20 Years Ago, Green Lantern’s Most Iconic Villain Expanded the Lore in the Best Way Possible

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Green Lantern Volume 4, #10, for the most part, seems like it doesn’t have anything to do with Sinestro. The issue primarily focuses on Hal Jordan dealing with jurisdictional and border issues on Earth. However, in the background, in Space Sector 674, a vicious alien named Arkillo is slaughtering his opponents. As he devours one of his victims, a yellow light shines in the sky and calls out to him. It’s a Yellow Lantern Ring, and Arkillo was judged to have the ability to instill great fear. The ring then formally welcomes Arkillo into one of the greatest and most powerful supervillain teams of all time that would forever change the universe: the Sinestro Corps.

The Sinestro Corps Is the Green Lantern Corps’ Dark Reflection

Image Courtesy of DC Comics

With a villain as maniacal and power-hungry as Sinestro, the formation of his own Corps to rival the Green Lantern Corps is a logical development of his character. With thousands of loyal followers who all wield Yellow Lantern Rings, Sinestro finally had the power and numbers to not only defeat the Green Lanterns but also conquer the universe with a regime fueled by fear. More importantly, it evolved Sinestro’s character from a bland wannabe conqueror into a more complex villain with a dark, twisted philosophy. Part of what makes the Sinestro Corps so fascinating is how it both represents the Green Lantern Corps’ polar opposite but also takes its heroic rival’s core mission and extend it to its most radical, extreme, and vile conclusion.

The Green Lantern Corps is comprised of the most righteous beings from across the universe who possess strong will and are dedicated to protecting the innocent and fighting crime. So naturally, its evil counterpart, the Sinestro Corps, is made up of some of the most terrifying and vicious criminals and monsters the universe has to offer. The Sinestro Corps rings bond with people who can instill great fear, so everything from terrorists, cannibals, serial killers, tyrants, and bloodthirsty beasts were recruited. Even notable supervillains like Scarecrow, Mongul Jr., Superboy Prime, and the Anti-Monitor all have temporarily joined the Sinestro Corps. The Sinestro Corps is truly the definition of the worst of the worst, with Sinestro guiding their sadism and cruelty towards annihilating the Green Lanterns once and for all.

Despite their radical differences, both Lantern Corps claim to desire the same thing: to protect people and maintain order. However, the way they go about achieving their ends is drastically different. The Green Lantern Corps may intervene in interplanetary disputes to protect civilians. But, it never governs and it believes that everyone has the right to autonomy. The Sinestro Corps, in contrast, believes that the universe can only be safe if its inhabitants have their freedom stripped away from them, a philosophy Sinestro endlessly spouts. This concept of peace through tyranny and fear is one shared by every fascist regime in history. The Sinestro Corps takes the Green Lantern Corps’ peacekeeping mission to its most extreme. This dynamic lends itself to nuanced explorations of fascism, law enforcement, and security.

The introduction of the Sinestro Corps lent itself to many fantastic storylines, such as the iconic “Sinestro Corps War” where the Green Lantern Corps was forced past its ethical code just to survive. It introduced many now-fan-favorite characters, including Arkillo and Lyssa Drak. This team of maniacal supervillains and tyrants has since become one of the Green Lantern Corps’ most frequent and powerful adversaries, representing the universe’s worst beings.

The Sinestro Corps Ushered in a New Spectrum of Lantern Corps

Courtesy of DC Comics

When DC Comics debuted the Sinestro Corps in 2006, it did more than introduce an evil version of a preexisting superhero team. Instead, with its members fueled by the emotion of fear, the Sinestro Corps opened the floodgates for DC to introduce numerous new Lantern Corps that encompass the entirety of the emotional and light spectrums. With the debut of the Sinestro Corps, the Green Lantern brand and the DC Universe as a whole changed for the better, with numerous new and beloved stories and characters emerging.

The Sinestro Corps was the first group that examined the concept of emotion-powered rings. While there were the Anti-Green Lantern Corps and the Star Sapphires beforehand, neither really delved into the emotional component that makes the Green Lanterns such engaging characters with their vast willpower. With the debut of the fear-fueled Sinestro Corps, the potential for new Lantern Corps was limitless. These new Corps included the rage-fueled Red Lanterns, the hopeful Blue Lanterns, the greedy Orange Lanterns, and the compassionate Indigo Tribe. Even the Star Sapphires were reconstructed as the Star Sapphire Corps, who draw their power from love. Each of these new Corps introduced many new beloved characters who have become staples of DC Comics including Atrocitus, Larfleeze, and Saint Walker.

All these new Corps draw from the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum, from which all emotions in the universe originate. And of these Corps, none is more powerful than the Black and White Lanterns. The Black Lanterns are fueled by death and represent the absence of life and emotion. Led by the Death God Nekron and his disciple Black Hand, the undead Black Lanterns were the primary villains of the iconic DC storyline Blackest Night. Not only did the story lead to many long-dead characters returning and the other Lantern Corps joining forces, but it also introduced another Corps during the following Brightest Day event. The White Lanterns are the embodiments of life and the culmination of the entire Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum.

None of these diverse Lantern Corps or universe-shaking storylines would have existed without the Sinestro Corps. Even today, new Lantern Corps are being introduced, like the Ultraviolet and Sorrow Lanterns. All these groups offer significant narrative potential, as they examine different philosophies on emotions, psychology, justice, chaos, order, life, death, and existence. From a simple interstellar cop series, new life was breathed into the Green Lantern franchise as these new Corps examined the nature of emotions, different methods of peacekeeping, and our place within the universe. And ironically, it was all thanks to Sinestro and his band of psychopaths and monsters who desire to conquer the universe and slaughter their enemies.

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