Book of Oa #1: The History of the Green Lantern Corps

The History of the Green Lantern Corps

And All You Need To Know To Be Caught Up With #50

The history of the Green Lantern Corps is long and storied, with many adventures and threats rising up during their tenure as protectors of the universe. Be them threats of the Guardians of the Universe's own making, like the Manhunters or the treacherous first Green Lantern Parallax, or threats that roam the space ways like Evil Star, the Red Lantern Corps or their enemies-turned-allies the Star Sapphires. 

This special offers a glimpse into the timeline of the Green Lantern Corps, covering their inception to the present day, focusing on the Green Lanterns of Sector 2814, starting with Abin Sur, the Lantern who inducted Hal Jordan into the Corps. With Hal's induction, a deadly chapter of the Green Lantern Corps' history was closed, and a brand new one was opened...


Due to their highly scientific nature, the Malthusian race gain immortality after ending poverty, sickness and eventually death.

The female Malthusians renounced their past and leave Malthus after disagreements with their male counterparts. They take the name Zamorans, after the planet they decided to colonise.

A faction of 140 male Malthusians rename themselves “The Scholars”, and dedicate their immortal lives to the gathering of hidden information.

During their quest, the Scholar known as Krona activates a machine that pierces the veil of time to when the universe was created. Krona watches as a giant hand grips the universe and cannot take his eyes off the sight, allowing the energies of creation to flow through the machine and wreak havoc across the universe. In an instant, entire civilizations were destroyed, planets exploded and stars went nova. Some future races would never be born, and some that were never meant to be,
would eventually show signs of life.

Krona is lost in the aftermath.

In an effort to help the countless races ruined by their brother’s experimentation and police the chaos created in the aftermath, the Scholars create a robotic force known as the ‘Manhunters’.

The Manhunters police the galaxy for seven billion years before their programming is corrupted by the fact that their mission never ends. To end the chaos, they decide to kill every living thing in the galaxy.*



Malthus is ravaged by a Manhunter attack. Having grown complacent in their immortality, millions of Malthusians are killed, having forgotten that just because they no longer age, that does not mean they cannot be killed.

The 126 surviving Scholars journey to the centre of the universe and rebuild their society on the lush, forest planet known as Oa, while the surviving Malthusians rebuild on the dead planet of Malthus.

Within the core of Oa a great energy source existed, the fiery emerald well of will, and in an effort to put an end to the Manhunter threat, the Scholars—now referring to themselves as Oans-- forged a single emerald power ring that held a fraction of the infinite power within Oa, directly from the emerald fires.

After scouring the universe, the Oans gave the first ring to the being known as Parallax, a man whose imagination and will power could manipulate the ring’s energies and wield it efficiently.

Parallax proved a worthy agent of the Oans and wielded the power beyond their expectations, wiping the Manhunter threat from the universe.

Parallax soon became corrupted by the amount of power he held, and decided that he wanted all the power the Oans had under the surface of their world.

Having seen that yet another of their peace keeping forces had gone rogue, the Oans went to work on creating a power that could battle their former agent. They built a Central Power Battery and were able to tap directly into the energies within, becoming living conduits for the energy.

Parallax attacked Oa and slaughtered the contingent of Oans sent to lure him to the Central Power Battery. In an act of spite he burned down the forests, boiled the oceans and ravaged the planet in its entirety. When he was done, all that was left was the Central Power Battery and the surviving Oans.

The surviving 63 Oans seek to prevent Parallax from entering the Central Power Battery, where the energy coalesced, but fail-- Just as they hoped. The Oans gather all of their power and focus their will into the battery and Parallax is absorbed into the emerald fires of the planet core, finally ending his threat. The strain of the energy transfer has a horrible side effect on the Oans. 27 of them are killed and 36 survivors become weak and withered. The only remnant the surviving Oans find of Parallax is the indestructible ring.

The Oans decide to never give so much power out to their agents and agree to form the Green Lantern Corps. They create new rings, with two weaknesses in each: The rings can only hold a 24 hour charge and are vulnerable to the colour yellow, in remembrance for their deadly enemy Parallax and the Oans he slaughtered.

The Guardians divide the Universe into 3,600 sectors. Each sector beginning at Oa, and moving outward in a cone shape. Each Guardian oversees 100 sectors. One being is chosen from each sector to wear a ring of power. That being, aside from having great willpower, must also be both fearless.


The Maltusians of old, now known as the Guardians of the Universe, have created something that will stand the test of time. The Green Lantern Corps were born.*



Abin Sur is born.


Thaal Sinestro is born.


John Stewart is born.


Hal Jordan is born.

Guy Gardner is born.


Hank Henshaw is born.


Katma Tui is born.


Chloe Sullivan is born.


Martin Jordan dies when his airplane malfunctions. In his final moments he directs the plane away from the crowds at Ferris Air and dies in the resulting explosion.*



Arisia Rrab is born.


Kyle Rayner is born.


