Green Lantern Corps

The Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic military/police force appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the planet Oa. According to DC continuity, the Green Lantern Corps has been in existence for three billion years, surviving multiple conflicts both internal and foreign. Currently operating divided as pairs amongst the 3600 â€œsectorsâ€ of the universe, there are 3600 members, one lantern for every sector (known commonly as Green Lanterns) are estimated to be serving within the Corps. Each Green Lantern is given a power ring, a weapon granting the use of incredible abilities that are directed by the wearer's own willpower.

Fictional group history

Guardians

The Guardians of the Universe are one of several races that originated on the planet Maltus and were among the first intelligent life forms in the universe. At this time they were short greyish blue humanoids with black hair. They became scientists and thinkers, experimenting on the worlds around them. In a pivotal moment billions of years ago, a Maltusian named Krona used time-bending technology to observe the beginning of the universe. However, this experiment unleashed disaster upon all existence. Originally, the experiment splintered the universe into the multiverse and created the evil anti-matter universe. Following the retroactive destruction of the Multiverse, it was revealed that Krona flooded the beginning of the universe with entropy causing it "to be born old".

The male Maltusians argued about how to deal with the situation. One group decided to dedicate their eternal existences to contain evil; this group fractured into the Guardians of the Universe and the Controllers. The females, however, saw no need to involve themselves and, since the Oans were by then immortal and had no more need to reproduce, left their mates and became known as the Zamarons. Relocating to the planet Oa at "the center of the universe", the Guardians dedicated themselves to combatting evil and creating an orderly universe. During this period they slowly evolved into their current appearance. A Green Lantern's only weakness is the yellow energy of fear, opposite to the green energy of will. After the Green Lantern Sinestro betrayed the Green Lantern Corps and created the Yellow Lantern Corps, a prophecy was fulfilled that Lantern Corps of the other cosmic energies of emotion shall form, such as Red (rage), Orange (greed), Black (death), White (life), Indigo (compassion), Blue (hope), and Violet (love).

Manhunters and the Massacre of Sector 666

In their first attempt to enforce their will and guard against all menaces, about 3.5 billion years ago the Guardians of the universe created a legion of robotic sentinels called the Manhunters. At first serving faithfully to enforce order, in time the Manhunters came to resent their servitude and the moral restrictions the Guardians decreed of them. They were also found to be inherently flawed due to their inability to recognize or feel emotions. They rebelled against the Guardians and fought a millennia-long war that culminated with an attack on the planet Oa. The Guardians overcame their android servants, stripped them of their power, and banished them across the universe. Eventually, the surviving Manhunters formed their own robotic society and pursued their own interpretation of their original mission (which often included interfering with and foiling the plans of the Guardians).

In the Martian Manhunter series, the Guardians first get the idea for an intergalactic police force from the Martians' own Manhunters. They offer the Martian race the opportunity to be that force. The Martians turn it down, but the Guardians take the name for the androids.

In Geoff Johns' 2008 storyline "Green Lantern: Secret Origin", it is revealed that the Manhunters suffered from a malfunction in their logic that led them to believe that order could only be achieved by eliminating all life. They rampaged through Sector 666, massacring trillions in the process. The only survivors banded together to form the Five Inversions, swearing revenge on the Guardians for the actions of their creations. One of the five, Atrocitus, would later become the leader of the Red Lantern Corps.

It was later discovered that the Manhunters had not suffered a flaw in their logic, as had previously been assumed, but that the renegade Guardian Krona had reprogrammed them in an attempt to show the other Guardians the necessity in embracing emotions.

Creation of the Corps

Chastened by the failure of the Manhunters, the Guardians decided that their newest force of soldiers for good would consist of living beings, ones who had free will and strong moral character. To arm this new legion of celestial knights, the Guardians created the Power Rings, rings of inconceivably-advanced technology that allowed their wearers to project green beams of energy with which the bearer could conjure objects of any size or shape, limited only by their imagination and willpower.

Crisis and aftermath

Both the Corps and the Guardians suffered casualties during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Guardians' failure to take appropriate action during the Crisis led to their decision to depart Oa in the company of their female counterparts, the Zamarons. Left to their own devices, the Corps underwent a major reorganization. A team of Green Lanterns led by Hal Jordan was stationed on Earth, and the system of assigning one Green Lantern to a sector was temporarily abandoned. The decision of the Corps to execute Sinestro resulted in the activation of a previously unknown fail-safe that depowered the rings of every Green Lantern except for Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, Gnort, and Ch'p.

The Guardians eventually returned to Oa and began the reconstruction of the Corps, assigning Guy Gardner to Earth, John Stewart to the Mosaic World, and Hal Jordan to recruit new members. Ironically, Jordan himself would eventually be responsible for destroying the incarnation of the Corps that he had helped create.

Fall of the Corps

The Green Lantern Corps patrolled the DC Universe for over three billion years. In that vast length of time, some Green Lanterns rebelled and turned against the Corps. A rogue Green Lantern, Universo, existed in the future epoch of the Legion of Super-Heroes. Two of the most important fallen Lanterns were Sinestro, the rogue Green Lantern, and Hal Jordan, who would unknowingly become possessed by Parallax, the ancient fear-parasite trapped in the Battery. At the ruins of his home Coast City, Jordan was consumed by grief, which in turn allowed him to be overcome by fearâ€"all the while not knowing that his fear was tainted by the creature Parallax. This was planned by Sinestro while he was imprisoned in the Battery.

The Green Lantern Corps ranks were decimated by the Parallax-possessed Jordan. The Corps' power source, the Central Power Battery, was drained by Jordan and destroyed, removing the original power source for the rings. One Guardian, Ganthet, survived Jordan's onslaught, and chose a young human artist, Kyle Rayner, as the sole Green Lantern of the Corps. Rayner would eventually become Parallax's nemesis, and during their first battle, Rayner intentionally triggered a chain reaction in Oa's core, causing the planet to explode.

