Spoilers for Dark Crisis - Worlds Without a Justice League: Green Lantern #1 ahead!
When it comes to the Green Lanterns, the enemies they face are just as imaginative and creative as their powers - and few sources can match the Dungeons and Dragons monster manual for inventive foes. In fact, the latest space monstrosity John Stewart squares off against bears direct resemblance to one of Dungeons and Dragon's nastiest monsters. And while this threat may not be a match for Green Lantern's light, it is fascinating to see elements of Dungeons and Dragons continuing to appear in varied forms of media
During the events of the Dark Crisis, the Justice League has seemingly been killed by Pariah. Rather than being destroyed, however, each member has instead been torn out of the universe and placed in their own separate worlds where the Justice League never had cause to form. In the case of John Stewart, he finds himself as the Guardian, the supreme Green Lantern and epitome of willpower.
In Dark Crisis - Worlds Without a Justice League: Green Lantern #1 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Fernando Blanco, and Jordie Bellaire, John Stewart lives out his days on a farm, having established a network of Green Lanterns to fulfill the role of the Justice League. When a menace out of space known as the Radiant Dead arrives to threaten the earth, John is called into action once more to save the planet and the Corps. Despite the Radiant Dead being led by a terrifying creature called the Bright Revenant, they prove to be no match for John, the most powerful Green Lantern, and he swiftly defeats the Radiant Dead and restores the fallen members of the Lantern Corps.
The Radiant Dead are ghoulish creatures able to kill or convert their enemies at a touch, but the Bright Revenant itself bears particular resemblance to Dungeons and Dragon's Atropal. The Atropal is an unholy monstrosity, an attempt at creating godhood that resulted in a stillborn abomination of incredible power. The Bright Revenant matches an Atropal in almost every detail: its appearance as an infant creature, its aura of death and killing glare, and its hunger to conquer worlds (as it had previously destroyed the Guardians of Oa and arrives with a host of Radiant Dead Thanagarians in thrall).
This isn't the first time such a creature has shown up in Philip Kennedy Johnson's work, either: Superman's new ally on Warworld is also an unborn child containing immense power. Furthermore, Johnson's Last God series has an accompanying source book that is compatible with the latest edition of Dungeons and Dragons. With all of this in mind, it's delightful to see this homage to one of Dungeons and Dragons' most potent villains - even if it still isn't a match for Green Lantern.
Dark Crisis - Worlds Without a Justice League: Green Lantern #1 is now available from DC Comics.