In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape his sight, let those who worship evil’s might, beware his power, Green Lantern’s light! His light may be a bit bigger than most Green Lanterns, though. You see, Mogo is one of the most unique members of the Green Lantern Corps, he’s a planet. A planet with such a strong will and so fearless, a Green Lantern ring saw fit to make Mogo a member. How does a planet act as a space cop? Let’s find out!
Mogo the planet has been a Green Lantern for ages, his reputation precedes him as a powerful member of the Corps but it’s often missed that he is a planet, which he uses to his advantage. Many have come to seek to destroy the mighty Mogo, often landing on a planet, seeking him out, only to realize that they’re standing on him and have no chance of destroying him. Over time, Mogo has allowed species of all kinds to live on his surface and helps sustain their biological needs through atmospheric changes and plant life. Though Mogo is known through out the Lantern Corps, he is considered to not be social due to him getting close to any other planets would cause gravity to take effect and possible destroy other planets.
When the Green Lantern Corps is nearly destroyed by the embodiment of fear, Parallax, Mogo would lose his powers and begin to fall into a slumber, as the ring was the source of his maintained sentience as an active, mobile planet. During this time an invading species landed on Mogo and began to exploit his resources and pollute him. It would take the lone Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, to reignite Mogo’s sentience to help him defend himself from the destruction being caused, he offered the invaders a chance to stay but they loathed the idea of dealing with a living planet. When the Green Lantern Corps was able to return, Mogo would make himself a training area for his fellow Lanterns and also a resort.
The Sinestro Corps would find Mogo to be a prime target for them when it was revealed that Mogo assists the Green Lantern rings to find new wearers when their old one dies. They would try to drill to his core to kill him, but with the aide of other Lanterns, Mogo is able to hold them off. During the Blackest Night, when the dead raise due to Black Lantern rings, Mogo is used to house the Green Lantern rings of all the Lanterns killed in the battle so as to not allow rookies to find themselves fighting such a threat as their first mission. Mogo is able to increase his gravity to basically vacuum up the Black Lanterns and burn them in his molten core so they could not have a chance to regenerate. Mogo proves to be MVP during the Blackest Night as he also becomes a travelling hospital that can carry a vast number of injured safely.
It would be his work of enveloping a vast number of Black Lanterns that would prove his downfall during the War of the Lanterns, he would be corrupted and used to send Green Lantern rings that would corrupt their new wearers. It would take Guy Gardner and John Stewart using Blue and Indigo Lantern rings to kill Mogo to stop him from destroying the Lantern home planet of Oa. This death would rain destruction down upon Oa, destroying many cities and landscapes his remains floated above Oa and were visible from the surface. The Corps would gather his remains to be placed in the nearby sun, this funeral pyre caused a chemical reaction that allowed the burning to create one last Green Lantern logo for Mogo.
In the New 52, Mogo’s death is temporary, he is actually a merging of two planetoids who can reform at his core. Green Lantern, John Stewart, and Star Sapphire, Fatality, work together to retrieve Mogo’s pieces to allow him to reform into his old self. He becomes a battleground that the First Lanterns and the Guardians attempt to use but Mogo will not stand for it. He is crucial in saving his fellow Lanterns during several dangerous battles. His ring is stolen by New God machinations but is restored to him by his fellow Green Lanterns, several who died in the process.
Rebirth has Mogo returned to life from before his body was cremated and he becomes the eventual headquarters to the new Green Lantern Corps and eventually even allows the Sinestro Corps to set up their headquarters there too.
There you have it! Mogo is one of the weirdest Green Lanterns out there, though now that Ego the Living Planet is more commonly known, he might be more welcomed than ever before. He’s got a lot of power and heart, or core, rather. What will happen for him next? Who knows! See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Green Lantern Vol. 2, #188
Green Lantern Corps
Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
