Prelude Green Lanterns
Ash and
Saarek find the Black Central Battery at a reportedly classified location within Sector 666. After touching the battery, Saarek reports that their presence has awakened something. The two are killed when two monstrous hands emerge from below them. In
Green Lantern Corps, a field of asteroids in an unknown region of space is depicted with the colors of the spectrum in the background. The asteroids, which are apparently the remains of the planet Xanshi, are shattered and a large quantity of black power rings move through them.
Central storyline In
Gotham City, Black Hand removes
Bruce Wayne's skull from his grave and carries it with him, and a Black Lantern power battery begins to charge. The Guardians of
Oa observe the War of Light and realize that
Ganthet and Sayd are correct, but are kept from intervening by Scar, who kills one and imprisons the rest. Thousands of black rings assault the Corps' crypt, creating a
Black Lantern Corps. Hal Jordan and the newly revived
Flash investigate Bruce's grave and are attacked by Black Lantern
Martian Manhunter. On Oa, the Green Lanterns are met by all of the resurrected Lanterns, now reborn as Black Lanterns.
Hawkgirl and
Hawkman are killed by Black Lanterns
Elongated Man and
Sue Dibny and join the growing Black Corps. The
Atom is tricked into visiting Black Lantern Hawkman, and
Deadman is the first to realize the dead superheroes are not their true selves when his physical body revives as a Black Lantern while he is still free.
Aquaman and his Black Lantern family, including
Tempest, attack
Mera, who flees. A black ring strikes the
Spectre, binding the spirit Aztar and reviving
Crispus Allen as a Black Lantern. The black rings are unable to revive those who are at peace, such as former Dove
Don Hall, even as his partner Hawk and his brother
Hank rise. In Gotham, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen are confronted by several Black Lanterns, including
Ronnie Raymond. Hal, the Atom and Flash battle the Black Lanterns when the
Indigo Tribe appear and use their Indigo power with other rings to obliterate the Dibnys. Mera finds
Firestorm (Jason Rusch) and
Gehenna, who merge to create a new Firestorm. Indigo says that the Lantern Corps must unite to defeat the Black one. The Indigo Tribe depart with Hal and leave the other heroes to fight the invading Black Lanterns. Ronnie separates Jason and Gehenna, kills Gehenna, and absorbs Jason's consciousness. Black rings revive the villains buried below the
Hall of Justice. Mera and Flash flee the Black Lanterns and use Atom's powers to escape through a telephone line. Flash leaves and gives all the superheroes in the US the key to defeat the Black Lanterns—merging lights with a Green Ring—and the Atom, Mera and the
Justice Society of America battle many Lanterns together.
Jean Loring kills and causes
Damage to revive as a Lantern, which fully empowers the Black Lantern power battery. Barry arrives in Coast City, where Scar has teleported with the Black Central Power Battery. Black Hand then summons
Nekron, who revives the residents of Coast City. The JLA,
Wally West, the Teen Titans, and
Bart Allen fight the Coast City Black Lanterns. Hal and Lantern Corps members
Carol Ferris,
Sinestro,
Atrocitus,
Larfleeze,
Saint Walker, Indigo-1,
Ganthet, and Sayd return to Earth and attack Scar while she is attacking Wally West. Nekron has Batman's corpse—later revealed to be a clone—and sends rings to
Superman,
Wonder Woman,
Superboy,
Green Arrow, Kid Flash,
Donna Troy,
Ice, and
Animal Man, previously killed and revived into Black Lantern members by Nekron as Hal and Barry try to outrace their rings. Allen time-travels himself and Jordan two seconds into the future and disables their rings. Mera and the Atom arrive. John Stewart warns Hal that every Black Lantern in the universe is heading for Earth. Jordan says they need the entire seven Corps to unite to produce White Light. While they summon the seven Corps to Earth,
Ganthet duplicates the seven colored rings present and deputizes non-Corps members Ganthet as Green, Barry Allen as Blue,
Lex Luthor as Orange,
Scarecrow as Yellow, Atom as Indigo, Mera as Red, and Wonder Woman as Violet. The Corps Leaders and deputies fight Nekron but cannot stop him, partly because Luthor is overwhelmed by the Orange light of avarice. John Stewart is trying to stop the horde of Black Lanterns when the combined Six Corps arrive to join and battle the Black Lanterns. In Coast City, Dove tries to reach the Black Lantern Battery but is forced to retreat as a being from within the battery tries to escape. Nekron kills a Guardian and uses his blood to cause a cocoon to emerge. Ganthet reveals that this is the
Life Entity that triggered existence and that life began on Earth, not Oa, and that the Guardians upheld the lie to protect the Entity and justify their power. Nekron stabs the Entity, causing living beings across the universe to feel pain, and Sinestro surrenders to his anger at
Abin Sur's death and stabs
Ganthet, much to Hal Jordan's chagrin. Hal realizes the Entity is like
Parallax and
Ion and needs a guide, and tries to merge with it, but is blocked by Sinestro, who is unhappy that Hal recently reused Parallax, who Sinestro feels he deserves. Sinestro demands the Entity's power, emerges and is told "Thaal Sinestro of Korugar. Destiny awaits". Sinestro is promptly killed by Nekron, but the White Ring revives him. Sinestro retaliates and kills Nekron, but Nekron's scythe is picked up by a Black Lantern human who transforms into Nekron and says "death cannot be stopped".
