“In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might, Beware my power…Green Lantern’s light!” There is a Lantern Corps for every emotion these days, but Martin Nodell and Bill Finger presented All-American Comics fans to one of the most enduring superheroes of all time back in 1940.
After a train wreck, railroad engineer Alan Scott obtains a mystical lantern and uses it to build a ring to battle crime in Capitol City. Since his first appearance in issue #16, the Green Lantern has evolved from a magical enigma to an interstellar peacekeeper who derives strength from his unbreakable willpower.
To say that the live-action Green Lantern picture from 2011 disappointed fans would be an understatement; Ryan Reynolds has continued to mock the film in the years since, and Zack Snyder utterly ignored the character, even in the Snyder Cut! So we thought we would remind you why the Lantern Corps exists, as well as introduce you to some of the universe-level threats they have thwarted during their long history of publishing. The 10 Most Powerful Green Lantern Villains are listed below.
Sinestro
There was a time when Thaal Sinestro championed justice and was known as the greatest Green Lantern in the entire universe. The Korugarian was tireless in his pursuit of order, had an iron will, and knew the ins and outs of fear only a few in the universe did. On paper, these traits make him the ideal Lantern and allowed Sinestro to transform Space Sector 1417 into an almost-lawless paradise.
Sinestro loved Abin Sur and Hal Jordan after him, a retcon established in Emerald Dawn. And for once, it added depth and a layer of tragedy to the story. They were Sinestro’s closest friends and he even married Abin’s sister, siring a child with her. But it was his dangerously fervent pursuit of perfect order that eventually led him to turn his back on Korugar, the Lantern Corps, and his best friends.
As his mind and ethics unraveled at the seams, he established a dictatorship at Korugar and was banished to Qward in the Anti-Matter Universe for his crime. There, he fashioned a Yellow Power Ring and channeling the power of Fear, vowed to bring down the Guardians, the Green Lantern Corps, and Hal Jordan personally.
Over the years, Sinestro has shown that he isn’t all villainy, as he has often called a truce or outright allied with his adversaries when the occasion called for it. But make no mistake; he is the archenemy of the Lantern Corps for a reason. Sinestro might possess above-average physical combat skills but his world runs on emotions, and Sinestro has complete mastery over his.
He has a thorough understanding of Willpower and Fear, which allows him to create lethal constructs, thousands of times stronger than his Green counterparts. After being exposed to and later becoming a host for the fear entity Parallax, he has an innate Fear Attunement that allows him to instantly understand and exploit others’ fears against them.
At one point, he joined with the Life Entity and became the strongest being in the universe. Despite being given a shot at redemption multiple times, it looks like he and the Lantern Corps are destined to play out this Shakespearean political drama forever.
Nekron
You’ll find contradicting origin stories across the continuity because duh, it’s DC, but there is no denying the fact that if Nekron is unleashed, the results would be worse than any Crisis event. Some say he was born in the darkness, others believe that the Guardians of the Universe banished him to it.
Regardless of which version you choose to believe, Nekron has and will always hold dominion over the Land of the Unliving, a cosmic dimension that exists outside of the normal order of things. It’s said that when the mad scientist Krona was dissipated into pure energy and cursed to wander across the universe, he stumbled into Nekron’s domain and gave him a taste of the very thing he wanted to stamp out, with authority: Life.
Now determined to invade the living universe and conquer it from his Dead Zone (shoutout Garlic Jr.), Nekron bides his time for cosmic rifts to occur so he can fulfill his conquest. And we have to say; for once we’re glad Sinestro’s ego saved the day because we would NOT want to tassel with someone who’s basically a God- yes, with a capital G. There is only one way to stop Nekron, and that is with the pure white energy of the Life Entity.
Not even the combined powers of every Lantern Corps including a Parallax-juiced Sinestro could put a dent in this guy. Nekron’s physiology is nigh-indestructible, owing to the fact that he isn’t “technically alive”; the same fact that makes him immortal. Nekron’s main fighting ability involves, well, necromancy.
Being the Lord of the Unliving, he can raise enhanced zombie thralls to do his bidding and augment his own strength with each kill he puts on the count. He can project Dark Lightening that has the power to outright kill a Guardian if not blocked, and his touch is so cold you’ll freeze to death instantly. That is, if your body doesn’t shatter on impact; Nekron was so powerful he effectively enslaved the Anti-Monitor and made him a power bank for his decrepit Black Lanterns Corps.
He was the one Abin Sur warned Sinestro of all those years ago, and after the events of The Blackest Night, we can see why; if Kyle Rayner doesn’t continue operating as the White Lantern, Nekron’s next incursion might be unstoppable.
Parallax
While a rational thinker might assume that the power rings’ yellow impurity was just a sign that even perfect things have imperfections, we fans know better. In this universe, emotions have cosmic manifestations, and yellow is the color most associated with Fear.
