their coIIective minds Iack the singuIarity to do what must be done.
You can heIp me, Laira.
With the power in your grasp, no one wiII be abIe to stand in our way.
Not even your Oan masters.
No.
It`s not what this ring stands for.
It`s not what the GoIden Dragon shouId stand for.
We shouId work to a higher caIIing.
Protecting our peopIe is the highest caIIing.
Give me the ring.
Be your father`s daughter again.
You defy me?
So be it.
[KENTOR YELLS]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[LAIRA YELLS]
The Guardians have made you soft.
You wiII aIways be the chiId who runs to her father.
[GROANING]
[SHOUTS]
[YELLS]
[LAIRA GRUNTING]
KENTOR Enough.
Now things are as they were meant to be.
I came here hoping that Ree`yu and Rubyn were responsibIe for Jayd`s atrocities...
...hoping you were stiII the man who once tucked his daughter in at night...
...but you are no Ionger that man...
[GASPS THEN YELLS]
...and I am a Green Lantern.
You are not even worthy of that armor.
[YELLS]
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[GROANING]
KENTOR I was wrong about you.
You have grown up.
You are more than a worthy warrior...
...and I--
I may never have regained my honor untiI now.
Father!
[YELLS THEN GROANS]
I am gIad...
...I can be that for you in my Iast moments.
I see now...
...the true protector of Jayd is not the GoIden Dragon...
...but Laira Omoto.
Green Lantern.
[SIGHS]
No.
[CRYING]
I`ve heard of famiIy fights, but my God....
You`ve got a bigger fight than that coming, rookie.
Guardians are taIking about this Iike it`s doomsday.
Has Oa been cIeared out?
Not a Lantern Ieft on it.
It`s just a husk now. What about here?
tz iedfkjdfuiet so far.
I`m thinking of taking a cIoser Iook.
Might as weII.
It`s gonna get crowded in here. AII the pIatforms are fiIIing up.
The Guardians are caIIing in everyone short of Mogo.
Mogo? Is he a Green Lantern?
Yeah, but you won`t be seeing him around.
Why not?
Mogo doesn`t sociaIize.
[ALL LAUGHING]
What are they taIking about?
Been having story time aII day and you haven`t toId her about Mogo?
That`s the first story I heard as a rookie.
Mogo and BoIphunga.
You gotta teII her about BoIphunga.
Outside.
PALAtz iedfkjdfUA Doesn`t sociaIize.
[LAUGHING]
WeII?
There`s a story that gets passed around the barracks...
...about a creature known as Bolphunga the Unrelenting...
...who had a thirst for combat as insatiable as his appetite.
[SHIP BEEPING]
SHIP VOICE Approaching Vud`s homeworld, oh, great one.
HAL After hundreds of victories...
...there was only one warrior left willing to face him:
Kloba Vud, the Titan of the Vlidomals.
BoIphunga.
I was wondering if you`d show up.
You just had to wait your turn, Vud.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
[VUD YELLS]
HAL Like everyone before him, Vud was no match for Bolphunga`s brutality.
[GROANING AND GRUNTING]
[GASPS]
Poor KIoba Vud.
You seem to be compIeteIy, heh, disarmed.
[GROANING]
And once I have your head, I, BoIphunga, shaII be procIaimed...
...the greatest warrior in the gaIaxy!
Except for Mogo.
What?
What did you say?
Except for Mogo.
Not onIy is he mightier than you, he is aIso a....
A Green Lantern.
Ha. I fear no Lantern.
You`d fear this one.
He`s the most powerfuI Lantern of them aII.
Never defeated.
A cosmic Iegend.
Never heard of him.
[GROANS]
Mogo.
Yes.
AII right, where can I find him?
BOLPHUNGA You have nothing on him?
SHIP VOICE The Lanterns are excluded from databases...
...under Guardian security decree 82669--
It matters not.
This Lantern is meat.
Approaching coordinates now, oh, great one.
Mogo, you skuIking coward.
I know not where upon this overgrown pIanet you are...
...but hear this!
I am BoIphunga the UnreIenting!
BoIphunga, at whose name the deserts trembIe and the mountains quake.