Batman debuts and operates in the shadows of Gotham City.


Superman debuts, beginning the new age of superheroism.



Katma Tui is handpicked by Sinestro to be his Sector partner.

In the Anti-Matter universe, the Qwardian scientist Vestry the Thinker develops the biological weapon known as “Legion”, a living virus that is designed to corrupt an Oan Power Ring.

Legion is given to the Qwardian Thunderer Gnaxos and he is sent to the Matter Universe to infect Sinestro, a Green Lantern who had repeatedly clashed with the Qwardians and put an end to their schemes.

Gnaxos infects Sinestro with the Legion Virus and the former is killed for his troubles.

Sinestro goes on to infect the majority of the Green Lantern Corps with the Legion Virus, creating an army of yellow-ringed Lanterns with only one thought on their mind: Assimilate or destroy.*


Abin Sur is mortally injured in a confrontation with Sinestro and barely escapes with his life. He is forced to activate his ship’s hyper-drive after the guidance systems are wrecked by Sinestro, landing on the planet Earth.*


Hal Jordan is inducted into the Green Lantern Corps*.


After Hal and Sinestro battle, the latter is shot in the head by Guy Gardner and left for dead.

Guy Gardner takes Sinestro’s ring as his own and is corrupted by Legion.*


An injured Sinestro is taken in by the Department of Extra-Normal Operations (DEO)*.


The Honour Lanterns of the Green Lantern Corps journey to Qward to end the threat of Legion once and for all, which Hal manages to do by plunging into a Yellow Central Power Battery built to power the Legion-infected Green Lanterns.

In the aftermath, Guy Gardner is now the sole possessor of a Legion-infected ring, and escapes back into the Positive Matter Universe*.


Two months later, the Central Power Battery is destroyed by a brainwashed Green Lantern from Apokolips, allowing the returned Manhunters and their Grandmaster to take up residence on Oa.

Hal Jordan’s ring, irrevocably changed when he entered the yellow Central Power Battery, remains active in the aftermath, while the rest of the Corps’ rings are rendered powerless.*


Sinestro awakens from his coma and is kept captive by the DEO.*


The Guardians of the Universe place their energies (and selves) inside a seemingly normal human being called Kyle Rayner, and he becomes their Torchbearer, Ion.*



Sinestro is broken out of the Area 51 holding facility by an unknown force, later revealed to be a Parallax possessed Alex Nero.

Chloe Sullivan and Hal Jordan have a one night stand.

The morning after, a possessed Sinestro kidnaps Chloe Sullivan.*


Alex Nero/Parallax reveals to Chloe Sullivan that he wants Kyle Rayner*, the Torchbearer.


Alex Nero battles Hal Jordan and Jordan is possessed by Parallax.

Hal Jordan/Parallax battles Kyle Rayner and Rayner breaks Parallax’s hold over Jordan.

Kyle Rayner defeats Alex Nero/Parallax. The former is left comatose while the latter escapes to fight another day.*


To continue Parallax’s crusade against good, a corrupted Sinestro is made to join Lex Luthor’s Society in the wake of the Justice League vs America incident in which the US government turns against the Justice League.


Sinestro battles Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, and is defeated.*


The Zamorans make themselves known to Hal Jordan, selecting Jillian Pearlman as their latest Star Sapphire.*


Jessica Jordan, Hal’s mother, dies after an extended battle with cancer.*


Kyle Rayner starts dating Donna Troy of the Teen Titans*


Mongul escapes from his prison beneath Mars and after battling Hal and Kyle, escapes to parts unknown in a stolen Martian spacecraft.*


Hank Henshaw is unexpectedly inducted into the Green Lantern Corps.*


Green Lantern Corps, with assistance from Kyle Rayner and the still-Legion infected (though temporarily mellowed) Guy Gardner, take back Oa from the Manhunters and their Grandmaster, revealed to be Krona* and Kyle Rayner reignites the Central Power Battery, seemingly at the cost of his own life. Krona is dispersed across the universe.


With the Green Lantern Corps reassembled, the Star Sapphires send Jillian Pearlman to kill Hal, who instead defeats their champion. The Star Sapphires warn Hal this isn’t the end of their conflict.*

Green Lantern #29 (#40) Green Lantern V2 #1 (#41)

Guy Gardner is finally overwhelmed completely by Legion and attacks Hal, infecting him with the disease. He is finally freed from Legion’s influence, and his ring inducts him into the Green Lantern Corps. Guy stops Hal from infecting the Central Power Battery on Oa.

Chloe Sullivan gives birth to hers and Hal’s daughter, who she names Jessica, after Hal’s mother.*



Hank is given the role of Green Lantern 2814.1 and Guy the role of 2814.2 while Hal is on quarantine on Oa following his exposure to the Legion virus.

Hank is killed when Mongul attacks Coast City. He is exposed to the Purple Healing Ray by Wonder Woman, but to no avail, he dies.

