Written by Geoff Johns; Art and cover by Ivan Reis and Oclair Albert

Wow. This issue had some incredible surprises, some that are sure not to stick, but some that could have a serious impact on the DCU. Now on to the summary:

We start out at the beginning of the issue picking up where this week’s Green Lantern #48 left off. We have a representative from each of the color corps represented, as they believe there combined might can stop the Black Lanterns. We then cut back to Coast City where the entire city has been raised. Barry Allen is fighting Black Hand as Hand still has Bruce Wayne’s skull in his possession. As Barry is about to be killed, Wally West rushes in for the save. Wally tells Barry they may not have a Flash Corps, but he brought plenty of friends as we see Cyborg, Starfire, Superman, Wonder Woman, Beast Boy, Green Arrow, Superboy and more heroes arrive to take on the Black Lanterns. We then cut to the JSA fight, as Damage is resurrected as a Black Lantern. The Atom and Mera fight him and Jean Loring, but she grabs them and shrinks the 3 of them down to fit inside of Damage’s Black Lantern ring. We then are quickly back to Coast City, as the heroes are having some success, as it appears Dove’s light powers destroy Black Lanterns. The heroes are also trying to free the Guardians from the black goo that they are trapped by. As Skar is about to kill Wally West the Color Corps arrive to hit him with a concentrated blast of light. They destroy Skar, and then head to eliminate the Black Lantern power battery. As they try to, Nekron says that the Guardian’s lie is about to be exposed. They hit it with a blast of light and out comes a black ring. Green Lantern asks if it appears it is doing nothing, and Black Hand answers that it is making Nekron stronger. At that same time Donna Troy starts to succumb to the power of the Black Lanterns and we see the ring hit its target as Bruce Wayne of Earth rises. As the heroes are stunned by the arrival of Black Lantern Batman, we see that the Emotional Tether has been established. This allows BL Batman to spew forth rings as Nekron explains that he allowed their resurrections and prevented them from permanent death. With that we see the rings hit  Animal Man, Wonder Woman, Superman, Superboy, Kid Flash, and Green Arrow as Nekron says to them “DIE”.  Green Lantern tries to take on Batman, but it is too late. Nekron severs the connection to “Bruce Wayne” and takes control of the heroes he just killed. They rise as Black Lanterns as two rings come out and chase Hal Jordan and Barry Allen. This was a great issue. The action was non-stop from start to finish and the story has hit a very interesting place. This book has been the template for how good a crossover can be. The art was phenomenal again, especially the splash pages of heroes and raised Black Lanterns. Overall this issue earns 8 out of 8 Lantern Rings and you should

Put It On The Stack.