After the fall of the Corps, other organizations tried to fill in the power vacuum left by the Guardians. Two organizations had initial notable successes: the Darkstars and L.E.G.I.O.N. However, neither ever achieved the power and reach of the Green Lantern Corps.

The Lost Lanterns

The Lost Lanterns were a group of Green Lanterns that tried to stop Parallax from reaching Oa. Parallax defeated them in space and after Parallax destroyed the Corps, they were assumed to be dead. Instead, they were captured by the Manhunters and taken to Biot, the Manhunter homeworld in Sector 3601. They were used in various experiments to design and power new Manhunter models. They were eventually found and rescued by the resurrected Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner. They rejoined the Corps, albeit with some difficult adjustment. Despite learning of Parallax's possession of Hal Jordan, many still blame him for their captivity and cluster to themselves when summoned to Oa.

First attempt of rebuilding the Green Lantern Corps

When Kyle Rayner accidentally travelled through time to ten years in the past and met a young Hal Jordan, the Guardians were able to send Rayner back to his own time by using the power from the Central Battery after Jordan and Rayner defeated Sinestro together. However, while doing so, Sinestro commanded his Qwardian ring to force Jordan to Rayner's time portal, in a bid to strand Jordan in Rayner's time period. Upon learning his future as Parallax (not knowing, however, that his future self's actions was the result of being possessed by a fear entity under the machination of Sinestro's future self) and aware that the future needed him to return to his own time and allow future events to unravel in the way it was supposed to, young Jordan knew he must forget everything he learned from the present, and gave Rayner a copy of his ring to restart the Green Lantern Corps in a bid to undo some of the damages he knew he was going to make once he returned to the past.

Rayner then gave the ring to Jennifer-Lynn Hayden, daughter of the elder Green Lantern Alan Scott, whereupon she became the first female Green Lantern of Earth, following in her father's footsteps, after he made another copy with it. In Green Lantern: The New Corps, during his weeks-long adventure in space, Rayner first recruited Magaan Van'n Intraktus of the planet Van'n, Hammeroon, a bounty hunter from Ilskado System, Anya Savenlovich, a lieutenant colonel from the Soviet Air Forces who was in suspended animation after she participated in a space mission in 1964, Garl Rathbone, a miner from the debris belt over the planet Daffith, and Sool, a judge from Daffith.

However, the group later realized Van'n Intraktus was a traitor after they discovered that he enslaved his home planet with his ring and began invading other worlds. The Green Lanterns eventually stopped the renegade after a battle, but at the cost of one of their own: Hammeroon. Rayner then realized that he couldn't be the only one to choose who to wear the rings, and took all of the power rings back from the Green Lanterns until the time was right for the Corps' rebirth. After erecting a memorial for Hammeroon, Rayner returned to Earth. The former Green Lanterns, despite being stripped of their rings, decided to continue their intergalactic adventures.

Rebirth of the Corps

In an attempt to redeem himself after his actions as Parallax, Hal Jordan sacrificed his life reigniting the sun, whereupon Oa and the Central Power Battery were completely rebuilt by the physical manifestation of Jordanâ€™s dying will channeled through his old friend and confidant Thomas Kalmaku. Shortly thereafter, Kyle Rayner, having been imbued with the vast power of Ion after his battle with Oblivion and Alexander Nero funneled the remaining energy left in the sun that was once the immortal Guardians back into the Central Power Battery. This allowed them to be reborn as children of both genders. After Hayden regained her Starheart powers and becomes the superheroine Jade once more, Rayner gave the ring to John Stewart. After Oa's return, Kilowog would eventually be resurrected. With everything apparently in place, Ganthet, Kilowog, Stewart, and Rayner made plans to rebuild the Corps once more.

It was later revealed that Hal Jordan had been possessed by the living embodiment of fear, an ancient parasite called Parallax. Parallax had been imprisoned within the Central Power Battery for billions of years and is the mysterious "Yellow Impurity" within the Corps' green light that leaves them vulnerable against yellow. Hal Jordan, upon learning the truth about Parallax, separated himself from it and was reborn as a Green Lantern once again. Jordan, with the help of John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, and Kilowog, reimprisoned Parallax. Upon Parallax's return to the Central Power Battery, the Guardians continued the re-construction and expansion of the Green Lantern Corps, strengthened with its power rings now able to directly affect yellow provided that a Lantern can face and conquer his or her fear. This new Corps, under the training of Kilowog, Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, and other veterans, was primarily composed of new recruits. Only a handful of veteran Lanterns remained in the ranks. Each sector has two Lanterns assigned to protect it (with Hal Jordan and John Stewart assigned as the protectors of Sector 2814). Due to an ancient pact with the Spider Guild, the Vega star system is off limits to all members of the Corps.

The new Green Lantern Corps presently lacks both the manpower and the political influence it once had due to its years-long absence from many sectors. This has left the Corps currently unable to intervene in situations it might have before Parallax destroyed the old Corps, including conflicts such as the Rann-Thanagar War. The Guardians remain staunchly uninvolved in what they see as a conflict that could destabilize many sectors, but that has not stopped Kyle Rayner and Kilowog from helping refugees.

Despite these difficulties, the Corps played a key role in defeating Superboy-Prime. Several Lanterns were killed slowing the renegade Superboy's advance on Oa, a sacrifice that enabled Earth's most powerful heroes to execute their plan to restrain him. Mogo, a sentient planet and Corps member, positioned himself to act as a final battleground between Superboy-Prime and two Supermen. Responsibility for imprisoning Superboy-Prime was undertaken by the Guardians who charged the Corps with its undertaking, incarcerating him inside a small red Sun-Eater with fifty Green Lanterns on constant guard duty. "Prime Duty" is considered one of the lowlier functions of the Corps, and Guy Gardner was sentenced to a month of such duty for one of his frequent rules infractions.

