Synopsis
Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances (1996 series) #1 synopsis by
Rob Johnson
Rating:
In the Marvel Universe Silver Surfer returns to 1 of the few worlds he spared from Galactus' hunger when he was his Herald and finds it shattered. And the culprit is a man/machine being unknown to him. He fires of a warning blast of cosmic power and announces himself. But the foe doesn't know him either. He calls himself Cyborg (but his likeness to Superman is not accidental) from another universe and he intends to recreate something called Warworld. Their mighty powers clash.
On DC Earth Kyle Rayner (Green Lantern) is trying to make extra money for his rent because he doesn't know how much longer he's going to get a Titans salary. Then he's alerted by a mighty explosion and switches to GL (remembering to top up from his power battery). It's not long since the last Guardian gave him the power ring but he's determined to live up to example set by Hal Jordan. Outside in Washington Square Park he finds a big guy with an axe that *he* doesn't recognise. But Terrax The Tamer has been told that he's the only thing standing between him and the conquest of the universe. They too start to fight.
SS and Cyborg are still at it. Surfer dodges his foe's blasts and Cyborg shrugs off the Power Cosmic. Then the enemy is hit in the back by a green blast from another green-clad figure.
Terrax is flying around on a clump of ground (1 of his powers). GL keeps creating green things to attack him with (1 of the powers of the ring), but the baddie's axe cleaves them all. He dodges the axe but a telekinetically-aimed lump of earth hits the back of his head. Terrax has him at his mercy but then *he* gets hit in the back by an orange blast from someone we recognise as Thanos on his dimension-travelling chair/throne.
Cyborg recognises his attacker as Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) from his own universe. But Jordan declares himself now Parallax, seeking revenge for Cyborg's destruction of Coast City. Parallax combines ring-constructs with plain power blasts and his foe is damaged. To Norrin Radd it sounds like Hal is the good guy here, but he needs to be certain so he separates the combatants and the foe escapes. Norrin claims he can easily track him but wants some answers 1st. Jordan confirms that he and Cyborg are from another universe (a concept which Surfer seems strangely unfamiliar with) and that the villain destroyed his home city. He was pursuing him when Cyborg was taken out of their universe, but his ring allowed him to follow. Surfer asks if he's a hero bringing the villain to justice. Jordan admits that he was a hero when he was Green Lantern serving the Guardians of his universe. But since the destruction of Coast City and becoming Parallax he's done questionable things for good reasons. All he wants is to put things right. This resonates with Silver Surfer's history.
Terrax claims that it was Thanos who sent him to the DC universe and says he was a fool to have trusted him again. Thanos agrees and easily stops his assault, and then pushes a button on his chair to send the Tamer back home. He introduces himself to the young GL and tells him to ignore the lunatic's raving.
Norrin Radd relates his own history to Hal Jordan. How he allowed Galactus to make him his Cosmic Powered Herald in order to save his homeworld Zenn-La and his love (Shalla Bal). But his master tampered with his soul so that he callously led Big G to other worlds. But he doesn't use that as an excuse and tries to atone for those deeds now he is free. They bond over shared pasts and Jordan suggests that together they have to power to make things right again.
Thanos explains that he saw Terrax go through a space-time rift and followed him using his chair. And he needs GL's help to save both universes from a dire threat who is trying to become a god. And that man is Hal Jordan.
Surfer is tempted by Parallax's idea but he's learned that it's too dangerous to mess with reality, especially just to ease his own conscience. But Hal reminds him that they can save all the billions he helped Galactus to kill, as well as the millions who died in Coast City.
Kyle knows that Hal did almost rewrite time but he'd hoped he'd learned his lesson. But he's amazed that Thanos in another universe knew about it. Thanos says he can detect matters of cosmic scope in any universe, and he's constructed a weapon to stop Jordan but it needs Kyle's ring to work. GL expresses reasonable doubt but the Mad Titan points out that he *did* save him from Terrax. And why would he *not* want to save their universes from total destruction?
