DC Just Rebooted One of Green Lantern’s Dumbest Ever Villains as a Terrifying Threat

Comic book characters who have been around for a very long time all have one thing in common: some of their villains are very, very strange. The Silver Age was the wild west for creativity and gags, which meant that the villains created during this time tended to be bigger, stranger, and more specific than ever before or after. There are countless examples from any number of heroes, from Batman’s Calendar Man to Superman’s Titano. However, one of the strangest for sure is one of Green Lantern’s oldest and stupidest enemies. It is none other than the illustrious, immaculate Goldface.

Goldface first appeared all the way back in Green Lantern (1960) #38, all the way back in 1965. After experimenting with gold that was lost underwater for centuries, Keith Kenyon accidentally gave his body a golden glow. Since old Green Lantern rings lacked the ability to affect the color yellow, Goldface was a hard counter to the hero in the most boring way possible. He was literally just immune to the Green Lantern’s powers, which are the coolest thing about him. The original Goldface, unsurprisingly, moved from threat to gag villain quickly and was all but forgotten about. Now, however, he’s been reimagined as a terrifying threat, and it’s the perfect showing of what the Absolute Universe does best.

Assassin With a Gun of Gold

Absolute Green Lantern #9 kicks off with master assassin Keith Kenyon killing scientist Steven Dayton at the behest of Hector Hammond. Keith had a suit that emitted a special gas that allowed him to disguise himself as anyone, which he used to get inside Dayton’s home and secure the device that connected him to the same interstellar voice the Lanterns heard, warning about the face of Steel. After confirming Dayton’s death, Hammond immediately set Keith to work on getting rid of Jo Mullein, who was shacked up with a coma-ridden Hal Jordan and her ex-wife, Cameron Chase.

Jo and Cam argued, both having very bitter, unresolved feelings about their relationship. Cam kept reminding Jo how much her affair with Renee hurt her, and Jo threw back how Cam never loved anything more than her job. Cam had to relent to that point, then left to meet her partner, Simon Baz, to plan their next move. She left Jo with the unconscious Hal and the specific instructions to stay hidden. Unfortunately for everyone, Simon’s boss sold them out to Hammond the second he heard Jo’s name, and Hammond wasted no time.

Jo heard a knock at the door with John Stewart asking to be let in. Jo was confused, given that the last time she saw John he was a being of pure energy inside Oa, but she let him in. Predictably, it was Keith, who put two gold bullets in Jo. He recounted Jo’s weakness to gold, then introduced himself by a brand new callsign with a terrifying mask: Goldface.

A New Goldface For a New Universe

The brand new iteration of Goldface is scary, imposing, and ties perfectly into the yellow weakness while being played straight. Instead of being treated like a gag, the weakness and Goldface are being treated seriously, as if Al Ewing asked how to take these Silver Age concepts and transfer them to the modern day’s more dramatic storytelling. Not only is this a hallmark of a great reinvention and villain introduction, but this is a perfect example of one of the Absolute Universe’s biggest strengths.

The Absolute Universe was pitched as a universe where the world was guided by despair and evil instead of hope, but not one where heroism didn’t exist. Importantly, the heroes did exist, but they were made into underdogs without losing their core. They were drastically changed, but at their heart, they were still the heroes everyone loves. The Absolute Universe excels at taking old concepts and breathing new life into them. Look at the reinvention of Superman’s origin and Wonder Woman as the Princess of Hell, for example. These changes are made specifically to highlight the strengths of the characters and provide intrigue, not just for shock value.

These kinds of changes respect the source material and go out of their way to applaud it by providing a new take on it. Instead of throwing continuity away, this is celebrating what came before in the best way possible. This change to Goldface brought him back in a serious way that could not be done in the main universe, but honors his original character all the same. This new spark of creativity, combined with the love for what’s come before, is exactly what pushes the Absolute Universe forward and makes it as spectacular as it is.

Absolute Green Lantern #9 is on sale now!

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