As of the "One Year Later" timeframe, the Green Lantern Corps had increased its numbers, with many former trainees now full-fledged officers. A lack of truly experienced lanterns remained an issue, with Guy Gardner being called upon often to assist the rookies.

Sinestro Corps

Rogue Green Lantern Sinestro, working with the Anti-Monitor, created his own version of the Corps. Dubbed the "Sinestro Corps", it recruited beings capable of generating great fear. One of the members recruited into the Sinestro Corps was Amon Sur, the son of former Green Lantern Abin Sur, who held a grudge against Hal Jordan for being chosen to bear his father's ring instead of him. Armed with yellow Power Rings and Lanterns manufactured on Qward, the Sinestro Corps staged an attack on Oa, killing dozens of Green Lantern Corps officers, kidnapping Kyle Rayner, and freeing Superboy-Prime, Parallax, and the Cyborg Superman from the Corps' supervision.

As the Sinestro Corps' campaign of terror spread, the Guardians, in desperation, rewrote the first Law of Ten in the Book of Oa, enabling the remaining Lanterns to use lethal force against members of the Sinestro Corps. This law later expanded to include all adversaries of the Green Lanterns, though the law does not extend to cold-blooded killing of defenseless adversaries. This distinction played a part in the expulsion of Laira from the Green Lantern Corps for killing Amon Sur when he was unarmed, her induction into the Red Lanterns, and subsequent death over the course of events during the Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night storylines.

The Blackest Night

Hidden in the Book of Oa is the forbidden chapter of Cosmic Revelations, which contains a prophecy called the "Blackest Night". In the prophecy, seven different colored corps are at war with each other, eventually destroying one another and the universe.

Following the Sinestro Corps War, Ganthet and Sayd are banished from the Guardians. Realizing that the "Blackest Night" prophecy will come to be, they create a blue ring powered by hope. The remaining Guardians create the Alpha-Lanterns and reveal new laws they've written to the Green Lantern Corps.

During the Blackest Night, the Guardians finally realize the accuracy of the prophecy and are imprisoned by Scar; a rogue Guardian who launches an attack on the Corps by reviving deceased members as Black Lanterns. Command falls to Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, and Salaak, a senior Lantern holding the rank of Clarissi.

The Green Lantern corps, along with the other six corps (The Sinestro Corps, the Red Lantern Corps, The Indigo Tribe, The Blue Lantern Corps, Agent Orange, and the Star Sapphires), fight the black lanterns to regain safety and order in the universe.

The Blackest Night ends when Hal Jordan, merged with the Life Entity, and the recently created White Lantern Corps defeat Nekron and banish him from the realm of the living.

War of the Green Lanterns

After the Blackest Night, Hal Jordan forms a loose alliance with Carol Ferris, Atrocitus, Sinestro, Larfleeze, Saint Walker and Indigo-1 to find and protect the emotional entities, who have been kidnapped by a mysterious villain. The kidnapper is revealed to be Krona, who is also revealed to be the one who caused the Manhunters to go on a rampage in the first place.

Carol, Sinestro, Atrocitus, Saint Walker, Larfleeze and Indigo-1 are trapped within the Book of the Black. However, Hal escapes and takes their rings. Krona begins the next stage of his plan, using the Guardians as the entities's hosts. He also places Parallax back into the Central Power Battery, restoring the yellow impurity and brainwashing all the Green Lanterns into serving him. However, Hal, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Killowog have a measure of resistance, due to their previous experience with fear. The other Lantern unaffected by the yellow impurity is Ganthet.

Killowog is captured by Krona, and his resistance to brainwashing overcome. To prevent Krona from controlling them, the Earthmen take off their Green Lantern rings and put on the rings Hal rescued from the Book of the Black. Hal takes the Sinestro Corps ring, Guy takes the Red Lantern ring, John takes the Indigo Tribe ring, and Kyle takes the Blue Lantern ring. Hal, John, Guy and Kyle go to the Central Power Battery to remove Parallax and restore the Corps to normal. However, an ambush from the brainwashed Lanterns separates the group. Hal and Guy end up captured by the Guardians, while Kyle and John travel to Mogo with the intention of freeing it from Krona's control.

However, John and Kyle are attacked by Lanterns while they travel to Mogo's core. John harnesses the Black Lantern energy left in Mogo and uses it to destroy Mogo. This allows Hal and Guy to escape from Krona's forces and re-group with John and Kyle. The four Lanterns and Ganthet go to the Battery, where Hal wields the Agent Orange ring while Guy wields the Star Sapphire ring. Hal, John, Kyle and Ganthet fight the brainwashed Lanterns while Guy removes Parallax from the Battery, restoring the Corps.

With the impurity removed, Hal, John, Kyle and Guy recover their Green Lantern rings and join the Corps in the final battle against Krona and the entity-possessed Guardians.

During the final struggle, Hal and Kyle free Carol, Sinestro and the others from the Book of the Black. Also, Sinestro becomes a Green Lantern once again. Hal kills Krona, releasing the entities from the Guardians. However, the Guardians believe Hal to be the most dangerous Green Lantern, so they discharge him from the Corps.

Rise of the Third Army

The status of the Green Lantern Corps remained unchanged by the reboot applied in the Flashpoint series. As of 2011, Sinestro is still an unwilling Green Lantern, Hal remains exiled (although he has been forced to assist Sinestro's activities with a ring created and powered by Sinestro) while Kyle has gone AWOL alongside six members of the other Lantern Corps. John was recently forced to kill a Green Lantern who was about to give in to torture the access codes to the Oan defense network from the Keepers. Guy remains the only main character with a stable position in the Corps.

