Arrow-Lantern Apocalypse

[Abishai100]

I love the way comic books speak to a modern pedestrian fascination with fantastic courage set amidst a backdrop of urban angst and traffic worries. Comic book adapted films such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Deadpool signify a modern age curiosity about civics vertigo. Such vertigo is understandable in a world beset with traffic-motion concerns (e.g., illegal immigration) and urban decay (e.g., Los Angeles Race Riots of 1992).

So here's a paranoia-themed urban tale I wrote using the comic book superheroes Green Lantern and Green Arrow (DC Comics).

Do we live in a world where fantastic heroism is made 'naive' by the realities of a Machiavellian city?


====

Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) and Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) were happy to be best friends and the world's most dependable heroes. Donning similar green-colored vigilante outfits, Lantern and Arrow prowled the city streets of New York and Los Angeles on weekends carrying their distinctive power-ring (which shined a blinding green-colored light) and super-fine arrows, respectively. While Lantern and Arrow sometimes swapped weapons (e.g., Arrow used Lantern's ring to blind a group of muggers attacking an African-American woman on Devil's Night, the night of ritual mischief that falls before Halloween Eve), they usually used the weapons of their signature --- Lantern's blinding ring and Arrow's fine arrows.

One day, Lantern and Arrow turned on the news and heard a new NYC tycoon named Lex Luthor, founder of the globally-popular social networking website Facebook, delivering an ominous speech about the profiteerism-fun in the modern capitalism-fertile USA. Luthor challenged Lantern and Arrow to meet him in Times Square on New Year's Eve and remove their masks so the 'real people' of the world could finally establish their more human identities. Lantern and Arrow looked at each other and frowned, realizing that Luthor was a real 'super-villain' using the media to create urban panic in this new celebrity-crazy landscape of capitalism-profitable traffic (e.g., MTV).

Lantern and Arrow realized that if they met Luthor in a field where the odds were tipped in the villain's advantage (since Times Square on New Year's Eve would be flocked with crowds any villain could use as ransom-hostage 'tokens'), they would be rendered helpless. Nevertheless, they recognized that since Luthor posed his social challenge in front of TV cameras, the American people would start distrusting the two superheroes if the two did not reconcile Luthor's challenge and reveal their 'more human faces' for the media. Luthor was using the power-pulpit of the media to take advantage of mob psychology. Lantern and Arrow decided to show up in Times Square on New Year's Eve disguised as priests. They spoke into the megaphones though brought with them: "Luthor, we were sent here by Lantern and Arrow to tell you that the two vigilantes wish to keep their identities a secret so the people can decide for themselves how heroism resides in every heart!"

A frustrated Lex Luthor conceded a 'political stalemate' but ominously replied to the two 'priests': "Well, on behalf of the people of NYC, thank Lantern and Arrow for at least explaining their evasive secrecy, but tell them that one day people will need to know why two odd masked 'vigilantes' would stand against a 'real' trickster such as the AntiChrist!" Lantern and Arrow were relieved that the temporary panic and media hysteria had subsided, but they wondered about Luthor's omen: Was Lex Luthor accurate about the apparent inconsistency between hero-worship and identity-secrecy, and could the AntiChrist be real? All the people of the world knew was that the outlandish Lantern-Arrow duo signified a crime-rage consciousness in the modern city. Meanwhile, Satan (the adversary of God) took notes of all these events and wrote eerily in his blasphemous diary, "Maybe Halloween is more fun than New Year's Eve!"

====


Green Lantern-Green Arrow Team (Comic Vine)

 

[Abishai100]

Chapter 2: Arrow-Lantern vs. Legion of Doom



====

Arrow (Oliver) and Lantern (Hal) had to challenge the evil dominion of the Legion of Doom, which was comprised of the new super-villains Toyman, Lex Luthor, Count Vertigo, Poison Ivy, Brainiac, and Ursa. Arrow and Lantern had made two new heroic vigilante sidekick friends --- Catwoman (Selina Kyle) and Red Robin (Damian Wayne). However, Catwoman and Red Robin were beginning to mistrust the Arrow-Lantern objectives and were considering the practicality of the revolutionary geo-political objectives of the Legion of Doom. Catwoman and Red Robin decided to defect and join the Legion of Doom and told the evil union of the Arrow-Lantern objective to invade the fortress of the Legion of Doom on Halloween Eve 2010.

