Sinestro Corps

Sinestro Corps
Cover to Green Lantern (vol. 4) #21. Art by Ivan Reis.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Green Lantern (vol. 4) #10 (May 2006)
Created by	Geoff Johns Ethan Van Sciver
In-story information
Base(s)	Qward, Antimatter Universe
Member(s)	Arkillo Amon Sur Anti-Monitor Bedovian Cyborg Superman Despotellis Enkafos Karu-Sil Krybb Lyssa Drak Manhunters Parallax Ranx Sinestro Superman-Prime

The Sinestro Corps is a group of fictional characters, a villainous analogue to the Green Lantern Corps in the DC Universe led by the supervillain Sinestro.

Fictional history

Before the Corps

Main articles: Parallax (comics), Sinestro, and Green Lantern: Rebirth

The Parallax entity is a space parasite that is the embodiment of fear that was imprisoned within the Central Power Battery on Oa. As time passed, the entity became known as the yellow impurity, the cause for the Green Lantern's weakness with the color yellow.

Sinestro, at the time the universe's greatest Green Lantern, was sent to Earth by Supernova in a plot to erase Guy Gardner from history. Booster Gold was assigned to prevent this from happening. To do so, he convinced Sinestro to leave Earth, claiming that he was an admirer from the future, and that his yellow Legion of Superheroes flight ring was his power ring as a member of "The new breed of Green Lanterns: The Sinestro Corps!".

After Sinestro went rogue, he was banished by the Guardians of the Universe to Qward in the Antimatter universe. When he returned, he wielded a power ring which used yellow energy. After various encounters with Earth's Green Lantern Hal Jordan, he was imprisoned within the Central Power Battery. There he was able to use his ring, which uses fear, as opposed to willpower, as a power source, to awaken Parallax from hibernation. From here, Parallax and Sinestro were able to influence the fall of Hal Jordan and instigate the fall of the Green Lantern Corps, leaving one last Green Lantern: Kyle Rayner. Booster Gold's off-hand comment then inspired the name of the Corps started by Sinestro and Parallax.

Recruitment drive

After the Green Lantern Corps was restarted with the return of Hal Jordan, the Sinestro Corps began actively recruiting members, offering yellow power rings and a role in the Corps to those who can "instill great fear". Members of the Corps are immediately taken to Qward to "...be subjected to psychological and physical reconditioning". The members of the Sinestro Corps work in sectors like the GLC. Qward also has a huge yellow Central Battery on its surface like the one used on Oa. Although the Sinestro Corps uses fear and opposes the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians, Sinestro has stated their goal is to bring order to the universe, which he claimed the Guardians have failed to do.

The Sinestro Corps gather on Qward.

Arkillo, a large and muscular vicious alien is enslaving all the Qwardian Weaponeers and forcing them to continuously build new yellow rings which are programmed to breach the barrier between the Antimatter and matter universes to find and recruit new ring-wielders. Arkillo also serves as the Sinestro Corps' drill sergeant, similar to Kilowog's role in the GLC.

Members recruited other than the Corps' namesake and Arkillo, include Karu-Sil, raised by animals; Despotellis, a sentient virus capable of attacking Lanterns from the inside; Bedovian, the sniper of the Corps, capable of taking out a target from three sectors away.

During this time, the Sinestro Corps attempted to recruit Batman, known even to some alien races for his formidable ability to instill fear in others. However, Batman's willpower combined with his previous brief exposure to a power ring allowed him to reject the yellow ring before it took him to be properly trained and molded into one of Sinestro's soldiers. The yellow ring then sought a replacement and selected Amon Sur, the disgruntled son of Abin Sur, who was on Earth attempting to steal Hal Jordan's ring.

The prophecy

It was revealed that after untold millennia, the Weaponers of Qward, Ranx the Sentient City, the Children of the White Lobe, and the Empire of Tears will rise united against the Green Lantern Corps. This was largely ignored up until upgraded Manhunters started to appear throughout the universe. Hal Jordan encountered one on Earth and, with Guy Gardner, followed their trail to Sector 3601. Hal and Guy found several Green Lanterns, all of who were assumed to have been killed during the Emerald Twilight saga, and the Manhunters' new grandmaster Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman. The Manhunters were defeated and Henshaw's head was brought to Oa. The Book of Oa has a forbidden chapter on cosmic Revelations, which included the following prophecy:

"A face of metal and flesh shall speak of the secrets of the 52.
Fear will rise.
Willpower will gather.
And a war of light will unleash the truth behind the power of the ring."

— Book Of Oa, Green Lantern (vol. 4) #20

After his interrogation, the Guardians learned that Henshaw is aware of the fifty-two parallel universes and that if New Earth was destroyed, the new Multiverse would collapse and the Antimatter universe would take its place. Two of the Guardians, Ganthet and Sayd, warn the other Guardians not to ignore the prophecy because it could destroy the Green Lantern Corps.

