Warning! Spoilers ahead for Green Lantern #3
In the latest issue of DC Comics' Green Lantern, there are only three Lanterns left that actually have working power rings. Oa has been attacked, and with it the destruction of the Central Power Battery, the source of the Green Lantern Corps' power and ability to harness the green light of willpower. Now, there are countless Lanterns dead, wounded, or stranded with their rings inoperable, leaving only a small handful still powered up and ready to ward off an inevitable second wave that will surely come in future issues. Here's the Lanterns who still have power and why.
The attack on Oa came at the dawn of the United Planets accepting the Green Lanterns as members of their diplomatic coalition, seeking to foster peace and security for the galaxy at large. However, it seems as though certain parties with a hatred for the Green Lantern Corps saw this as the perfect time to the strike, and the second issue of Green Lantern sees the Central Power Battery exploding, just after the Guardians send John Stewart and a thousand Lanterns into the unknown and potentially hostile territories knows as the Dark Sectors.
Now, Green Lantern #3 from writer Geoffrey Thorne with artists Tom Raney and Marco Santucci not only sees Lanterns being stranded behind enemy lines without their rings such as John Stewart, it also reveals that Green Lantern Jo Mullein still has power in her ring, leading the relief and defense efforts back on Oa. Hailing from the Far Sector, Jo Mullien's ring works differently than other Lanterns' as it recharges incrementally on its own, rather that needing a full charge from a power battery due to the sheer distance between Jo's jurisdiction and Oa. Furthermore, she's getting backup in the form of Keli Quintela's Teen Lantern, who wields a power gauntlet she found and hacked into, rather than an official ring. For now, she still has power as well. Lastly, this leaves the classic Green Lantern Hal Jordan, said to be the greatest of the Green Lanterns due to his immense capability to harness willpower. Not only is his ring one he forged himself, but he also recently received quite a few upgrades from the Guardians themselves, making his one of a kind and incredibly stronger than the average power ring.
It looks as though these final three Lanterns will be the last line of defense against this new threat Jo is confident is coming to finish the job. As a result, she's willing to be the primary target, allowing Hal Jordan and any other potentially powered Lanterns still out there to be the backup plan should she fail. However, even though the vast majority of Green Lanterns' rings no longer work, that doesn't mean they're altogether powerless. John Stewart is seen improvising while being stranded, while Simon Baz' new cybernetic arm features a devastating laser gun as his new weapon of choice.
In any case, the DC Universe was once full of thousands of Green Lanterns wielding the green light of willpower to keep the sectors safe. Now...there's only three, and it's only because they're all unique exceptions to the rule. Here's hoping Jo, Keli, and Hal himself have what it takes to weather the storm that's soon coming to finish the Corps off for good.