Red Lantern Corps
Red Lantern Corps is a comic book team that first appeared in Green Lantern Vol. 5 #25
The Red Lantern Corps are powered by Rage.
Oath
The oath as spoken by Atrocitus, one of the few Red Lanterns capable of speech after obtaining a Red Power Ring." WITH BLOOD AND RAGE OF CRIMSON RED,
RIPPED FROM A CORPSE SO FRESHLY DEAD,
TOGETHER WITH OUR HELLISH HATE,
WE'LL BURN YOU ALL... THAT IS YOUR FATE!"
History
The Massacre Of Sector 666
Before the Guardians of the Universe formed the Green Lantern Corps they employed a robotic army known as the Manhunters to police the 3600 sectors of space. Although a capable fighting force, the Manhunters were limited by their lack of emotion, most notably, compassion and empathy. This flaw would prove fatal when, for a still undisclosed reason, the Manhunters malfunctioned. This twisted programming would result in the Massacre of Space Sector 666; the worst mistake made by the Guardians since Krona first attempted his forbidden experiments. Reasoning that the best way to protect life from harm was to eliminate it, the Manhunters murdered billions of inhabitants of Sector 666 before they were stopped by their former masters. In the end, only five beings remained. These five christened themselves " The Five Inversions" and pledged revenge against the Guardians for the genocide perpetrated against Sector 666.
Imprisoned On Ysmault
The Guardians sought to eliminate or control all of the stray magic that permeated through the universe and gave groups like the Inversions the power they needed to spread chaos. After a hellacious battle, the Guardians defeated the Empire of Tears and chained the Five Inversions to the planet Ysmault, where they were sentenced to spend an eternity crucified for their crimes. The Guardians then ordered Ysmault to be off-limits to all travelers. Their desire to sequester the Inversions suggests that they were both punishing their enemies, and hiding away the last known witnesses to their greatest embarrassment. For centuries, the Inversions languished on Ysmault, until one day the Green Lantern Abin Sur arrived on the planet, in pursuit of a damaged starship. The Inversion known as Qull toyed with Abin Sur, offering him the answer to any three questions he asked. Abin Sur used the first two questions to locate the damaged ship and save its lone survivor, but was tempted into asking a personal question about his fate and the fate of the Corps. Qull then recounted the prophecy of "The Blackest Night", a tale of the death of the universe when a force known as "The Black" will "one day consume all light and all life." As for himself, Abin Sur would die when his ring failed him at his greatest time of need, while he was fighting an opponent or unprotected in hard vacuum. Abin Sur would eventually become consumed with this prophecy; an obsession that would ultimately lead to his death.The Red Lantern Corp Is Born
Atrocitus' first discovery of the red spectrum came during the years of incarceration he endured on the prison planet of Ysmault. As a prisoner of the Guardians, whom he blames for the massacre of his sector, Atrocitus built up years of hatred and rage. His animosity was given shape for the first time when he bludgeoned to death Qull, one of his fellow survivors, with a Red Lantern. Over time, Atrocitus poured forth more and more bloody rage drawn from his body by the power of the red spectrum. Using blood magics, he forged a Central Power Battery of his own amidst a great lake of blood, and from that Lantern emerged batteries and rings to power the Red Lantern Corps. In the shadow of the great Red Lantern, immersed in his victims blood, Atrocitus vowed revenge against the Guardians and Sinestro, the Green Lantern who incarcerated him. Laira is the first known member of the Red Lantern Corps, receiving her Red Lantern Ring after being expelled from the Green Lantern Corps after the end of the Sinestro Corps War. Others soon join their own rage to Atrocitus' cause, taking the oath:
"With blood and rage of crimson red...ripped from a corpse so freshly dead...together with our hellish hate....we'll burn you all.... THAT IS YOUR FATE!"
Revenge Against Sinestro
Atrocitus soon gathered an army of followers to Ysmault, selected for the great rage that stirred within them. There, beside the great lake of blood, the Red Lantern Corps swore an oath of revenge in the shadow of the Central Lantern.
Many Red Lanterns shared Atrocitus' hatred of Sinestro and desired his blood. Lanterns, like Bleez and Vice, suffered at the hands of Sinestro's army of fear. Bleez was tortured and raped by her sadistic captors, who kept her as a prisoner for their own amusement. Vice's mate was killed and eaten by Sinestro's enforcer Arkillo. Both burned with bottomless rage. The red light consumed it's wielder so completely, making them little more then animals hungry to feed and kill.
In addition to the defensive and flight properties gained by harnessing the emotional spectrum of light, Red Lanterns receive enhanced speed, strength, and the ability to produce a napalm-like fire. This fire can burst forth from a wielder's ring and can be vomited out of their mouth with devastating effect. A Red Lantern's fire can burn in the vaccum of space and has been known to burn through a Green Lantern's force field.Following the Sinestro Corps War, Sinestro remained a prisoner of the Green Lantern Corps, sentenced to die for his countless crimes against the universe. In recognition of the tyranny he perpetrated against the Korugarian people, and the desire of the Korugarians to bring justice to the greatest villain in their history, the Guardians of the Universe agreed to transport Sinestro to stand trial on his own homeworld. Sinestro was placed in a Sciencell and turned over to Hal Jordan and John Stewart, who would lead a contingent of Green Lanterns assigned to guard their prisoner until he reached Korugar.