And in their 2 universes Norrin and Kyle agree to help Hal and Thanos.
Hal takes Norrin's hand. And much of the Power Cosmic transfers from Silver Surfer to Parallax. But when he recovers Norrin sees that the shattered world has been recreated. And the duo travel to the surface where all the cities and people are as they were. But as they fly away again we hear Parallax mutter that 'they' wouldn't listen to him before, but this time they can't stop him.
Meanwhile GL and Thanos have travelled to the centre of the universe where Oa, planet of the Guardians, once stood. Kyle reminds us that he had to destroy the planet to stop Hal before. Thanos claims that that action caused a massive breach in reality which offers access to other universes, including the 1 he came from. He has built a huge 'platform' here to tap the energy of the place. And with Kyle's ring they can harness that energy to stop Parallax. They take their places in opposite seats and Thanos switches the machine on ...
... and in the Marvel U Hal's brain is wracked with pain. He says that someone is tampering with the structure of both their universes, and even with his cosmic powers weakened Surfer can sense it too. They set out on SS's Cosmic Surfboard to find the source.
Thanos says that's enough, which couldn't come too soon for Kyle who asks to be sure that they're only going to take Hal's power away, not kill him. Thanos laughs because he never cared about Parallax. Instead he wants to gain the favour of his love Death who has spurned him and banned him from her realm. And now he has gained the power to destroy a universe to win her love. Kyle realises he's been had, and Thanos confirms that it was all his plan. He took someone from the DC Universe (ie Cyborg) to check the rift worked, and then sent Terrax to involve Green Lantern. But now Kyle can just be a taster for Death.
But then Surfer and Parallax come through the rift, Norrin recognises the mad mega-villain Thanos and Hal recognises his GL successor who must be in league with him because only his ring could have accessed Oa's energies. He also senses that Thanos now has that power so he goes to face the Titan while diminished Surfer takes on GL. Kyle tries to avoid an unnecessary conflict but Norrin's not taking No for an answer. The 2 cosmic villains state their intentions. Thanos will use the power of Oa to destroy everything that exists while Parallax with his own and Surfer's power can recreate it. So of course they have to fight too.
GL still pleads innocence while they fight but SS accuses him of giving a madman ultimate power. But with his power drained Surfer is losing the battle against Lantern's green constructs. Parallax begins his plan to recreate the universe in his own image by recreating the planet Oa. But Thanos just destroys it again, as he intends to destroy everything. Hal blasts him, and uses the breathing space to recreate Coast City (in the middle of space).
Then GL drowns SS in green stuff, and pulls him free to show him what the other 2 are doing. They seem to be fighting as gods dwarfing the reborn city while at the same time fighting as mortals on 1 of its streets. And the city is the major casualty. Kyle and Norrin know it's up to them to stop them, but Surfer says his power is too drained so GL will have to use his ring to take the villains' energies from them. However Kyle's never done anything like that before.
1st they leap in to separate the combatants. GL shackles Thanos with green energy while SS flies Parallax away on his board. Hal Jordan still claims he's doing the right thing but Norrin Radd says he's been driven mad by his obsession. Thanos has broken free and leaps to the attack again. But this time it's Green Lantern who opposes him and says the power of Oa belongs to him as ring-bearer. And he rips that power from him, and Surfer's Power Cosmic from Parallax. The 2 villains fall but Kyle is overwhelmed by the power he's gained. Norrin tells him to transfer it to him because his body is a cosmic battery and can better survive. The transfer happens and now it's Surfer's turn to struggle to control it. But control it he does and successfully absorbs it.
The heroes congratulate each other. They wonder what to do with the 2 villains. But the universes deal with the problem. Thanos is sucked through the rift to the Marvel U, and Parallax is thrown deeper into the DC U. And the rift starts to close so Norrin Radd takes his leave and flies through it saying maybe they'll meet again. Kyle Rayner is left alone thinking that's highly doubtful.
He flies back to Earth and New York not noticing a big cardboard box in an alleyway starting to glow.