Brightest Day

Brightest Dayis a 2010–2011crossoverstoryline published byDC Comics,consisting of a year-longcomic bookmaxiseriesthat began in April 2010, and a number of tie-in books.The story is a direct follow-up to theBlackest Nightstoryline that depicts the aftermath of the events of that storyline on the DC Universe.

"Brightest Day"
Variant coverofBrightest Day0 (June 2010DC Comics), art byIvan Reis
Publisher	DC Comics
Publication date	June2010– June2011
Genre	Superhero
Title(s) Brightest Day#0–24
Main character(s)	Green Lantern Reverse-Flash Jade Osiris Maxwell Lord Hawkman Hawkgirl Aquaman Martian Manhunter Firestorm Captain Boomerang Deadman Hank Hall Anti-Monitor Black Manta Siren
Creative team
Writer(s)	Geoff Johns Peter Tomasi
Penciller(s)	Scott Clark Patrick Gleason Joe Prado Ivan Reis Ardian Syaf
Inker(s)	Oclair Albert Dave Beaty Vicente Cifuentes Mark Irwin
Letterer(s)	Rob Clark
Colorist(s)	Peter Steigerwald
Editor(s)	Eddie Berganza Rex Ogle Adam Schlagman
Volume 1 (hardcover)	ISBN1-4012-2966-2
Volume 2 (hardcover)	ISBN1401230830
Volume 3 (hardcover)	ISBN1401232167
Volume 1 (paperback)	ISBN1401232760

Plot

At the end of the 2009–2010Blackest Nightstoryline, 12 deceased heroes and villains are resurrected for an unknown purpose. The events ofBrightest Dayfollow their exploits as they seek to learn the secret behind their resurrection.

The story begins the day afterBlackest NightshowingBoston Brandsmashing his tombstone. Nearby, a baby bird falls out of its nest and dies, but Boston resurrects it. The ring then takes him to everyone that was resurrected and he (while being invisible) sees how they are celebrating their new leases on life. Boston then asks the ring why it is showing him this; its answer was - it needs help. It then takes him to the destroyed Star City and creates a forest.

Characters

Main characters

• Aquaman
• Boston Brand
• Captain Boomerang( "Digger" Harkness)
• Firestorm(Ronnie Raymond)
• Hawk(Hank Hall)
• Hawkgirl(Shiera Hall)
• Hawkman(Carter Hall)
• Jade
• Martian Manhunter
• Maxwell Lord
• Osiris
• Reverse-Flash(Eobard Thawne)

Supporting characters

• Black Manta
• Dove(Dawn Granger)
• D'Kay D'Razz
• Hath-Set
• Jason RuschandMartin Stein
• Mera
• Siren

Assignments

Brightest Day#7 reveals that the twelve resurrected must complete an individual assignment given to them by theLife Entityto be fully resurrected.

• Reverse Flash freesBarry Allenfrom theSpeed Force.
• Jade balances the darkness.
• Osiris frees the nature goddessIsis.
• Maxwell Lord stopsMagogfrom causing the future events ofKingdom Come.
• Hawkgirl prevents Hath-Set from killing Hawkman.
• Hawkman closes the dimensional gateway betweenHawkworldand Earth.
• Aquaman enlists the newAqualad.
• Martian Manhunter kills D'Kay D'razz and devotes himself to protecting Earth.
• Jason Rusch and Ronnie Raymond stopDeathstormfrom destroying the universe.
• Captain Boomerangthrows a boomerang atDove.
• Hawkis assigned to catch the boomerang, but fails to do so.
• Boston Brandfinds anew championto bear the white light.

Publication history

The series, written byGeoff JohnsandPeter Tomasi,was published twice a month for 24 issues(25 if including issue #0) alternating withJustice League: Generation Lostwritten byKeith GiffenandJudd Winick.Johns has discussed the general theme:

Brightest Dayis about second chances. I think it's been obvious from day one that there are major plans for the heroes and villains fromAquamanto take center stage in the DC Universe, among many others, post-Blackest Night.Brightest Dayis not a banner or a vague catch-all direction for the DC Universe, it is a story. Nor isBrightest Daya sign that the DC Universe is going to be all about 'light and brighty' superheroes. Some second chances work out…some don't.