Ganthet notes that Sinestro cannot properly control the Entity as it is being powered by his ego rather than his will to live. The united Lantern Corps attacks Nekron. Deadman possesses Guy Gardner and explains that Black Hand is Nekron's tether and that he must be revived to defeat Nekron. Nekron separates Sinestro from the Entity and Hal says that Nekron opened the door to death but it was the decision of the heroes to live. Hal merges with the Entity and transforms himself and the Black Lantern heroes into a
White Lantern Corps, who restore Black Hand to life. This causes Black Hand to regurgitate a White Ring which revives the
Anti-Monitor trapped in the Black Lantern Power Battery. Nekron briefly fights the Anti-Monitor and banishes him to the antimatter universe. Black Hand regurgitates a cluster of white rings that destroy Nekron. The rings bring only 12 Black Lanterns back to life:
Maxwell Lord,
Jade, Hawk,
Captain Boomerang, Ronnie Raymond, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman,
Hawkman,
Hawkgirl,
Osiris,
Eobard Thawne, and Deadman. Upon seeing Aquaman alive, Mera's love causes her ring to depart and shatter, sending her into
cardiac arrest. Star Sapphire and Saint Walker join their powers together to restore her, and Aquaman and Mera share a joyful reunion. Hawkgirl recalls her past lives, removes her helmet to reveal that she is again Shiera Hall and embraces Hawkman. Superman expresses his happiness that J'onn has returned. Firestorm forcibly separates into Ronald Raymond and Jason, the latter is angry that Ronald has killed his girlfriend. As Mera comforts Jason, Ronald is confused and asks Atom what is happening and where
Martin Stein is. Guy lets Lord, who is controlling his mind, escape. Jade kisses Kyle, unaware he is in love with fellow Green Lantern
Soranik Natu. Osiris is confused and says he wants to go home. Superboy and Kid Flash, who only knows him by name, try to figure out who he is. After Professor Zoom flees
into the past, Flash knocks out Captain Boomerang, while saying bloody hell to him. Barry notes that Ralph and Sue Dibny have not been revived. Deadman, the only one of the resurrected still wearing a White Ring, is stunned to realize he is alive and something is wrong. Larfleeze returns an unconscious Lex Luthor stripped of his ring, who briefly realizes that he has given something away, and demands that Sayd honors her debt to him. Ganthet protests but Sayd tells him all is well and believes she can somehow help Larfleeze. Sayd says the future of the Lantern Corps must be discussed. Saint Walker notices that the Indigo Tribe and Black Hand are missing. On the Indigo home world, Black Hand is now a member and prisoner of the Indigo Tribe, and is chained to an indigo power staff. Hal and Barry realize that because Black Lantern Batman was a fake, Bruce Wayne is still alive somewhere. Barry wonders what became of the Entity; Hal says it is still out there, urging them all to move past the events of the Blackest Night. Elsewhere, on a distant road, a
White Power Battery is found in a crater. ==Follow-up==