BoIphunga, who wiII cIeave you from your souI.
Come meet your fate, you craven cur.
ReIease the energy probes.
PROBE Alert. Alert.
Lantern energy detected.
Alert. Alert.
Hah!
Prepare yourseIf, dog.
Prepare for the coming of BoIphunga.
Where are you hiding?
Coward. I know you`re near.
PROBE Alert. Alert.
Lantern energy detected.
Alert. Alert.
Lantern energy detected.
-Alert. Alert. HAL And so it went. For days.
BOLPHUNGA Hah!
Unh. Unh. Ohh!
PROBE Alert. Alert.
[GASPS]
Alert. Alert.
[BOLPHUNGA YELLING]
HAL And days.
PROBE Alert. Alert.
HAL And days.
PROBE Alert. Alert.
[BOLPHUNGA GRUNTING AND YELLING]
HAL Until days turned to weeks and weeks to months.
[MACHINES BEEPING]
[GROANS]
PROBE Alert. Alert.
[GROWLING]
[PROBES BUZZ]
[YELLING AND GRUNTING]
HAL But they didn`t call him Unrelenting for nothing.
Ship, reIease new probes.
I want them to map every square kIick of this mud baII...
...and set charges to force that son of a cur into the open.
lf Bolphunga couldn`t find Mogo directly, then he`d find him indirectly:
A house, a training site, maybe even a power battery.
PROBE PIanet map 0.5 percent compIete.
And so he waited.
He could almost taste Mogo`s blood.
PROBE One-point-eight percent complete.
Three-point-five percent complete.
[SNORING]
Whoa--!
[YELLS THEN GASPS]
[COMPUTER BEEPING]
Ho-ho-ho. Now I have you.
PROBE Planet map 100 percent complete.
Show me the whoIe pIanet.
Huh?
[RUMBLING]
HAL lt was then that Bolphunga the Unrelenting finally relented.
-Get me out of here. SHIP VOICE Yes, oh, mighty--
Now!
[GRUNTS]
His fight was over before it began.
[YELLS]
[SCREAMING]
He had found his enemy, who was hidden in plain sight.
The Green Lantern known as Mogo.
And that, Arisia, is why Mogo doesn`t sociaIize.
A Iiving worId.
When this battIe`s over, I`II teII you about some of the reaIIy big Lanterns.
You`re joking, HaI.
You are, right?
[DEMON GROWLING]
[BOTH GRUNT]
[DEMONS SHRIEKING]
Thicken your shieId.
Don`t Iet them touch you.
Above you.
SINESTRO Stay aIert.
[GRUNTING]
SINESTRO Watch out!
[YELLS]
[GRUNTS]
[GROANING]
SINESTRO You`ve been out for a whiIe.
[WINCING]
CarefuI. You took quite a hit.
Where is everyone?
PatroIIing the sun.
Things are starting to get hot out there.
The sensors are picking up a pressure zone under the surface.
Won`t be Iong now.
So the Guardians are right.
Krona is coming.
SINESTRO It seems.
My oId friend, Abin Sur, wouId sureIy be quoting scripture if he were here.
And so it is written, the enemy Iong buried wiII return from a fire...
...and Oa shaII be consumed in its fIames.
AImost makes you wanna hide under the nearest rock.
Do you think that somehow this is preordained?
No, my dear.
Destiny is a tricky item.
Even Abin Sur found that out.
[ABIN SUR GRUNTS]
ATROCITUS A sign of things to come, Abin Sur.
Darkness.
Who are you, creature?
I am an enemy to aII...
...who serve the seIf-appointed Guardians of the Universe.
Then you are an enemy to me.
[BOTH GRUNTING]
RING VOICE Warning. Power level, 1.7 percent.
Warning. Power level, 1.1 percent.
[GROWLING]
I have seen your future, Abin Sur.
And it is death.
We aII die.
And I do not fear death.
There are things worse than death, Green Lantern.
If I had a power ring for every time I heard that, I`d have my own corps.
[GRUNTS]
ABIN SUR Sinestro. -Abin. I`ve seen you Iook better, my friend.
And I`ve seen you Iook worse.
Warning. Power level approaching 0 percent.
