Super Groups: The Green Lantern Corps

It’s time for another Theme Week! This time around I’ll be talking about the Green Lantern Corps, more specifically, the Homo Sapiens that represent us in this intergalactic police force. I know what you’re thinking, “Green Lanterns, wouldn’t that be better for March? What with the Green and All” to which I say, Negative Nancy how do you keep getting in here? I’ve got a few ideas about what to do next month that’ll be more appropriate for the Month of St. Patrick’s Day. Now, before I get into the first human GL’s background, I’ll cover the group as a whole. Let's get to it.

Group: The Green Lantern Corps

Created by: The Guardians of the Universe

Leadership: The Guardians of the Universe, Honor Guard Green Lanterns

Green Lanterns Light!

The Green Lantern Corps was founded by a group of Immortal beings that called themselves the Guardians of the Universe. They were one of a few races that evolved on a planet called Maltus, and are thought to be one of the first forms of Sentient life in the Universe. After a few generations of scientific expansion and evolution, one of the Maltusians named Krona did something really, really stupid. He used a machine to bend time that allowed him to observe the beginnings of the Universe. This caused several unspecified disasters and distorted reality from the “perfect” form the Maltusians knew. Essentially, Krona created Entropy. Thus, he made death possible. Dick.

Feeling responsible for Krona’s mistake, the male Maltusians felt that they needed to protect the universe after having, you know, wrecked it. Their female counterparts argued “It’s not our problem.” Now, since the Maltusians had become Immortal, the whole reproduction thing wasn’t an issue any more, so they went their separate ways. The Males took up residence on Oa, a planet that they claim is at the center of the Universe and started being called The Guardians, while the Females took up residence on a planet called Zamaron and started going by the Zamarons or the Star Sapphires.

A small sample of the Lantern Corps diversity.

Now the Guardians made two attempts at an intergalactic police force. The first (made about 3.5 Billion years ago) was the Manhunters, named after the Martian Manhunter police force, a race of robots designed to uphold the Guardian’s will and bring law and order to the chaotic universe. For a while things were fine, but unfortunately the Manhunters grew resentful of their servitude and protecting inferior lifeforms. They obliterated most of the life in Galactic Sector 666, wiping out nearly all life in the sector. For scales sake, there are 3600 sectors of Lantern Space, each comprised of several galaxies. So they killed a LOT of beings. The Guardians, upon learning what their creations had done, used their full power against them and destroyed them. The few remaining Manhunters were banished to the far reaches of space, and set up their own society. I’m sure they’ll be fine out there without supervision.

The central power battery.
It's quite the sight seeing stop.

The Guardians new plan was to use living beings as their enforcers and gave them power to do so. They tapped into what they called the Emotional Spectrum, using the Green Light of Will to create powerful rings that would give their new Corps the power they needed to protect the galaxy. On Oa they created the Central Power Battery, an enormous structure that is fuels the smaller Lanterns that the GL’s use to recharge their rings. They assigned 3600 Lanterns, later expanded to over 7200, to patrol the sectors of space and protect the innocent. The Earth is part of Sector 2814, and since apparently ours is a heavily populated part of the Galaxy we have several Lanterns flying about. Each Green Lantern is given Autonomy in their own sector of space, though the Guardians have been known to step in if one of their Lanterns oversteps their bounds. They act as a combination Police Officer, Judge, Jury, Diplomat and general Superhero. Being chosen as a Green Lantern is considered a great honor among most of the cosmos, making Hal Jordan’s desire to keep his identity a secret to be looked at with confusion by other Lanterns. Any sentient organism with the right kind of Willpower can be chosen to be a Green Lantern, the ring reshaping itself to work with its host’s physiology. Don’t have hands? It becomes a handy bracelet. Don’t have arms or your appendages don’t work well jewelry? It becomes a fashionable necklace. Giant Planet (yes, this is a thing)? Well, it’ll just float around your core.
           There are two tiers of Green Lantern. The most common variety are the ones paroling the individual sectors. Two or more GL's flying around being space cops. The second tier is known as the Honor Guard. The Guard protect Oa, and aren't placed into specific sectors. If the usual GL's are cops, the Honor Guard are more like Marshals. Universe Marshals. They are given leadership positions over the rest of the Corps, and take command if the Guardians are ever incapacitated. The four big Gl's Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner have all been or are members of the Honor Guard. Feels good to know that most of the human members are given the highest honors, right?

Each of the various Corps that utilize the power of one of the seven colors of the Emotional Spectrum has a Cosmic Entity that lives within their central power battery and gives the Corps rings its power. The Entity for the GL Corps is known as Ion, and takes the form of a giant Lantern Fish (Get it?) like organism. He is said to have been created when the first organism moved of its own accord.

