The Lantern colors of Batman’s various sidekicks, such as Robin and Batgirl, are not what fans expect. Since the introduction of the Emotional Spectrum during Geoff Johns’ epic Green Lantern run, numerous heroes, ranging from the Flash to Supergirl have wielded various Lantern rings. A brief vision in 2011’s Batgirl #24 reveals which Lantern Corps Batgirl, Robin and Stephanie Brown would belong to–and they are not what fans are expecting at all.
The Emotional Spectrum is one of the primal forces of the DC Universe. It resembles the regular color spectrum, with each color representing a different emotional drive; for example, green represents willpower, red stands for anger and rage and blue is for hope, among others. The saga of the multicolored Lantern Corps reached its climax in 2009’s Blackest Night event, during which some of DC’s biggest hitters, such as the Flash, Lex Luthor and Wonder Woman, received a Lantern ring, and were deputized into a different Corps. Since then, fans have loved debating over which hero or villain belongs in which Lantern Corps and why–and in Batgirl #24, DC settles the question for certain members of the Bat-Family.
The issue, written by Bryan Q. Miller and illustrated by Père Perez, climaxes with then-Batgirl Stephanie Brown seeing fleeting visions of herself in various times and situations–and in one of them, Barbara Gordon and Robin (Damian Wayne) have joined the different Lantern Corps. Barbara wields a Green Lantern ring, using it to create a giant mech suit, with her as the pilot; Batgirl possesses the power of the Blue Lanterns–complete with a glowing blue staff while Robin is a rage-driven Red Lantern.
Beware the Power of the Bat-Family
There was never any follow-up to Stephanie’s vision of herself and her friends as various Lanterns, leaving it just a tantalizing glimpse at what could have been–yet the Corps they found themselves may be a little surprising. Damian Wayne as a Red Lantern may be the least surprising; at this point in his career, Damian was still in “kill-mode,” as he had yet to shake off the League of Shadows’ influence. Damian was motivated by anger–it was all he knew growing up, and thus his status as a Red Lantern should not come as a surprise. Barbara Gordon may seem to be more of a shoo-in for the Blue Lanterns, but instead she is a Green Lantern; Batgirl #24 was published one month prior to the New 52 reboot, meaning that Barbara Gordon was still the information broker Oracle, an alias she assumed after being shot by the Joker. Barbara bounced back and turned what could have been a tragedy into a triumph–a display of willpower if there ever was one. Finally, there is Stephanie Brown, who has been inducted into the hope-driven Blue Lantern Corps. During Stephanie’s stint as Batgirl, she learned what it meant to be a true hero, under the direction of Barbara Gordon. This gave Stephanie a newfound confidence and sense of hope, which made her a natural Blue Lantern.
While Stephanie’s vision of herself as a Blue Lantern was just that: a vision–yet one that spoke to not only her nature, but that of Robin and Barbara Gordon as well. While Batgirl as a Blue Lantern, or Robin as a Red, may seem a bit jarring at first, the Lantern colors of these Batman sidekicks makes perfect sense.