The Guardians currently consider the Green Lantern Corps a failure. They are planning to replace it with a mysterious "Third Army", which will be led by the equally mysterious "First Lantern". The Third Army consists of beings with no free will that are made out of the Guardians' bio-tissue. The First Lantern is a being who was imprisoned and kept under guard by the older Guardians because he was deemed too dangerous to leave free.

Sinestro gave Hal Jordan a temporary ring to help him out on missions, but the Guardians attacked them and both rings merged into a single, faulty one. It mistakenly concluded that Sinestro and Jordan were dead, so it went in search of a new Lantern named Simon Baz. Simon Baz is a Muslim-American Green Lantern first shown in Green Lantern #0 (vol. 5).

The Guardians command the Third Army to destroy the Green Lanterns. B'dg of Sector 1014 says that some Green Lanterns have discovered the Guardians' true intentions.

Meanwhile, Green Lantern Sentinel Guy Gardner is assisting a ship as a peace treaty with warring planets. This is interrupted when he learns that his mortal enemy Xar is free. Unbeknownst to Guy, Xar was freed by the Guardians. Guy takes half of the Lanterns with him away from the mission in order to keep his family safe, but they are met by members of the Third Army. The Third Army kills all of the Lanterns with Guy, including Lantern Vandor. Guy escapes, but only to be reprimanded and removed from the Corps.

Meanwhile, Green Lantern John Stewart is on a mission to gather all of the pieces of the deceased, sentient planet known as Mogo, in the hopes that Mogo can then restore himself. This succeeds, and Mogo is reborn. The Guardians had planned on assimilating the reformed Mogo into the Third Army. Mogo quickly defeated this division of the Third Army.

The rest of the Green Lantern Corps discovered that the Guardians had turned against them, so the Corps join the New Guardians and Atrocitus' Manhunters to help them fight. During the fight with the Third Army and the Guardians, the Guardians draw so much energy from Volthoom that he breaks free of containment. Volthoom says that everything the Guardians have created will be no more, and that the universe will be his once again.

When Volthoom is freed, he teleports to the planet Maltus and imprisons the Guardians. While Volthoom is in a weakened state, he begins to drain the Lanterns and other present beings of their emotions, minds, and memories. He intends to examine their lives in order to restore his emotional powers. He alters their memories while doing so, apparently because he wants them to suffer. Among those that suffered these invasive processes: Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Fatality, Carol Ferris, Larfleeze, Saint Walker and Atrocitus.

Later, Volthoom destroys Sinestro's home planet of Korugar by draining the Korugarian's of their emotions. Sinestro survives the encounter and vows to kill Volthoom. Volthoom then returns to Oa to drain the rest of the green Lantern Corps, but Mogo shields them with dirt and stone so they may escape from Volthoom's powers. Mogo then rallies the Green Lantern Corps to fight against Volthoom.

The Green Lantern Corps and most of the other reserve Corps try to destroy Volthoom, but he easily manages to defeat the Corps. Then the Indigo Tribe appears. They open the Dead Zone portal from which hordes of undead, led by a Black Lantern Hal Jordan, emerge to attack Volthoom. Volthoom manages to destroy the army and drain Black Lantern Hal. Before Volthoom can unleash his full power, he is thwarted by Sinestro, who has become the new host of Parallax. Volthoom gains the upper hand, saying that he is more powerful than God. Then Black Lantern Hal proceeds to summon Nekron. He reduces Volthoom's emotional powers to a normal human state. Nekron slays Volthoom with his scythe for good, causing him to explode into rays of light.

After the battle is over, Hal is saved from the Black Lantern ring and becomes a Green Lantern again. He goes after Sinestro, who intends to kill the Guardians for everything they have done to him, to Korugar, and to the Universe at large. By the time Hal catches up, Sinestro reveals that Hal is too late. The Guardians are dead.

Later though, Sinestro meets in secret with ex-Guardians Ganthet and Sayd. He exiles them from Oa, but chooses to spare their lives since they had no involvement in Korugar's destruction.

31st Century

In the future shown in the Legion of 3 Worlds miniseries, it is revealed that Mogo has been long dead. Without him, there is no way to distribute the rings; thus, there is no Green Lantern Corps in the 31st century. Rond Vidar was the last Green Lantern until he was killed by Superboy-Prime. Sodam Yat is the last Guardian of the Universe, living on the now ruined Oa. Previews for Legion of 3 Worlds #3 show Yat taking on several rings of the fallen Lanterns with a new oath:

"In brightest day, through Blackest Night,

No other corps shall spread its light!
Let those who try to stop what's right,
Burn like my power...Green Lantern's light!"

After aiding the Legions in defeating Prime and his forces, Yat realizes the universe needs to fight such threats. Going back to Oa, he sends rings across the universe to recruit a new Green Lantern Corps.

A mysterious creature called the Dyogene is sent by Yat to recruit an Earth Green Lantern after incorrectly picking Kirt Niedrigh, also called Earth-Man, and failing to get Harmonia Li to join. Mon-El is chosen to become a Green Lantern. Later he gives up the ring because he is also field leader of the Legion of Super-Heroes.

In the original Legion continuity, the Green Lantern Corps were banned from Earth, thanks to the actions of the Green Lantern who became the Legion adversary, Universo. With recent alterations to this future continuity, it is unclear if this ban still exists. Similarly, the Guardians were revealed as still on Oa in the original continuity; their fate in the revised continuity has yet to be revealed.

Oath

The power ring must be recharged regularly (though apparently not at the standard 24-hour period as was originally described) by touching it to its lantern-shaped power battery for a period of several seconds. When recharging their rings, some Corps members recite an oath. This oath differs from Corps member to member, but the most popular seems to be Hal Jordan's.

