Why You Should Read "Mercenary!"

Not every one would be happy to have a Green Lantern ring...I know, crazy? right?

A while back, I wrote a post suggesting "Tales of the Green Lantern Corps" because it's an awesome compilation of stories about characters that are typically in the background of most Green Lantern comic books. Because each of the stories is unique with it's own set of characters and creative team behind it, I've decided to highlight individual stories.

Let's start with this short story. "Mercenary!" is an origin story about Green Lantern of space sector 3333, Penn Maricc. The story is being told by the imprisoned renegade, Sinestro, in an attempt to illustrate the weaknesses of the Green Lantern Corps to a defeated and jailed omnipotent being. I know...it's weird, but the story is actually pretty good.

Sinestro tells the story of Penn Maricc to convince this imprisoned being that the Guardians of the Universe are distant from their Green Lanterns and the values of the Guardians are not shared with the corps.

Penn Maricc is a Han Solo type character who is only interested in performing heroic tasks if the price is right. The Guardians of the Universe promise Maricc a reward if he is able to save a young prince from a tyrannical uncle.

Being told by Sinestro, the story is meant to show the flaws of the Guardians of the Universe and the Green Lantern Corps, and Penn Maricc is a character that is definitely flawed and is barely heroic. This is one of those stories that don't put the hero character on a pedestal but instead show their weaknesses and scandals.

Though this is a pretty good story, I think it works better in the context of "Tales of the Green Lantern Corps" along with the other stories in the compilation. This wouldn't be a bad story for new readers, but is more for the fans who want to learn more about the Green Lanterns that tend to be in the background to Hal Jordan and the other earth Green Lanterns.

ISSUE: Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2 (1986)

Writing	Art	Character Development	Overall Enjoyment
7	6	7	8