The Legion of Doom had sent a public notice to the Washington Post which read, "If the Arrow-Lantern team does not meet us in D.C. on Halloween Eve (2010), we will shower the city with cloudbursts of toxic vapors which will create instant insanity and then fear-induced heart attacks!" Arrow and Lantern deduced that if the Legion of Doom had the necessary materials to construct these vapor-balloon weapons, then the fortress of the Legion of Doom must be located near a major science laboratory, and the two superheroes deduced that the fortress must be located beneath the cliffs of southern California right by the Salk Institute of science research!

Since Catwoman and Red Robin had warned the Legion of Doom that Arrow and Lantern intended to invade their fortress (which was indeed located by the Salk Institute) days before the planned Halloween invasion of Washington, the Legion of Doom prepared adequately for such a scenario. Toyman intended to create a bunch of miniature remote-controlled flying planes which would drop mini-missiles filled with sedating tear-gas and explode above the heads of Arrow and Lantern and debilitate them and render them helpless and under the mercy of the Legion of Doom. Toyman's plan worked, and Arrow and Lantern awoke from their coma (days before Halloween Eve) only to find themselves in a holding-cell in the fortress of the Legion of Doom.

Lex Luthor was responsible for interrogating Arrow and Lantern and demanding the two become slaves to the Legion of Doom.

----

LEX: You will help us invade D.C. on Halloween Eve as our slaves!
ARROW: The only reason you caught us is because Catwoman and Red Robin betrayed us.
LANTERN: You would not be so arrogant Luthor if we had the chance to redeem our former sidekicks.

LEX: Catwoman and Red Robin have decided to become our allies. They belong to us now.
ARROW: We still believe in them, and we intend to ask them to help us escape.
LANTERN: You'll see that you banked on the vulnerabilities of otherwise two heroic vigilantes!

LEX: I'll make you a bet. If you can convince Catwoman and Red Robin to side with you, I'll let you go.
ARROW: I see, so the four of us can engage all of your Legion of Doom members on Halloween.
LANTERN: If that's the bet, we'll take it.

LEX: That's the bet. I'll send in Selina and Damian and you must convince them in 30 minutes.
ARROW: We're no exorcists, Luthor, but we believe in our friends!
LANTERN: This is not over, Luthor!

{Exit Lex Luthor; Enter Catwoman and Red Robin}

ARROW: Why did you betray us?
LANTERN: Luthor has made us a deal --- we simply must convince you to return to our side!
CATWOMAN: Why should we?
RED ROBIN: The Arrow-Lantern objective is not as powerful as the Legion of Doom's D.C. plan.

ARROW: The Legion of Doom intends to destroy D.C. on Halloween Eve.
LANTERN: How could that possibly help humanity?
CATWOMAN: Maybe you're right.
RED ROBIN: What should we do?

ARROW: We'll tell Luthor you two are back with us.
LANTERN: Just remain quiet.
CATWOMAN: We'll help you fight Luthor in D.C. on Halloween Eve.
RED ROBIN: Count on it!

{Re-enter Lex Luthor in 30 minutes}

LEX: I see you're 're-converted' your two idealistic sidekicks!
ARROW: Sometimes everyone needs psychological motivation.
LANTERN: Maybe someday someone will reach out to even you Luthor.

LEX: Very well. We'll tussle in D.C. soon.
ARROW: Not even the AntiChrist can help your invasion-plan Luthor.
LANTERN: Selina and Damian will be like 'dependable angels.'

----

Meanwhile, the AntiChrist was in his castle thinking to himself with an eerie grin, "The key to destroying the Arrow-Lantern team is the seduction of Selina and Damian. This is ironically rather easy in this new age of profiteerism-gauged bravado!"

====