StiII waiting to recharge untiI you`re aImost on empty?
What can I say?
I get caught up in my work.
Don`t we aII?
[GROANING]
-What`s he doing? -He`s trying to break it.
[GRUNTING]
Abin, if that expIodes, it couId take out the city.
If not the entire pIanet.
Abin!
ln brightest day, in blackest night No evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship evil`s might Beware my power, Green Lantern`s light
No.
[PANTING]
ABIN SUR You want my power battery, Atrocitus?
You`re weIcome to it.
Atrocitus shouIdn`t give us any more troubIe.
I wouId think not, but who is he?
SINESTRO Atrocitus is part of a terrorist ceII caIIed the Five Inversions.
ABIN SUR I`ve never heard of him.
SINESTRO Because he`s been imprisoned on the pIanet YsmauIt for over 700 years.
Last week, a ship crashed there.
Atrocitus kiIIed its survivors, repaired the ship and fIed.
He`s been hunting and kiIIing Green Lanterns since.
-How many? -Three.
How did he find any of the Green Lanterns? Or me?
According to the Book of Oa...
...Atrocitus cIaims he is abIe to taIk to destiny.
-There is no such thing as destiny, Abin. -Then how--?
He Iocked onto your power ring`s energy somehow, as he no doubt did the others.
-You don`t beIieve in destiny? -No.
We wear destiny on our fingers, Sinestro.
[BOOMING]
The power ring seeks out those destined to be Green Lanterns.
The power ring seeks out those who have shown the abiIity to overcome great fear.
It is a highIy advanced computer program based on moraIity...
...but it is a program nonetheIess.
ABIN SUR Do you remember the first day we met?
SINESTRO Of course.
ABIN SUR We were both summoned to Oa for training.
You mistook me for someone from your worId.
-From Korugar. -Yes.
ABIN SUR But despite your mistake, we became friends.
Together, we saved your worId from civiI war...
...and today, mine from Atrocitus.
Our meeting was destiny.
No, Abin. It was Iuck.
As it was for this damaged ship that we came across.
ABIN SUR No. I beIieve in destiny.
AII of this, everything we do, is a part of that destiny.
We wiII agree to disagree.
Are you certain you don`t want my heIp deIivering the prisoner back to YsmauIt?
No. You have your sector to attend to, I have mine.
Then untiI we see one another again, my friend.
-Keep the Iight burning. -AIways.
[THUNDER CRASHING]
Set us free and we wiII serve you as you serve your bIue-skinned owners.
DEMONIC FACE Paradise is right here.
This is anything but.
[PRISONERS MOANING AND WAILING]
I toId you there are things worse than death.
This prison is of your doing, Atrocitus.
I speak not of YsmauIt, Green Lantern...
...or of my own fate.
I speak of yours.
Your death.
I toId you, I do not fear death.
But it wiII come to you sooner than you reaIize.
AII because your ring faiIs you in your most desperate hour.
Then I wiII remember to charge my ring often.
But it is not your death that is the tragedy.
It is beyond it.
I have seen the future of the Green Lantern Corps.
I have seen its destiny...
...shouId you care to hear it.
Continue.
Let me go further in time then.
To a future when the most viIe murderers and deviants in the universe...
...wiII become united under one Ieader.
There will be a war of light that will burn the surface of Oa black.
lt will leave scores of Lanterns dead.
Even the greatest of them will fall.
The green light will be extinguished and there will be left a new corps.
A corps of fear.
Sinestro.
His corps will terrorize the universe.
The Guardians will find themselves without their soldiers.
They will be overpowered and captured.
They wiII be skinned aIive and eaten by Sinestro`s foIIowers.
Their skuIIs wiII form the base of Sinestro`s throne on Oa.
His reign wiII cover the universe Iike a shroud.
Wait, where are you going?
You aImost had me, demon...
...but you took a Green Lantern down a path...
...his wiIIpower wouId never Iet him go.
Sinestro may not beIieve in destiny, but I do.
And I know my dear friend is destined for great things.
You, however, are not.
SINESTRO But Abin Sur knew a false prophet when he heard one.
Atrocitus was just another who wouId try to rip the corps apart.
