Spoilers for Infinite Frontier #0 ahead!
The Green Lantern Corps have recruited Teen Lantern, the mysterious young ring-wielder from Young Justice to Oa in Infinite Frontier #0—but it may be a decision that dooms them in the end. The recently concluded Future State event promised a dark fate for the Lanterns – could Teen Lantern be what brings about their end?
Teen Lantern was created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Patrick Gleason and first appeared in Young Justice #1 in 2019. Keli Quintela is a young girl who received a device that allows her to channel Green Lantern Energy from a dying alien. Traveling from her home country of Bolivia to Metropolis, she fights crime alongside fellow teen heroes as Young Justice. While her heart is in the right place, and her technology allows her to channel Green Lantern’s energy, she lacks the training other Lanterns have. That came to an end in the last issue of Young Justice, when she caught the attention of Green Lantern John Stewart, who decided she was to go to Oa to begin training.
The Segment “Green Lanterns” by Geoffrey Thorne, Dexter Soy, and Alex Sinclair in Infinite Frontier #0 picks up with Stewart and Teen Lantern, along with Simon Baz, another of Earth’s Green Lanterns, heading to Oa. Teen Lantern is being brought up to speed on the history of both the universe and the Lantern Corps. While she studies, Baz and Stewart talk about the power pack that allows her to tap into the Green Lantern Power Battery, and how the Guardians want to study it. They discuss the Guardians further – the planets of the galaxy are starting to come together, and the rest of the galaxy is curious how the Guardians stand. Before the conversation can go too much further, they arrive at Oa.
In The Green Lantern: Season Two #11, the Young Guardians revealed they plan to change the direction of the Corps, and Teen Lantern somehow factors into their plans. Readers learned in Future State that something happened to the Green Lantern Corps that shut down the Central Battery and stripped the Lanterns of their powers – could the mysterious technology that allows Teen Lantern to harness the Battery’s power be what causes it? The technology is apparently unknown to the Guardians, so this is a possibility. The Guardians feel they are infallible and invincible, yet history has shown that many of their plans go awry, such as the Manhunters. Will this be the final, and greatest, of the Guardians’ bad decisions?
Teen Lantern has been one of the most exciting additions to the Green Lantern mythos in recent years, and now she is set to move into the big leagues – unfortunately, her technology could be the Green Lantern Corps downfall. Infinite Frontier #0, written by an all-star roster of writers and artists, is available in stores now and on all digital comic platforms.
Next: How DC’s New Green Lantern is Different From Hal Jordan