Entity

As the embodiment of willpower which is connected to the green light of the Emotional Spectrum, Ion was revealed to be actually the emotional entity for the Green Lantern Corps. Representing the stability of willpower, Ion serves to support its host, providing a vast supply of power in return for the willpower it is provided by its host. Ethan Van Sciver describes Ion as resembling a large, primitive whale or fish. Born when life first moved of its own accord, the entity itself has several physical characteristics emulated by the Guardians and their Corps. Ion also has a monk fish-like appendage that ends in a lantern-like lure. Ion was later captured by Krona and joined the rogue Guardian on his quest to take control of the Green Lantern Corps, by possessing one of the remaining six Guardians of the Universe. Ion was eventually free from Krona's control when the rogue Guardian was killed by Hal Jordan and is once again at large in the universe.

Book of Oa

The Book of Oa is a massive tome, located on Oa. In it is the history of the Guardians of the Universe and the Green Lantern Corps. The current keeper of the book is Salaak.

Structure

The 3600 sectors

The Corps is an organization of 7200+ Green Lanterns (the old Corps was composed of 3600) who are chosen by the ring for being able to overcome great fear, with two assigned to each sector of space that require the protection of more than one Green Lantern (Earth, home to Hal Jordan and John Stewart, is in Sector 2814). Heavily populated Sectors like 2814 can have several Lanterns. While the primary Lanterns of Sector 2814 are Hal Jordan and John Stewart, Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner call Earth home, but are stationed on Oa, first as teachers, and then specially assigned to cases that are too difficult for the average lantern. The official number of active Lanterns apparently does not include backup members who are kept in reserve to be called to active duty on short notice in the event that the regular Lantern in their particular sector is not available. In the original organization, the active list was apparently kept at a strict maximum considering John Stewart was not mobilized during the Nekron crisis despite the situation's dire nature, as opposed to Guy Gardner who was medically unfit for duty at that time. Despite the vast number of Green Lanterns, certain sectors of space apparently do not recognize the authority of the Corps, as alien superhero Icon claims that his status as a citizen of the interstellar civilization known as the Cooperative makes him immune to prosecution from Guardians or their agents.

Each member has a great deal of autonomy as to their methods in their jurisdiction, subject to review by the Guardians if they feel the Green Lantern in question has abused their assigned authority. The individual Lanterns are responsible for arranging their replacements (when possible) if they are near retirement or death. If a Lantern dies before that obligation is met, the ring will find and seek another trainee on its own. The planet-sized Green Lantern named Mogo plays a key role in this, helping to direct the rings to suitable recruits. For this reason, the Sinestro Corps tried to destroy Mogo during the Sinestro Corps War. In rare circumstances, Guardians will personally go out into the field to recruit a replacement, via telepresence. The recruitment of backup Lanterns is more ambiguous with different criteria such as the second closest worthy candidate to the dying Lantern in an emergency search is automatically designated, such as the case of Guy Gardner. When the sector's Lantern was still active, the Guardian would make a selection of a backup on their own, as with John Stewart's recruitment after Gardner was injured in an accident. Hal Jordan disagreed with this selection upon seeing Stewart's apparently belligerent attitude, but the Guardians stood by the decision and the recruit quickly proved himself.

Upon recruitment each Green Lantern in the original Corps received a Power Ring, a Power Battery shaped like a lantern (with which the ring is recharged), and a uniform. The default uniform design for humanoids was a green section covering the torso and shoulders, black arms and leggings, green boots, white gloves, green domino mask, and a chest symbol of a stylized Green Lantern icon on a white circle. Lanterns were allowed to customize their uniforms as long as the color scheme and the symbol were present. When the nature of the being precludes a standard uniform, an equivalent arrangement is expected as a substitute. For instance, Mogo, a sentient planet, arranges his foliage to create a green circling band and lantern symbol on his body. Jack T. Chance, a humanoid, refused to wear a uniform, but conceded to wearing a badge on the lapel of his coat. Lanterns were also allowed the option of a secret identity as a security measure and it is implied that the Corps were instructed to honor that choice by taking care not to expose them. Training in the use of the ring was optional and appropriate facilities and personnel were available on Oa upon request. In addition, a senior Lantern can be assigned to coach a recruit while in the field in their sector.

The New Green Lantern Corps being built by the Guardians is far more formal and structured than the old one that was destroyed by Parallax. Recruits, after being found by their Power Rings, are taken to Oa for training. Not all recruits will make it through training - indeed a great many of them might even fail, forcing the ring to find another candidate. Lantern trainees have a simplified version of the old Green Lantern uniform (with green covering more of the torso) with the white circle on their chest blank until the Lantern insignia is added upon completion of their training. Additionally, all Power Rings, not just the ring assigned to the interim Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, now work on the color yellow, provided the user can feel the fear behind the color and overcome it.

Salakk was selected as senior administrator and the Keeper of the Book of Oa. Due to this he was also selected as the Clarissi which means he is second in command after the Guardians of Oa.

Kilowog and Stel act as head drill sergeant of the Green Lantern Corps. Voz is the jailer and Morro is keeper of the crypt.

Oa - Corps headquarters

Green Lantern Corps headquarters are on the planet Oa, in the center of the universe. Oa was destroyed shortly after Hal Jordan became Parallax, but was later reconstituted by Jordan's friend Thomas Kalmaku. Formerly a natural if barren planet, the reconstructed Oa is now a vast labyrinthine planet-sized construct. Primary features include a great hall for the Guardians to meet in conference, training facilities for recruits, prisons called Sciencells for dangerous criminals, and tombs dedicated to honoring fallen lanterns. Oa's most prominent feature is the Central Power Battery, a gigantic version of the Lanterns' personal power batteries. The central battery channels the same green energy of the Guardians and amplifies it, broadcasting energy to the individual power batteries across the universe which can then be used to charge the Lanterns' power rings. Particularly dangerous beings, such as Sinestro or Parallax, are sometimes imprisoned within the central battery. Maintaining security on this device is vital as major damage to it would prevent individual Corpsmen throughout the universe from recharging their power rings, thus depowering the entire Corps in a single blow.

