The Darkstars #25
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Darkstars #25 is the narrative linchpin of the series' most consequential character arc: it delivers the payoff to a carefully built multi-issue storyline in which John Stewart — stripped of his Green Lantern ring after Hal Jordan's destruction of the Corps during 'Emerald Twilight' — formally assumes operational command of the Darkstars, fulfilling a plan the Controllers had been quietly engineering all along. Running in tandem, the issue confirms Donna Troy's full integration into the Darkstars as Earth's new agent, an identity shift that gave the former New Titan a fresh narrative footing during a turbulent period in her publication history. Together, these two developments made #25 a meaningful pivot point for both characters, repositioning them as cosmic-level players in a DC Universe that had just been restructured by the Zero Hour crossover.
ComicBooks.com Value
This exact issue on ebay
Raw / ungraded ▾ $2.53–$7.04 7 listings
More listings for this title
Sell my copy
Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.
We Buy Collections ▸History
The Darkstars series was created by writer Michael Jan Friedman — who conceived of the group as a deliberate creative mashup of Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, two characters he had been unable to write solo — and launched in 1992 under editors Bob Greenberger and Brian Augustyn. By late 1994, the creative team of Friedman, penciler Mike Collins, and inker Ken Branch had settled into a stable rhythm, with Mike Deodato Jr. providing covers throughout this run. Issue #25 arrived in October 1994, numbered as the direct follow-up to both the regular run (#24) and the Zero Hour tie-in issue #0, which had been slotted between #24 and #25 as part of DC's line-wide 'Zero Hour' rollout of origin-revealing specials.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published October 4, 1994 (cover-dated November 1994); written by Michael Jan Friedman, interior art by Mike Collins and Ken Branch, cover by Mike Deodato Jr.
- John Stewart formally takes operational command of the Darkstars in this issue — the fulfillment of a plan the Controllers had been orchestrating since at least Darkstars #21 — marking a defining chapter in his transition from powerless ex-Green Lantern to interstellar field director.
- Donna Troy, who first donned the Darkstar exo-mantle in Darkstars #23 (1994) and officially replaced Ferrin Colos as Earth's Darkstar in #24, appears here in the thick of active Darkstar duty, receiving conflicting orders as a result of Huvah Jeddigar's betrayal.
- The apparent deaths of both Ferrin Colos and Huvah Jeddigar — swept through a dimensional portal — serve as the dramatic catalyst that clears the way for John Stewart's leadership, resolving the Jeddigar betrayal subplot that had been building through the arc.
- Dr. Saklovara makes their first comics appearance in this issue, per DCU Guide's character index.
- The issue lands immediately after the Zero Hour crossover sequence: Darkstars #0 (the origin-recap special, October 1994) was published between issues #24 and #25 as part of DC's line-wide Zero Hour tie-in program.
- The series as a whole ran 39 issues (1992–1996), with the Darkstars concept serving as DC's primary intergalactic law-enforcement franchise during the period when the Green Lantern Corps had been dismantled by Hal Jordan/Parallax.
- Robin (Tim Drake) is indexed as a character in this issue, though no published plot synopsis details his role — suggesting a cameo or supporting appearance rather than a plot-central scene.
Cast · 23 characters
Full credits
Key issues in The Darkstars
Reviews
Reader reviews
No reader reviews yet.