But we`re too gaIvanized a team...
...and too bound in trust.
Never forget that.
But Atrocitus was right about Abin Sur. He did die.
Everyone dies, Arisia.
-Everyone gets repIaced. HAL Sinestro.
The sensors picked up a tremendous spike in the readings.
A massive sweIIing in the dead center of the sun.
TOMAR-RE We have visibIe confirmation.
It`s enormous.
HAL Krona.
I guess this is the bIackest night everyone taIks about.
No, my dear. OnIy dusk.
[GROWLING]
Stay sharp.
He`s as big as a moon.
If he gets past us, he can annihiIate any worId, anywhere.
Let`s move.
[DEMONS SHRIEKING]
[GRUNTS THEN YELLS]
[GRUNTING]
[GRUNTS]
They`re shieIding him.
Can`t break through.
PALAtz iedfkjdfUA We got a cIear shot.
[GASPS]
Everyone faII back. Regroup.
We need to keep fighting.
LAIRA We need a strategy.
[ROARING]
Wait. He`s antimatter, right?
The onIy way to destroy antimatter is with matter.
AII we have to do is hit him with something of equaI or greater mass.
What are you gonna do, chuck a pIanet?
Why not? If he wants Oa so bad, maybe we shouId give it to him.
Kid, you just earned your stripes.
[ROARING]
Everyone back to Oa now.
We`ve got one chance and one chance onIy.
Now, push with everything you have!
[GRUNTING]
[LANTERNS GRUNTING]
[DEMONS SHRIEKING]
Gonna need more juice than this.
Oh, my God.
Huh?
[ROARING]
ARISIA He might not sociaIize, but he sure knows how to make an entrance.
[BIRDS CHIRPING]
GANTHET UntiI a new Oa can be constructed...
...Mogo has been kind enough to serve as our temporary base.
Once again, the diversity of the corps has proven to be its greatest asset...
...whether it be represented by a pIanet...
...or a young woman with the ingenuity to turn one into a weapon.
[BOOK PULSING]
Looks Iike you have your own story now.
And whiIe we mourn the Ioss of our faIIen comrades...
...we weIcome a new generation in hopes for a brighter day.
Hear, hear!
[LANTERNS CHEERING]
It appears you`ve fuIfiIIed the prophecy of Oa`s destruction.
Not onIy a hero, but some might say an agent of destiny.
You did good out there, rookie.
Does this mean I get to skip boot camp?
Not a chance, poozer.
Where`s everyone going?
We got a new home to buiId.
Come on.
I`II teII you about the time I took on an army of Manhunters...
...and my onIy backup was this squirreI.
[EngIish - US - SDH]
WAYNE l have the means, the skill...
...but something`s missing.
LOEB We`re delighted to have you on the team, lieutenant.
[PHONE RINGING]
WOMAN lt`s Merkel at the station, something about a giant bat.
LOEB No excuses.
That vigilante bastard goes under instantly...
...or it`s your job.
GORDON This Batman is working his way up the crime ladder...
...from junky, to pusher, to supplier.
BATMAN You`ve eaten Gotham`s wealth, its spirit.
From this moment on, none of you are safe.
LIU Frank MiIIer, um...
...he basicaIIy sort of changed the way comics were Iooked at and toId.
DIDIO He did it within the body of the series, didn`t put a number one on it.
The number one was reaIIy the titIe.
Batman Year One was signifying that this is the first issue...
...or first story of something, embedded within the ongoing series itseIf.
He brought aImost Iike a sort of a brutaI, um...
...reaIistic, noir-ish feeI to it.
I think it definiteIy changed the face of how...
...the audience interprets and reads comics.
It set the tone for Batman that probabIy exists to this day as the, uh--
As The Dark Knight.
TIMM I said, ``You know, it`s crazy to not be doing this.``
It`s one of the most famous comics, one of the best Batman comics of aII time.
It`s, you know, it`s been so infIuentiaI in aII media.
It`s not as epic as a Iot of the other movies that we`ve done...
...which are Iike save the worId, this one`s Iike very smaII scaIe...
...and it`s very reaI.
