Hope, love, greed, compassion, and fear are all powerful emotions that flow through the DC Universe on the same spectrum that gives the willpower-fueled Green Lantern Corps their strength and power. But, in the case of the Red Lanterns, hate trumps all. Birthed by the most unfortunate and disastrous events in one’s life, the rage of the Red Lanterns are a force to be reckoned with, and one of the most destructive Corps in the entire galaxy.

But who are these anger-filled Lanterns, and where did they come from? Better yet, why are they the most formidable army of the Emotional Spectrum this side of the fear-driven Sinestro Corps, and why is it that more than one DC Comics character has been drawn to the all-consuming power of the red ring?

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The Origins of The Red Lantern Corps

Red Lantern Atrocitus

The origin of the Red Lantern Corps is something of a tragic story. Originally, and way before the inception of the famous Green Lanterns, the Guardians of the Universe made an entirely different play in trying to bring justice to the thousands of space sectors that make up the universe. Knowing that they needed a policing force competent enough to follow their every whim while simultaneously being able to carry out the actions needed to successfully accomplish their responsibilities without pause, the Guardians of Oa built a massive robotic army and dubbed them the Manhunters. Tasked with protecting and serving the universe, the Manhunters worked well for a time, until one fateful day it all came crumbling down.

Spurred by a widespread glitch that was eventually revealed to be implemented by one of the Guardians’ very own, the Manhunters’ prime objective of acting as peacekeepers was torpedoed in favor of the worst-case alternative: wipe out all life in the universe and order will be maintained. Setting their robotic sights on Sector 666, the Manhunters proceeded to completely annihilate every living organism in the sector, bringing death and destruction everywhere they went. After realizing what was going on, the Guardians took down their creations and labeled the sector off-bounds from that day forth. This “Lost Sector” became the breeding grounds for a Lantern Corps fueled by hate, formed by rage, and sustained by anger once it is revealed that only five beings in the entirety of the sector survived the Manhunter onslaught - one in particular, Atrocitus, was set on a collision course to becoming the creator and leader of the as yet unformed Red Lantern Corps.

Atrocitus, The Leader of The Red Lanterns Explained

Atrocitus

Originally named Atros, Atrocitus was living a peaceful life as a psychologist on his home planet of Ryut with his loving wife and daughter when the Manhunters arrived at their doorstep. After witnessing their incineration at the hands of these death robots, Atrocitus took up arms with the four other survivors of the Massacre of Sector 666, and being the towering, formidable alien that he is, spent years with his fellow survivors living a harsh life on the prison world of Ysmault. The group eventually came to be known as the Five Inversions with Atrocitus acting as their leader, and with every waking moment, they counted down the days that they would finally get their chance to give the Guardians of the Universe a taste of their own medicine, a moment that would take centuries to come.

Consumed by a kind of rage that would drive anyone insane, Atrocitus’ memories of his world’s death haunted him and filled him with an anger that would not subside. After a few more dustups with the Guardians and the Green Lanterns themselves (including the then-Green Lantern Sinestro, and Hal Jordan predecessor, Abin Sur), Atrocitus was fed-up. Harboring even more hate than ever before towards the Green Lantern Corps and Sinestro in particular, Atrocitus forged the first Red Lantern Power Battery by beating his fellow Inversions to death and using their blood in a ritual to form the very first Red Lantern power ring and Central Battery. Atrocitus’ rage had consumed him, and now it was time for him to find an army that would follow his hatred to the ends of the universe and beyond.

The Power of Rage Boils Red Lantern Blood (Literally)

Dex Starr in space in DC Comics.

Being powered by the extreme emotions of anger and rage, the Red Lanterns are as unique as they are terrifying. When sought out to be considered for induction into the Corps, the red ring of power chooses a recruit that has great rage in their heart, and when slipped onto their finger, immediately renders their heart useless and ties their life support to the ring itself, the removal of which would instantly kill the wearer unless other actions are taken to avoid such a fate.

Coupled with a projectile vomit of boiling corrosive blood that the Lanterns use as a primary weapon along with the full unlocking of a kind of brutality that only their fists can provide, the Red Lanterns thrive in battle and rarely use their constructs unless needed, with most of the Corps members not even knowing they can use them to begin with. This is due to the fact that once inducted into their ranks, Red Lanterns go feral and act without rhyme or reason, like barbaric animals that can’t think straight or even communicate outside of grunts and short, broken sentences. Their power is multiplied in this state, their mindlessness focused on nothing but rage, and although it is possible to return to “normal” in a sense that they can somewhat act like their usual selves (just a bit redder around the edges) through a ritual of bathing in a lake of blood on their homeworld, Atrocitus likes to keep his army under his red thumb, and only rarely allows such an event to transpire.

Why Have So Many Heroes Become Red Lanterns?

Guy Gardner becomes a Red Lantern.

While Atrocitus may be the leader of the Red Lanterns along with other iconic members of the Corps such as Dex-Starr, a sadistic cat-like being, Laira, a disgraced ex-Green Lantern, and Bleez, the right-hand woman of Atrocitus, other characters in the DC Universe have also succumbed to the power of the red light over the years. And while many of these characters are able to buck the hate that consumes them after their short time with the ring (usually with the help of the power of the Blue Lantern Corps), there are a few who have embraced the red ring wholly and entirely for more reasons than one. Other than the lesser, more one-off wielders of the red light like Hal Jordan or Kyle Rayner or even temporary users that have wielded it during the Green Lantern related event of Blackest Night like Mera of Aquaman fame, ex-Superboy turned Superman-Prime and the omnipotent Spectre, two other iconic characters have been wrapped up in the hate of the Red Lantern Corps: Green Lantern Guy Gardner and Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl.

The reasons as to why so many heroes in general and why these two, in particular, have surrendered to the power of Atrocitus is simple: pure rage, hate, and anger are commonplace in a universe where the unexpected, unknown, and unwanted are thrust on individuals who cannot cope with loss and heartbreak, a dangerous combination when unleashed with impunity. In the case of Guy Gardner, his hot-headed nature and overall bullishness seem obvious as to why he would take a red ring; his abusive past with his father, and the loss of any number of friends and loved ones giving him the ability to hold great rage in his heart. Likewise, Supergirl’s reasons for attracting a red ring stem from her life being in a constant state of loss, ranging from the continuous battles she is always engaged in, to being awakened on an alien world only to find that her own world of Krypton had been destroyed along with everyone she ever knew and loved, to being let down and betrayed by the ones she felt safest with, Supergirl’s temporary transition to a Red Lantern fits right in with the legacy of loss and rage that fill each and every Red Lantern’s heart.

With the universe full of all different kinds of emotions harnessed by a spectrum of light that permeates all of creation, the Red Lanterns are a force that thrives on its various members’ bubbling hate and boiling rage that is nearly impossible to contain. With their leader, Atrocitus, constantly trying to make right the travesty that was the destruction of his homeworld, the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe have a villainous enemy in a Corps that wants nothing more than to see their hate-filled agenda come to fruition, preferably in a spurt of blood and a howl of anger.

Next: Batman Has Commanded the Power of Black, White, Yellow and Green Lantern