D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
July 2010
Holy Vortex, Batman!
Guess we finally know what's responsible for the "vortex" that's supposed to make Silver City special. In the opening scene of the first issue of the new "Brightest Day" comic book series from DC Comics, publishers of Superman and Batman, two lawmen discover a "glowin' doohickey" in a crater in, yes, "Silver City, New Mexico."
On the next page, hero Green Lantern and temporarily reformed villains Star Sapphire and Sinestro land in the crater. After a brief fracas with the lawmen (who evidently have not been reading the previous "Blackest Night" series and think Sinestro's still a villain), the superpowered trio reveal that the glowing white lantern — similar to Green Lantern's emerald power source — is an "entity" unearthed from the center of the earth. Sinestro explains that Silver City is home to "the white light that sparked the very creation of life throughout the universe." Now, apparently, the white lantern has also brought a bunch of deceased DC heroes, including Aquaman and Hawkman, back to life.
Over the next few pages, Green Lantern compares the mysterious white lantern to the ?sword in the stone? of Arthurian mythology, which ?could only be lifted by the true king of the land.? Not even Green Lantern can lift it, and that?s the last we see of Silver City or the white lantern in this issue. Could it be that the ?entity? is awaiting someone from our own little town to lift it and become a contemporary King Arthur?
It's not clear why writers Geoff Johns and Peter J. Tomasi picked Silver City for their story — the location is not an important plot element, at least in the first issue. Perhaps we'll soon have our own superhero — Four Gentle Seasons Man!