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It almost seems as if the other corps in the lantern spectrum have been a part of the Green Lantern mythology for much longer than three years, when Geoff Johns first introduced the Sinestro Corps in 2007. Soon after the Sinestro Corps War, Johns slowly started peeling away at the rest of the colors, introducing them one by one, and showing how they were each an integral part of the Green Lantern history. Seven colors, each representing a different emotion, with its own host of colorful characters and vast powers.

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!

Red Lantern Oath

Enter: The Red Lantern Corps. Founded by one angry S.O.B. named Atrocitus (I know, the name just rings ridiculously angry), the Red Lantern Corps are the embodiment of rage, powered by the color red. Each corps has its own set of unique powers, and red is no different. When a ring-bearer is chosen, the brand new owner spews out all of its blood (the heart disappears as well), and is now wholly fueled and energized by the red plasma generated by the ring. Nearly all of the members of the Red Lantern Corps cannot make constructs, but can only vomit a red juice that eats through all other shields and constructs. Although this is one of the strongest offensive weapons as far as color rings go, there is one drawback. The wearers of red rings are like mindless zombies, blinded by hate and rage, and determined only to kill.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The members of the Red Lantern Corps are really, REALLY angry and hateful. They really don’t want to talk, just kill. This is the whole tragedy behind this corps, because in the past (as we have so far seen), these beings were actually loving people, and not so angry. Two members that give a good look into this tragic entering of the red light are Bleez and Dex-starr.

Both Bleez and Dex are ring-wielders, and angry as ever. Dex is assisting Atrocitus in finding Butcher, the red entity, and Bleez is making sure the Emerald Warriors stay on task. But they weren’t always this upset. Bleez was a princess of a far-off planet, and was captured by Sinestro Corpsmen. She was bound on Ranx, the Sentient City, and repeatedly raped and abused by yellow ring-wielders. Dex-Starr, the most evil cat in the galaxy, was actually a pet of a woman from Earth. He was originally a stray taken in by a single woman. This woman’s house was broken into, and Dex tried to defend her as she was beaten and killed. Forced back onto the streets, Dex was taken by some thugs and thrown off a bridge, when the Red Ring found him. Both stories tragic, both ending in anger and rage.

The ultimate story of rage and tragedy is that of the leader of the corps, Atrocitus. Atrocitus was a resident of Sector 666. When the original sector cops, the manhunters, went on their killing spree, Sector 666 was butchered. This left only five beings, who dubbed themselves the Five Inversions. Atrocitus killed the other four, and used their blood to forge the red rings and power battery. Atrocitus’s rage is not unfounded. His kin were slaughtered at the hands of tools of the Guardians of Oa. If you look at the image of Atrocitus below, you can see what he hopes for most in this world. Surprisingly it does not involve mass death, murder and lots of blood, but hope.

There are many questions to be answered in regards to the future of the Red Lantern Corps. What is Atrocitus’s goal with Guy Gardner? How does Ganthet tie into Atrocitus’s plans? Where is the red entity, The Butcher, hiding? Does Atrocitus truly seek to be re-united with his wife? What happens when a Red Lantern defeats or destroys the source of its rage? Why did Atrocitus hire Lobo to test the loyalty of the other color spectrums? Will the Red Lanterns ever see justice served against the Guardians and the Sinestro Corps?

Mike Parente
mike@comicattack.net