After 40 Years, Green Lantern Turns A Classic DC Villain Into A Full-Fledged Hero
Mark has been a comic book journalist for over 15 years and has interviewed comic book creators like Gail Simone and Caspar Wijngaard. And when he's not writing, he's working on beating his record of 1,200 comics read in a year.
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Each of the comics in DC Comics’ Absolute Universe has a different feel and meaning behind it. Out of all of them, Absolute Green Lantern may be the weirdest. Nevertheless, it will keep a reader interested as they learn more about the lore.
Unlike the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum in DC’s Prime Universe, it’s not easy to decipher what each of the colors does. Another difference is that most of the colors are used for fighting. For example, so far, John Stewart is under the Yellow Spectrum, which represents enlightenment's peak. This is unlike Sinestro’s Corps, which runs on fear.
Another interesting thing about Absolute Green Lantern is that, just when a reader thinks they know everything, new information drops. In the most recent issue, it appears that the Manhunters are real and more dangerous than they are in DC Comics' Earth-0.
The Manhunters Are Setting Up Earth As A Feeding Ground
This issue of Absolute Green Lantern diverges from the present to explain some of how the U.S. Government agencies were created. Among them was the formation of the Department of Extranormal Activities and how characters like Paul Kirk, Donald Richards, and Rick Flag were introduced into this universe. Unfortunately, everyone named had tragic ends. However, Rick Flag ends up getting the worst of it all.
Flag wanted to keep America safe, but found out something awful. The Manhunters have been using people they control to sabotage the D.E.O. and plan on using Earth as a game preserve and later as a factory farm, with their game/meals being human souls. After learning this, Rick Flag protested, but was transformed, put under their control, and forced to do everything he could to destroy the Department of Extranormal Activity.
Sector 2814 · Corps Edition
How Well Do You Know
Green Lantern Lore?
🌟CorpsProtect
💎RingsPower
☠VillainsFear
💡LanternsWill
🌌UniverseOa
01
The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic peacekeeping force powered by the emotional spectrum. Each Green Lantern’s ring is fueled by a specific emotion. Which emotion powers the Green Lantern rings?
✓ Correct! Willpower is the green light on the emotional spectrum, sitting at the very center. The Guardians of the Universe chose willpower because it is the most stable and disciplined of all emotions, making it the ideal force for a peacekeeping corps that spans 3,600 sectors of space.
✗ Your ring’s charge is low on that one! The answer is Willpower. Hope powers the Blue Lantern Corps, Love fuels the Star Sapphires, and Courage isn’t a force on the emotional spectrum. Willpower — the green light — is the foundation of every construct a Green Lantern creates.
02
The most famous Green Lantern in DC Comics is a test pilot from Coast City who was chosen by a dying alien’s ring to become the Green Lantern of Sector 2814. Who is this character?
✓ Correct! Hal Jordan was introduced in Showcase #22 (1959), inheriting the ring from the dying alien Abin Sur. As a fearless test pilot, Hal was the perfect candidate — his indomitable willpower made him one of the greatest Green Lanterns in the history of the Corps.
✗ Your ring’s charge is low on that one! The answer is Hal Jordan. John Stewart is a fellow Earth Lantern and architect, Guy Gardner is the brash backup Lantern, and Kyle Rayner became a Lantern after Hal’s fall. But Hal Jordan is the test pilot from Coast City who defined the modern Green Lantern legacy.
03
The Green Lantern Corps is headquartered on a planet at the center of the universe, where the Guardians of the Universe reside. What is the name of this planet?
✓ Correct! Oa sits at the center of the DC Universe and serves as the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps. It houses the Great Battery — the Central Power Battery that channels willpower energy to every Lantern ring across all 3,600 sectors of space.
✗ Your ring’s charge is low on that one! The answer is Oa. Maltus is the Guardians’ original homeworld before they migrated, Mogo is a sentient planet that is itself a Green Lantern, and Zamaron is the home of the Star Sapphires. Oa is the iconic green-tinged world at the heart of it all.
04
Sinestro was once the greatest Green Lantern before he was corrupted by his own desire for order and control. He created his own corps powered by a different emotion on the emotional spectrum. What emotion powers Sinestro’s yellow rings?
✓ Correct! The Sinestro Corps wields yellow rings powered by fear. Sinestro believed that fear was a more effective tool for maintaining order than willpower, and he recruited the most terrifying beings in the universe to prove it. The Sinestro Corps War remains one of the greatest Green Lantern storylines.
✗ Your ring’s charge is low on that one! The answer is Fear. Rage powers the Red Lanterns, Avarice (greed) fuels the Orange Lantern Larfleeze, and Death powers the Black Lanterns. Sinestro’s yellow rings channel fear — the direct opposite of willpower on the emotional spectrum.
05
The Green Lantern ring is one of the most powerful weapons in the DC Universe. It can create solid constructs of green light shaped by the wearer’s imagination. What is the ring’s one notable weakness in classic stories?
