Power ring (DC Comics)

File:Powerrings.jpg

Three of the four (Alan Scott's Starheart powered ring exlcuded) known variants of the power ring: Zamaron (magenta), Oan (green), and Qwardian (yellow).

This article is about the Green Lantern Corps weapon. For the comic book characters, see Power Ring (character).

A power ring is a weapon in the DC Universe, most notably used by the Green Lantern Corps. These rings are considered to be the most powerful weapons in this fictional universe, as its effects are limited only by the imagination of its wielder.

The three major variants of power rings are the Green Lantern/Oan ("will power"), Qwardian ("fear"), and Zamaron ("love"). The Zamaron's display includes all three known power rings with room for four other variants. The finale to of The Sinestro Corps War identifies them as red ("hatred"), indigo ("compassion"), orange ("greed"), and blue ("hope"). A black power ring is also indicated by a black power battery.

Green Lantern Corps

Origin

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The Green Lantern Corps' Weapon.

The self-appointed Guardians of the Universe, possibly the oldest sentient race in the DC Universe, have held several campaigns over their enormously long existence in an attempt to police and bring order to the universe. Their most successful and enduring campaign so far has been the Green Lantern Corps. Dividing space into 3600 sectors, they have currently assigned two Green Lanterns to patrol each sector. To help perform his, her, or its duties, each member of the Green Lantern Corps is armed with a power ring. Power rings are staggeringly advanced technological artifacts capable of generating a variety of effects, sustained by the wearer's strength of will.

Normally, an individual will only receive a power ring upon the death of the previous wielder, and then only if they pass the criteria for membership in the Corps. It is extremely unusual for someone to wield more than one power ring at once.

Capabilities

The power ring has been shown capable of accomplishing virtually anything within the imagination of the one wearing it; the greater the user's willpower, the more effective the ring. No hard upper limit to the power ring's capabilities has yet been demonstrated and it is often referred to as "the most powerful weapon in the universe".

Power rings allow the user to fly and to cover themselves and others with a protective, life-supporting force field, suitable for traveling through outer space, underwater and so on. The ring also generates its wearer's Green Lantern uniform; the uniform is not made out of fabric. It is created by the Power Ring whenever the wearer wills to wear it. It automatically appears over the wearer's normal clothing, and vanishes when the wearer wills to return to their civilian attire.

The power ring's most distinctive effect is the generation of green 'solid-light' constructs, the precise physical nature of which has never been specified. The size, complexity and strength of these 'solid-light' constructs is limited only by the ring-bearer's willpower. Thus Green Lanterns are often seen creating cages, transportation platforms, restraints, weapons, walls, battering rams, vehicles, tools, boxing gloves, etc. The style of construct varies with the character and mindset of the person wielding the ring. Hal Jordan tends to create solid, workmanlike constructs; John Stewart's constructs are almost like three-dimensional blueprints, with carefully-designed internal workings, as he is an architect by trade; Kyle Rayner, a comic book artist, uses the ring as an imaginative outlet, envisioning cartoonish and often highly detailed constructs. Guy Gardner's ring is constantly sparking, even at rest, and his creations are simple, and often blurred by the excess energy his willpower causes. The alien Kilowog's ring, for reasons yet revealed is, according to Hal, "The only one that makes a sound". Kilowog unleashing his power ring is often accompanied by a loud sonic boom.

Power rings are capable of generating electromagnetic radiation of various frequencies. This radiation can be focused by the wearer into a beam, similar in appearance and effect to a massively powerful laser. The ring can also scan for energy signatures or particular objects and often serves as a universal translator. Less frequently used capabilities include splitting atomic nuclei and manipulating subatomic particles (thereby transmuting chemical elements). A power ring is also capable of creating new, fully functional duplicates of itself. Each of these duplicates shares the qualities and capabilities of the original ring; however, each duplicate still requires recharging by a power battery.

Power rings usually have to be worn to be effective. However, it has occasionally been shown to be possible to wield (or at least summon) the ring without touching it, or while somebody else is wearing it, or to order it to carry out commands automatically after being removed. Power rings also appear to be highly advanced computers, able to talk to and advise the wearer as to various courses of action; the ring of a killed Green Lantern will automatically seek out a suitable replacement Lantern.

The requirements needed to wield a power ring have changed sporadically across the years, often creating continuity confusions. Allowing power rings to fall into the wrong hands has been a favorite plot device in many previous Green Lantern stories, since in general, power rings can be wielded by whoever wears them. However, as of Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004), it seems that only people with exceptional wills can use power rings, a restriction which makes uses of the rings by average individuals improbable. It remains to be seen whether or not power rings will be kept out of the hands of average people in the future.

In some versions, a power ring can only be used by someone who literally has no concept of fear and is completely honest. Sometimes this is treated as just a recommendation.

