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"Ah, a lost son has returned to me." |
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"Reckoning" is the seventh episode of the first season of Green Lantern: The Animated Series and the 7th of the overall series. It aired on April 14th, 2012.
Overview[]
Razer seemingly betrays the Green Lanterns and returns to Atrocitus on the Red Lantern homeworld, Shard. He attempts to kill the Red Lantern leader, but Atrocitus sees right through the facade and Razer is imprisoned, scheduled for execution. Hal, Kilowog, and Aya go behind enemy lines to discover the secret of the Red Lantern armada and race to rescue Razer before it's too late.
Synopsis[]
The Interceptor crew locates the Red Lantern mothership. Kilowog tells Aya to scan every possible section of the ship hoping to learn virtually everything he can about the craft. The three crew members watch the ship in anticipation until the exterior of the ship releases garbage. Kilowog confers with Hal that they were right about the ship dumping it's waste at 0600, which meant solar time. Razer claps his hand and sarcastically commends the crew, that after weeks of monitoring Shard, they have discovered the secret on when they dump their trash.
The interceptor crew monitors Shard.
He then frivolously remarks that a Green Lantern victory over the Red Lanterns can't be far behind, leading Kilowog critically scold him, stating that he hadn't heard any better ideas from him. Hal explains to Razer that they are slowly trying to repair the damaged Ultrawarp so they can get back Oa and bring reinforcements to overpower the Red Lanterns, and while they are waiting they are gathering intel without revealing to the enemy that they didn't die when they blew up Colony 12. Razer jumps from his seat and tells Hal what Atrocitus would do, listing that he would come after them relentlessly and keep coming until they were dead, even if it meant his life. He raises his fist and his Red Power Ring glows then fades. His ring is almost out of energy. Razer enunciates that he was a fool for joining their cause and that soon he'll be as useless as Hal and Kilowog. He exits the control room, but not before he warns them, they’ll have no victory if they aren't willing to die for their cause.
The Interceptor sustains damage from the sabotage attack.
He goes into other room and sneaks out of the ship, cluching an object in his grasp. Aya sees him through a security camera and pursues. Razer makes his way into space and Aya confronts him; pleading for him to return to the ship or risk being reported to the Green Lanterns. Razer states that she won't be able to stop him because she'll be busy trying to save the ship. He whips out a detonator and activates a bomb aboard the Interceptor—revealing that he sabotaged the ship's internal systems. Aya goes back to the ship to assist while Razer doesn't hesitate to leave in the mists of things.
Back on board, the systems are rapidly failing. Aya scans the ship and says that most of the Interceptor's systems appear close to nominal. Hal orders a hard reboot. With everything now under control, Aya informs them that Razer sabotaged the ship and went off into space. Hal surmises that he is headed to Shard.
Razer returns to his former allies.
Razer arrives on Shard, in Battery Square, and is confronted by his fellow Red Lanterns who think him to be an intruder. Bleez recognizes him and states that he died, as a hero. Razer remarks that he hasn't yet, before his power glow fades and his armor vanishes. Bleez informs Atrocitus via Red Lantern Power Ring of Razer's sudden arrival. Atrocitus tells Zilius to prepare a proper welcoming for Razer, Zilius smirks and lowers the energy on the central Red Lantern Power Battery. Razer goes before Atrocitus and tells him he was captured by the Green Lanterns. He talks to Atrocitus while he slowly creates a dagger construct and jumps to stab Atrocitus in the back. The construct fades before it can harm Atrocitus who slugs Razer and sends him hurdling.
Razer's armor fades and Atrocitus confirms that he tricked him, by powering down the Lantern so that he could learn Razer’s true intentions. As they race to Shard, Kilowog feels vindicated in his distrust of Razer, but Hal states that Razer could have killed them when he had the chance. He points out that the diversion was very elaborate and Aya concurs that it was nearly undetectable. The three Lanterns deduce that Razer set off to take his vengeance on Atroctius; a task he is most likely to perish from.