✓ Correct! For decades, the Green Lantern ring was powerless against anything colored yellow. This “yellow impurity” was later revealed to be caused by Parallax, the fear entity, imprisoned within the Central Power Battery on Oa. Once Parallax was removed, experienced Lanterns could overcome the weakness.
✗ Your ring’s charge is low on that one! The answer is the color yellow. Water was the weakness of the original Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott (whose ring was magic-based), not the Corps rings. The classic Silver Age weakness was yellow — leading to many creative villain strategies involving yellow objects.
06
John Stewart is a prominent Green Lantern who became a household name through his role in the Justice League animated series (2001–2006). Before becoming a Green Lantern, what was John Stewart’s profession?
✓ Correct! John Stewart was an architect before becoming a Green Lantern, which is reflected in his precise, structurally detailed ring constructs. While some later adaptations added a military background, his classic comic book profession is architect — and it shapes how he uses the ring in beautifully engineered ways.
✗ Your ring’s charge is low on that one! The answer is Architect. While the Justice League animated series gave John a Marine background, his original and most iconic profession in the comics is architect. This is why his ring constructs are known for their precise, detailed engineering — he literally designs them.
07
The emotional spectrum in DC Comics features seven corps, each tied to a different color and emotion. Which corps is powered by rage and wields red rings?
✓ Correct! The Red Lantern Corps, led by Atrocitus, is fueled by pure rage. Their rings replace the wearer’s blood with burning red plasma, and they vomit corrosive napalm-like blood as a weapon. Atrocitus founded the corps to seek vengeance against the Guardians for the Manhunter massacre of Sector 666.
✗ Your ring’s charge is low on that one! The answer is The Red Lantern Corps. The Sinestro Corps wields yellow rings of fear, the Orange Lantern is Larfleeze alone (powered by avarice), and the Black Lanterns are undead entities. The Red Lantern Corps, led by Atrocitus, channels pure burning rage.
08
Parallax is one of the most significant threats in Green Lantern lore. It is the living embodiment of fear and has possessed multiple Green Lanterns. In the iconic “Emerald Twilight” storyline, which Green Lantern did Parallax corrupt and drive to destroy the Corps?
✓ Correct! In “Emerald Twilight” (Green Lantern #48–50, 1994), a grief-stricken Hal Jordan — devastated by the destruction of Coast City — was corrupted by Parallax. He defeated every Green Lantern in his path, drained the Central Power Battery, and destroyed the Corps, becoming the villain Parallax. Geoff Johns later revealed that the fear entity had possessed Hal all along.
✗ Your ring’s charge is low on that one! The answer is Hal Jordan. After Coast City was destroyed by Mongul and the Cyborg Superman, Hal’s grief made him vulnerable to Parallax. He marched through the Corps, defeated every Lantern, and absorbed the Central Battery’s power. Kyle Rayner received the last ring after Hal’s fall, becoming the sole Green Lantern for years.
Ring Scan Complete Your Power Level
/ 8
Are you worthy of the ring — or does your willpower need recharging?
Back in the present, Cameron Chase, Emily Hawke, and Simon Baz learn all of this, and more. Among the things they discover is that Hector Hammond owns the Department of Extranormal Activities. That could mean that he knows about the Manhunters creating a human soul factory farm. If this is true, Hammond probably doesn't care because he's getting paid and gaining worldwide power and influence.
Luckily, an agency that grew from the early 1940s is around. They may not know everything that's going on, but they could be the deciding factor that saves Earth. The funny thing about this is that the savior of Earth could be Amanda Waller.
Amanda Waller And Task Force X May Be Heroes In This Universe
Normally, when a comic book fan sees the Suicide Squad or Amanda Waller, the first thought is that something shady is happening. In this case, it remains true. However, for the first time, Task Force X and Waller aren’t the villains of the story.
In 1941, Wild Bill Donovan created the Office of Strategic Services. Paul Kirk ran a subdivision to go on missions that were considered suicide. This was designated Task Force X. Eventually, Task Force X went underground. Now, it’s a handful of people who keep tabs on D.E.O. activity, and it’s run by Amanda Waller.
Because Waller is a villain in most realities, it’s easy to have doubts that she’s not one in the Absolute Universe. Some of the heroes became villains, and the normal villains are more disgusting than ever. Since things in the Absolute Universe are odder than any of the universes in DC Comics, it’s not hard to believe that Amanda Waller is on the right side for once.
One thing comic book fans should know about the Absolute Universe is that nothing is ever what it seems, and that's especially the case with its Green Lantern series. Waller may seem like she’s fighting the good fight, but that doesn’t mean she is. In a few issues, readers could learn that she’s working with the Manhunters to keep the people she loved safe. Or maybe she’s unaware of their influence and will be used by them later in the series. And, like Paul Kirk told Rick Flag, being used by them is significantly worse.
- Created By
- Martin Nodell, Bill Finger, John Broome, Gil Kane, Dennis O'Neil, Neal Adams
- Cast
- Ryan Reynolds
- First Appearance
- All-American Comics
- Alias
- Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz, Sojourner Mullein
- Alliance
- Justice League, Justice Society of America, Green Lantern Corps
- Movies
- Green Lantern
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