The Guardians increased the capabilities of Oa's defensive systems by creating an armored structure that protects the planet, but this was destroyed during the preludes to the Blackest Night storyline.

After the final battle with the First Lantern, the Guardians guarding Volthroom have taken up the position of Guardians of the Universe under the new name "Templer Guardians and rule with love and compassion. The last two Guardians of the Universe Ganthet and Sayd however were exiled by from Oa by Sinestro who was possessed by Parallax.

Green Lantern Honor Guard

The Green Lantern Honor Guard is an elite group of Green Lanterns, based on Oa but not restricted to one sector, who serve as leaders of the Corps, troubleshooters and special operatives.

The title and mantle of Honor Guard was first introduced in issue #1 of the three part miniseries Tales of the Green Lantern Corps. Amongst their rank were three elite Corps members; Tomar-Re, K'ryssma and Apros who lead three division of the Corps against the armies of the undead. In issue #3 the Guardians promote Green Lantern Hal Jordan as the first human to receive the honor for his heroic actions in leading the Corps in the defeat of Krona and Nekron.

Jordan, although flattered, declines the honor, maintaining that he should be seen as â€œno different than any other ring-slingerâ€ who did â€œwhat any Green Lantern would have done given the chance!â€ Adding that "When it comes right down to it, I guess I'm just one of the gang" and so he remains, to the cheers of his fellow Corps mates.

Green Lantern Guy Gardner was promoted to primary membership in the Honor Guard as Lantern number one during the Green Lantern Corps: Recharge miniseries. Guy also serves as field commander during battle. In the aftermath of the Sinestro Corps War, with the Ion entity removed from his body, Kyle Rayner has been added to the Green Lantern Honor Guard as Guy's partner. In the Green Lantern Corps issue #48, John Stewart was introduced as Kyle Rayner's new partner in the Honor Guard, with Guy Gardner leaving to a new comic book called Emerald Warriors.

John Stewart, Soranik Natu, Ganthet, Hannu, Boodikka were promoted to Green Lantern Honor Guard after they freed the Grendians and Alpha Lanterns from Cyborg Superman.

During the Rise of the Third Army the highest rank a green lantern can achieve was awarded to Guy Gardner, the rank of Sentinel. A Sentinel outranks honor guard and Salakk as senior administrator, only getting orders directly from the Guardians.

The Corpse

You've just been inducted into the coldest, hardest, meanest division of the Green Lantern Corps you never even knew existed. Can't handle it? Tough luck, you don't have a choice. We live in the places that are too dark for the light of the Corps. We handle the jobs too dirty for the green. Welcome to The Corpse.

"The Corpse" is an elite, top-secret Black Ops division of the Green Lantern Corps. Members of The Corpse are not restricted by the same rules that regular Lanterns follow, and they perform the darkest, most dangerous missions and are allowed to use lethal force. These members do not use Power Rings; instead, they swallow special coin-like disks that give them all of the powers of the standard ring with a charge that lasts five earth days. These disks produce purple energy instead of the traditional green. Members of the "Corpse" do not wear Green Lantern uniforms, or display the Green Lantern symbol. Instead, they seem to prefer black uniforms that have no symbol.

Very few Lanterns are even aware of the existence of the "Corpse". Guy Gardner said that in all of his years in the Corps, he never heard of them and after participating in a mission with the Corpse, his memory of them was erased. With the recent authorization of lethal force for the Corps in the aftermath of the Sinestro Corps War, the future and necessity of the Corpse remains unknown.

The Alpha Lanterns

After the Sinestro Corps War, the Guardians create a new class of Green Lantern called the Alpha Lanterns. The Alpha Lanterns are seasoned Corpsmen who have been fused with their Power Rings and Batteries. Boodikka, Varix, Kraken, Green Man, and Chaselon are all confirmed Alpha Lanterns; John Stewart was offered the chance to become an Alpha Lantern, but turned it down because he felt that he knew too little about the concept of the Alpha Lanterns to accept the offer. Geoff Johns stated in an interview with IGN that the Alpha Lanterns function as Internal Affairs for the Green Lantern Corps. The concept of the Alpha Lantern Corps was conceived by Grant Morrison.

Following the events of the Blackest Night, it is revealed that some, if not all of the Alpha Corp have been recruited against their will. The Alpha Lanterns have been subverted by the Cyborg Superman and have turned many Lanterns into Alphas against their will. This is a bid to capture Ganthet, who knows much about their internal systems. The Cyborg, who is mostly Alpha himself, hopes that if Ganthet discovers how to turn the Alphas back to normal, the Cyborg can become human and thus die himself. After Henshaw is defeated, the Alpha Lanterns are restored with insights, values, and priorities and given a semblance of their free will, thanks to Ganthet.

When Krona along with the emotional entities launched his attack on Oa, attacking the six of the remaining Guardians (Ganthet working in the Anti-Matter universe at the time), by having them possessed by all the entities except for Parallax, who is placed inside the Central Power Battery. With the yellow impurity returned to the green light, all of the Green Lanterns - with the apparent exception of Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Kilowog and Guy Gardner - are placed under Krona's control; the Alpha Lanterns are affected by the yellow impurity in such a way as to cause them to enter into some kind of hibernation.

After Krona's death, the Guardians went into deliberation on the future of the Corps when Sinestro was chosen by a Green Lantern Power Ring. Following acts of insubordination amongst the Green Lantern, the Guardians ordered all Corps members to return to their assigned sectors and missions. Only the Honor Guard, Alpha Lanterns and support staff were allowed to remain on Oa at this time.

