Sinestro

He believes that only through fear can the universe truly find peace.

Thaal Sinestro is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, particularly those featuring Green Lantern. Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, he first appeared in Green Lantern (vol. 2) #7 in August 1961. Originally a respected member of the Green Lantern Corps from Sector 1417, Sinestro was dishonorably discharged for abusing his power to enforce order through fear on his home planet, Korugar. He has since become the archenemy of Hal Jordan and the founder of the Sinestro Corps. His appearance was modeled after British actor David Niven.

Quick Facts

Publisher

DC Comics

Debut

Green Lantern (vol. 2) #7 (August 1961)

Creators

John Broome; Gil Kane

Full name

Thaal Sinestro

Homeworld

Korugar

Species

Korugarian

Also known as

Green Lantern
Yellow Lantern
Parallax

Lore & Background

Sinestro was born on Korugar in space sector 1417, where he worked as an anthropologist reconstructing ancient civilizations. After Green Lantern Prohl Gosgotha crash-landed near him, Sinestro received his ring but let Gosgotha die to keep the power for himself. Assigned to train Hal Jordan, Sinestro's dictatorial methods were exposed when Jordan contacted other Lanterns during a Khund invasion. Recruited by Katma Tui as his replacement, Korugar came to view the Green Lantern symbol as one of terror.

Banished to the antimatter universe on Qward by the Guardians, Sinestro allied with the Weaponers of Qward. They created a yellow power ring for him, exploiting the Corps' weakness to the color yellow. In the Post-Crisis era, after being executed by the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro sent his essence into the Central Power Battery, discovering that the "yellow impurity" was actually Parallax, the embodiment of fear.

Reader's Guide

Sinestro wields a yellow power ring fueled by fear, allowing him to create constructs that instill terror. His primary weakness is the color yellow in the pre-Sinestro Corps era, though his own ring utilizes it. He founded an army of feared warriors to spread order through dread. Key events include his creation in 1961, his banishment to Qward, and the War of Light. He has been voiced by actors such as Ted Levine, Miguel Ferrer, Xander Berkeley, Ron Perlman, Victor Garber, and Jason Isaacs. His live-action debut was in the 2011 film Green Lantern, played by Mark Strong, with Ulrich Thomsen set to portray him in the upcoming series Lanterns.

Did You Know?

In 2009, IGN ranked Sinestro as the 15th-greatest comic book villain of all time.
He originally worked as an anthropologist specializing in the reconstruction of ancient Korugan civilizations before becoming a Green Lantern.