The Sinestro Corps War

Main article: Sinestro Corps War

While patrolling sector 424, Green Lanterns Graf Toren and Vode-M come across a yellow power ring tearing its way through space. Kyle Rayner joins them and successfully captures and confines the ring before bringing it to Oa. While waiting to meet with the Guardians, the ring breaks free of its confinement and transports Kyle to Qward. At the same time, Oa and Mogo are attacked by Sinestro Corps members who slay a number of Green Lanterns and free Superman-Prime, Nero, and the Cyborg Superman.

On Qward, Kyle is confronted by Sinestro and becomes overwhelmed by the combined effort of his army. Sinestro reveals to Kyle that his abilities are derived from the Ion entity which is the embodiment of willpower itself, much like Parallax is the embodiment of fear. After removing and imprisoning the Ion entity from Kyle's body, Sinestro reveals that the sentient virus Despotellis was responsible for the death of his mother. Broken and overcome with fear, Kyle is sent to the Central Battery of Qward where he is possessed by Parallax, becoming its new host. Parallax and Sinestro then meet with the Sinestro Corps' Guardian, the Anti-Monitor and are revealed to be two of the Anti-Monitor's four heralds, along with the aforementioned Superman-Prime and Cyborg Superman.

As the Sinestro Corps continue to attack Green Lanterns across space, Sinestro returns to Korugar to confront his successor's successor Soranik Natu. Sinestro defeats her, but spares her life, calculating that this will force her to stay on Korugar to fulfill her responsibilities as "the Savior of Korugar." Sinestro then returns to Qward to join the battle occurring there.

Arkillo and Killowog mobilize the bulk of their respective Corps. Salaak instructs Arisia to look after the rookie Green Lantern Sodam Yat, a Daxamite who is prophesied to be the "Ultimate Green Lantern". Along with Mogo, Green Man recovers part of his partner Stel, whom Despotellis had influenced Green Man to attempt to kill. As they prepare to head back to Oa, they find an enormous contingent of Sinestro Corps members behind them, along with Ranx the Sentient City, now enlarged to rival Mogo's size .

Meanwhile, Hank Henshaw and the Manhunters complete the creation of a new Warworld in Sector 3601. It is revealed that Henshaw has joined the Sinestro Corps so that the Anti-Monitor can later kill him and allow him to rest in peace. At the same time, Superman-Prime sits on the Earth's Moon, looking at the Earth.

Hal Jordan attempts to flee Qward after being overwhelmed by Parallax. The Sinestro Corps begin to attack him until help arrives from the "Lost Lanterns". Their combined efforts hold off the Sinestro Corps before they're attacked by Parallax, who forces the Lanterns to confront their fears and kills Jack T. Chance. The remaining Lanterns flee underground and split into two teams. One team locates the missing Guy Gardner and John Stewart before being confronted by Lyssa Drak, who holds the two Lanterns captive.

Green Man, Stel, Mogo, and Bzzd take on several members of the Sinestro Corps. Kilowog and a contingent of Green Lanterns arrive soon afterwards and the two groups engage each other. Ranx is persuaded by Enkafos to drill into Mogo with its' gravity disruptors. in return for Enkafos letting Ranx have revenge on Guy Gardner in return. The Children of the White Lobe prepare to detonate Mogo's core once the drilling is complete. Sodam Yat, Stel, Chthos and Kol are sent to attack Ranx directly. At the same time the "Lost Lanterns" continue searching for the Ion entity. Before they can locate it, they're confronted by the Anti-Monitor.

Hal, Graf, and Tomar defeat Lyssa Drak and free John and Guy, draining Hal’s power ring in the process. Hal breaks into a nearby factory and takes control of ten yellow power rings, using his experience as Parallax’s host to power them. Hal and the others attempt to escape, but are stopped by a contingent of the Sinestro Corps, which includes Amon Sur, Parallax and Sinestro. Sinestro has several Manhunters drain the energy from Hal’s rings, depowering them. The "Lost Lanterns" learn that the Anti-Monitor is performing experiments on the Ion entity. After Ke’Hann is killed by the Anti-Monitor, Hannu uses his ring as a distraction and the other Lanterns escape with the Ion entity.

Just as Hal and the others are about to be killed, the Lost Lanterns arrives with the Ion entity and both groups escape back to Oa. Hal, John and Guy return to Earth and warn the Justice League of the Anti-Monitor’s return. On Oa, the Lanterns there learn that the Book of Oa has been rewritten by the Guardians to allow the power rings to kill any Sinestro Corps members. Soon afterwards, the Sinestro Corps, along with the Yellow Central Battery, teleport straight from Qward to the new Warworld and prepare to invade Earth.