When John Stewart was forced to kill fellow Lantern Kirrt after he was broken by the Keepers' interrogation and was about to give them the information on Oa's planetary shield codes, his death was later registered as a Code GLD that led to the Alpha Lanterns congregating at the Chambers of The Alpha Lanterns where they agreed to commence the arraingement despite their actions causing a possible uproar in the Corps. They later struck at Warriors Bar in order to place John Stewart under arrest The Alpha Lanterns took him for a court appearance before the collective Corps and The Guardians of the Universe to contemplate the evidence against him. Ultimately, it was concluded that Stewart was guilty and the Alpha Lanterns decided on the judgement of death for his crime. They believed this decision would prevent any future Green Lantern from conducting a similar act. The decision of the Alpha Lanterns was met with opposition from the Green Lantern Corps. As a result, the cybernetic Lanterns decided to not imprison Stewart in a normal detention cell but leave him confined in the Alpha Tower until his time of execution.

Afterwards, they met with the Guardians of The Universe and newly promoted Sentinel Guy Gardner. The Oans whilst not happy with the decision ultimately decided to agree with the Alpha Lanterns decision. Upon believing the Guardians approval, the Alpha Lanterns wanted the Oans to collectively execute Stewart. This approach was refused and the Alpha Lanterns offered an alternative of bringing in an offworld executioner. However, this approach was also refused in an angry outburst by Gardner who left but not before telling the Alpha Lantern Corps to execute Stewart themselves if they had sentenced him to that fate. The Guardians did not condone Gardner's behavior but believed his words rang true and told the Alpha Lanterns to conduct the sentence. Following that point, Gardner went to the Alpha Tower where he was escorted by Boodika in order to provide a final meal to Lantern Stewart. Whilst being monitored, the Alpha Lanterns did not anticipate a breakout attempt by the rest of the Green Lantern Corps where Stewart was taken. Whilst battling Green Lanterns, the Alpha Lanterns tapped into the Central Power Battery and forcibly removed the charge from their opponents Power Rings.

Following that point, the Alpha Lanterns pressed their advantage but the two renegade Earth Lanterns unleashed reprogrammed Manhunters against them. In addition, the Alpha Lanterns faced a renewed assault from the rest of the Green Lantern Corps who had been freed from the Sciencells. The cyborg Alpha Lanterns ended up fighting a renewed assault from both sides and saw them unite to defeat an amalgam composite of a massive Manhunter. Once destroyed, they continued their attack against Stewart and Gardner where they successfully managed to capture them. With the rogue Manhunters defeated, the cybernetic Alpha Lanterns proceeded to drain the Power Rings of the Green Lantern Corps of their charge where they intended to punish all the Lanterns for their dissent. With the Earth Lanterns captive, the Alpha Lanterns proceeded with their judgement only for Varix to turn against his cybernetic brethren. He freed Stewart and Gardner whereupon the pair dismantled the Alpha Lantern Corps and killed them. This left Varix the only Alpha Lantern left and he terminated himself as he believed he along with his comrades had disgraced the Green Lantern Corps. Afterwards, the bodies of Varix and the Alpha Lanterns were interned in the Crypt of the Green Lantern Corps but were shown prior to their transformation into cyborgs.

While the Alpha Lanterns were a subdivision of the Green Lantern Corps, they had an oath of their own:

The Keepers

The Keepers was the name given to a race of humanoid beings that inhabited the planet Urak. These skeletal beings native world was a barren world where their race struggled to exist. Their existence changed when their homeworld was visited by the Guardians of the Universe who were seeking a place that would serve as a storage ground for the Green Lantern Power Batteries. This came after it became apparent that members of the Green Lantern Corps began to suffer when their Power Rings ran out of charge. Thus, the Oans sought out a means of addressing this issue by providing easy access between a Green Lantern and their Power Rings. They learnt that the unique properties of Urak allowed for a temporal conduit between a Power Battery and Power Ring whereupon they made a pact with the native species. In exchange for rebuilding their world, the race would act as protectors and custodians of the Power Batteries that were stored in the Emerald Plains. Thus, the native inhabitants of Urak became known as the Keepers due to their new role. The unique composition of their homeworld led to the Power Batteries growing as if they were crops within the Emerald Fields. Though they held an important role in the Green Lantern Corps, their existence was not known to the Green Lanterns with even their Power Rings unable to identify the species. These conditions, however, led to a form of symbiosis as the Power Batteries provided energy that nourished Urak and fed its people. The energy of Willpower was thus infused into the singular DNA of the Keepers and provided them an amazingly potent force of will. As a result, they became beings that possessed an innate reserve of willpower which was overwhelming and not in proportion with their relatively common forms. This trait made their armor completely immune to the effects of Lantern Energy Construct that derived from Willpower in the Emotional Spectrum. Their strength of will made them capable of actually willing their own bodies to shut down and kill themselves. The lush homeworld allowed their race to prosper as shepherds in this role. Events changed for the race in 2012 when the Oans arrived on Urak and removed all the Power Batteries from the Keepers care who they referred to as undeserving parasites. This act led to Urak returning to its formerly barren existence with the Keepers struggling to simply survive, so they begin to attack another planets in order to steal their resources.

