Spoilers ahead for "A New Darkness" from DC's Terrors Through TimeA new hero who wields the powers of the powers of a Green Lantern and Red Lantern at the same time, opening up exciting new directions DC Comics could take the franchise in. The Lanterns are a vast organization full of a variety of people, creatures, planets, and even math formulas. The most famous are the Green Lanterns, wielders of willpower, though there are a number of colored Lantern Corps with rings that channel power from different emotions. Wielding multiple rings at once is a rare feat that doesn't last long, but DC's Terrors Through Time may have changed that.
The new Halloween one-shot DC's Terrors Through Time features multiple short stories taking place throughout time, with spotlights on various DC characters. The Green Lanterns have a spotlight of their own in the story "A New Darkness," which introduces readers to two new Lanterns from the future year 2447. The two are unique cases, but Kar-Von is a prime example of creative new ways to incorporate different powers into a long-standing DC franchise.
Having been put on probation, the new Lantern Jan makes her debut alongside Kar-Von in "A New Darkness" by Jeremy Haun, Juan Doe, and Katie Kubert. She describes Kar-Von as a legendary ring wielder, who wields both Green and Red rings. It's clear that Kar-Von is special among the ranks of the Lantern Corps, even having a nickname: "The Bastion of Balance." He is the first debut Lantern who is shown to regularly wield two rings, one of them even being a traditionally "evil" ring.
Red Lanterns Prove They're Not All Evil
Traditionally, Red Lanterns are considered wild and evil when they're first formed as rage completely takes over until they are bathed in a lake of red. It's explained that the lake's magic calms down the new wearer of the ring and gives them free thought back. Guy Gardner went through this process himself in Red Lanterns #22 by Charles Soule, Alessandro Vitti, Gabe Eltaeb, and Dave Sharpe. It's a tough process, and the implications behind rage and their mindlessness are among many reasons that the Red Lanterns are traditionally seen as evil. In the future, though, it seems that wielding both a Green and Red ring may negate the out of control rage that many have. The willpower from the Green Lantern ring holds back the rage in Kar-Von unless he specifically lets it out for a big attack.
Wielding multiple rings at the same time is no stranger to the franchise, as the likes of Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, and more have been shown to use multiple, but only for limited power-ups. The original Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, has gone through multiple rings in order to fight big battles. Once he even went up against Larfleeze — the wielder of the Orange light -—by using both a Green and Blue Lantern ring in Green Lantern Vol. 4 #42 by Geoff Johns, Philip Tan, Eddy Barrows, and Nei Ruffino. After the battle was done, though, he lost the Blue ring and kept the Green, going back to his normal position as a Green Lantern. Kar-Von immediately breaks all those rules and is shown to be a usual wielder of two rings. This changes the game entirely, and it shows that the future has more creative leeway with the powers and abilities they can use to make unique characters and power combinations.
The Lantern Corps seems to be branching out into new territory as time goes on, and the future holds a lot in store for the entire emotional spectrum. These power combinations and ring wielders will shine a light on lesser known Corps, and give new characters a chance to have entirely unique abilities. Kar-Von, the wielder of a Red Lantern ring and a Green Lantern ring paves the way for this DC Comics franchise's future.