On Mogo, the Green Lanterns there kill several Sinestro Corps members, including Enkafos, and capture and kill several of the Children of the White Lobe. Salaak arrives to help Kilowog while Arkillo and the remaining Sinestro Corps members retreat. Sodam Yat manages to destroy Ranx from within. The Green Lantern Corps are then contacted by Hal, who warns them of Sinestro’s plan to invade Earth.

The Sinestro Corps, alongside Superman-Prime and the Manhunters, invade Earth. The Cyborg Superman attacks Superman and Superman-Prime attacks the Justice Society while Hal confronts Parallax just before the latter is about to kill Hal's family. Parallax absorbs Hal inside himself. Hal is able to use a painting made by Kyle's mother to help Kyle overcome his fears and expel Parallax. Parallax, now in his original form, is then contained by Ganthet and Sayd within the Power Batteries of Hal, John, Guy and Kyle. Ganthet and Sayd reveal that they're no longer Guardians. Ganthet gives Kyle a new Power ring and asks Kyle to become a Green Lantern again, which he agrees to. The Anti-Monitor then lands on Earth.

Superman-Prime continues his assault as various hero teams join the fight against him. In a joint effort Superman, Supergirl and Power Girl are able to destroy his armour, stripping him of his powers. Meanwhile, more Green Lantern Corps members arrive on Earth and spread out across the globe to face the Sinestro Corps. Kilowog is able to defeat Arkillo in San Diego but decides to remove his ring rather than kill him. As the two sides gather in New York, Sodam Yat attempts to take on the Anti-Monitor but is quickly beaten. As the Anti-Monitor prepares to kill him, the Guardians arrive and place the Ion entity inside Sodam Yat, declaring him the new Ion. Just as Superman-Prime seems beaten, the sun rises and his powers return.

Witnessing the creation of the new Ion, Superman-Prime confronts him and they fight in the skies above New York. The pair are matched in terms of power until the fight moves into a Nuclear Power Plant where Sodam Yat's Daxamite physiology causes him to be severely weakened by the lead present in the reactor. As he tries to escape the power plant, Ion is impaled with a lead rod by Prime. His powers diminished by lead poisoning, Sodam Yat continues to fight but Superman-Prime gains the upper hand, beating him seemingly to death. Still holding Sodam Yat in one hand, Superman-Prime turns his attention to the rest of the Corps.

Ganthet and Sayd reveal to the four Earth Green Lanterns the final verse of the prophecy, known as the “Blackest Night”, which reveals that four more Corps, each based on a different color, will be created in the future and that war will break out between the seven Corps until they destroy each other and the universe, leading to the “Blackest Night”.

Hal travels to Coast City and warns the populace to flee, but everyone refuses to leave, and set up green lights in support of Hal and the Corps. Sinestro then attacks Hal and reveals that his plan all along was to make the Guardians approve the use of lethal force and make the universe fear the Green Lantern Corps. Sinestro uses his Manhunters to drain Hal and Kyle’s power rings, forcing them to fight on the ground.

In New York, the Anti-Monitor begins to create a wall of anti-mater which consumes everything it touches. The Guardians arrive on Earth and attack the Anti-Monitor, damaging his outer shell. John and Guy launch Warworld at the Anti-Monitor and the Cyborg-Superman like a grenade, which damages both of them. Superman-Prime then throw the two of them into space and proceeds to attack everyone around him. One of the Guardians uses himself as a bomb to kill Superman-Prime, although the explosion sends Superman-Prime into the Multiverse.

Hal and Kyle fight Sinestro hand to hand and, after taking control of the Manhunters, place Sinestro under arrest. The remaining Sinestro Corps members flee into space. The Cyborg-Superman’s head is retrieved by several Manhunters, who rebuild him against his will.

In the aftermath of the war, the Guardians decide to bring the second of the new laws into affect. After realising that the "Blackest Night" prophecy will come to pass, Ganthet and Sayd depart after creating a blue power ring with the intention of creating their own Corps. The Anti-Monitor finds itself on a dark planet and is transformed by an unknown force into a Black Power Battery.

Prominent members

Prominent members of the Corps, including (clockwise from top left): the Cyborg Superman (Hank Henshaw), Superman-Prime, the Anti-Monitor, Parallax (Kyle Rayner), and Sinestro. Art by Ethan Van Sciver.

Anti-Monitor and heralds

• Anti-Monitor: Responsible for the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Anti-Monitor is an almost infinitely powerful threat. Returning in the wake of the events of Infinite Crisis and 52, he allies with Sinestro to form the Sinestro Corps.
• Cyborg-Superman (Hank Henshaw): The man-machine hybrid who destroyed Coast City, and eventual Grandmaster of the Manhunters.
• Parallax: The Green Lantern Corps' "yellow impurity" who was responsible for Hal Jordan's fall from grace. Parallax possessed Kyle Rayner after the Ion entity was expunged from him by Sinestro.
• Sinestro: Leader and namesake of the Sinestro Corps.
• Superman-Prime: Deranged Kryptonian from the destroyed Earth Prime.

