Thanks to the Green Lanterns and every other corps in the DC Universe, dozens of heroes have been blessed with a Power Ring at one point. In the days before the Emotional Spectrum, it was rare to see anyone who wasn’t a member of the Green Lantern Corps get their hands on their ultimate weapon. But with the rise of additional organizations like the Red Lantern Corps or the Indigo Tribe, it made it that much easier for other heroes to borrow the light powers of a Lantern (even if it was just for a brief moment).
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Some heroes were briefly deputized as Lanterns during Blackest Night, like the Atom, who managed to join the Indigo Tribe due to his overwhelming compassion. Other heroes, like Green Arrow, borrowed Green Lantern’s powers out of desperation. And some didn’t even know what was going on, like when Supergirl accidentally found herself forcefully inducted into the Red Lantern Corps. For better or worse, more than a handful of DC heroes have worn Lantern rings. Read on to discover 10 such heroes and see which of them used the unexpected power they found at their disposal.
10. Red Lantern Lobo
That’s right, the Main Man was once in possession of a genuine Red Lantern Corps ring. Now you may be wondering why he isn’t wearing his corps’ colors and spewing acidic bile. Well funny enough, during the “Brightest Day” saga, Lobo was hired by the Red Lantern leader Atrocitus for a stunt to help him gain the trust of particular heroes. Lobo’s reward was a Red Lantern Power Ring that he kept on a necklace. Lobo never actually used it, thus it never augmented his powers, placing Lobo dead last in this particular list.
9. Green Lantern Green Arrow
It should come as no surprise that Green Arrow, a longtime ally to Hal Jordan, once found himself in the possession of a Power Ring. It was during the epic Green Lantern: Rebirth story and Ollie and Kyle Rayner were under attack by Sinestro. Green Arrow was able to secure a Power Ring and charge it, summoning just enough willpower to fire an arrow into Sinestro’s chest. Sinestro was right, Oliver’s too cynical to really let go and use the Power Ring to it’s fullest extent. But Green Arrow proved that when the chips are down he’s got enough willpower.
8. Indigo Tribe Atom
The Atom was one of the few people briefly deputized by the various corps during Blackest Night. Ray was sought by the Indigo Tribe’s ring due to his overwhelming compassion for others, and he took to the organization’s power quite well. He was able to evade the zombified Hawkman and Hawkgirl and channel the powers of other corps. Unfortunately, Indigo is one of the least effective colors in the entire Emotional Spectrum and didn’t give Ray the firepower other heroes got. Still, he took to the Indigo Tribe’s power well enough and managed to survive the night.
7. Sinestro Corps Batman
After being teased during the Sinestro Corps War, fans finally got to see what a real Yellow Lantern Batman looked like in Forever Evil. Bruce had squirreled away a yellow ring and used it to take on Green Lantern’s Earth-3 doppelganger. However, its charge was pitiful, and it wasn’t enough for Batman to do any serious damage to the villain. That being said, Batman effortlessly commanded the Yellow Light for the brief period he wielded it. Given that the Yellow Light is rooted in fear, that’s to be expected, it’s just a shame Batman couldn’t do more with the ring.
6. White Lantern Deadman
Deadman was one of the many heroes brought back to life during Blackest Night and the only one of the resurrected to be blessed with a White Lantern Power Ring. This was at a time when no one knew the extent of the White Lantern’s power and funny enough, Boston didn’t really care enough to find out. He did discover some of its power, like being able to heal the injured and even dead. However, Boston was only meant to act as an emissary rather than the ring’s true wielder, but still, he had some cool moments with the ring.
5. Star Sapphire Green Lantern
Yes, you might be surprised that the usually-female army the Star Sapphires once had a male member in the form of John Stewart. It was a Hail Mary during the “Godhead” crossover when John, a few Green Lanterns, and the Zamarons were imprisoned by Shadowfall and her army. John briefly took the power of a Star Sapphire ring and used its tether to connect him to what he loved and escape their confinement. It wasn’t the most powerful display of John’s love, but it got the job done and proved John wields love as effectively as he does willpower.
4. Green Lantern Kid Flash
Flash & Green Lantern: The Brave and the Bold miniseries was largely set in the early days of Barry and Hal’s friendship and revealed an interesting chapter of Wally West’s life. After losing his speed in a plot concocted by Mirror Master and Black Hand, Wally is given a helping hand by Green Lantern, who whips up a Power Ring for West, turning him from Kid Flash into Kid Lantern. Wally takes incredibly well to his new Lantern Powers, manifesting constructs and flying with very little assistance from Hal. Shame we couldn’t see more of Wally’s Kid Lantern era.
3. Blue Lantern Flash
Speaking of Flashes becoming Lanterns, Barry similarly got an upgrade, though his took place during Blackest Night. Similar to the Atom, Flash’s immense hope in his friends made a Blue Lantern Power Ring naturally gravitate to Barry. While Blue Lanterns aren’t the most powerful, it augmented Flash’s speed considerably and allowed him to take out Black Lanterns with greater ease. It also helps that Blue becomes stronger in proximity to Green Lanterns, so working side-by-side with Hal gave Flash one of his most powerful (and let’s be real, coolest-looking) boosts in DC Comics history.
2. Red Lantern Supergirl
It’s still wild to me that Supergirl became a Red Lantern, but that’s what the “Red Daughter of Krypton” saga was all about. After giving into rage, Kara Zor-El became a magnet for a Red Lantern Power Ring, unleashing one of her most powerful incarnations yet. Supergirl’s anger was unleashed and she didn’t hold back, even after her mind was cleared. She had all the strength of a Kryptonian with all the toxic fury of a Red Lantern. It didn’t last long, but Supergirl’s time as a Red Lantern is remembered for a reason.
1. White Lantern Green Lantern
Funny enough, this is one of the few instances where a hero wasn’t given a Power Ring. Kyle went out and actually mastered the White Lantern’s powers all on his own. After becoming the White Lantern, Kyle got considerably stronger. Not only could he now access the entire Emotional Spectrum, he had all the mysterious powers the White Light had too. Thankfully, despite losing his permanent connection to the White Light, he can still tap into it occasionally and use it’s overwhelming power to help his allies out of a jam when they need it.
What’s your favorite instance of a DC hero getting a Power Ring? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!
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