Hal devises a rescue plan to save Razer; having the three lantern hid behind an asteroid that is hurdling towards Shard. Atrocitus imprisons Razers and connects his own Lantern Battery to power Razer's interrogation, much to Zilius's surprise. Atrocitus insist that Razer tell him everything he knows about the Green Lanterns as Zilius commences the torture interrogation, ravaging red energy through Razer's body.
The three Lanterns execute Hal's plan.
Meanwhile, the team still speeds towards Shard. As they get closer, the asteroids begin to slam into the fortress's cannons. Activating an automatic defense mode, the cannons spray a wave of lasers at the incoming asteroids. Using the debris smoke for cover, the three lanterns arrive safely on Shard, entering the fortress through the garbage gate as it undergoes the routine waste dump just before its defense grid reactivates.
Razer is enduring the agony of his interrogation and eventually gives in. Zillius moves in to hear what he has to say, but Razer only spits on his forehead in disgust, revealing his surrender to be a feign. With Atrocitus's enjoyment burnt out, he punches Razer hard in the stomach and whispers in his ear that he's going to miss him. With that done, he orders Zillius to have him scheduled for execution.
In an alley, two gunner soldiers making their patrol rounds pass by without noticing the Green Lanterns right beneath their feet. They come to a building and Aya does her part for the mission when she disassembles to infiltrate a narrow window high up. Hal and Kilowog hide when those two guards come back and pounce on them. Meanwhile, Aya has infiltrated the building's inner complex, which is actually the main computer hub for Shard's reactor chamber, and she works her techno-sorcery.
Hal and Kilowog take the unconscious guards with them looking for a place to hide and walk through the gates of a cathedral. While the centepede-like alien inside is preoccupied by supposedly reading from a sacred text, the two of them sneak into a closet, but not without the Lantern hearing the door closing. Hal and Kilowog disguise themselves with the guards' armor, but Kilowog cannot fit into his. Hal steps outside to stall while he hides. Hal is able to flawlessly pass himself off as a soldier on official business and he is beset by the centepede-like alien who introduces himself as Cleric Loran, a Red Lantern priest who guards the House of Atrocitus with his life, but always welcomes soldiers with open arms. Enthralled by the art of the stained-glass windows of the cathedral, Hal requests to hear the story behind them from Loran, to which he graciously agrees. Loran explains that the windows depict the city in which the first Red Lantern, Atrocitus, rose to power and how he did so. It all started billions of years ago when the guardians preached peace to their now-ravaged galaxy, but all they did was demand ever lasting worship. When the people refused to bow at their feet, they brought ever-lasting pain when their "Manhunters" arrived and destroyed everyone and everything in their path. When the vicious automatons ran their course, Atrocitus was the strongest among the survivors. With his own rage, he forged an arsenal of equal magnitude capable of exacting retribution upon the guardians for their so-called attempted genocide. And from that rage and the vow of revenge, the Red Lantern Corp. was born. When Loran finishes the monologue, two other guards arrive, claiming to be searching for two missing gunners. Hal informs them to head down the street while he continues the search. Unfortunately, almost on cue, Kilowog's struggle to don his disguise sends him tumbling right out the closet door in front of everybody. To keep him from getting shot and killed by the soldiers right there and then, Hal punches him unconscious to feign taking a prisoner. In the execution hall, Razor is tied down ready for execution and Atrocitus bids him a snide final farewell as he orders Zilius to deliver the kill blow. Just then, Hal (still under his red soldier disguise) barges in with Kilowog in shackles, much to Razor's surpise, telling Atrocitus that he caught the Green Lantern in his shrine, and throws him at his feet.
Atrocitus holds Kilowog at his mercy with his power ring and admits that the Green Lanterns are harder to kill than he initially thought if Razer wasn't the only one who survived the explosion of Colony 12. When Zilius requests permission to proceed with Razer's decapitation, Atrocitus asks the "soldier" for his name and Hal introduces himself as "Wrath". Atrocitus declares that "Wrath" will have the honor of executing Kilowog at the same time Razer meets his doom. With both Lanterns tied down, Hal and Zilius proceed. As they raise their axes, Kilowog gives Razer a wink and Hal secretly gives Aya the order to proceed with the next phase of their plan. In the computer room, she activates the console and pipes burst all over the execution chamber and steam fills the room.
