Warning: SPOILERS for Justice League Odyssey #13

Green Lantern Jessica Cruz may have just become one of DC’s NEW New Gods in the pages of Justice League Odyssey. The promotion would be incredible for some Lanterns, but would be more of the same for Jessiza Cruz considering how she became an official member of the Green Lantern Corps at the end of DC’s “Darkseid War.”

Dan Abnett’s Justice League Odyssey has tested Jessica like never before. She unwittingly got caught up in Darkseid’s attempt to restore his New God abilities and secure a new power-base. Darkseid proved successful in spite of Jessica’s best efforts, and she wound up facing off against Darkseid with a near-exhausted Power Ring. Brave to the last, Jessica insisted on using all her remaining power against DC’s greatest villain, and the fan-favorite Green Lantern was ultimately killed by Darkseid. He crushed her hand, breaking her Power Ring, and then blasted her with his Omega beams. She was left a pile of ash and bone… but the fact that she survived is only the beginning.

This week’s Justice League Odyssey #13 reveals Darkseid didn’t actually succeed in killing her after all. Fragments of the Green Lantern ring were buried into Jessica Cruz’s flesh and bone, and when Darkseid blasted her, the Power Ring absorbed the Omega energy. Darkseid’s own power flooded into Jessica’s body, resurrecting her and granting her the ability to control Omega energy too. The issue even confirms that advanced sensors read Jessica Cruz as a New God.

Jessica Cruz has long been one of the most compelling Green Lanterns, co-starring in an excellent Green Lanterns run by Sam Humphries. She’s certainly one of the most relatable, because for Jessica, being a superhero means facing her demons and fears every single day. Humphries’ portrayal showed just what it was like to deal with anxiety, with Jessica transitioning at speed from a woman who can beat Superman and save the day, to someone who suffers a panic attack while taking on a bargain-basement supervillain. That’s the nature of mental illness; it knows no rhyme or reason. And now this most human of all the Green Lanterns has become something far more.

Darkseid appears to have unwittingly created another New God, one who can wield the Omega Force itself against him. In the past, comics have shown misfired Omega Beams harming even Darkseid; that means he’s now facing a true threat, one he could never have expected when he simply tried to kill just another Green Lantern. The next issue should be one to remember, so fans won’t want to miss this set-up:

  • JUSTICE LEAGUE ODYSSEY #13 Written by: Dan Abnett Art by: Will Conrad Sepulkore is activated! The entire Ghost Sector has been imprisoned and enslaved as a new realm of Apokolips, with Darkseid as its supreme ruler! Returned to power, with reborn New Gods at his side and the Ghost Sector as an implacable fortress, Darkseid sets his sights on the remaining universe! Can anyone stand in his way? Where are Justice League Odyssey? And what are the shocking identities of the heralds who now do Darkseid’s malevolent bidding?

Justice League Odyssey #13 is on sale now from DC Comics.

More: Casting The Green Lantern Corps For The DCEU