(Hank Henshaw),
Superman-Prime, the
Anti-Monitor,
Parallax (Kyle Rayner), and
Sinestro. Art by
Ethan Van Sciver. Following his defeat in
Green Lantern: Rebirth, the events of
Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1 see the supervillain
Sinestro retreat to the planet
Qward in the Antimatter Universe. There he amasses an army, the
Sinestro Corps, that he selects based on their ability to "instill great fear". Each member is armed with a yellow power ring, mirroring the green ones of the
Green Lantern Corps. Amongst Sinestro's allies are
Parallax and the resurrected
Anti-Monitor. The Sinestro Corps then launched an all-out assault against the Green Lantern Corps and the universe itself. In
Green Lantern (vol. 4) #21, the heroes
Hal Jordan,
John Stewart and
Guy Gardner attempt to rescue Kyle, but are themselves entrapped, with Hal transported to face Sinestro and his allies. A failed bid to rescue Hal depicted in
Green Lantern (vol. 4) #22 sees surviving members of the Green Lantern Corps forced underground and split into two groups. While one group attempts to free Hal only to find themselves ambushed, the other successfully rescues Ion. They then re-unite with their ambushed comrades and together they escape from Qward back to the positive matter universe. Hal, John, and Guy return to Earth to warn the
Justice League of the Anti-Monitor's return. As the Sinestro Corps spreads out to ambush Green Lanterns across the universe,
Green Lantern (vol. 4) #23 sees the
Guardians decide to rewrite their sacred text, the Book of Oa. They remove a section devoted to a prophecy concerning the "Blackest Night", against the objections of two of their number,
Ganthet and
Sayd. They then add ten new laws, the first of which authorizes the use of lethal force against the Sinestro Corps, while Ganthet and Sayd are expelled from Oa. As the Green Lanterns gather on Oa in preparation for a Sinestro Corps assault, the Sinestro Corps teleport themselves and their Central Power Battery instead to a new
Warworld, their objective revealed to be Earth. Events in
Green Lantern Corps (vol. 2) #16 show Hal informing the Green Lantern Corps of Sinestro's plans.
Green Lantern (vol. 4) #24 continues the story, with Green Lanterns and Sinestro Corps members battling across Earth. Hal manages to free Kyle from Parallax before the entity is imprisoned in their power batteries by Ganthet and Sayd. After John and Guy arrive, the former Guardians reveal to them the prophecy of the "Blackest Night", seen in
Green Lantern (vol. 4) #25. It foretells five more Corps arising, each based on a different color and emotion. After the five corps are established, a "War of Light" will ensue, in which all the corps are destroyed, leading to the "Blackest Night". The Guardians arrive on Earth and appoint
Sodam Yat to be the new Ion. After a lengthy struggle in
New York City, the Sinestro Corps are defeated by the overwhelming numbers against them. One of the Guardians sacrifices himself to send Superman-Prime to an alternate universe, and another,
Scar, suffers a major wound at the hands of the Anti-Monitor, while Hal and Kyle subdue and arrest Sinestro in Coast City. It is learned that 440 Green Lanterns were killed during the course of the war. As seen in
Green Lantern (vol. 4) #25, the Guardians decide to establish the second of the new laws into effect allowing the Green Lantern Corps to overpower the Sinestro Corps. After realizing that the "Blackest Night" prophecy will come to pass, Ganthet and Sayd depart after creating a
blue power ring with the intention of creating their own corps, based on the spreading of
hope to the rest of the universe. The Anti-Monitor's remains, having been blown across the vacuum of space at the battle's climax, land on a dark planet, where they are transformed by an
unknown force into a black power battery. == Origins ==