John Stewart is chosen as Hank’s successor, but before the induction process can begin, the ring runs out of charge.*


Hal is returned to duty and tracks down Mongul with Guy, bringing him to justice for Hank’s murder.

After returning to Earth Hal meets his daughter.

Guy tracks down Hank’s ring and meets John for the first time.

On Zamoran, the entity known as ‘the Predator’ has escaped.*


Alex Nero is rescued by Parallax from the secure psychiatric unit he had been placed in after his initial possession.

Sinestro finally escapes from Parallax’s clutches and seemingly dies in the aftermath.*


The Zamorans are confronted by the Predator (who has taken up residence in a resurrected Hank Henshaw’s body after his exposure to the Purple Healing Ray) who then takes control of the Star Sapphire Corps.

Carol Ferris is haunted by a 'ghostly' visage of Hank Henshaw.

John Stewart reports to Oa for basic training.*


Hal, Chloe and Jess visit Adam, Alanna and Aleea Strange on Rann via Zeta Beam.

Jim Jordan’s car is flipped off the road by the Predator, with Jim and son Howard inside. Jim’s spine is severed and his legs rendered useless while Howard is also injured, though not to the same extent.

When the Predator attacks Rannagar, Adam and Hal confront him, but the Zeta Beam effect fades and Hal, Chloe and Jess return to Earth as the Predator destroys Rannagar.*


Hal confronts the Predator on Zamoran, who reveals himself to be resurrected Hank Henshaw, who blames Hal for his death at the hands of Mongul.

The Predator tells Hal he’s going to take away the love from his life, but when Hal vows to stop him the Predator fades away, revealing himself to be a construct. The real Predator is already on Earth, about to attack Chloe and Jessica.*


Hal reaches Smallville too late, Chloe is dead and Jessica gone. Hal pushes his ring beyond known parameters and is able to bring Chloe back to life.

Guy confronts the Predator and is beaten within an inch of his life. Unknown to anyone, the Predator places a shard of itself inside Guy.

Kilowog is killed by the Predator.

The Predator casts baby Jessica into through a hole in reality, seemingly to her death.

Hal separates the Predator from Hank’s body at the cost of his ring, and is shocked when Hank has no memory of the Predator and his actions.

The Guardians tell Hal they cannot locate his daughter and Hal quits the Corps.*



John Stewart is the sole Green Lantern of Earth and has been for a year. 

John prevents the mass outbreak of a mutagenic compound that transforms humans into plant-human hybrids a la Solomon Grundy.

The long thought dead Adam Strange returns to Earth via Boom Tube, followed by a legion of Parademons and the New God Devilance the Pursuer.*


John defeats the Apokoliptikian forces, and Adam reveals that the people of Rann survived the destructive fury of the Predator, but were kidnapped by Apokolips.

John journeys to what he thinks is Apokolips via Boom Tube to rescue the Rannians.*


John rescues the people of Rann and discovers that what he previously thought was Apokolips was in fact War World, ruled over by a puppet leader in Grayven.

The true ruler of War World is Desaad, who, when John shuts down War World’s engines, is engulfed by the Omega Sanction.*


In the aftermath of their daughter's disappearance, Hal hasn't seen Chloe and is spending most of his time at the bottom of a bottle.

The Guardians of the Universe and the Zamorans have ascended to a higher plain of existence leaving Salaak and an elite council in charge of the Green Lantern Corps.

The Star Sapphires have taken up residence on Oa, an unsteady alliance between them and the Green Lantern Corps in place.

Guy, teaming with Arisia Rrab, clashes with Star Sapphires in the pursuit of a suspect. Guy is experiencing wild mood swings and violent behaviour.

Hank is imprisoned under Oa in a secret prison for so-called 'Inversions', their number including his own killer, Mongul.

An old war buddy of John's, Senator Bradley Roth, meets him at his place of work to discuss a business proposition. At the end of their meeting Alex Nero arrives and unleashes a chaotic onslaught of energy on the building, bringing it down over their heads.

Kyle and Sinestro, as well as a baby they have no idea is Jessica, are revealed to be alive in the Forbidden Sectors of space.

A legion of Red Lanterns emerge from a tear in space dubbed 'the Crimson Scar'. The scar, unbeknownst to those present, is actually a portal through time.*

Arisia, Guy, John, Hal, Sinestro and the Star Sapphires return to Oa ready to face the Red Lanterns.

The Inversions have escaped their cells under Oa and have reprogrammed the Manhunter guards to attack the Green Lantern Corps.

John and Sinestro journey into the Inversions' prison and with the help of Hank Henshaw quash a prison escape.

John is killed and Hank is inducted back into the Corps, but thanks to Sinestro's quick thinking and the fact that John's personality had been uploaded to Hank's ring, they're able to return him to life.

In the aftermath, Hank is reinducted to the Green Lantern Corps when the Manhunters return to the prison, and John is ejected back to the surface of Oa.

Atrocitus reaches Oa with the Red Lantern Corps, and the Green Lantern Corps stand at the ready!*