Those of you who are comic fans (sure there's a couple out there), and even those of you who aren't, may be familiar with the superhero Green Lantern, a DC comics character. You know, the guy with the magic ring that can make anything he wants out of green light. And, uh, he's got a lantern on his costume. Hence the name, Green Lantern. He's not the only Green Lantern either, there's a whole corps of them, from all over the universe. They're like space cops.

Oh for... here.

He's friends with Superman. Pretty well known.

Anyway, he'll soon be taking center stage in the DC comics universe with a major summer cross-over event called the Blackest Night. In a storyline so obvious it took them decades to tell it, the Green Lantern Corps are confronted by six other 'Lantern' Corps, all a different color and powered by a different emotional drive. The seven corps are taking form all across the universe. Some of them are good. Some of them aren't. Some of them are somewhere in between. But they're all brightly colored and awesome. And they're all ramping up for all out war between themselves and the upcoming force of the Blackest Night, which has it's own Lantern Corps, and intends to put out all lights, everywhere. Forever.

The War of Light on Penny Arcade!

I'm inviting everyone who wants to draw up their own character, based on the Green Lantern universe and belonging to one of the eight different Lantern Corps listed below. I've used my avatar as a template for the different characters - feel free to do the same with your own avatar. Or make up a brand new character. Or use an exisiting character from a comic, or a game, or somewhere else.

There's no restrictions on what your character can look like - the Green Lanterns have amongst their ranks a talking squirrel, a planet, and a brick. It's just got to be sporting a Corps' color scheme and symbol. I've done my best to depict the symbols below, but you can also check out clearer versions here:

http://ringoblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/sterling-silver-eight-lanterns-corps-rings.jpg

Also, try to include the few details that are unique to that corps, like the Red Lanterns all having burning blood flowing out of their mouths, the Orange Lanterns all seem to be made of light, Black Lanterns are undead, etc. There haven't been any male Star Sapphires yet, but I won't force anyone to gender-swap their avatar like I did (though it wouldn't hurt you to get in touch with your feminine side, you brute.)

Other than that, you're free to go nuts. Hell, you can even have a character belong to more than one corps (there's precedent!). Have fun.

You can read the comics for all the minutia, but here's a run down of all the different corps and what they're about, along with some examples of a character based on my own avatar belonging to each Corps.

Green Lantern Corps



Created by the Guardians of the Universe to combat evil and enforce justice across all of space, the Green Lantern Corps has existed for thousands of years. Based on the planet Oa at the center of the universe, the Green Lantern Corps is made up of individuals chosen from the universe's 3600 sectors. An individual is chosen for their courage, for their commitment to good, and above all else for their ability to overcome great fear. They are given green power rings which enable them to create solid light constructs out of anything they can think of. The greater a Green Lantern's willpower, the stronger their powers will be.

A Green Lantern is powered by the will, which is represented by green light in the emotional spectrum. It lies at the center of the spectrum, and is a force of balance. All other emotions are controlled by sufficient willpower, and the will to live is the most powerful driving force of all living things. For these reasons, it was selected to power the Green Lantern Corps.

Sinestro Corps



Founded by Sinestro, a renegade member of the Green Lantern Corps, the Sinestro Corps exists to spread fear throughout the universe. Sinestro ruled his homeworld of Korguar as a Green Lantern, using his power to enforce order by terrifying the populace into submission. Instilling great fear is the greatest crime a Green Lantern can commit, and for this reason the Guardians of the Universe stripped Sinestro of his green power ring and banished him to the Antimatter Universe, an alternate universe existing on a lower plane than our own. Here, Sinestro forged a new power ring which drew it's energy from fear rather than willpower. Sinestro believes that order must be enforced through control, and fear is the most powerful method of gaining control. To this end, he has forged thousands of yellow power rings and recruited the most terrifying monsters in the universe to join his army.

Members of the Sinestro Corps are fueled by fear, which is represented as a yellow light in the emotional spectrum. While green balances, yellow tips the scales. Many members follow Sinestro's ideology that to instill fear is to instill order. Many more simply like to kill. Sinestro Corps members wield yellow power rings that are charged by instilling fear in others and battling against Green Lanterns. Yellow power rings can be used to create solid light constructs of anything the wielder can imagine.

Star Sapphire Corps



When the Guardians of the Universe first chose to police the universe, they decided that emotion was a chaotic and destablizing force, and that only by subjugating emotion with willpower could true order and impartial justice exist. Many Guardians did not agree, however, and split away from the rest of their species. This splinter tribe became known as the Zamarons, immortal warriors who believed that life without love was no life at all. Over time, the Zamarons began creating an army of their own to spread love throughout the universe, in contrast to the Guardians who sought to supress all emotion. The Zamarons' Corps members are known as the Star Sapphires. Originally powered by crystals that contain emotional energy, the Zamarons have reforged their weapons into violet power rings.

Star Sapphires are powered by love, which is represented by a violet light in the emotional spectrum. Violet lies at the end of the spectrum, far away from the central balance, and as such is an emotion whose power greatly influences the wielder. Those chosen to become Star Sapphires are often those who have loved deeply and then suffered a tremendous loss. The hole left in their heart is filled by the power of the Star Sapphire, turning their great inner turmoil into power for the Zamarons' own agenda.

