With the first look at the Absolute Universe’s take on the cosmic space cops in Absolute Green Lantern #1 here, fans are already enthralled by the insane changes made to the lore of the bastions of willpower. The Green Lanterns have been reimagined as not the known protectors of the universe, but instead those being hunted down by it. Series writer Al Ewing has promised the title will be a horror comic, and this first issue delivered on that premise and then some with its changes to classic characters like Hal Jordan and Abin Sur. But these changes have everyone wondering; if the Green Lanterns are this drastically different, what might some of the other Lantern Corps look like?
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There has been no word on if any of the other Lantern Corps will be making an appearance in the Absolute Universe as of yet, which makes sense, given that only the first issue of the series is out. But that doesn’t mean we can’t make a couple of guesses and inferences based on what we’ve already seen.
Yellow Lanterns
Easily the most popular Corp besides the Green Lanterns, the Yellow Lanterns are the ones most likely to make an appearance first. They were the first emotion beyond will to have their own ring, and being powered by inspiring great fear is something that would feel right at home in the Absolute Universe. The premise of Absolute Green Lantern is that instead of policing the universe the Green Lanterns are being hunted, so with that in mind, I propose it could very well be that the Yellow Lanterns are the ones hunting them, seeking to maintain a stranglehold of power wrought by fear.
In that regard I offer a suggestion: Yellow Lantern Manhunters. The robotic warriors are some of the Green Lantern Corps’ greatest enemies, and have a history of working with the Yellow Lanterns. What could inspire more fear than an authoritarian robot army that rules outer space? And given the personal history between Hal Jordan and Sinestro, the original Yellow Lantern, and Absolute Hal’s current fear-riddled predicament, Sinestro’s introduction as a friend who turns enemy could be very interesting.
Red Lanterns
Powered by rage, it’s easy to see the Red Lanterns having a complete makeover in the Absolute Universe. Running with the assumption that there is an evil force that holds an empire-like control over the universe, reinventing the Red Lanterns as revolutionaries could be very interesting. They could be the oppressed people channeling their rage into a usable, deadly form as they fight a losing battle against the powers that be. However, given the horror nature of the story, if they do appear, there would certainly be some terrifying drawback to being a Red Lantern. Normally in the main universe your heart stops beating if you remove a Red Lantern ring. In this universe, it would be interesting if it wouldn’t just replace your heart, it would transform you into a mangled being that only lives to fight. Your blood would turn to magma and you would be an unstoppable storm of fury until your ring runs out of power, or your body is torn apart by your own tide. Putting on a red ring would start the countdown to the end of your life, but until that clock hits zero you would be a monster through and through.
Orange Lanterns
In the main DC Universe there is only one Orange Lantern, and one Orange Ring. It possesses its wielder and infects them with pure greed, to the point where they cannot bear to give up anything, and everyone the wielder kills is absorbed into the lantern. While we all love Larfleeze, the Absolute Universe could take this concept and make it even more horrifying. Instead of one ring or having a wielder, the Absolute Orange Lantern could very well be more like a plague. It spreads out from a central battery, infecting entire planets with orange light, until it eventually absorbs them all and nothing is left except empty space. Then, the lantern would move on to the next planet to keep eating. It would be gluttony to the core. Perhaps it wouldn’t even have a wielder at all, and instead manifests a visage of the people its absorbed in order to defend itself, if under attack.
Indigo Lanterns
The Indigo Lanterns already have a leg up on the rest of the corps in this department, because they are already very horror coded in the main universe. Unlike the rest of the emotional spectrum lanterns, those in the Indigo Corps are forcibly given rings and become a part of a hive-mind like structure whose purpose is to spread compassion. In the main universe this is a penance given to the worst criminals, but in the Absolute, it could be a disease. Unlike the Orange Lantern which would erase everything it touches, the Indigo Lanterns would send out rings to anyone and everyone, forcibly converting them. It would make its unwilling wielders do what it perceives as compassionate acts, even as their bodies fall apart and decay from the force and work. Yes, imagine a whole corp of zombies powered by compassion, all intent on saving you by adding you to their ranks.
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Violet Lanterns
Also called the Star Sapphires, these lanterns are charged with the power of love, which makes including them in this hypothetical very fun. Instead of having them stand on their own or using a corrupted version of love as their source, I instead propose that these Lanterns are inherently tied to the Red Lanterns. Love and rage are the two Lanterns at the farthest extremes of the emotional spectrum, and love and hate are often called two sides of the same coin. What if Violet Lanterns put on these rings that allow them to fight in the name of those they love, but all the while risk losing themselves to the intensity of that love? Should they ever give themselves fully over the emotion they perpetuate, they could very well transform themselves into the horrific Red Lanterns proposed above.
Blue Lanterns
Being the embodiments of hope, I am most excited to see if these Lanterns will enter the Absolute Universe. The Blue Light has been called the hardest emotion to hold on to and manifest, and that’s in the much more hopeful main universe. But that struggle is what makes them so exciting. The very pathos of the Absolute Universe is that hope will have to burn brighter than ever in order to survive, so in that vein I do not think the Blue Lanterns will be something found, but rather made. I can see the creation of the Blue Lanterns being a reward for standing up against a great, terrible evil, something that was never meant to happen, but occurred because our heroes kept believing there was a way forward. They would craft the very light of hope themselves, and wave that torch to everyone around them.
White Lanterns
White Lanterns are the combination of the entire emotional spectrum, representing all life in the universe. I find it unlikely that we’ll see any of these guys, at least not for a very long time. They may appear as they did in the main universe, to combat the destruction and unnatural death wrought by the Black Lanterns, or they might only show up after all the other Lantern Corps have, showcasing the ultimate combination of the emotional spectrum as the people of the universe fight to survive. I can see them emerging at the climax of a major event that combines every title in the Absolute Universe, such as if Darkseid himself pays them a visit. If these Lanterns ever do show up, they will make a very big, memorable entrance.
Black Lanterns
The embodiment of death and the absence of all light, the Black Lanterns are some of the most powerful Lanterns of all. I saved these bad boys for last, because they may already be present in the Absolute Universe. Hal Jordan has been somehow infused with a black-energy hand that erases things around him, which is eerily similar to the villain Black Hand, the main universe’s first Black Lantern. It’s possible that Hal has already become a Black Lantern, and must find a way to overcome his darkness to restore light to himself. If he can’t, then that would spell disaster as this new Black Lantern energy seems to not just kill, but completely erase things it comes into contact with.
So there you have it, all of the main Lantern Corps that might one day make a debut in the Absolute Universe. I find it unlikely that more fringe Corps, like the Gold Lantern from the Legion of Super-Heroes, the Ultraviolet Lanterns, or the Fractal Lanterns like the Gray Corps will appear. The Fractal Lanterns especially are still a part of an ongoing story in the main universe, so we don’t even know what their first origin looks like. Still, even if none of these Corps show up alongside the Green, the Absolute Universe will still be packed to the brim with incredible and exciting Lantern stories. And that’s always something to look forward to.
Absolute Green Lantern #1 is on sale now.