Although the mission details were highly classified, the Sinestro Corps were alerted to the transport. They immediately set into motion a plan to rescue their leader. Hiding behind an asteroid field, the Sinestro Corps ambushed the Lanterns with a surprise blast of power that decapitated the Green Lantern Arx. While the villains kept the guards occupied, the Sinestro Corps Soldier of Sector 3 raced for the Sciencell with a yellow power ring meant for his
The Red Lanterns killed both groups of corpsmen indiscriminately and with savage brutality. Atrocitus tore the Green Lantern Remanant Nod in half, while the Red Lantern of Sector 3544 crushed a Sinestro Soldier in his massive jaw. Atrocitus seized Sinestro fro m Green Lantern control and the Red Lanterns fled with their hated prisoner, leaving behind the carnage of both Green and Yellow warriors.
Atrocitus tells Sinestro that he will find out that which Sinestro fears. Ripping open the body of a dead Sinestro Corps member, Atrocitus uses his blood rituals to find out that Sinestro has a daughter, Soranik Natu.
Soon after Sinestro realizes that Atrocitus know who his daughter is, Hal Jordan and two Blue Lanterns arrive on Ysmault to free Sinestro. During the fight between the Red and Blue/Green Lanterns, Atrocitus reveals the "weakness" of the Blue Lanters: a Blue Lantern Ring won't work if there isn't a Green Lantern Ring in the current vicinity.
As this is going on, Sinestro kills Laira, enraging Hal to the point of attracting the attention of a Red Ring, turning him into a Green/Red Lantern.
While wielding the red ring, Hal was able create constructs out of the red light since, as Saint Walker put it, his will was so strong. This feat would later be duplicated by Guy Gardner and Mera. With his green power ring now inactive, Jordan attacked the Blue Lantern Corps and Sinestro. Saint Walker, now de-powered without a green ring nearby, managed to get his blue power ring on Jordan's finger, which caused the red ring to explode when combined with the power of his reawakened green ring. Drained of power by Jordan's blue lantern abilities, the Sinestro Corps escapes. Wounded and seemingly beaten for now, Atrocitus and his own corps also flee. At the conclusion of the issue, Atrocitus is seen using a blood ritual to divine the location of the Blue Lantern Corps homeworld.
Riot In The Sciencell
In the Green Lantern Corps arc "Emerald Eclipse," Vice became the first Red Lantern to become a prisoner of the Green Lanterns. He attacked Kilowog and Salaak on the way back from the Red Lantern ambush, but was detained. Fixed with a muzzle to block his corrosive plasma as a means of escape, Vice is placed in a sciencell on Oa. No longer under the allegiance of the Guardians, Scar removed the muzzle remotely as part of her own plans of bringing the Blackest Night prophecy into realization. Free of his restraints, Vice escaped and begun attacking the sciencell warden, Voz. To the amusement of the Sinestro Corps members imprisoned in their own sciencells, Vice overcame and brutally assaulted Voz. Sinestro Corpsmen were horrified to find, however, that Vice was not prejudiced against only the Green Lanterns. As Vice began culling the Sinestro Corps detainees, Scar released their yellow power rings from confinement elsewhere on Oa. As the rings found their respective bearers, rioting ensued that necessitated the immediate attention of the Green Lantern Corps. The riot in the sciencells is eventually contained by the Green Lanterns and Alpha Lanterns. Vice, though given ample opportunity to escape, remained behind to shed more blood, and is subsequently captured and re-imprisoned.
Blackest Night
During the Blackest Night event, the Guardians of the Universe are shown observing the War of Light unfolding amongst the various Corps of the emotional spectrum; one of the scenes depicting the Lost Lanterns confronting the Red Lantern Corps in order to retrieve Laira's body from Ysmault. Just as Atrocitus stepped into the fight against the Lost Lanterns, the black rings descended on Ysmault, seeking the bodies of Laira and the four deceased Inversions.
On Ysmault, the four Inversions attacked Atrocitus and ripped out his heart. However, his ring prevented him from dying (having functionally replaced his heart), and he temporarily destroyed the Black Lantern Inversions. Later, Atrocitus is seen temporarily destroying the Black Lanterns in pursuit of Larfleeze, and demanded that he surrender the Orange Central Power Battery. After a brief conflict over the Orange Central Power Battery, the two characters are joined by Hal Jordan, Sinestro, Carol Ferris, Indigo, Saint Walker, Ganthet, and Sayd. The group needs Larfleeze and Atrocitus to represent their respective colored lights in the emotional spectrum in a group effort to create a collective white light that will destroy the Black Lantern Corps. Atrocitus initially refused to cooperate with any lantern, but after deciding that the Black Lanterns are as much a creation of the Guardians as the Manhunter droids that destroyed his world, he changed his mind and complies. The newly-created Rainbow Rodeo headed to Earth to combat Nekron and his Black Lanterns. However, the fight proves harder than simply creating white light. While the Lanterns wait for their respective corps to join them on Earth, Ganthet enabled a ring function that causes the rings to deputize an acceptable being. Mera was chosen as the Red Lantern Deputy as the fight raged on.
During the Black Lantern siege of the Green Central Power Battery, Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner released Vice; hoping that the Red Lantern will be able to destroy the Black Lanterns faster than they can regenerate, and thereby weaken the giant black construct attempting to destroy the battery. Believing that Vice has escaped (rather than being released), Alpha Lantern Chaselon kills him. The red ring would later find its way onto Guy Gardner's hand after he becomes enraged when Kyle Rayner dies protecting the Green Lantern Power Battery.
| Team Name: | Red Lantern Corps |
| Publisher: | DC Comics |
| 1st Appearance: | Green Lantern Vol. 5 #25 |
| Appears in: | 29 issues |
| Disbanded in: |
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