Credits[]
- Written by:
- Directed by:
- Starring:
- Produced by:
- James Krieg - producer
- Sam Register - executive producer
- Bruce Timm - executive producer
- Giancarlo Volpe - producer
- Music by:
- Frederik Wiedmann
- Production management:
- James L Davidson - production supervisor
- Josh Ling - assistant production manager
- Sandi Smith - assistant production manager
- Art department:
- Jake Castorena - storyboard artist
- Tom De Rosier - storyboard artist
- Val Kung - concept designer
- Peter Markowski - concept artist
- Derrick Wyatt - additional design and color
- Special effects by:
- Chieh-Yuan Chuang - special effects lead
- Visual effects by:
- Roger Borelli - lead modeler
- Animation department:
- Thomas Perkins - character designer
- Clarence Robello - animation lead
- Editorial department:
- Steven White - on-line editor
- Music department:
- Chris Tedesco - music contractor
- Hyesu Yang - orchestrator
- Other crew:
- James Krieg - story editor
Appearing in "Reckoning"[]
Heroes[]
Villains[]
Other Characters[]
- Guardians of the Universe (mentioned only)
- Manhunters (mentioned only)
- Ilana (mentioned only)
Locations[]
Items[]
Vehicles[]
Quotes[]
- Razer: With blood and rage of crimson red / We fill men's souls with darkest dread / And twist your minds to pain and hate / We'll burn you all - that is your fate!
- (The Red Lantern Oath)
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- Kilowog: Okay, I've had about enough of your poozers! (creates a chaingun and opens fire on the Red Lanterns)
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- Atrocitus: If you trust no one, Razer, you're never disappointed.
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- Razer: Congratulations. After weeks of stalking Shard, you've unlocked the secret of when they dump their garbage. Can total victory be far behind.
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- Cleric Loran: The city represents the capital of Ysmault before the Guardians arrived, but it could be any city on a thousand worlds in our now-ravaged galaxy. And then, the Guardians descended upon us. They said they would bring peace and order, but as the Book of Rage tells us, lies tumbled from their mouths. The said, "Kneel before us and you will want for nothing." But we would not worship them. And their wrath was deep and terrible. The blue devils unleashed their automaton manhunters and the Guardians' soulless avengers snuffed out every life. Stealing every breath and stilling every heart. It was his holy hate that bore the first fruit of a Red Lantern. He, our Lord Atrocitus of the five inversions. So, by Red Lantern's light, we shall bring vengeance to those who laid us low.
Production notes[]
Series continuity[]
- Hal mentions the destruction of Colony 12, which took place in "Beware My Power".
- The confrontation between Kilowog and Skallox is the beginning of multiple rematches that take place in "Regime Change", "Invasion" and "Homecoming".
- Aya disables herself once more this episode, a trick she first used in "Into the Abyss".
Trivia[]
- The Red Lantern oath is markedly different from how it goes in the comics ("With blood and rage of crimson red / Ripped from a corpse so freshly dead / Together with our hellish hate / We'll burn you all - that is your fate!"), in order to appeal to a wider audience, especially for the younger demographic who watched the show on Cartoon Network.
- This is the first episode to feature Bleez, Veon and Skallox.
- When Hal hides in the church to escape detection, Loran recounts a tale similar to that of The Massacre of Sector 666. One key difference in this story from the comic book version is that the formation of the Five Inversions never happened.
- The staff Loran holds in his hand is strikingly similar to the Eye of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings. In the LOTR, Sauron uses it as a metaphor to show how he "sees all", Loran uses the staff to evidently see.
- The Loran can be heard reciting "It is by rage alone that I set my mind in motion." This is an altered version of the Mentat mantra in Dune, the original using "will".
Goofs[]
Background[]
Reception[]
References[]
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