And that is exactly what Parallax is: the ethereal embodiment of Fear. He doesn’t actually have a physical form; he takes the shape of whatever scares his victims most. We don’t get a look at The Lord of Fear up until DC: Rebirth, and no we DO NOT talk about the abomination that was the live-action Parallax.
According to Sinestro, he looks like something straight out of Dragon Ball: like Golden Shenron, but if he was evil and could drive even the most honorable Z Fighter insane with bloodlust. That is exactly what he did when Hal Jordan began rampaging towards Oa in the wake of Coast City’s destruction at the hands of Mongols.
Racked with grief, Hal incapacitated or outright killed any Lantern who tried to stop him from getting the power of the Central Power Battery in his quest to restore his home and his loved ones. Seeing how far their greatest hero had fallen from grace, the Guardians let go of the captive Sinestro under the condition that he took down Jordan, but one snap of the neck later, the man known as Hal Jordan would seal his fate and live long enough to become the villain.
He unleashed Parallax from his prison- the Central Battery- and absorbed his essence, turning against the very corps that had given his entire life meaning. Though Parallax has no conventional strength besides the ability to create light constructs, his cosmic existence itself is enough to drive a person mad with spine-chilling fear which he can use to manipulate their actions, warp their minds, and even take outright control of their bodies.
Only people who have learned how to overcome their fears, like Hal, Sinestro, and of course Batman, can even hope to lay eyes on him and survive with their minds intact. If your heart has even a sliver of apprehension in it, Parallax will latch onto it like a leech, and making him go away isn’t gonna be a polite affair; just ask Superman or Wonder Woman.
Atrocitus
Green Lantern Vol. 4 #30 resolved one of the longest-running mysteries in Green Lantern’s publication history: who killed Abin Sur? The answer was far darker than what most of us could have anticipated. Ryut was like any other planet. It resided in Space Sector 666 and had a mostly-peaceful existence, right up until the Guardians’ Manhunters went rogue and committed genocide against the entire sector. Only 5 sentient creatures survived this onslaught.
They banded together as the Five Inversions, an occult terrorist cabal that had a ruthless, rage-filled monster for a leader. You see, only Parallax could mirror the sheer terror that Atrocitus inspired in those he aimed to inspire in his would-be victims. He mortally wounded Abin Sur and managed to escape but was soon apprehended by Sinestro and a rookie Hal Jordan.
This act earned Thaal the undying enmity of Atrocitus, who would go on to use his immense rage and magical knowledge to create the first Red Lantern power battery which he promptly christened with his former partners’ blood. He created the red power rings and sent them across the universe to create his own corps of furious, battled-lusted warriors to take on the Guardians, the Lantern Corps, and the Sinestro Corps.
Don’t let the fact that he’s bursting with anger blind you; Atrocitus is no buffoon. He practices advanced sanguinary and other forms of magic that give him prescience. His alien physiology makes him immensely strong, fast, and durable in combat. He has considerable control over his rage and is the only Red Lantern who can create light constructs.
Though he has sided with Green Lanterns along the way, fighting beside them during the Blackest Night event and even teaching Kyle Rayner how to channel his rage, it’s his complicated history and layered characterization that makes Atrocitus such a good villain. Even when he’s trying to reform himself, it’s his rage that saves him, and that’s bloody poetic if you ask us.
Krona
If you’ve ever wanted to know the answer to the question of what happens when scientists go too far, this entry is for you. An argument can be made that Krona was just a pursuer of knowledge who was uncompromising in his ways to gain the said knowledge. However, the consequences of his curiosity were so severe that universes continue to pay for it eons after his presumed death.
He crossed the one line Maltusians swore to never cross: he created a machine to unravel their deepest secret and peeked at the creation of the universe. However, the machine malfunctioned and splintered the Universe into an infinitely growing Multiverse, which included the Anti-Matter Universe; yes folks, Krona’s little science experiment led to the birth of the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor, two characters who have literally toyed with DC’s continuity.
Outraged by his heresy, the Oans dissipated Krona into pure energy and cursed him to traverse the Multiverse eternally. His horrific actions inspired them to become the Guardians of the Universe. He briefly tried to come back by harnessing Alan Scott’s powers but was summarily defeated by his former brethren.
What he will be remembered for most by Green Lantern die-hards is the Brightest Day storyline where after defeating Nekron, the Lantern Corps of the Universe would have to contend with its ultimate mad genius. Krona possesses all the powers of an Oan: virtual immortality, self-sustenance, instant healing, telepathy, telekinesis, and energy projection, he mastered all the natural abilities of his god-like race to the tip of real perfection.
He was a genius amongst a race of technological wizards; with mental blockers so strong no telepath could touch his mind, and inquisitiveness that was unparalleled. He was also the Keeper of the Emotional Entities and can bend them to his will. Think about that! The very beings that power the Lantern Corps, and he could use them as guard dogs!