Brightest Dayalso crossed over into theGreen Lanternseries, theGreen Lantern Corps,Justice League of America,The TitansandThe Flash.Gail Simonereturned to a new volume of theBirds of Preycomic book, which also went under the same banner.Other tie-ins included the first issues of a relaunchedGreen Arrowand theJustice Society of America.Jeff Lemirewrote theone-shotBrightest Day: TheAtomSpecialwith artistMahmud Asrar,which acted as a springboard for an Atom story to co-feature inAdventure Comicswith the same creative team.

TheGreen Lanternseries featured more of the charactersAtrocitus,Larfleeze,Saint Walker,andIndigo-1in a story arc titled "New Guardians".Johns said thatFirestormis a "main character" inBrightest Day.

The first issue, issue #0, was penciled byFernando Pasarin.David Finch,a newly DC exclusive artist, illustrated the covers for the entire series.

Brightest Dayevent was also used to introduceJackson Hyde,the newAqualadcreated for theYoung Justiceanimated series, into the DC Universe.Similarly, the final issue reintroducesSwamp ThingandJohn Constantineinto the mainstream DC Universe after their extended time in DC'sVertigo Comicsimprint.

Titles

• Brightest Day#0-24 (twice monthly, 25 issues including issue #0) focuses on the resurrectedDeadman,Hawkman,Hawkgirl,Martian Manhunter,Aquaman,andFirestorm.
• Green Lantern(vol. 4) #53-62 focuses onHal Jordan,as well as the other representatives of the other Lantern Corps, as they attempt to prevent the capture of all the emotional entities which eventually leads to the Green Lantern Corps War.
• Green Lantern Corps(vol. 2) #47-57 focuses onKyle Rayner,John Stewart,andGanthetas they face the revolt of theAlpha Lanternsand the return of theWeaponers of Qwarduntil the War of the Green Lantern Corps erupts.
• Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors(issues #1-6) focuses onGuy Gardner,Kilowog,Arisia Rrab,Sodam Yat,andBleezas they battleKronato prevent the War of the Green Lantern Corps.
• Brightest Day: The Atom Specialis a one-shot that was bannered as aBrightest Daytie-in, but is in actuality an introduction to the Atom miniseries contained withinAdventure Comics#516-521 andGiant-Size Atom#1.
• Birds of Prey(vol. 2) #1-6 focuses on the resurrectedHawkas well as theDove's connection to the White Light.
• The Flash(vol. 3) #1-7 features the resurrectedCaptain Boomerang.
• Green Arrow(vol. 4) #1-12 focuses on the Star City forest that sprouted from the White Lantern ring.
• Justice League of America(vol. 3) #44-48 focuses on the resurrectedJadeas she tries to save her brother and father from the control of the Starheart.
• Justice League: Generation Lost#1-24 (twice monthly, 24 issues) focuses onBooster Gold,Captain Atom,Fire,andIceas they attempt to find the resurrectedMaxwell Lord.
• Justice Society of America(vol. 3) #40-43, which is part of the storyline shared withJustice League of America#44-48.
• Titans(vol. 2) #24-30 focuses on the resurrectedOsirisas he joins a team of villains led byDeathstroke,and composed of theTattooed Man,Cheshire,and a new character namedCinder.An additional special calledTitans: Villains For Hire Special#1 precedes number #24 and deals with the death ofRyan Choi,the fourthAtom,at the hands of the villains. For unknown reasons, issue #28 was the last issue to be labeled as aBrightest Daytie-in.

Involved, but not listed, under theBrightest Daybanner

• Action Comics(beginning with issue #890–900) focuses onLex Luthorand his universal quest to locate the energy of theBlack Lantern Corps.Incidentally, issue #890 was labeled asBlackest NightAftermath.
• Booster Gold(vol. 2) #33–43 picks up on elements of the search forMaxwell LordinJustice League: Generation Lost.
• Power Girl#13–23 is loosely connected withJustice League: Generation Lost.
• Untold Tales from Blackest Night#1 (October 2010): while it was labeled as "Blackest Night",this one-shot is loosely connected withBrightest Day#11–12,Green Lantern#59, andGreen Arrow#5, all of which involve the return of theBlack Lantern Corps.
• Green Lantern: Larfleeze Christmas Special:while not bannered as a "Brightest Day" tie-in, this issue is a tongue-in-cheek one-shot issue focusing on Larfleeze's misunderstanding of the meaning of Christmas.
• Shazam!#1: this one-shot is loosely connected with Osiris' mission to rescue his sister Isis.
• Teen Titans(vol. 3) #83 explains why the Blue Beetle would be taking a leave of absence from the Titans, and the events ofGeneration Lost#2 are indirectly mentioned there as well.
• War of the Green Lanternsis a storyline that crosses over all three Green Lantern titles, and is a direct continuation of the "Brightest Day" story arcs (Green Lantern#63-67,Green Lantern Corps#58-60,Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors#7-10 andWar of the Green Lanterns: Aftermath#1-2).

Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for Swamp Thing

In June, a three-issue miniseries involved the return ofJohn Constantineto theDC Universeand his attempt to convinceSupermanandBatmanthat the choosing of Alec Holland (the newSwamp Thing) as the Earth's new protector is inevitable and the resurrected Alec Holland will have to die, so that his soul can merge again with the Green.[1]Archived2012-08-11 at theWayback Machine

• Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for Swamp Thing#1, 32 pages, June 22, 2011
• Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for Swamp Thing#2, 32 pages, July 27, 2011
• Brightest Day Aftermath: The Search for Swamp Thing#3, 32 pages, August 24, 2011

Collected editions

The series is collected into a number ofvolumes:

• Brightest Day Volume One(collectsBrightest Day#0–7, 256 pages, hardcover, December 2010,ISBN1-4012-2966-2;softcover, December 2011,ISBN1-4012-3276-0)
• Brightest Day Volume Two(collectsBrightest Day#8–16, 240 pages, hardcover, May 2011,ISBN1-4012-3083-0;softcover, May 2012, ISBN)
• Brightest Day Volume Three(collectsBrightest Day#17–24, 280 pages, hardcover, September 2011,ISBN1-4012-3216-7)

Other titles are also being collected:

• Birds of Prey Volume One: Endrun(collectsBirds of Prey(vol. 2) #1–6, 160 pages, hardcover, May 2011,ISBN1-4012-3131-4)
• The Flash Volume One: The Dastardly Death of the Rogues(collectsThe Flash(vol. 3) #1–6 andThe FlashSecret Files and Origins2010#1, 208 pages, hardcover, February 2011,ISBN1-4012-2970-0;paperback, January 2012,ISBN1-4012-3195-0)
• Green Arrow Volume One: Into the Woods(collectsGreen Arrow(vol. 4) #1–7, 192 pages, hardcover, July 2011,ISBN1-4012-3073-3)
• Green Arrow Volume Two: Salvation(collectsGreen Arrow(vol. 4) #8–14, 192 pages, paperback, February 2013,ISBN978-1-4012-3528-4)
• Green Lantern: Brightest Day(collectsGreen Lantern(vol. 4) #53–62, 256 pages, hardcover, June 2011,ISBN1-4012-3181-0,paperback, May 2012,ISBN978-1-4012-3141-5)
• Green Lantern Corps: Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns(collectsGreen Lantern Corps(vol. 2) #21–22 and 48–52, 176 pages, hardcover, May 2011,ISBN1-4012-3139-X)
• Green Lantern Corps: The Weaponer(collectsGreen Lantern Corps(vol. 2) #53-57, 128 pages, hardcover, October 2011,ISBN1-4012-3281-7,paperback, October 2012,ISBN1-4012-3441-0)
• Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors Volume One(collectsGreen Lantern: Emerald Warriors#1–7, 176 pages, hardcover, August 2011,ISBN1-4012-3079-2)
• Justice League: Generation Lost Volume One(collectsJustice League: Generation Lost#1–12, 320 pages, hardcover, April 2011,ISBN1-4012-3020-2;paperback, February 2012,ISBN1-4012-3225-6)
• Justice League: Generation Lost Volume Two(collectsJustice League: Generation Lost#13–24, 320 pages, hardcover, October 2011ISBN1-4012-3283-3)
• Justice League of America: the Dark Things(collectsJustice League of America#44-48,Justice Society of America#41-42).

In other media

ABrightest Dayskin attributed to Batman is one of the special skins inBatman: Arkham Origins.

External links

• Official website
• Brightest Dayon The Source, DC Comics blog
• Brightest Dayat theGrand Comics Database
• Brightest Dayat the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)