The Green Lantern Corps is an intergalactic police force, but I think that sometimes,
the fact that they are a militaristic organization is greatly glossed over.
For example, most people tend to overlook that there are actually several divisions
of the corps itself.
So, let’s start off with the trainees.
In real world militaries, new recruits are often called greenies, but here…
That’s a bit on the nose.
That’s why they’re insead called the White Circles!
Before a new recruit can be a fully fledged Lantern, the logo on their chest is simply
a white circle.
Hence the name.
In order to prove their worth, White Circles have to endure “Green Lantern Boot Camp”.
Run by Kilowog, the boot camp is an INTENSE war zone filled with explosions and energy
constructs.
If a White Circle is able to survive these agonizing weeks of training, they are given
their symbol and become a complete member of the Green Lantern Corps!
Lanterns are then divided up in pairs for each space sector, but there are some special
exceptions.
For example, Sector 2814 once had the Earth Lanterns that we know and love, Hal Jordan,
Guy Gardner, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner AT THE SAME TIME!
Well I guess when you have intergalactic baddies threatening your planet every single day,
you would need to beef up the security.
Typically, a Lantern is confined to just their sector, much like how police officers are
bound by their jurisdiction, BUT there’s a higher rank in the corps that removes this
restriction, the Honor Guard!
If we’re being honest though, there’s not much else to say about them, they’re
just Green Lanterns without the jurisdictional restrictions.
Above the Honor Guard though is the Alpha Lantern Corps.
These guys are basically the Corps’ Department of Internal Affairs.
They enforce the Green Lantern Corps code of conduct and directly deal with traitors
and crimes committed by their fellow Lanterns.
Members of the Alpha Corps are expected to drop their entire lives and dedicate themselves
to the Corps.
All members of the Alpha Corps have a psychic link to the Book of Oa which holds ALL of
the knowledge of the Guardians.
Their bodies are also linked directly with the Central Power Battery which means that
an Alpha Lantern NEVER has to recharge their ring.
So you might think that the Alpha Lanterns are pretty awesome and the highest rank of
the corps in general, but there’s actually a HIGHER and even more powerful group that’s
so secret that few people even know they exist.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet The Corpse.
These guys are the Green Lantern Blacks Ops and take on the darkest and most deadly missions
of the corps.
Honestly though, you would NOT be able to tell that these guys are part of the Green
Lanterns.
Instead of the traditional uniforms, they wear solid black outfits without even a Green
Lantern symbol.
Heck, these guys don’t even use power rings!
Instead, members of The Corpse ingest small tablets that grant them their black body suit
and the ability to form constructs like a typical power ring, but with purple energy
instead.
So those are the divisions of the Green Lantern Corps, but while I have you here, let’s
talk about some of the special jobs within the Corps itself.
The Bookkeeper of Oa is well… the keeper of the aforementioned Book of Oa.
Usually, the Bookeeper is Green Lantern Salaak, but no matter who is in charge of bookkeeping
at the time, it is ALWAYS a high honor of the Corps.
Finally, we have “Wielder of Ion”.
Each of the Lantern Corps has a different entity of the Emotional Spectrum associated
with them.
For example the Sinestro Corps, there’s Parallax, for the Black Lanterns, it’s Nekron,
and for the Green Lantern Corps, it’s Ion…
The magical green space whale.
For a while, it was believed that Ion was simply a special title for a single member
of the Corps, but in fact, it’s the title of whoever wields this symbiotic entity of
pure willpower.
Again, the magical green space whale.
Most people know of Ion merging with Kyle Rayner because Kyle is basically the most
special lantern ever.
When using Ion’s power, the Green Lantern no longer requires a power battery or even
a power ring to create energy constructs.
Not only that, but they are even more powerful than what a power ring is capable of!
And there you have it!
If you want to know more about or start reading about the Green Lantern Corps, I’d recommend
that you start with Green Lantern: Secret Origins, the New 52 Green Lantern Corps run,
or The Sinestro Corps War.
As always, now it’s time for a vote.
If you’d like to see a video on Hal Jordan, then click on the Green Lantern symbol.
However, if you’d like a video on Sinestro, then click on the Sinestro Corps symbol.
If you’d like to watch a video on the origins of EVERY single Lantern Corps, then click
on this video, but if you’d rather watch a video on Green Lantern, I mean Booster Gold,
then click on this one!