Absolute Green Lantern Gives an Iconic Lantern a Dragon Ball Z Makeover, and It Rules

Absolute Green Lantern changed the game for Hal Jordan, Jo Mullein, and a host of others, but some of its biggest changes were in regard to the actual Green Lantern mythology and presentation. While the core symbol is intact, its first appearance was far from what fans expected, and that also goes for the first appearance of Abin Sur. The more human appearance and pink skin are completely gone, and in that old design’s place is an Abin Sur who looks like he jumped out of Dragon Ball Z, giving the familiar face a major upgrade.

We only see Abin Sur once in the issue, but he manages to make a big impact. After a massive Green Lantern symbol crashes down in the middle of a city, we an unknown character hovering above it in the sky. That turns out to be Abin Sur, and the change-up is like night and day. You can find the new version and the standard universe version in the images below.

Aside from his pink skin, Sur wasn’t all that different from the other humans in the Corps, but that’s no longer the case. Now Sur’s skin is a lighter shade of grey, and he’s insanely muscular and large in stature. There’s also the shaken-up body design, which features an alien-looking extension of his head and four arms and hands.

Sur looks far more menacing and powerful in this form, and it fits with the more alien invasion themes of the Green Lantern Corps this time around. We have yet to see what he can do, but in keeping with our Dragon Ball Z comparison, I expect him to unleash pure havoc when we actually get to see him throw down with someone. If you see that design, can’t you envision Abin Sur colliding with Goku or Broly? You totally could, though that could also just be wishful thinking.

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As for Absolute Green Lantern in general, there are still lots of questions that need answering, with one of the main questions being how Hal is linked to his new lethal power set and how that then links to the Green Lantern Corps. At the end of the first issue, we see that Jo is now a Green Lantern, but we don’t know when that happened, as the last time we saw her she was investigating the new crashed symbol alongside Hal and John Stewart.

Also, if Hal and Jo both have powers, does John have powers as well, and if so what are they? Is Abin Sur trying to invade Earth or protect it, and how is a Lantern chosen in the first place.? We’ll be getting more of those answers eventually, but hopefully, we get a few of them in the highly anticipated second issue later this month.

What did you think of Absolute Green Lantern #1 and Abin Sur’s new design? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things comics and Green Lantern with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!