Lantern Corps Power Rings: What Sets Them Apart

The Guardians of Oa developed the green power ring, which harnesses willpower. Famous Green Lanterns—Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, Sinestro, Guy Gardner, and John Stewart—wore it. The ring draws power from Oa's central battery. It creates constructs using the wielder's willpower and imagination. If a Green Lantern dies, their ring seeks another wielder with great willpower. Older rings could not affect yellow (fear) constructs, but mastery of fear allows the wearer to bypass this.

All current green power rings use the design of the ring worn by Kyle Rayner, who was the final Green Lantern.

After the Green Lantern Corps banished Sinestro for controlling his homeworld, he went to Qward in the Antimatter Universe. There, Sinestro met the Weaponers of Qward. He convinced them to build the yellow power ring. This weapon uses fear and targets the Green Lanterns' weakness: yellow energy.

Sinestro used these rings to start the Sinestro Corps, a group that instills intense fear. The yellow rings chose them, connecting them to Qward's yellow central power battery. Yellow rings mimic green rings; users create yellow light constructs, energy blasts, and force fields. The ring uniquely instills fear, nearly paralyzing victims with terror. Hope from the blue power ring stops this effect.

Sinestro, Mongul, Arkillo, Amon Sur, Superboy-Prime, the Anti-Monitor, and Cyborg-Superman wielded this ring. Batman and Lex Luthor also briefly used yellow rings.

After the Sinestro Corps War with the Green Lanterns, two Oa guardians formed new Lantern Corps. They built the blue power rings based on hope, forming the Blue Lantern Corps. Blue rings draw the most power. A charged blue ring lets the wearer use limited green ring powers, such as flight, light constructs, and space protection.

Blue power rings reach full potential only near a Green Lantern. Hope needs willpower to work. Blue Lanterns supercharge green power rings, boosting their abilities. Fully powered, blue rings create healing powers. They break people from the Red Lantern Corps. Blue rings generally give hope all around them.

Barry Allen, Nicole Morrison, Hal Jordan, Brother Warth, and Brother Hymn wield these rings.

Red power rings look like green rings, but Red Lanterns use pure rage. Atrocitus, survivor of the Massacre of Sector 666, made the red central battery using blood magic rituals. He forged the red rings from blood and his rage, hardening and crystallizing them. Atrocitus sent the rings out, seeking those with great anger. A red ring binds the wearer, replacing their heart. The ring brainwashes the wearer, filling them with hatred and a need for revenge. Their blood boils, pouring from their mouth constantly.

Red power rings give wielders unique powers. A Red Lantern can vomit plasma corrosive enough to burn through anything, even a Black Lantern. Their rage severely hinders other emotional rings, except blue ones. Red Lanterns resist Black Lantern attacks. Because the ring replaces the heart, it cannot be removed without killing the wearer. If a Red Lantern falls in love, their rage drops, and the ring leaves, causing death.

Atrocitus, Dez, Trevius, Krrk, and Dex-Starr the cat wield these rings.

Greed powered the orange rings. Controllers discovered these rings opposing the Guardians of Oa. They found the orange light on Okaara, believing it would create a force to destroy Green Lanterns. Larfleeze and the Orange Lantern Corps slaughtered them. Larfleeze later met Hal Jordan and wanted his rings. Jordan's blue ring stopped Larfleeze's greed, letting Green Lanterns make a deal to leave him alone.

The orange power ring holds the most raw power. It reaches a charge far exceeding others. These rings absorb constructs from other wielders. Greed consumes the wielder of these rings. The rings also suffer from the blue and violet energy of the Blue Lantern Corps and the Star Sapphires.

Zamarons left Oa. They found a planet they named Zamaron. There, they found a man and a woman's corpses with a powerful crystal between them. The Zamarons called the Star Sapphire this. What the Zamarons thought was true love was actually a parasite feeding on intense love feelings. Realizing this error, the Zamarons built the violet power battery and the Star Sapphire rings. These rings then went into space to find those who loved deeply and lost people close to them. The Corps consists of women, with a few temporary exceptions.

Violet rings offer energy constructs and standard powers. They also heal a little. These rings light up true desires in others. They sense when true love faces trouble. Star Sapphires resist the orange light of greed.

Carol Ferris, Miri Riam, and the Sinestro Corps Lantern Fatality of Sector 1313 are notable Star Sapphires.

The Indigo Tribe uses compassion's power. They found this after Abin Sur freed Nok with indigo light from the planet. The people shaped weapons from this light, filling enemies with regret. Abin Sur helped them make the first indigo power ring. The Indigo Tribe focused on compassion before the Blackest Night, spreading goodwill.

Indigo Tribe members use rings and staffs. They copy other rings' powers and energies—except black or white. This gives them many skills based on the Corps present. Compassion lets them heal others and avoid skilled trackers.

Indigo Ring wearers include Indigo-1, Slorg the Slayer, and John Stewart.

Darkness ruled before the universe began. White light eventually drove it out, but darkness returned. Green Lanterns Sinestro and Hal Jordan tried to stop Red Lantern Atrocitus from taking black power from William Hand. They stopped him, but Hand stole a device from Atrocitus, leading him to become the Black Hand. After the Sinestro Corps War, the Anti-Monitor crashed on a planet with the black central battery.

No one knew the Anti-Monitor was linked to a female Guardian of Oa. Black energy slowly poisoned her. This poisoning caused Black Hand to kill himself. His death released the black power. This allowed rings to spread across the galaxy. He and anyone who died could become Black Lanterns.

Black Lanterns make energy constructs, but they rarely do this. They attack with huge numbers because they regrow lost limbs. They remove hearts from living beings to charge the black central battery. These entities pose a huge threat, yet they cannot defeat the power of life commanded by White Lanterns.

Wearers include The Flying Graysons, Abin Sur, Jonah Hex, Superman of Earth-Two, Black Hand, and a Batman clone.

During the Blackest Night's peak, Sinestro bonded with the Life Entity. Hal Jordan then used this bond to resurrect many dead superheroes as White Lanterns. As the White Lantern Corps, they beat the black power and left the Corps. Kyle Rayner became the last lantern after mastering the emotional spectrum.

White Ring wearers access every emotion's color. This lets them use any power from any Lantern Corps. The ring also lets the wearer become invisible and links them to all life existing.