The Green Lantern Corps Was Formed To Wage War on Darkseid

A forgotten part of DC Comics history is that the Green Lantern Corps were actually formed to wage war on Darkseid and Apokolips. This epic story was told in the 80-page issue from 2000 called Lantern Against the Dark, written by Scott Beatty and featuring the art of Graham Nolan, Mark Pennington, Michael Lily, and many more.

Hearing about a lost Green Lantern that once challenged Darkseid, Orion and Kyle Rayner travel to New Genesis to learn more. Unfortunately, Darkseid’s minion Desaad intercepts them. Weakened and trying to escape, the pair actually encounter this long forgotten Lantern, Raker Qarrigat, who tells them his story. Raker had traveled to Apokolips when there were only a small handful of Green Lanterns patrolling the universe. The forgotten Lantern had confronted Darkseid, claiming that his ring is the most powerful weapon in the universe. In response, Darkseid crushed the ring and broke Raker's hand in the process.

Related: Flash Proved Green Lanterns Are Using Their Rings All Wrong

Raker retreats to Oa, where he implores the Guardians to beef up their numbers. Specifically, three-thousand six hundred, or one for each sector under their protection. Raker undergoes a massive recruitment drive in just two years, and the Guardians assign him leader of the Corp. They march on Apokolips as an army, but Darkseid is ready for them. He had given the power ring he crushed to Desaad, who discovered the ring’s weakness to the color yellow. Darkseid covers his army and weapons in the color. He even wears yellow himself (which is not his most flattering look).

Two thirds of the Lanterns are decimated in the first assault. Raker rallies the survivors for a counterattack, but the Guardians show up and broker a surprising truce with Darkseid. Unfortunately, the Guardians feel this failure would harm their mission, so they expunge all memory of the war from the Lanterns’ minds. This also means Raker was left on Apokolips as Darkseid’s spoil of war.

The fact that the Green Lantern Corps were first drafted as an army and not a police force is an incredibly important detail of DC history that has been lost to time. Even the Guardians themselves wonder about the ramifications of recruiting so many soldiers so quickly, but they feel Darkseid is too big a threat and decide to worry about the consequences later. Of course, the Guardians are too prideful to ever admit this to anyone. Darkseid is still aware of the truth, but knowing him, he’s probably not too keen on updating DC’s history books with this chapter involving Green Lantern Corps.

Next: Green Lantern Rings Originally Had The Power of An Infinity Stone