Some power rings have been shown to have genetic 'locks' allowing use only by their designated owner, such as Kyle Rayner's, which could only be used by him or his descendants. Although this does provide a good level of security, villains have found ways around it, such as the Manhunters who used tissue samples to make the ring think it was still on Kyle's hand (Green Lantern v3 #130).

Limitations

Power rings typically hold a limited charge. Originally, they required recharging every 24 hours, but more recently it seems that they possess a fixed amount of regular charge. Power rings are usually recharged by a Green Lantern's personal power battery, which looks like an old fashioned lantern made of dark green metal. The user typically points the ring towards the lantern, and usually gives a Green Lantern oath (below) while recharging the ring. These batteries are directly linked to the Central Power Battery on Oa and do not themselves need recharging.

Green Lantern Corps rings typically reserve a small portion of their power for a passive force field that "protects the wielder from mortal harm". In dire emergencies, that energy reserve can be tapped, at the expense of said protection, until it too is exhausted.

For a very long time, power rings were unable to affect objects colored yellow. Lanterns have typically found ways to get around these limitations by affecting objects indirectly. For example, if the Lantern is faced with a yellow gas approaching him, a fan can be created to blow it away since the fan only directly affects the normal air around it, not the gas. Originally, it was believed that the "yellow impurity" was implanted deliberately because the Guardians wanted the rings to have a weakness to prevent a Green Lantern from becoming all-powerful. More recent events have revealed that the "yellow impurity" was in fact caused by a yellow energy being, named Parallax, made of pure fear imprisoned in the Central Power Battery. Following the defeat of this creature during Green Lantern: Rebirth (2004), an experienced wielder of a power ring can, with effort, overcome the yellow weakness by recognizing the fear behind it, and facing that fear.

By far, the most significant limitation of the power ring is the willpower of the wielder. Mind control, hallucinogens, psychic attacks, "neural chaff" and other phenomena that disrupt thought processes will all indirectly impair a power ring's effectiveness. More abstractly, so can a weakening of resolve and will. For example, during the Millennium crossover, Hal Jordan fights a Manhunter who psychologically attacks him, to make him doubt that the people he is protecting value the principles he is fighting for. Jordan's resolve begins to weaken and his ring loses effectiveness until one of his charges strikes the Manhunter, declaring that she does deeply value Jordan's principles as well. With this dramatic affirmation, Jordan's faith in his cause is restored and the ring instantly returns to full power. The ring, though, does have some psychic defenses: Guy Gardner's ring apparently is able to put up psi-shields around him and Blue Beetle in their battle against the Ultra-Humanite.

In the current incarnation of the Corps, the ring is programmed to prevent the wielder from using it to kill sentient beings, a recent limitation as Hal Jordan used power rings to kill a number of Corps members during Emerald Twilight (although whether or not Hal, together with the influence of Parallax, simply had the willpower to overcome this limitation is uncertain). Any attempt will be diverted by the ring, and in some cases may result in the ring locking out the user. However, this restriction was rescinded by the Guardians to combat the Sinestro Corps.

In Green Lantern: Rebirth it is revealed that only a certain type of willpower can use the ring effectively, or rather, that the willpower must be pure. Examples are Green Arrow's attempt to use Hal's ring leave him exhausted due to his will being marred by cynicism.

Oaths

All power rings need periodic recharging. The process is not instantaneous, so many Green Lanterns recite an oath while the ring charges. The oath is not required to charge the ring, but is recited to reaffirm the person's commitment to the Green Lantern Corps, and to measure the time it takes the ring to charge.

While many Green Lanterns create their own oath, the majority use Hal Jordan's oath as a sign of respect:

In brightest day, in blackest night,

No evil shall escape my sight!

Let those who worship evil's might,

Beware my power... Green Lantern's light!

In the interests of political correctness on the part of DC (or, in context, Hal Jordan), the word "blackest" is often replaced by "darkest", especially in more recent comics.

Kyle Rayner

After the destruction of Coast City during the "Reign of the Supermen!" story arc, Green Lantern Hal Jordan goes mad and betrays the Corps. He kills most of the Corps on his way to Oa, enters the Central Power Battery, and absorbs most of its energies along with the yellow impurity to become the villain Parallax. With the Central Power Battery destroyed, all the remaining power rings stop working. In desperation Ganthet, the only surviving Guardian, uses what little power remained to create a new power ring and gave it to Kyle Rayner.

Kyle's ring is unique throughout the history of the Green Lantern Corps, and, for a while, the only working power ring throughout the universe. This ring is not dependent on the Central Power Battery, and free from the yellow impurity. However, the ring does not prevent mortal damage automatically. The ring no longer needs to be charged every 24 hours; instead, it depends on how much power the ring absorbs and/or uses. For example, after the destruction of Oa, Kyle's ring has more power than ever before and does not need to be recharged for an extended period of time. Unlike Hal Jordan's ring, it is also unable to make copies of itself.

