When DC Rebirth kicked off the current iteration of canon in 2016 the whole DC Comics universe got a much-needed sprucing up following The New 52 and one of the best titles to come out of Rebirth has been Green Lanterns.
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Written by Sam Humphries with art from RObson Rocha, Ronan Cliquet, Carlo Barberi and others, Green Lanterns has been deftly crafting a new history for the DC Universe going all the way back to the very beginning with the origin of the Green Lantern power rings 10 billion years ago, creating all new ties to the universe fans have known for decades.
Read on for secret origin of the Green Lantern rings.
Volthoom, the First Lantern
While most people can quickly identify Sinestro as a one of the great Green Lantern villains, Volthoom has grown into a villain with a significant place in Green Lantern mythos and perhaps one of the most important characters in Green Lantern history. Once a human from an alternate Earth (specifically Earth-15,) Volthoom escaped into the Multiverse by using dimension-hopping Travel Lantern with the intention of finding a way to save his doomed world. A bounce to Earth-0 10 billion years ago brought him into contact with the alien Maltusians — the race that would one day become The Guardians of the Universe.
The Power Ring and the betrayal
When the Maltusians sacrificed their emotions, Volthoom received the very first power ring. But Volthoom was left to his own devices and, after befriending an outsider named Rami, began to use the power of the Emotional Spectrum to fuel the first ring. Such a direct connection made Volthoom increasingly unstable so Rami used the Travel Lantern to go to Earth-15 and discovered that it was Volthoom who destroyed his home world in an attempt to save it. When Rami shared this information with the Guardians they tried to get Volthoom to surrender his ring. Unfortunately, the unstable Volthoom has grown too powerful. He used the power of the red light of rage to slaughter thousands of Guardians.
Green Lantern rings created
The betrayal revealed Volthoom as a serious threat to the universe. Recognizing this, Rami destroyed the Travel Lantern to create new weapons that the Guardians could use against Volthoom. Out of the remnants of the Travel Lantern, Rami created the first seven Green Lantern rings. Designed to be wielded by those who could overcome great fear to fight back against Volthoom, Rami sent the seven rings out into the universe as a form of intergalactic distress call.
The First Seven
Rami’s rings found their ways to seven individuals charged with bringing Volthoom to justice and those individuals became the first seven Green Lanterns, each with a tie to DC Universe we know today:
Alitha of Galatica was an Old God warrior from the Third World, a world before the Fourth World with Mister Miracle and Darkseid.
Z’Kran Z’Rann, a White Martian from Mars.
Tyran’r of Tamaran, what would one day be Starfire’s home world.
Brainiac ancestor Kaja Dox from Colu.
Calleen of Alstair, future home world of Justice League villain Hyathis.
Jan-Al of Krypton