Red Lantern Corps



Before the Green Lantern Corps existed, the Guardians of the Universe created a different force to police the universe. This force was an army of robotic warriors known as the Manhunters. Believing emotionless robots to be the perfect, impartial arbiters of justice, untouched by chaotic emotion, the Guardians deployed vast numbers of Manhunters across the unvierse to enforce peace and order. For a time, they did. Then one day, a glitch occured. Whether by accident or design, a malfunction caused the Manhunters to conclude that life was disorder, and order could only exist by destroying all life. They began their purge in universe sector 666. Entire galaxies were razed, trillions of lives snuffed out. Only a handful of beings survived. In one, the alien demon Atrocitus, a tremendous rage was born, which would eventually fuel the birth of the Red Lantern Corps. Powered by rage and hatred, Atrocitus and his Red Lanterns are devoted to exterminating all those they hate - starting with the Guardians of the Universe.

Red Lanterns are powered by rage, which is represented by red light in the emotional spectrum. It lies on the far end of the spectrum, opposite violet, and as such is a power that has great influence over it's wielder. Those who wear the red power rings of the Red Lantern Corps undergo a painful and horrific process which seems to expell all the blood in their body, replacing it with red energy from the ring. This energy takes the form of liquid, which constantly spews forth from the Red Lantern's mouth. This substance ignites whatever it touches, and can even burn in space. Unlike other power rings which form solid light constructs, the red power rings seem to pour out vast quanities of this napalm-like red energy.

Orange Lantern Corps



The Zamarons are not the only splinter-tribe of the Guardians of the Universe. Eons ago, the beings now known as the Controllers split away from their fellow Guardians, fueled by the ideology that only by taking control of the universe could they keep it safe. While the Guardians respect the autonomy of other worlds and do not interfere with their development or their governments, the Controllers seek to conquer and rule all living things. With the emergence of the emotional spectrum's powers and the different Corps it has begun to birth, the Controllers believe that they may finally have found the power they seek. The orange light of avarice. Unfortunately for them, the light already has an owner. And he is unwilling to share.

Orange Lanterns are powered by avarice and greed, which is represented by an orange light on the emotional spectrum. Like many of the other Corps, they wield power rings. The Orange Lanterns may be something other than what they appear to be, however. Every Orange Lantern seen thus far appears completely covered in glowing light, as if every member were themselves a solid light construct rather than a living being. It is whispered that there is only a single member of the Orange Lantern Corps, and that this 'Agent Orange' is in fact creating all the other members using the entire power of the orange light himself, unwilling to share it with anyone else.

Indigo Lantern Corps



Not much is known about this force, but they exist to spread goodwill throughout the universe. They appear to be neutral in the universe-spanning conflict between the different Corps, and are willing to give aid to any, regardless of alliegence.

Indigo Lanterns are powered by compassion, which is represented by an indigo light on the emotional spectrum. Unlike the other Corps, Indigo Lanterns do not wield power rings. Instead, they carry long staffs topped with glowing lanterns. They appear to use their power to heal rather than to fight. A noble cause to be sure, but the Indigo Lanterns use their power to heal any and all those in need, regardless of alliegence, which might only serve to prolong a bloody conflict by healing those on both sides.

Blue Lantern Corps



Convinced that the prophecy of the Blackest Night cannot be halted, only prepared for, two members of the Guardians of the Universe began to do just that. Accused by their fellows of giving in to fear and emotion, the two were expelled from the Guardians and banished from Oa. Unwilling to allow the Guardians' blindess to bring them and the universe to ruin, the two resolved to create their own force to aid the Green Lantern Corps and the rest of the universe in overcoming the threat of the Blackest Night. That force is the Blue Lantern Corps.

Blue Lanterns are powered by hope, which is represented as a blue light in the emotional spectrum. They wield power rings that are able to recharge the energy of a Green Lantern's power ring, neutralize the powers of enemy lanterns, and may have other abilities as well. Blue Lanterns are chosen for their ability to inspire great hope in others, and their Corps was created to provide support to the Green Lantern Corps and to preserve life throughout the universe. To this end, a Blue Lantern ring cannot function to it's fullest extent without an active Green Lantern ring nearby.

Black Lantern Corps



"Seven Corps will be born.
Seven Corps will shine their light brightly.
Seven Corps will be at war.
The skies on every world will darken.
The hiss of the shadows will announce to us that our time is over.
The Blackest Night will descend upon us all.
The Seven Corps will fall.
As will the universe."
-The Prophecy of the Blackest Night.

The Black Lantern Corps is the instrument of the Blackest Night. Powered by death, the absence of life and emotional energy, Black Lantern power rings bring the dead to life. Their goal appears to be to scour the universe of light, of emotion, of life itself.

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PS - If you would like to learn more about Green Lantern, consult your local comic shoppe! Also, you can check out the Graphic Violence Green Lantern right here on PA.