Ring bearers

Like the Green Lantern Corps, the Sinestro Corps has 7200 ring bearers, two for each of the 3600 sectors of space.

• Amon Sur of Sector 2814: Disgruntled son of deceased Green Lantern Abin Sur.
• Arkillo of Sector 674: Drill sergeant and carnivore. One of the Sinestro Corps' first recruits. Described by Geoff Johns as the "Kilowog of the Sinestro Corps."
• Bedovian of Sector 3: a hermit crab-like cannibalistic sniper who can kill from three space sectors away. He was located and shot by John Stewart.
• Despotellis of Sector 119: Sentient virus that kills from within, responsible for the death of 85% of space sector 119 (in addtion to Kyle Rayner's mother). Despotellis was defeated by Leezle Pon, a Green Lantern Smallpox Virus. He was last heard of being imprisoned on Oa.
• Enkafos: Coordinates the Sinestro Corps attack on Mogo, ultimately killed by Sodam Yat, Van Sciver described Enkarfos as an analogue to the Green Lantern Corps' Salakk.
• Karu-Sil of Sector 2815: Savage raised by animals.
• Kiriazis of Sector 1771: A Sinestro Corps member who "blinds and tortures, splintering the Ring's beams with her prisms." She was later said to be able to use her spider-like pysiology to metabolize the ring's energy and produce spider web out of it.
• Krybb of Sector 3599: A hag who kills Green Lanterns who are parents and stores their children in a cage growing out of her back.
• Fatality of Sector 1313: Longtime enemy of the Green Lantern Corps.
• Lyssa Drak: Keeper of the Book of Parallax.
• Low of Sector 3308: A Sinestro Corps member who "consumes his enemies' bones while they still breathe." According to the Green Lantern/Sinstro Corps Secret Files and Origins, Low is considered to be the most dangerous parasite in the universe. He can suck the blood of his enemies in a matter of seconds, he then lays his eggs inside their shell.
• Mongul of Debstam IV, Sector 2811: Son of a long time foe of the Justice League. After the end of the war, he finds a downed Sinestro Corps member and breaks his neck, taking his ring for himself.
• Peacemaker of Sector 2 (the same sector the Reach inhabit): Selected from Earth to join the Sinestro Corps, the alien Reach place a beetle scarab in his spine to make him a joint agent with the intention of assassinating Jaime Reyes, the Blue Beetle.
• Ranx the Sentient City: A sentient city that is prophesied to kill Mogo.
• Starro: an alien parasite that creates copies of itself which take possession of sentient organisms and take control of their minds.
• Yellow Lantern of Sector 1482 (an anagram of Sector 2814): A citizen of Bizarro World who is selected as a member of the Sinestro Corps. He ignores the ring's commands until the ring overrides his free will and takes him to the battle field. Made a cameo in Green Lantern #25.

• Several characters have been shown in preview art and mentioned by creators Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, but have yet to appear. Ethan van Sciver has also stated that there will be a 'Frankenstein'-inspired member who is two aliens cut in half and sewn together, (with each one bearing a power ring, so that they are two bodies acting as one), and "Strange Little Robots". The "'Frankenstein'-inspired member" made a small appearance in the Sinestro Corps Special, appearing behind Sinestro.[1]
• Additionally, in the opening spread of Green Lantern #25, characters that strongly resemble the Yautja and a Xenomorph from the Predator and Alien film franchises respectively are seen on the far left and right of the opening spread, respectively, as members of the Sinestro Corps.
• Also among the Sinestro Corps membership is a Dominator and a creature that bears a passing resemblence to Validus.

Oath

When recharging their power rings, members of the Sinestro Corps recite the following oath:

:In blackest day, in brightest night,

Beware your fears made into light

Let those who try to stop what's right,

Burn like my power*... Sinestro's might!

— Sinestro, Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1 (2007)

• "My power" becomes "his power" when recited by other members of the Corps.

Weapons and Equipment

Main Article: Power ring

Members of the Sinestro Corps use yellow power rings built on Qward. Unlike a Green Lantern's power ring, yellow power rings are fueled by fear instead of willpower. The yellow rings are charged by Manhunter androids that have yellow power batteries built into themselves, which in turn are connected to a large yellow Power Battery based on Qward. The rings have no known weaknesses, unlike a Green Lantern power ring's previous vulnerability to yellow. Also, the yellow rings are not restricted from killing sentient beings as the Green Lantern's power rings were. Since the Guardians of the Universe have authorized the use of lethal force, the yellow rings no longer have this advantage.

External links

• Wizard Article on the members of the Sinestro Corps
• Newsarama Sinestro Corp Preview