Action Comics #589 (June 1987)
Action Comics #589 (June 1987)
Superman and the Green Lantern Corps fight some space tentacles and I’m glad this isn’t a manga. On the last issue of Action, Superman ended up stranded in outer space because Hawkman is a jerk. Luckily, Superman is rescued by a bunch of Green Lanterns who just happened to be visiting that particular part of the vastness of space because they were looking for a suitable habitat for a bunch of worm-like thingies they met. This multicultural group of GLs includes Hal Jordan (white), John Stewart (black), Arisia (orange), Katma Tui (purple) and Ch'p (squirrel).
Anyway, the Lanterns bring Superman back to Earth, only to find that the planet is about to be attacked by a cloud of goo and yellow tentacles. The GLs are having a hard time against the tentacles because their powers are hilariously ineffective against the color yellow, but luckily Superman knows how to punch. Upon closer inspection, the cloud turns out to be… that living cemetery Superman threw into space back in Action #585! The sun’s radiation mutated the land and made it grow tentacles, because science, and now it’s back for revenge. With this information the heroes are able to turn the thing into an inert planetoid where the worm-like dudes from the beginning of the issue can live. See how it all ties together?
Plotline-Watch:
Sadly, this would be the last appearance of the flying cemetery monster. It would have been great if they had turned it into a running joke where everything Superman does to kill it just makes it stronger – next time, it would have merged with the beings living on its surface to create a giant galaxy-eating space worm, and it would take the combined efforts of Superman and Apache Chief to stop it. And so on.
This is one of the rare instances where an Action issue ties to not one but two previous issues. Most are completely standalone stories. Also, I believe that this group of GLs (besides the ones I mentioned there’s also Salaak and Kilowog, both pink) represented the complete membership of the mighty Green Lantern Corps at the time. They would eventually rebuild their entire 3,600-Lantern membership, only for Hal to go nuts and kill everyone.
WTF-Watch:
Ch'p is literally a squirrel, what is up with that.
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