Sinestro Corps

Order through terror, forged in the antimatter universe on Qward.

The Sinestro Corps, also known as the Yellow Lantern Corps, operates as a supervillainous group and fascistic analog to the Green Lantern Corps within the DC Universe. Led by Thaal Sinestro, they derive their power from the emotional electromagnetic spectrum of fear. First appearing in Green Lantern vol. 4 #10, the team was created by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver. Their existence is rooted in a history where the Parallax entity, imprisoned on Oa, caused green rings to be weak to yellow energy. After Sinestro went rogue and was banished to Qward, he returned wielding a ring powered by this yellow energy, eventually awakening Parallax and instigating the fall of the Green Lantern Corps.

Quick Facts

Publisher: DC Comics
Debut: Green Lantern vol. 4 #10 (May 2006)
Creators: Geoff Johns (writer); Ethan Van Sciver (artist)
Base: Qward

Lore & Background

The origin of the Sinestro Corps is tied to the entity Parallax, a space parasite embodying fear once trapped in Oa's Central Power Battery. After Thaal Sinestro went rogue, he was banished to Qward in the antimatter universe. Upon his return, he wielded a yellow power ring and awakened Parallax from hibernation within the battery. The Corps actively recruits members who can "instill great fear," immediately transporting them to Qward for psychological and physical reconditioning. They operate in sectors similar to the Green Lanterns but use a huge yellow Central Battery on Qward's surface. Arkillo, a vicious alien drill sergeant, enslaves the Qwardian Weaponers to continuously build new rings programmed to breach the barrier between antimatter and matter universes to find recruits. Sinestro claims their goal is to bring order to a universe where the Guardians have failed.

Reader's Guide

To understand the Sinestro Corps, note their recruitment criteria: members must be able to "instill great fear." Once recruited, they are taken to Qward for reconditioning. Notable members include Karu-Sil, raised by animals; Despotellis, a sentient virus; and Bedovian, a sniper capable of hitting targets three sectors away. The Corps even attempted to recruit Batman due to his ability to instill fear, but he rejected the ring using his willpower, leading the ring to select Amon Sur instead. During Blackest Night, surviving members murdered Green Lantern family members. Mongul seized control after killing corpsmen who refused him, only to be ousted when Sinestro's faction liberated him from Red Lanterns on Ysmault and retook leadership from the darkside of Daxam's moon.

Did You Know?

The name 'Sinestro Corps' was first spoken by Booster Gold as an ad-lib to convince Sinestro to leave Earth.
Batman rejected a yellow ring because his willpower prevented it from taking him to be properly trained and molded into a soldier.
During the Sinestro Corps War, the Guardians added ten new laws to the Book of Oa, the first authorizing lethal force against the Corps.