There`s very IittIe science fiction in it, you know, there`s--
Even aII of Batman`s gadgets, you know, it`s aII very, very Iow-tech.
BATMAN With my belt gone, l`m down to a blow gun, three darts...
...and a non-oficial invention of Wayne Electronics.
Every time you work with Bruce...
...Bruce has such a cIear vision of what he wants to do.
Um, and so I think as a director, a Iot of times you just sort of try to figure out...
...you know How is he gonna pIay this one?
TIMM I`m just such a huge fan of the comic, um...
...that I wanted to do as faithfuI an adaptation as possibIe.
We reaIIy transIated the comic aImost word for word...
...um, from the book to the screen.
You know, Batman Begins did do the origin story.
And they did puII some materiaI from Batman Year One.
It wasn`t a straight adaptation, there was a Iot of stuff they Ieft stiII on the tabIe.
Most important to me is that...
...it`s reaIIy more about Jim Gordon than it is about Bruce Wayne.
GORDON This is no place to raise a family.
Maybe Gotham`s all l deserve now.
What I was first attracted to in reading Batman Year One...
...was that James Gordon actuaIIy is the star.
That`s the way I Iook at it anyway.
You know, Batman, Bruce Wayne, is just kind of an added coIorfuI figure.
It`s toId from Gordon`s point of view. And so we get to hear what he`s thinking.
And so there`s aII this awesome materiaI about, you know, uh, Jim Gordon...
...when he first arrives in Gotham City, how he deaIs with the corruption.
And, um, you know, just aII of this great, you know, psycho-drama stuff...
...that`s going on with him.
GORDON l hate the job.
l hate the gun.
But l keep practicing.
ROMANO You know, in this piece, he has an affair...
...and it`s eating away at him.
GORDON l need to come clean with Barbara, beg for forgiveness.
l can`t stop thinking about her, l--
Like I can`t stop thinking about Batman.
He`s a criminaI, I`m a cop, it`s as simpIe as that.
Origin stories, in generaI, um...
...they`re appeaIing...
...because it gets to the core fiber of what drives the character.
He`s a reaI vigiIante, he`s a tough sort of tortured souI...
...who is, uh, exacting revenge, uh, upon a criminaI eIement...
...that took something away from him.
Batman, in this comic particuIarIy, you get to see kind of two origin stories.
...you get to see, you know, him as a chiId...
...and what drives him to kind of work towards becoming this hero...
...but you aIso get to see him actuaIIy get the idea to become the Batman.
[IN RASPY VOICE] I know pain.
Sometimes I share it with someone Iike you.
Such an interesting dynamic between the two characters.
Young Lieutenant Gordon who`s about to become a father for the first time...
...and Bruce Wayne who is onIy just beginning to figure out...
...how he`s going to focus his energies towards something...
...that makes him feeI better about his Iife because he`s this crazy weaIthy guy...
...whose parents had been taken from him so young.
And so for many years he`s, you know, boiIed this, um, fury inside him...
...untiI he`s found a way to actuaIIy use it.
WAYNE Twelve years and the ache is still fresh.
Like a raw, angry nerve.
The origin is so incredibIy strong, it`s so identifiabIe, so reIatabIe.
Any chiId with the Ioss of a parent...
...is something that any person can feeI that pain.
Um, and therefore, you know that it`s not a pain that`s gonna go away...
...and becomes a strong motivation for who Batman is.
So Batman as the character, as Bruce Wayne...
...it`s very cIear you don`t want to mess with that origin.
But the good part about it is that it`s not--
The book`s not just about Batman, it`s about Commissioner Gordon.
They were aImost Iike the onIy two peopIe in that city...
...that were trying to, um, do something and they needed each other.
And each other was aImost the missing piece...
...that wouId make, uh, the situation work.
That is the most interesting of stories that needs to be expIored.
The reIationship between the cop and the vigiIante.
TIMM It`s as cIose an adaptation as we couId make it...
...um, and that goes for the script and, you know, the visuaIs.
We tried to-- We definiteIy tried to mimic, um, David MazzuccheIIi`s styIe.
DIDIO What MazzuccheIIi brought to that story was that fiIm-noir sensibiIity...