Krona’s Power Gauntlet is a cosmic horror that first channeled the Green power of Will, making him the First Lantern in existence. If it wasn’t for Hal Jordan’s inhumane willpower, Krona would have successfully destroyed the Lantern Corps, the Guardians, and the Universe after.
Manhunter
You know you’ve messed up bad when your murder-bots start a death cult devoted to your destruction. Before the Green Lantern Corps existed, the Oans had a very different outlook on life. They believed that true justice would have to come from an entirely impartial and emotionless perspective. Inspired by the Manhunters of Mars, they created a robotic android race whose name and appearance embodied their inspiration and would act like the Universe’s police force.
Unfortunately, if you’ve seen any film about AI takeovers, you already know where we’re going. For a thousand years they kept the peace, but somewhere along the way their code of “No man escapes the Manhunter” became more important to them than justice. Instead of serving civilians, they started hunting criminals. They were pushed over the edge by Krona, who re-programmed them to target all sentient life in Space Sector 666, aka the former home sector of Red Lantern Atrocitus.
They were eventually discovered, decommissioned, and banished by the Guardians and have harbored a genocidal grudge against their creators ever since. Being machines, Manhunters are extremely durable in combat situations and have an ever-developing sense of strategy and weapons usage, thanks to their AI systems.
They are constantly evolving and incorporating advanced technology into their physiology, giving them powers beyond their original capabilities. They pack a hefty punch and can fly through any environment, including space. Manhunters are equipped with a built-in arm blaster and sensors that can give them an analysis of their surroundings and their targets in an instant.
They can disguise themselves according to their terrain and have a self-destruct sequence as impactful as a nuclear bomb. Future upgrades allowed them to have a collective consciousness and outfitted some Hunters with Power Batteries that could drain or recharge Power Rings in a jiffy.
They can be anywhere, having infiltrated and influenced human beings to become their sleeper agents in their war against the guardians and were even led by Cyborg Superman at one point. Though they’re not directly targeting the Lanterns, they do end up fighting them a lot and have even sided with them on a few occasions.
Black Hand
William Hand has had 2 distinct comic book origin stories. The first depicts him as a fairly run-of-the-mill, fourth-wall-breaking goofball. As the black sheep of the uber-wealthy Hand family, William decided to turn to a life of crime to stand out and started committing felonies, taking meticulous notes on crime and capture evasion in his black book. He created a device that siphoned off the Green Lantern energy signature and allowed him to teleport the superhero to another dimension, piece by piece.
He was defeated and put in prison and would have many encounters with Earth’s primary lantern till the Infinite Crisis reboot that gave him a far more morbid backstory. It kept most of the background elements the same but gave him a banal obsession with death. He’d sought psychological help from a young age in an attempt to fix himself, but it was to no avail. So, he reformed his behavior to blend in with society.
All his efforts would come undone when Atrocitus attacked him and tried to kill him because of a prophecy. A voice reached out to William and compelled him to steal Atrocitus’ power-draining device and flee, as Green Lantern dealt with the extraterrestrial threat. It would also compel him to kill his first-person, an act that made Hand feel more alive than he ever had. After being abducted and experimented upon by the Krotoleans, William Hand was no longer human.
Gaining the ability to drain the life force out of any living being, he truly embraced his moniker of the Black Hand and became a herald for Death itself. For you see, Black Hand was the physical manifestation of Nekron on this plane and was also the triggering agent for The Blackest Night prophecy.
Taking him on was one of Hal Jordan’s toughest battles. His Power Rod can manipulate Lantern energy signatures which, coupled with his life-draining abilities, make close-quarters combat a death wish. With the Black Lantern Ring, he was at par with Hal and Sinestro and would have successfully plunged the universe into darkness if his connection with Nekron wasn’t cut off after they killed him.
Anti-Monitor
DC’s most infamous evil twin has been responsible for some of the most heinous acts committed in comic book history; both in continuity and outside of it. We’ve spoken about the Anti-Monitor in our previous entries. He was created due to the universe-splintering consequences of Krona’s curiosity, born in the Anti-Matter Universe on one of the moons of Qward, Oa’s Anti-Matter counterpart.
For eons, he collected his strength by feeding off of the evil energy of the Anti-Matter Universe. He took Qward by sheer force and established the Thunderers and Shadows his legion of troops that would help him conquer the Positive Matter Universe after he sensed his twin’s presence. What followed was a million-year conflict which saw both entities exhaust their powers and enter a 9-billion-year hibernation period where they obscured to myth.
It was only when Kell Mossa followed in Krona’s footsteps that these twin entities were released once again; only this time, the Anti-Monitor had the upper hand. Mossa used an Anti-Matter Chamber to view the creation of the universe and saw the same hand that Krona had seen, or so he thought because it turned out to be the Anti-Monitor’s hand and served as a premonition.