First Lantern

The First Lantern is a mysterious being that stirs within imprisonment. The First Lantern was given the unknown power by the Guardians of the Universe, and is sealed in the Chamber of Shadows for billions of years. The Guardians (who have become unemotional) arrive to the Chamber of Shadows to pull the First Lantern; he is able to recognize the Guardians, demanding to be let out. The Guardians arrive on Earth and used the power of the First Lantern to create the Third Army to replace the Green Lantern Corps. The imprisoned First Lantern tells them that they will regret that and that he will escape. The Third Army spread over the universe destroying all life and free will, so they told the First Lantern once the Third Army completes their control over the whole universe, there will be no need for him. The First Lantern tries to reason with the Guardians to no avail. Meanwhile, Black Hand reanimated the elder Oan (who was killed by the Guardians) for information about where the Guardians have put him in, but he is only told that the First Lantern is a danger of the universe. When the Guardians realize they cannot completely control the universe and need more of the Third Army, they use more of the power of the First Lantern, without realizing that the First Lantern's prison is breaking. It is revealed that the identity of the First Lantern was Volthoom (a monk who created the ring for Power Ring, Green Lantern's arch-enemy and doppelgÃ¤nger). While Hal Jordan and Sinestro are trapped in the Dead Zone, until they encounter Tomar-Re (who was undead in the Dead Zone) telling them to stop Volthoom, before he goes about bringing changes to reality in history. Tomar-Re explains to them that Volthoom was a mysterious explorer from an unknown time of the future, who went back just in time at the beginning of Krona's observing of the origins of the universe, where Volthoom has unlocked and becomes the power of the Emotional spectrum of the creation of the first light powers known as the First Lantern. Very early at that time, the Guardians brought the idea of sharing this power, but Volthoom dismayed them and he began killing millions of beings in the universe.

Third Army

The Guardians of the Universe (who have become unemotional) were preparing to create the 'Third Army' to replace the Green Lantern Corps. The Guardians take the First Lantern away with them and teleport to Earth, where they used the power of the First Lantern to create the Third Army from their own flesh and will. The organic constructs have the ability to transform other beings into copies of themselves through direct contact.

It has been shown that they possess both enhanced strength and a collective intelligence which is shown during an attack on the Red Lanterns when Atrocitus stabs one of the Third Army in the eyes, where all the Third Army felt the pain. Some of the Third Army are destroyed by incineration with an explosive of a bomb. When the Third Army is sent to invade Zamaron, the Third Army is destroyed by White Lantern Kyle Rayner, who has mastered the seven powers of the emotional spectrum. When the First Lantern is freed from his imprisonment, he disintegrated all of the Third Army.

Weapons

Other versions

The Lightsmiths

In the universe prior to the current one, groups managed to tap into the wellspring of power created by the Emotional Spectrum. In this universe those who tapped into the green light were known as the Lightsmiths of the Green Light of Resolve.

In other media

The Green Lantern Corps made an appearance in Duck Dodgers in an episode titled "The Green Loontern". After Dodgers accidentally takes Hal Jordan's uniform from the dry cleaners, he is teleported to the Corps location by the ring, where they are in a fight with a large number of Sinestro's robots. During the fight, the entire Corps is kidnapped by Sinestro to act as a power source for a doomsday device. Duck Dodgers manages to save them (more through accident than skill) before giving the uniform back to Hal Jordan and being stranded in Sinestro's hideout.

The Green Lantern Corps appear in a few episodes of the Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series, including "In Blackest Night," "Hearts and Minds", and "The Return." Several Corps members also make cameos in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "In Brightest Day," which featured Kyle Rayner.

The Green Lantern Corps are featured heavily in the video game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Hal Jordan appears as a playable character and one of the game's major protagonists; the Guardians appear in the game's Oa based stage, and the rest of the Corps members are mentioned to be trying to contain the universe wide crisis taking place during Story Mode. Additionally, Sonya Blade's in-game ending depicts her becoming the Green Lantern of the Mortal Kombat universe after gaining the ring of a recently deceased Corps member.

The Green Lantern Corps appear in Batman: The Brave and the Bold in their home planet Oa. In the teaser of "Day of the Dark Knight!", the Corps is having lunch in the cafeteria, and force Guy Gardner to clean up his mess. In "The Eyes of Despero!", they fight against Despero, and Hal Jordan hides them in his ring for protection.

The Green Lantern Corps feature prominently in the Warner Brothers animated film Green Lantern: First Flight. The movie follows the origins of Hal Jordan and Sinestro. The Corps is the focus of a following film, Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, which features several stories about various non-Terran Green Lanterns.

The Green Lantern Corps appear in the Green Lantern live-action film. The leader of the Corps is Sinestro, with Abin Sur, Kilowog, and Tomar-Re being central characters.

The Green Lantern Corps is the primary focus of the TV series, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, with Hal Jordan and Kilowog as the main cast. Also in the show are "frontier space" members of the corps.

Bibliography

This listing is for the â€œcoreâ€ series or limited series to feature the Green Lantern Corps in their various incarnations over the years:

Tales of the Green Lantern Corps (3-issue mini-series, Mayâ€"July 1981)
Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #1 (1985) (first annual issue for Green Lantern (vol. 2) series)
Green Lantern Corps #201-224 (June 1986 â€" May 1988) (formerly Green Lantern (vol. 2) series)
- Annuals #2 (Dec. 1986), #3 (Aug. 1987)
Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #1-8 (Summer, 1992 - Spring, 1994)
Green Lantern: The New Corps (2-issue mini-series, 1999)
Green Lantern Corps: Recharge (5-issue limited series, November 2005 - March 2006)
Green Lantern Corps (vol. 2) #1 - 63 (August 2006 â€" August 2011)
Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors #1 - 13 (October 2010 - October 2011)
Green Lantern Corps (vol. 3) #1 - present (September 2011 â€" present)

Collected editions

Some of the stories have been collected into trade paperbacks:

Tales of the Green Lantern Corps (collects Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #1-3 and back-up stories from Green Lantern (vol. 2) #148, 151-154, 161-162, 164-167), 160 pages, April 2009, ISBN 1-84856-147-4, DC Comics, March 2009, ISBN 1-4012-2155-6
Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 2 (collects back-up stories from Green Lantern (vol. 2) #168, 169, 171-173, 177, 179-183, 185, 187-190 and Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #1), 144 pages, February 2010, ISBN 1-4012-2702-9
Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Vol. 3 (collects Green Lantern Corps #201-206), 144 pages, Oct. 2010, ISBN 1-4012-2934-4