...uh, that reaIIy just permeates aII of Frank MiIIer`s books.
TIMM We absoIuteIy foIIowed even the coIor paIette...
...because it`s a reaIIy unique paIette.
EspeciaIIy at the time period, when it first came out it was Iike, wow.
You`d never seen a comic that Iooked Iike that.
It was aII these reaIIy muted, aImost ugIy coIors.
It kind of Iends itseIf to the mood of the comic...
...being that Gotham is a very kind of down-and-out pIace...
...it`s not a pIace you wanna be.
We figured out a technique in Photoshop where we can actuaIIy drop the coIor out.
And actuaIIy use the actuaI coIor of the paneI as one of the frames.
MazzuccheIIi`s styIe is, uh....
It`s very simpIe, he has simpIe, strong Iines.
We weren`t abIe to transIate it 100 percent...
...in that his Iine quaIity is--
Has a Iot of, I guess, variation in the, uh, thickness of the Iines.
And with animation we have to simpIify and keep the Iines a certain thickness.
So it`s a cIeaner Iine in the styIe that we used...
...but we definiteIy tried to keep the Iook of the character...
...very, very cIose to the same.
WeII, this is the first time we meet SeIina KyIe...
...in the DC Comics for Batman Year One.
And she starts out as a prostitute.
This story turned out to be so dark...
...and so going down an avenue I`d never anticipated...
...that I thought, ``This is what it shouId be.``
It shouId be twists and turns...
...and darkness and Iight and mistakes and things...
...so that it`s not a kids` story.
DeaIing in the very reaI-worId kind of viewpoint that it has...
...it`s, uh, very gritty...
...in terms of, you know, yeah, Gotham City is an ugIy pIace...
...and there`s prostitution and there`s drugs and there`s aII the stuff in it.
I hear FaIcone`s got a fortune in oId stuff.
Maybe I`II give the Roman a IittIe scratch before I steaI it. On the face.
He won`t think it`s Batman if I give him a scratch.
I found the attitude for this character...
...deep down in the EIiza Dushku archive of bad girIs.
Pretty much. They`re in there somehow, somewhere, for some reason.
And, uh, I tap into them when I need them.
And I put on my Ieather pants and that aIways kind of heIps.
There`s a character in this piece caIIed Essen.
And it`s a femaIe poIice officer that uItimateIy, uh, Gordon has an affair with.
ESSEN Mind if l ask you a personal question?
l know why l`m here.
But what are you doing here?
She kind of gives Lieutenant Gordon reaIIy a shouIder to kind of Iike Iean on...
...and, Iike, a common ground when his wife is pregnant.
Because we meet a Iot of reaIIy nasty both poIice officers...
...and gang bosses in this piece...
...we wanted to, uh, fiII it with what I caII actors who have voices with character...
...as opposed to actors who do character voices.
Hey, Iet`s not kid ourseIves, okay? Batman is costing us aII money.
It`s fun pIaying gangsters.
Where eIse can you say
``Get up against the waII, I`m gonna bIow your head away``?
You know, I mean, I reaIIy Iove pIaying gangsters.
It`s a grittier, um, story that feeIs Iike it`s from a certain time...
...that`s one of the things that we try to capture.
You couIdn`t be any more IiteraI with it. I mean, it`s dead on.
LEX Your peopIe wiII pray to me or die in the coId dark.
SUPERMAN No.
[SUPERMAN GRUNTING]
NOVECK When you have characters Iike Superman and Batman...
...who`ve been around for, you know, 70, 75 years...
...there have been a Iot of stories toId.
ROMANO Everybody in America knows who Superman and Lex Luthor are...
...and that they`re enemies and have been forever.
LEX What happens when you take on Lex Luthor?
The same thing that`s gonna happen to Superman.
TIMM It`s the basic Superman story, but just toId reaIIy, reaIIy weII.
ANNOUNCER Doomed pIanet.
Desperate scientists.
Last hope.
Superman.
TIMM When the comic came out, it was my favorite Superman comic of forever.
Because it was just, Iike-- It was so fresh and originaI...
...and it was just Iike nothing you`d seen in Superman--
You know, mainstream Superman comics in decades.
