Retro-Review: Green Lantern/Silver Surfer: Unholy Alliances #1

Review: This issue begins with the Silver Surfer coming across a destroyed planet and discovering Cyborg Superman standing in the rubble. Cyborg Supes doesn't have the slightest idea why he's in the Marvel Universe, but attacks the Surfer nonetheless. While that's going on, Kyle Rayner hears some explosions from his apartment and heads outside to check it out(as Green Lantern, naturally)and discovers Terrax tearing up a park. Kyle asks Terrax who he was and what he was up to, and Terrax explains that he was from another dimension and was told that if he defeated Kyle he'd be able to take over the DCU. Back to the Marvel U, the Surfer's battle with Cyborg Supes is interrupted by the arrival of Hal Jordan(this was back when he was Parallax), who had headed to the Marvel U to kill Cyborg Supes in retribution for the destruction of Coast City. The Surfer intervenes, since he was unsure as to what was going on, which gives Cyborg Supes the chance to escape. That naturally angers Hal, but he cools off after the Surfer tells Hal he could locate Cyborg Supes wherever he goes. The two talk, and they realize that they have a lot in common, with Hal trying to do whatever he could to bring back Coast City, while the Surfer was haunted by all of the worlds he allowed to be destroyed while he was working for Galactus. Ultimately Hal convinces the Surfer that he could return all of those dead planets to life(as well as fix Coast City)if they combined powers. After a moment of thought, the Surfer agrees to add his Power Cosmic to Hal's Parallax powers. Back in the DCU, Terrax is about to kill Kyle, when Kyle is saved by the timely arrival of Thanos(!?!). Thanos sends Terrax back to the Marvel U with his time/space traveling chair and introduces himself to Kyle, stating that Hal was up to no good and was about to fracture all of reality with his newfound powers. Kyle is dubious, since Thanos doesn't seem very trustworthy, but agrees to go with him, since Thanos says he had concocted a weapon that would counteract Hal. However, Thanos's weapon needed Kyle's GL abilities to power it. With his new powers Hal fixes the world Cyborg Supes destroyed, much to the Surfer's amazement before deciding he'd head back to the DCU to resurrect Coast City. Back in the DCU, Thanos brings Kyle to the former location of Oa(it was destroyed in a battle between Kyle and Hal)where Kyle discovers there was a rift in space that was serving as a gateway to the Marvel Universe. Upon seeing this sight, Kyle agrees to power Thanos's machine before the rift got any worse. Kyle loads his GL powers into the machine, leading to a massive power surge, one so large that Hal and the Surfer notice it from the Marvel U and head towards the source. Unfortunately for Kyle, Thanos betrays him, steals all of the power left from where Oa once stood, and announces that he was going to destroy all of reality in an effort to be reunited with the love of his life, Death. Thanos goes to kill Kyle, but by this point, Hal and the Surfer arrive. Sensing the powers of Oa inside of Thanos, Hal goes after him, leaving the Surfer to attack Kyle, who he thought was in cahoots with Thanos. Hal and Thanos talk, and learn that they were working towards very different goals, so Hal, with the powers of Parallax and the Power Cosmic, takes on Thanos, who was being fueled by Oa itself. The Surfer and Kyle also battle for a bit, until Kyle is able to convince the Surfer he was duped by Thanos, and didn't share Thanos's insane dreams. While Hal creates worlds, and Thanos destroys them, the Surfer and Kyle come up with a last ditch plan to have Kyle's GL ring absorb ALL of the powers from both Thanos and Hal, which he surprisingly is able to do. However, the power is WAAAAY too much for a normal man to hold, so the Surfer, with his cosmic infused body, offers to take in all of the power. Kyle sends it to the Surfer, who after some difficulty is able to contain and control all of the energies. The Surfer puts the powers back where they belong, which closes the rift in space, sending the Surfer and Thanos back to the Marvel side, and ending this issue.

Thoughts: Oooo... I REALLY enjoyed this one! It had three VERY important things going for it. Kyle Rayner as the lone Green Lantern, Hal Jordan as Parallax(the way it SHOULD be)and Thanos as... well, Thanos! I especially enjoyed the interaction between the Surfer and Hal, since they really DID seem to have the best interest of the universe in mind. Who can fault them for wanting to return billions back to life? As for Thanos and Kyle, I liked Thanos being the sneaky, manipulative bastard, to Kyle's still kind of novice hero. Thanos sent Terrax after Kyle with the sole intention to save Kyle and gain his confidence, which actually worked. Thanos played his role as hero perfectly, and his reveal that he was actually the villain, and that he wanted to destroy all life in the universe for his Lady Death, was executed to perfection. Usually when you have a two company crossover like this, it ends poorly, because the story is so shoddy. But Ron Marz(who had extensive writing runs on Green Lantern and Silver Surfer)put together a totally believable story that used all of the characters involved perfectly. Hal had a one track mind. The Surfer was his regular pensive, thoughtful self. Kyle doubted himself throughout and almost helped Thanos destroy the universe as a result before redeeming himself. And Thanos was his regular awesome self. This might just be the best Marvel/DC x-over comic I've read... So far.

Score: 9 1/2 out of 10.Thanos destroying Coast City while Hal looks on in horror is one of the best things I've seen in a while!