The ring that the Corps use gives its host a number of powers. When fully charged, the ring creates a protective barrier around its host. It lets the Lantern fly, create “Hard Light” projections from the ring, and creates a nifty costume based on the host’s desire. Now, these powers seem cool, but keep in mind that not everyone can use it. You need a particularly strong Will to manipulate the Green Lantern ring. And despite its immense power, there are limits. One GL actually attempted to reform a destroyed planet with his ring’s power, but it essentially shorted his ring out, prompting it to tell him that the desire exceeds the hosts Will. 

Don't let the simple design fool you, its one of the most
powerful objects in the Universe.

The rings need to be recharged every now and then. To do so, the Lantern must place their ring against their personal lantern and recite "In Brightest Day, In Darkest Night, / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship Evils Might / Beware my power, Green Lanterns Light!" The oath can vary from person to person, but this is the most common one made famous by GL Hal Jordan.

Another important tool of the Lantern Corps is known as the Book of Oa, a massive tome that is located on Oa. The book houses all of the knowledge that the Guardians have amassed from their eons of life. Each Lantern ring is tied to the book, it gives the Lantern a well of knowledge and lets them translate any known language to their own. For example, if I had a GL Ring and talked to a say a Chinese person that’d never spoken English before, they would hear me speaking in Chinese, while I would hear him/her in English. This works for any language save the most ancient, like Apokaliptian or New Genesisian.

The biggest weakness of the Green Lantern is the color yellow and the emotion tied to it, Fear. Early versions of the Green Lantern Corps couldn’t affect yellow objects. This has more or less been written out. Now, if Green Lantern feels a particularly intense amount of fear, they lose most of their powers and the ability to make constructs.

The Green Lantern Corps has been shown in several DC series.

If you want the best example of the Green Lantern mythos, I suggest Green Lantern: First Flight it covers the origins of Hal Jordan and the history of the Green Lanterns. It covers the Yellow Impurity, and demonstrates how powerful a force both Fear and Will can be in the right hands.

The powerful Guardians.

The Green Lantern Mythos is also explored in the Justice League Series. One of the earliest episodes, entitled Darkest Night, centers around GL John Stewart being put on trial for destroying a planet. The entire trial is revealed to be a ploy by the Manhunters to draw the Guardians away from Oa, so they could attack the planet and regain the power that the Guardians had stripped from them when they were fired. GL were also important to the Episode The Return, where a villain known as the Amazo android returns from deep space and seemingly destroys Oa on his way to Earth. Its revealed he simply moved it to another dimension, since it was in his way.

An episode of Batman: The Brave and the Bold shows the Corps being destroyed by the intergalactic villain Despero. He was attempting to subjugate the Corps and make them his slaves. Hal Jordan sacrifices himself, destroying the bulk of the Corps present. His ring travels to Earth and Batman, whom is brought to Oa to investigate. Learning that Despero is going after the most powerful remaining GL Mogo, Batman, and Gl’s Guy Gardner, Sinestro and G’nort set out to stop him. The three GL’s give Batman “Lantern Armor,” since he can’t wield a ring that works on the same principle as the Rings. He gets to kick Despero’s butt while Guy fights Sinestro to save Mogo.

Green Lantern: The Animated Series centers on the adventures of Hal Jordan and longtime friend and mentor Kilowag traveling in Deep Space, an area known as the Lantern Frontier, to battle the encroaching forces of the Red Lantern Corps. Along the way, they come across the Star Sapphires (Violet Lanterns) Agent Orange (Orange Lantern) and help found the Blue Lantern Corps. Heck, if the show had gotten a second season we might have seen a war of the Lanterns brewing. It would have been awesome.

The first Green Lantern movie sucked, despite my love of the source material and how I felt Ryan Reynolds was perfect for the part. As a matter of fact it sucked so bad that Green Lantern in the combined DC-movie-verse won’t get his own movie until 2020 at the earliest.

I like the Green Lantern Corps. Their powers are unique, their goal admirable, and their methods are sound. I always like the intergalactic peacekeeper angle, and the Lanterns do a good job keeping Law and Order in the Universe. I like the diversity of the group, countless alien species working together for a common goal, it’s kind of a beautiful thing. Next time, I’ll be focusing on the First Green Lantern in comics. No, not Hal Jordan, his immediate predecessor, Alan Scott.

 http://greenlantern.wikia.com/wiki/Green_Lantern_Corps

 http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Green_Lantern_Corps

 http://greenlantern.wikia.com/wiki/Green_Lantern_Central_Power_Battery

 http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2011/05/07/free-comic-book-day-special-edition-green-lantern-the-essentials