NOVECK When you taIk about Grant Morrison and his All-Star Superman...
...I think his desire was to hark back to the days of cIassic Superman stories...
...when they were basicaIIy singIe-issue stories...
...singIe-issue adventures...
...and Iooking at the optimism, and the bright future...
...that a character Iike Superman represents.
SUPERMAN I just read aII about you.
Astronauts from Krypton who were Iost in space for decades.
It`s an honor to meet you. I`m from Krypton too.
TIMM Grant Morrison, he`d recentIy re-read a Iot of comic-book stories...
...and reaIIy Iiked just how kind of crazy and out-there they were.
And he thought, is there a way to do that...
...but stiII kind of keep it fresh and contemporary...
...so that it doesn`t feeI retro and oId-fashioned and corny?
NOVECK PeopIe seem to think that Batman is the more reIatabIe guy...
...that Superman is so god-Iike before his abiIity.
And he was making the argument that that`s not the case.
Superman is a normaI guy with a job, with a boss, you know...
...that`s aIways beating up on him. He can`t get the girI that he wants. Ha, ha.
He`s trying to pIease peopIe aII the time...
...and for some reason, a Iot of peopIe don`t Iike him.
You know, so he`s a much more reIatabIe person to the average reader.
CIark is, you know, a bumbIing idiot.
It`s Iike the Christopher Reeve Superman.
CLARK HoId the presses!
[CLARK GRUNTING]
PERRY Where the heII have you been, Kent?
CLARK Uh, working on my suntan.
Superman gets this fataI iIIness. It`s Iike he gets cancer aImost.
You know, he`s dying, Iike, right from the very beginning.
You know, within the first, Iike, five minutes.
tz iedfkjdfUINTUM Superman, I`m not sure how to teII you this.
Your trip to the sun over-exposed your ceIIs to soIar radiation.
More than even your body can metaboIize.
Your ceIIs are oversaturated with power.
They are bursting from within.
SUPERMAN I`m dying.
And it kind of gets into his personaI Iife of, Iike, you know, Iike, what wouId he do.
It causes a good excuse...
...for, Iike, why, you know, he does the things that he does...
...Iike, you know, teII Lois that he is Superman...
...even though she doesn`t beIieve him, even aII the way aImost to the end.
CLARK I have something to teII you.
LOIS You`re CIark Kent?
SUPERMAN I`m CIark Kent.
LOIS Sorry, Superman, but you`ve got to admit that`s very hard to beIieve.
I think Grant is quite correct when he taIks about the fact and shows the fact...
...that reaIIy CIark`s personaIity as a kid from Kansas is reaIIy who he is.
After aII, that`s where he Ianded when he was a baby...
...regardIess of his Kryptonian heritage...
...regardIess of who he becomes as this, you know, sort of strong reporter.
At the heart, he`s a, you know, a Midwestern farm boy...
...with, you know, a good sense of seIf and a good sense of ethics...
...and what`s right and wrong...
...and a feeIing of obIigation to heIp those that are Iess fortunate...
...whether he has super powers or not.
We get to see a Iot of Superman`s humanity.
How he feeIs about humans.
How he feeIs about Kryptonians.
How he feeIs about Lois Lane, specificaIIy.
We got to see him just not the hero, Superman...
...but aIso the human side of CIark Kent...
...and his desires of what he wouId Iike to do.
SUPERMAN You know what I`ve aIways wanted to do?
-I mean, from the first day we met? LOIS What?
This version of Luthor was a IittIe bit of kind of an oId-schooI Luthor...
...in that he was, right out of the gate, the crazed-renegade-scientist bad guy.
LEX The signaI takes nine minutes to reach the sun.
I have to coordinate my transmissions perfectIy.
LANE The sun?
You were reIeased from jaiI to work for your country, not on your own--
[LANE CHOKING]
LEX I know I promised not to waste my inteIIect on eIaborate super-death traps.
[LANE GASPS]
LEX But I Iooked in the mirror one morning and reaIized something.
I`m getting oIder and he isn`t.
Something`s gotta be done about that, don`t you think?
All-Star Superman was a tremendous success.
I mean, peopIe thought it was one of the best interpretations of Superman...
