Black Lantern Corps: Bio, Origin & History

Name: Black Lantern Corps

Founding Members: Black Hand

First Appearance: Green Lantern Volume 4, #25 (January, 2008)

Created By: Geoff Johns, Ian Reiss, Ethan Van Scriver

Did You Know: Many well-known heroes have served as members of the Black Lantern Corps

A Little History

Along with creating many other Lantern groups, Geoff Johns was the chief architect of the Black Lanterns.

Powered by the corpse of the Anti-Monitor and led by the Black Hand, the Black Lanterns are composed of the reanimated corpses of those who have fallen. Each member of the Black Lantern Corps has the power to raise the dead and are fueled by death.

Learning of the prophecy simply called the “Blackest Night” Abin Sur did everything in his power to stop it. Unfortunately, while he believed the prophecy to be true, those closest to him, including many other Lanterns did not believe him. Sadly, Abin Sur was not successful in stopping the prophecy and the Black Lanterns rose.

Nekron, the DC version of death is responsible for the creation of the Black Lanterns. Upon realizing the power within him, the Black Hand killed himself only to rise from the dead. He did this so he may be reanimated as the bearer of Nekron’s power.

As he rose, so to did a bunch of Power Rings. Like the other Power Rings of the Lantern groups, these Rings dispersed through the DC Universe in an attempt to recruit the deceased into their ranks.

“The Blackest Night falls from the skies,

The darkness grows as all light dies,

We crave your hearts and your demise,

By my black hand, the dead shall rise!”