Green Lantern has been getting a lot more attention lately, as DC and writer Jeremy Adams have been building an all-new epic, with the Green Lantern Corps in the middle of something much bigger than them, without the power and intelligence of the Oans backing them up. The emotional spectrum has changed, leaving the other corps’ scrambling to regain their power. Green Lantern Corps has focused on these new conflicts, with the book’s second issue, by Adams, Morgan Hampton, and Fernando Pasarin, taking readers to the aftermath of the destruction of one’s DC’s most important planets — Thanagar, the home of the Thanagarians, a race that many of Hawkman and Hawkwoman’s past lives have been entwined with and known for warlike mentality.
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Thanagar was destroyed by a rage poisoned Mogo, the living planet Green Lantern, due to the machinations of former United Planets leader Thaaros. The remains of the planet, though, contain something that no one ever imagined. This brings in one Green Lantern’s most dangerous villains, looking to regain their power and willing to pilfer the graveyard of a planet in order to get what he wants — the Thanagarians’ greatest resource, Nth metal. Mth metal has a long history in the DC Multiverse, and Thanagar’s bounty is unlike anything anyone has seen before.
Nth Metal Is One of the Most Important Substances in the Multiverse
Nth metal is almost as old as DC itself is. The metal first appeared alongside Hawkman, way back in Flash Comics #1 from 1940. Back then, Nth metal was the metal that Hawkman’s harness was made of, giving him the power to negate gravity, allowing him to fly and use his wings for maneuvering and propulsion, as well as a level of super strength and a healing factor. Later, it would be revealed that his mace, the weapon that become most associated with Hawkman, and Hawkgirl in the DCAU, was made of Nth metal. Nth metal would survive into the Silver Age reboot of Hawkman, but it was revealed that the metal came from Thanagar and its gravity defying abilities were a key part of Thanagarian culture. It was later revealed that Nth metal could also absorb energy, making it perfect for weapons and armors.
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However, that wasn’t the end to the upgrades that Nth metal would get, especially as DC moved closer to the Metal/Death Metal saga. It was revealed to be the Ninth metal of ten that were key to the multiverse. It is one of the most coveted resources in the multiverse; that’s what makes this discovery to important. Nth metal has a variety of powers, especially when it comes to energy manipulation. This is why Atrocitus and the former Red Lanterns have decided to go after it. Green Lantern Corps #2 reveals that Atrocitus has found another way to harness rage energy and his ship needs Nth metal for its systems to work. The Nth metal core has also drawn the Sorrow, the master of the energy of sadness, believing the core could be used for his own twisted missions.
The Nth Metal Core Could Change the Balance of Power in the Universe
Nth metal allowed the Thanagarians to become one of the most feared races in the universe. Their flying berserkers were basically the Klingons of the DC Universe, powered by one of the most powerful substances in the cosmos. Nth metal was coveted by many and now there is a massive, solid chunk of it out there, floating through space. The Green Lantern Corps has their work cut out for them on this one; the Atrocitus and the Sorrow are only the beginning of those who would want to get their hands on this much Nth metal. The United Planets is in flux, and only the Green Lanterns have the power to keep this discovery from fueling destruction.
Things in space are at a delicate stage right now. If Atrocitus gets his hands on the Nth metal core, it could see the return of the Red Lanterns if they can rebuild their Central Power Battery. This is opposite of what the universe needs right now, but that’s the promise of the Nth metal core of Thanagar. Its existence can completely shift the balance of power.
Green Lantern Corps #2 is on sale where ever comics are sold.