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardians_of_the_Universe

Super Groups: The Inhumans

              Alright, I’m going to level with ya’ll. When I said I’d be doing Medusa next, I honestly thought I had one more person to cover for my theme week. I guess She-Hulk and Rescue kind of blurred together in my head. They became a sort of Iron She-Hulk, if you will. Put a pin in that Idea, because it sounds awesome. Back on task, after mentioning Medusa, I realized that the Inhumans are a group that you probably aren’t familiar with. If I said Mutants, you’d think something like, “X-men, the people that get superpowers because of genetics.” If I said Kryptonians, you’d think something like, “The Superman aliens, they have superpowers for…reasons.” And if I said Green Lantern Corps, you’d probably think, “Magic green rings.” But, Inhumans, now that’s a group that are at the bottom of the barrel, like the Guardians of the Galaxy were until about last year. So, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to do a new segment, Super Groups. It’ll be a lot like the Hero/Villain Profiles, but I’ll be focusing on the broader group rather than individuals. I’ll save Medusa and the rest of the Inhumans until their movie is a little closer. I need to plan a little. Let’s get to it.

The Inhuman Royal Family.
Left to Right, Triton, Gorgon, Karnak
Black Bolt, Medusa, Crystal.

Group: The Inhumans.

Created by: The Kree

Leadership: The Inhuman Royal Family, currently lead by King Blackagar Boltagon (Black Bolt)

A few million years ago a little spat known as the Kree-Skrull war was just starting out. The two alien empires searched the stars for something that could give them the edge over their enemy. The Kree set up shop on a moon of Uranus, a strategic point between the two empires, and noticed early man running around the Third Rock from the Sun. Apparently in the Marvel-verse, Humanity owes a great deal to a group known as the Celestials. They seeded Marvel’s version of Humanity with a genetic potential that intrigued the Kree.

The blue aliens began experimenting on a few proto-human tribes for two reasons. First and foremost, it was an attempt to circumvent their own evolutionary stagnation. Apparently they’d been screwing around trying to make their own Cosmic Cube, and an accident basically turned off mutation in the Kree’s genome. So let that be a lesson to you, don’t screw with cosmically powered geometric shapes. The second goal was to make a race of Mutant Super Soldiers that they could just throw at the Skrull. After a few thousand tries they had created a breed of superior sort-of-humans, but were forced to abandon the project when the Kree Supreme Intelligence predicted that the result of the experiment would lead to its destruction. Keep in mind, the KSI is the bio-computer that tried to create the Cube, which lead to the genetic stagnation, and the Kree’s current predicament. Why are you guys still following it? No answer, typical.

Terrigen Crystals + Water + Inhuman = Superman or
Super Freak. Who's willing to roll the dice?

The Inhumans were left to fend for themselves, a small group verses the rapidly growing numbers of Homo Sapien. While the Inhumans were stronger and more advanced, numbers > intellect. Don’t believe me? Read a history text book. The Inhumans retreated into the abandoned Kree research facility, naming it Attilan, and kept to themselves for the majority of human history. Attilan itself can move, so they’ve been to a few of the most isolated places on Earth, deep forests, mountain ranges, and even colonized the moon. They created a small area on the moon known as the Blue Area, which has a breathable atmosphere. Just don’t go beyond the edge, suffocation is a nasty way to go.

They thrived in their tiny city, outstripping humanity in terms of technology and science by leaps and bounds. You know how the 50s pictured the 2000s, with jetpacks, robot workers, and flying cars? Yeah, they did that before the time of Christ. They beat us badly. Things were good, until about 25,000 years ago. An Inhuman geneticist named Randac discovered that Terrigen Mist, a vapor that is more or less vented by the Terrigen Crystals that grew naturally near the Attilan compound. Randac discovered that when an Inhuman immerses his or herself in the Mist, it unlocked hidden genetic potential. In Randac’s case it was mental powers of Phoenix proportions. Rendac insisted, probably using his psychic powers to make himself more convincing, that all Inhumans undergo the process he called Terrigenesis.

Attilan, not much of a yard, but a great view.

Now I know what you’re thinking, Mist = Superpowers, why the heck not? Because the Terrigen Mist is…complicated. On the one hand, it does unlock superhuman powers in a small percent of Inhumans. For the rest, it plays roulette with their genetic codes, turning the average citizens into deformed monsters. This led to some... issues. After some infighting, and the a huge reduction in the numbers the Inhumans had gathered, the Inhumans regained order, set up a caste system and utilized eugenics and birth control to decrease birth defects. In the end, only those deemed most “pure” are at the top of Inhuman Society and allowed to bathe in the Mist. At the very bottom are those that are so horribly mutated they can't even pass for subhuman... Sub-Inhuman... the really freaky looking ones. 25,000 years later and even in the Royal Family, supposedly the purest of Inhumans, problems persist. Some get the superpowers, no problem. Others still have a small deformation or “throw back” like gaining the legs of a bull or reptilian tails. Others still become complete genetic throw backs. King Black Bolt’s cousin Triton is a man-fish, he’s green, scaly and can’t breathe out of water without a special apparatus. And a few others get the superpowers, but get a little more than they can handle. Black Bolt, for example, can’t speak. He’s physically capable, but his voice is SOOOO powerful he can’t even whisper without creating minor tremors. He was exposed in his infancy, so you can imagine how much that sucks.