Now freed, he resumed his onslaught on the Positive Universe and journeyed to the Dawn of Time, altering DC continuity twice; once during the Crises on Infinite Earths and then the Infinite Crises.
It was only possible because of his ridiculous powers and abilities. Throughout his immortal existence, the Anti-Monitor has absorbed the cosmic energy of countless universities giving him unparalleled strength, invulnerability, and nigh-indestructible physiology.
He can shoot Anti-Matter Blasts that unmake matter at its most fundamental level, effectively disintegrating anything it touches. He can absorb and manipulate energy, create any constructs he wishes to, and can even alter reality itself.
His power scale is so off the charts that he managed to drag the Earth into the Anti-Matter Universe and was used as the power source for the Black Lantern Central Power Battery by Nekron in the aftermath of the Sinestro Corps War. Though he turns up in only a few issues, the Anti-Monitor is right up there with the most iconic Green Lantern and JLA villains of all time.
Hector Hammond
Does Hector Hammond have the biggest head in comic book history? That’s an answer he and M.O.D.O.K have to figure out. Regardless of that, Hammond is one of the formative villains of Green Lantern’s rogues’ gallery and has persisted as an archenemy of Hal Jordan and even the Flash for several decades.
He used to be a petty criminal and was on the run when he encountered fragments from a strange meteorite that triggered rapid evolution in biological beings and was also responsible (after the requisite retconning) for Gorilla Grodd’s powers. He kidnapped 4 scientists, exposing them to this radiation and using their advanced intellect to fashion inventions that made him ultra-rich almost overnight.
He used his newfound fame and wealth to attack the Green Lantern but was defeated, after which he exposed himself to the fragment. Though he gained vast psionic powers and functional immortality, he was left incapacitated due to the massive size of his head and could no longer speak or dream.
Vowing vengeance, he commenced on his criminal quest to bring down the JLA. His Post-Crisis origins are much the same, except in this story, his cause for seeking power was his desperate need to impress Carol Ferris. In this version, the meteorite was sent by the Krotoleans who would later abduct Hammond and further experiment on him to harness his powers for their own ends.
Hector is one of the best telekinesis users in the universe, capable of acute precision with his “movements”. His telepathic powers allowed him to mentally control sentient beings and even high-order animals in his vicinity. He can project powerful psionic blasts and can cast illusions realistic enough to trick Superman.
At one point, he was possessed by the Avarice Entity Ophidian and got access to the powers of an Orange Lantern. Hector Hammond was also one of the first beings to sense Krona’s coming. Though he has recently exhibited a rather heart-wrenching streak of redemption, it cannot be denied that for many years, Hector Hammond was the figurehead of Green Lantern’s pantheon of enemies.
Larfleeze
And we close off this list with a guy who is so greedy, that even the literal embodiment of greed cannot outmatch him; they’re co-dependent. Out of all the characters we’ve talked about so far, Larfleeze has perhaps the most misunderstood, tragic, and obscure backstory. Partly because we’re never shown what it really is.
Countless millennia ago, Larfleeze’s peaceful agrarian people were attacked by an invading force and he himself was enslaved and forced to mate with someone from his captives’ race. After torturous plotting and scheming, he was able to escape from captivity and make off with 4 companions from his guild who planned to pull off the greatest heist in the universe now that they’d gained their freedom.
They raided Maltus and made off with many treasures, including the box that contained Parallax and a mysterious map. Arriving at the map’s location, they discovered the Orange Lantern Power Battery and immediately began fighting with each other to death over it.
Only 2 remained standing when the Guardians arrive with their Manhunters and a proposal: if Parallax was returned to them, the two combatants could claim the Orange Battery for themselves. The only catch was, that one of them had to die. In the end, the Lantern ended up in Larfleeze’s possession, who went on to create the Orange Lantern Corps on Okaara and bask in the essence of avarice for billions of years before coming into contact with the Sinestro and Green Lantern Corps.
Being so consumed by the power of Ophidian, Larfleeze doesn’t need a Lantern to recharge his Power Ring, has complete mastery over the ring’s abilities, and can create more Corps members at will; since the Orange, Lanterns are merely energy beings that resemble his victims. Larfleeze has an incredible sense of smell, sniffing out the Guardians’ arrival to Okaara before they landed and when he was underground.
His greed has also driven him insane, making his memory dubious at best. As such, Larfleeze is not the most reliable ally, something he proves during the events of Brightest Day & Blackest Night. Still, considering the fact that he has god-like powers and an appetite that would put Galactus to shame, it’s kind of comforting to know that Agent Orange shares our skepticism of Father Christmas and has a backstory that actually adds depth and a modicum of logic to his villainous arc.