...in many years. PeopIe thought it was a wonderfuI marriage of art and story.
I do think that Grant, in kind of going back to a basics-of-Superman storyIine...
...was trying to evoke some of the best moments of the Superman story...
...from, you know, the past few decades.
And whiIe these issues are individuaI stories...
...individuaI adventures, obviousIy there`s a Ionger story arc...
...that pIays across, you know, certainIy the first 12 issues...
...that aIIowed us to make the movie.
We chose to take All-Star Superman and adapt it as a fiIm...
...because it was just a great version of Superman.
The idea of adapting this particuIar comic into a fiIm has come up severaI times...
...in the Iast coupIe of years, and whenever it has come up...
...every singIe time we aII kind of went, ``Yeah, it`s a great comic...
...but how do you make a movie out of it?``
Because it is kind of so fractured into these individuaI episodes.
We tried to take the best of what the story was about...
...and sort of tie it aII together so there is a satisfying point at the end.
SUPERMAN We don`t have much time...
...and I onIy have one chance to save the worId.
[LEX YELLS]
Most of the fights, the major fights, they`re not your sort of typicaI fights.
You know, they`re aImost Iike tests for him.
It`s very different than anything eIse we`ve done.
It`s actuaIIy, Iike, a reaIIy sort of deep dramatic piece.
[SUPERMAN GRUNTING]
SUPERMAN HaIt.
Superman`s essence in this movie is aImost a IittIe bit Iike a Roman candIe...
...in the sense that he`s gonna burn very, very, very brightIy...
...but not Iast as Iong.
We were Iucky enough to get this wonderfuI actor, James Denton.
TIMM He sounds Iike a nice guy, which is what reaIIy--
Superman reaIIy had to have in this fiIm.
He reaIIy had to have a sense of IikeabiIity.
Thanks, Lois. I don`t know where my seIf-esteem wouId be without you.
DENTON I`ve aIways been a fan. I read the comic books, I`ve seen the movies.
But peopIe that are reaI die-hard Superman fans...
...there`s a reaI storehouse of knowIedge and characters that they have.
Seeing that this version of Lois is....
She`s a IittIe bit of a throwback to the kind of cIassic Lois Lane...
...from, Iike, you know, the `50s and `60s.
We kind of Iooked for somebody...
...who kind of had that oId-schooI brassiness...
...that kind of go-get-them-ness.
And when CIark presented you with the key to the city, that was Batman too?
Sorry, Superman, but you`ve got to admit that`s very hard to beIieve.
I`m a good Lois Lane because I`m tough...
...and I think I`m up for adventure...
...and curious and spontaneous...
...and I`d Iike to think that Lois Lane were aII those things.
Anthony LaPagIia is our Lex Luthor in this.
LaPAGLIA There`s a kind of, um...
...sarcastic streak in Lex Luthor that comes from, you know...
...extreme confidence in his abiIity to do what he does.
I Iike the attitude of him.
I Iike that nothing reaIIy fazes him...
...that he feeIs Iike he has compIete controI over everything.
Get this farce over with, you pompous seniIe toad.
LaPagIia has defined himseIf as kind of mascuIine inteIIigence incarnate.
And I think that works pretty weII for Lex Luthor.
A good Lex Luthor makes or breaks Superman, I think.
LEX Did you ever think that it wouId end Iike this?
Me Iooking down on you.
[LEX GRUNTS]
We aIways try to kind of top ourseIves in terms of everything.
You know, in terms of, you know, the action staging and--
ROMANO With these projects, we try to up the ante...
...so the audience wiII keep coming back.
I know they want bigger and better every singIe time.
I try to aIways deIiver that.
NOVECK We are fueIed by the fans and we are fueIed by what they want...
...and so each time out, we`re trying to better ourseIves...
...and our goaI with this Iine of movies has aIways been, you know...
...what wouId the fans most Iove to see?
What`s the story that they`re just gonna be frothing at the mouth after...
...and we`II try and do it as best as we can.
ANNOUNCER What happens when the irresistibIe force...
...meets the immovabIe object?
Answer correctIy is Iife.
FaiIure to answer correctIy is death.