In the Modern Age, the Inhuman’s have relaxed their isolationist policies. Black Bolt is a member of several Marvel teams, like the Illuminati and helps out with the Avengers. His wife Medusa and her sister Crystal have both been subs for the Fantastic Four. They’ve intermixed a little with humanity. For example, Crystal was married to Quicksilver, Magneto’s son. They are still wary of the Human race, but are willing to see the possibilities of working together. Now if only the rest of us could see that point of view.

Mist + humans = these guys.
Not pleasant.

Your typical Inhuman is superior to your average human in a number of ways. They are a much…sturdier species. The average lifespan is about 150, and are ridiculously strong. An Inhuman body builder at peak strength can lift one ton easily. Karnak, an Inhuman of the Royal Family who hasn't gone through Terrigenesis is physically on par with Captain America. They have increased reaction time, reflexes, and speed as well. The major downside to Inhuman physiology is that they have a weaker immune system than we humans, and need cleaner air and water to support their bodies.

Exposure to Terrigen Mist, for an Inhuman, is like spinning three roulette wheels. The first determines which ability manifests. The second how “strong” their power is. And third, and most important really, what if any negative side effects they receive. Ideally, the third wheel doesn’t factor in at all, but, as mentioned above, hiccups persist. Given the look at the Inhuman Royal family, the perfect success, no problems, occurs maybe 40% of the time. Another 50% have some small genetic devolutions, like for another of Black Bolt’s cousins, Gorgon, who gained immense strength but his legs morphed into that of a bull’s. 5% have the major genetic mutation like Triton. And 5% have powers so strong they can’t control, like for Black Bolt. Keep in mind, this is only for the Royal Family and the highest Caste in Inhuman society. If someone from the lower echelon gets exposed to the Mists, risk of unsavory mutations and deformities are significantly higher. Oh, and if one of us, normal humans, were exposed to the Mist, you’d turn into an incredibly strong, incredibly stupid creature known as an Alpha Primitive. Not fun. But, if a member of Homo Superior is exposed, they gain a hyper focused form of their power for a limited time. For example, Quicksilver had lost his super-speed after his sister the Scarlet Witch re-reset the universe. He found, however, that exposure to the Mist made him so fast he could travel back and forth through time. He need to be exposed again after a few days, but that is a pretty handy supercharge, wouldn’t you say?

What can happen if an Inhuman is "Unworthy"
Genetically speaking.

As I said at the start, the Inhumans are D-list in terms of popularity. Not saying they’re a boring group, but, I will say unless you are a fan you’ve probably never heard of them.

They appear mostly in Fantastic Four related properties like in the 1994 Fantastic Four. The Inhuman Royal Family and Attilan appeared in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. They were mostly there to teach Hulk and his team a lesson about the pros and cons of isolationism.

Again, while I haven’t seen it, the Kree and the Inhumans are hinted at in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. I believe two of their cast members are revealed to be Inhumans and have gone through Terrigenisis. Way to utilize your resources S.H.I.E.L.D. writers.

The Inhumans have a movie in the works, set to be release November 2018. It’s at the bare bones stage, so nothing is really known about it. Vin Diesel has hinted that he might be tied to the Inhumans. Personally, I’d find it hilarious if they had him slated to be the silent king Black Bolt. First he’s Groot who can only say one phrase, then he’s Black Bolt who shouldn’t say a word. Craziness.

The Inhumans are an interesting group. They have an X-men vibe to them, but with the added bit that even their own gifts can be incredibly dangerous. Imagine having the chance to have a superpower, but have the threat of horrible deformity hanging over your head like the Sword of Damocles. Sucky. I hope that, like Guardians of the Galaxy, the film proves to be the ignition that propels this D-list group up a few spaces. At the very least I hope this little blurb helps give you a better understanding of an obscure hero team. Next time, I think it’s high time for another DC TV review. We’ll go over the show that ended too soon, Young Justice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inhumans
http://marvel.wikia.com/Terrigen_Crystals
http://marvel.wikia.com/Attilan
http://www.comicvine.com/alpha-primitives/4060-55902/
http://marvel.wikia.com/Terrigenesis