Black Lantern Corps

The Black Lantern Corps is a supervillainous organization of corporeal revenants (resembling intelligent zombies or jiangshi) appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, related to the emotional spectrum. The group is composed of deceased fictional characters in zombie form that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.

Prior to the Blackest Night event, Black Hand (the "leader" and first member of the Black Lantern Corps) had already been established as a villain within the pages of Green Lantern. Writer Geoff Johns revisited his origin and expanded upon certain aspects of it during the Green Lantern: Secret Origin story arc (2008). During the arc, Hand's energy-absorbing weapon (previously thought to be an original invention) is revealed to have been constructed by Atrocitus, enemy of the Guardians of the Universe and future founder of the Red Lantern Corps. Atrocitus comes to Earth and approaches Hand, recognizing him as a "doorway to the black" that possesses the power to bring about the Blackest Night. Hand manages to escape and pockets the weapon as he flees. The possession of this weapon soon leads him to become an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps, as he now feels a need to extinguish the light of the emotional spectrum.

While being transported to prison, Black Hand experiences a sudden power surge that kills his captors. He roams the desert, hearing a voice instructing him to reclaim the souls of characters who were reanimated. Hand murders his family and commits suicide. The Guardian Scar arrives, and creates the first black power ring, which reanimates Black Hand. She reveals that Hand is the physical embodiment of death, and serves as the avatar of the Black Lantern Corps in the same manner that Ion, Parallax, and the Predator are for willpower, fear, and love respectively. Hand later digs up Bruce Wayne's corpse, removes his skull, and recites the Black Lantern oath for the first time. Soon after, black power rings descend upon the universe and begin reviving the deceased as Black Lanterns that attack both the heroes and the villains of the DC Universe.

In Blackest Night #3, Indigo-1 describes the premise behind the Black Lantern Corps' relationship with the universe. She explains that the darkness in existence before the creation of the universe is what powers the Black Lanterns. Banished at the dawn of time by the white light of creation, its fighting back causes the white light to be fractured into the emotional spectrum. The events transpiring throughout the titles of Blackest Night are a result of the darkness fighting back against creation. She goes on to describe how a combination of all seven lights can restore the white light of creation and bring an end to the Black Lanterns. Throughout the Blackest Night event, each time a Black Lantern successfully removes the heart of one of their victims, a black, lantern-shaped speech balloon depicts an ever-rising power level increasing in increments of 0.1 percent. In Blackest Night #4, the power meter is filled and Scar is able to summon Nekron.

After being introduced into a primary role within the Blackest Night event, Indigo-1 recruits Hal Jordan to gather a team capable of recreating the white light of creation (chosen for having a personal connection to the most powerful members of the five remaining Corps). The story unfolding in Green Lantern depicts Jordan and Indigo-1 recruiting Carol Ferris, Sinestro, Atrocitus, Larfleeze, and Saint Walker, to their purpose. In Blackest Night #5, the team assaults the Black Central Power Battery with the opposite results intended. Nekron is strengthened and able to recruit living characters reanimated from death to his Black Lantern Corps. Although the seven Corps representatives attempt to summon aid by recruiting temporary deputies until the rest of their Corps arrive - Ganthet joins the Green Lantern Corps, Barry Allen joins the Blue Lanterns, Lex Luthor is inducted into the Orange Lanterns, the Scarecrow joins the Sinestro Corps, the Atom joins the Indigo Tribe, Mera joins the Red Lanterns, and Wonder Woman is saved from her Black Lantern identity to join the Star Sapphires - they are nearly thwarted when Nekron attempts to kill the Life Entity, the first life in the universe. After Sinestro attempts and fails to merge with the entity, Hal takes control of the Entity himself, noting that the heroes still chose to return to life even if Nekron gave them the opportunity. With this behind him, Hal merges with the entity and frees the reanimated heroes from Nekron's hold, creating the White Lantern Corps in the process, and subsequently reanimates Black Hand and the Anti-Monitor to deprive Nekron of his tether in the living world and his power source. The White Lanterns use the power of the White Light to vanquish Nekron and the Black Lanterns.

Though seemingly destroyed, an aspect of the Black Lanterns returns within Firestorm (Ronnie Raymond), claiming the name Deathstorm. While Deathstorm intends to destroy the White Lantern power battery to kill all life in the universe, a voice commands him not to do so. Instead, it orders Deathstorm to bring it an army so it can command the power of life itself. The White Lantern Power Battery in conjunction with Deathstorm creates Black Lantern versions of the twelve heroes and villains who were resurrected at the end of Blackest Night. After Deathstorm steals the White Lantern, he and Firestorm are transported to Qward by the Anti-Monitor, revealed to be behind the return of the Black Lanterns. However, the Black Lanterns are destroyed by Firestorm.

At San Diego Comic-Con in 2009, Geoff Johns discussed his reasoning behind choosing Black Hand as the leader of the new Corps, the character properties of the Black Lanterns, and his own goals in writing their depictions. Commenting on the characters being chosen to reanimate during Blackest Night, Johns said:

The black rings aren't about who's dead; the black rings are about who's alive. So, scenes like Elongated Man and Sue Dibny taking on Hawkman and Hawkgirl is kind of the beginning of that emotional conflict and terror that you'll see throughout Blackest Night. So the black rings are, again, seeking out the dead that matter to our heroes.