When a Hal Jordan from the past visits Kyle's time after his own death as Parallax, he gives a copy of his ring to Kyle. Kyle attempts to use the self-replicating ring to restart the Green Lantern Corps, with lackluster results.

During Green Lantern: Rebirth, it is revealed, contrary to popular belief, that Kyle was not chosen at random by Ganthet. Kyle was, in fact, chosen by the ring because he is a "hopeless romantic," someone who believes in second chances. During various encounters with Hal Jordan, Kyle usually wants to believe Jordan is still a hero. He even gave up his ring to Jordan in Green Lantern #0 (1994). After the events of Rebirth, the Parallax entity is once again imprisoned within the Central Power Battery. Since the Corps is now aware of its existence, all ring wielders who remember fear and overcome it can use their ring against yellow.

The Corpse

Members of the "The Corpse" (an elite, top secret black ops division of the Green Lantern Corps) do not use the standard Power ring, instead, they swallow a coin-like disk that gives them all of the powers of a standard ring for a limited time, except that the energy it generates is purple instead of the traditional green.

Sinestro Corps' Qwardian power ring

Main articles: Sinestro and Sinestro Corps

Sinestro

Upon his banishment to the anti-matter universe of Qward, Sinestro acquired a yellow power ring. This power ring could only be recharged by fighting a Green Lantern. The ring was later acquired by Guy Gardner, but as he found out, it only spoke in Sinestro's native language. Sinestro had a ring upon his return in Green Lantern: Rebirth but the details of his acquisition of it are unknown -- the most likely explanation being that Parallax made it for him, as the new Sinestro Corps rings run on fear the same way the Green Lantern rings run on willpower.

Sinestro has been actively recruiting members for the Sinestro Corps, and specifically looking for those who can "instill great fear." Members of the Sinestro Corps are immediately taken to Qward to "...be subjected to psychological and physical reconditioning." The Sinestro Corps also works in sectors much like the Green Lantern Corps.

The Sinestro Corps recently chose Batman as their representative for Sector 2814 (Earth's sector), but Batman's willpower combined with his previous brief exposure to an Oan Power ring allowed him to reject the yellow ring.

Alex Nero

Main article: Nero (DC Comics)

Due to the death of Sinestro, the Qwardians felt that they needed another agent and made a second yellow ring. This ring was first given to the assassin Fatality, but she failed them and they took the ring from her (along with her right hand). The ring was then given to mental patient Alex Nero. Nero was a paranoid schizophrenic who suffered from severe delusions and several bi-polar issues. He was a great artist, but unlike Kyle Rayner, the Green Lantern he would face, he mostly drew horribly vivid scenes of demons and hell. With his severely warped psyche, the ring was incredibly dangerous in his hands. Every demon and monster that he thought was there became real. He was last seen when he faced off against Rayner to claim the power of Ion.

Alex Nero later reappeared in the Ion miniseries impersonating Kyle Rayner.

Zamarons

Main article: Star Sapphire (comics)

After realizing the power of Star Sapphire is too great for them to control, the Zamarons forge a violet power ring out of the Star Sapphire gem. The exact capabilities and limitations of it are unknown at this time.

Blue Power Ring

At the conclusion of the Sinestro Corps War, Guardians of the Universe Ganthet and Sayd create a blue power ring with the emotion of hope. The exact capabilities and limitations of it are unknown at this time.

Power ring variants

Power Ring

Power Ring is also the name of several supervillains from Earth-Three, Earth-3, and the anti-matter universe, usually associated with the Crime Syndicate of America. He has had several incarnations and all have been evil versions of current Green Lanterns, including Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, and John Stewart. Their power rings are cursed with the entity Volthoom, who communicates much like the AI of Corps power rings. Other than that, their powers are mostly similar to the positive-matter power rings.

Starheart

Alan Scott uses a power ring, which uses energy from the Starheart. Before the creation of the corps, the Guardians gathered all the magic they could and imprisoned it in the Starheart. The Starheart found its way to Earth, and met with the power ring and lantern of a banished ex-Green Lantern of Sector 2814. The combined chunk hurtled through the atmosphere and was smelted together into a green rock, which is then forged into a ring by Alan Scott. The limits of this ring's power are currently unknown. Residual effects from wearing it were however passed down to Scott's children, both metahumans, Jade and Obsidian.

Jade was able to tap into the Starheart naturally and use it just like a power ring would, instead of through a ring. For a time, Alan Scott absorbed the Starheart, and he was able to use the power without a ring as the conduit as well. When Jade died, Kyle Rayner absorbed her energy. Rayner can now tap into the Starheart and the Central Power Battery as Ion. The discovery of the Ion entity, a benevolent symbiote feeding on willpower as much as Parallax feeds on fear, and the transfer of the entity to Sodam Yat puts partly in question this assumption.

External links

• Green Lantern Oaths
• Description of the power ring's abilities