DC Confirms The Green Lantern Corps Will Be Taken Over By 1 God-Tier Villain
An experienced Editor representing Canada via ScreenRant's Team Anime, J.R. has been reading manga since the first printing of Shonen Jump in North America. This passion drove him to write about anime, manga, and manhwa since 2022, having recently served as Lead Anime Editor for ComicBook.com.
His favorite moments in media coverage include reviewing the series premieres of Zom 100 and Bleach: TYBW Part 2 back-to-back and briefly meeting Junji Ito at a VIZ gallery event in 2023.
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DC Comics readers and viewers know well by this point the intended purpose of the Green Lantern Corps, predominantly to maintain peace and order across thousands of sectors of the universe. But this hasn't stopped this mighty organization from being bent to its breaking point by corruption, manipulation, or control of its forces falling into precisely the wrong hands. As the latest DC revival shows, this is just what happens in Legion of Super-Heroes #2, the powerful police force's moniker has been changed but not beyond recognition, with a key 31st Century supervillain leading it.
Perhaps all too fittingly, the Emerald Empress in this continuity has taken on the Green Lantern Corps' identity in terms of motifs, its forces, and even its symbology as visualized by Saturn Girl (Princess Imra) and her incredible telepathy. With an entrance that can only be described as "Biblically accurate angel mixed with Baphomet's hand gestures, but green", the Emerald Empress greets Imra by stating the immense respect her and the Green Lantern Corporation all have for the princess. It's the latest striking show of a bleak future ahead in DC's 31st Century with Legion of Super-Heroes.
The Green Lanterns Have A New Codename In DC's Far Future
With the appearance of a small unit of Emerald Empress' Green Lantern Corporation enforcers laid out in front of her, fans can understandably be concerned. After all, this is usually a future in which such forces are considered dated, obsolete, disbanded, or otherwise absent. Instead of a Corps with a unifying mission, the Corporation implies services made for the highest bidder, not for any notion of the greater good. But the sight of an obedient group of clearly Green Lantern-like individuals, complete with characters resembling a future iteration of Noc'sagian Galius Zed and squirrel-like H'lvenite Ch'p, certainly stands in the face of such expectations. But don't be too hasty to believe these are protectors armed with power rings and lantern-shaped batteries.
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
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Are you worthy of the ring — or does your willpower need recharging?
As anyone familiar with Emerald Empress' powers will know, her peculiar headgear isn't just a fashion statement in Legion of Super-Heroes. It appears to bear the Emerald Eye of Ekron, the source of godly Green Lantern-like powers, fostering dependency based on continuous use. It doesn't seem too much of a stretch to assume the Green Lantern Corporation gets their powers from being close to the Empress and her Eye, but for now, her brief appearance merely leaves more questions to be answered. However, it's entirely fair to ask whether the "Eye" pronouns while speaking in the first person is due to the Eye of Ekron, or whether she's doing a nod to Brother Eye in those moments.
Various Villains Are Gathering The Legion In DC's New Series
While Emerald Empress meets with Imra and begins talks about negotiating for her services, other classic antagonists of the Legion of Super-Heroes in past iterations appear to be making their move. Mekt Ranzz, or Lightning Lord, is laying on the mythologized narrative, complete with Superman himself asking for his help, branding him with the Legion insignia and teaching him how to fly. It all comes together with Superman allegedly having Mekt call on Garth, his younger brother, while Ayla falls in with the Persuaders, another classic villain faction on this portion of the timeline.
Garth and Ayla aren't the only ones willingly meeting with what should be considered a parade of walking red flags, as Grimbor recruits Rokk Krinn, aka Cosmic Boy, for a mysterious "job" related to princesses, possibly leading right back to Saturn Girl in the process. Given the looming threat of Brainiac One Million and Cyborg Superman above all others shown so far, it'll be interesting to see the extent of the Emerald Empress's powers in this iteration, and how she'll draw Saturn Girl away from home, or indeed other elements to her.
These nefarious elements each appear to be pulling future members of the Legion of Super-Heroes apart from their comfort zones. Villains like the Emerald Empress may just initiate the collision course that ultimately brings the real Legion together to be a force that'll either expose the atrocities of the Persuaders, or render the Green Lantern Corporation obsolete, or perhaps something still greater.
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Legion of Super-Heroes follows the adventures of a young Kara Zor-El, sent to the 31st century where she joins a group of young superheroes in training. With the help of the Legion, she learns to control her powers and confronts various intergalactic threats.
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- Alias
- Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz, Sojourner Mullein
- Created By
- Martin Nodell, Bill Finger, John Broome, Gil Kane, Dennis O'Neil, Neal Adams
- Franchise
- D.C.
- Movies
- Green Lantern
- Comic Books
- Green Lantern #1
- Cast
- Ryan Reynolds
Green Lantern is the name given to multiple enforcers of intergalactic justice in the DC Universe. Green Lanterns can harness the cosmic energy of willpower, and create unique spectral objects to face off against their enemies. Though some Green Lanterns have assisted with the Justice League, they primarily belong to the Green Lantern Corps.
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