The Blackest Night Primer - Red Lantern Corps

Our Blackest Night primer continues to roll along, this time spotlighting the rage filled Red Lantern Corps. These corps primers will cover the basics of each corps, from their oath to their leaders to their homeworlds, as well as their strengths, weaknesses and noteworthy members heading into the event.

If you missed any of our Blackest Night primer, make sure to check out the index post for basic information, links to all the other posts and the schedule for upcoming posts. When you're ready, hit the jump for everything you need to know about the Red Lantern Corps. Oh, and one more thing before clicking, Matt did all the work on this entry of the primer, but asked me to post it for him, so all credit to him for this one.

Corps Colour: Red
Emotional Spectrum: Rage
First Appearance: Green Lantern #28
Homeplanet: Ysmault (Sector 2814)
Leader: Atrocitus
Key Stories: Rage of the Red Lanterns, Emeral Eclipse
Oath:

"With blood and rage of crimson red,
Ripped from a corpse so freshly dead,
Together with our hellish hate,
We'll burn you all -- That is your fate!"

Origin: Although the Red Lantern Corps have only been recently created, their origin is one that dates back thousands of years, to a time before the Green Lanterns even existed. Years ago, the robot group known as the Manhunters patrolled the universe to maintain order, under the guidance of the Guardians of the Universe. Because of a glitch of unknown origin, the Manhunters killed every living being in the space Sector 666, with the exception of five individuals. This event would come to be known as the Massacre of Sector 666. The five survivors, going by the name of the Five Inversions, became a terrorist group with the purpose of destroying the Guardians of the Universe.

The Five Inversions were eventually captured and imprisoned on the planet Ysmault, where their rage was left to fester for millenia. One of them, the being known as Atrocitus, eventually escaped and, after slaughtering his fellow Inversions and giving fully into his rage, formed the Red Lantern Corps. Harnessing the power of the red light of rage, Atrocitus swore to destroy the Guardians, and anyone who stands with them, for their crimes.


Initiation: The red lantern rings seek out individuals who have great rage in their heart, under the orders of Atrocitus. It has been hinted that the Red Lanterns are creatures who have little to no control or knowledge on how to cope with rage. Much like Atrocitus himself, there are a number of Red Lanterns who have a personal vendetta against Sinestro and his corps.

The process of joining the Red Lantern Corps involves the replacement of the member's blood with red rage energy with the ring functioning as a heart. It also appears that the red ring literally takes you more so than you actually accepting membership. If you are filled with rage and the ring is near, you will join the corps whether you like it or not, as was the case with Hal Jordan.


Powers: Red lanterns harness the power of rage from the emotional spectrum to spew red energy from their mouths or from their rings. The energy usually manifests in the form liquid, almost blood like substance that flows through their bodies, although certain individuals with high levels of willpower, such as Hal Jordan, can also create complex constructs. This red energy is highly corrosive and can burn through almost anything, including the light constructs of Yellow and Green Lantern Corps. Additionally, Red Lanterns can quickly deplete the energy reserves that Green and Yellow rings have stored.


Weaknesses: With the exception of Atrocitus, Red Lantern corps are reduced to purely instinctual beasts, giving in to their most base instinct, that of hate. Because of this, Red Lanterns act without much reason or logic, making them less than formidable warriors, and relying more in sheer strength and power rather than tactics. Because of the fact that the initiation into the Red Lantern Corps drains out the blood of the wearer, removal of the red ring will cause immidiate death. Blue Laterns have been shown to have the power to erase and remove the effects of conversion into the Red Lantern Corps.


Notable Members

Atrocitus (Sector 666)

A former member of the Five Immersions, he holds a very bad grudge against the Green Lantern Corps, and Sinestro, for imprisoning in the planet of Ysmault. He created the Red Power Battery and is the leader of the Red Lantern Corps. He is the only Red Lantern to be fully conscious of his actions. Atrocitys has been shown to have some shamanistic or magic powers, which allow him to learn new information regarding the universe through blood rituals.


Vice (Sector 13)

Vice is phisically recognizable because of his odd head shape, which resembles a vice. He holds a grudge against the Sinestro Corps for having murdered his mate. He was later captured by the Green Lantern Corps, and sent to the Sciencells for his crimes. There, the rogue Guardian Scar orchestrated his escape that led to a riot in the Sciencells, where many other villains were being held.


Laira (Sector 112)

A former Green Lantern that was kicked out from the Corps after she was found guilty of the wanton murder of Amon Sur. Her hatred for the Sinestro Corps lead to her conversion to the Red Lantern Corps, but she met an untimely demise during the battle of Ysmault, where Sinestro killed her.



Hal Jordan (Sector 2814)

During the battle on Ysmault, Hal Jordan gave in to his inner rage and was briefly transformed into a Red Lantern. He overcame the influence of the red light by the combined force of his Green Lantern ring and the Blue Lantern ring that Saint Walker deputized him with. Hal Jordan had the ability to create complex constructs with the red energy, something that most Red Lanterns could not accomplish because of their lack of willpower or possibly due to their being completely overtaken by rage.

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