SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Green Lanterns #52 by Dan Jurgens, Marco Santucci, Hi-Fi and Dave Sharpe, on sale now.


The mythos of the Green Lantern Corps has always been one of the most expansive of the DC Universe, even before it was redefined, re-imagined and built out dramatically by Geoff Johns in the mid-2000s. Johns did great work to be sure, introducing the emotional spectrum and all the different Lantern Corps, but for a while it felt like those were the only stories being told with the franchise. Stories like "The Sinestro Corps War" and "Blackest Night" changed the game, but there wasn’t any room for stories about Evil Star, for example.

That’s what so refreshing about recent Green Lantern stories, which have been going back to the pre-War of Light days to tell new and interesting stories with some of the Green Lantern Corps’ most dangerous enemies. Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps is about to wrap-up its fifty issue run with an epic yet personal story about the return of the Darkstars, while Green Lanterns has brought back an obscure threat from the mid-seventies and turned it into one of the most dangerous enemies the Corps has faced in some time.

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The Ravagers

With the impending end of Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps, and Grant Morrison and Liam Sharpe’s The Green Lantern still on the horizon, Green Lanterns has become more of a Corps-wide team book than it was prior to Dan Jurgens’ taking over the reins. Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz are still front-and-center, but the title now features Hal, John, Guy, Kyle and Kilowog in more prominent roles than they were before. While it does take some of the focus off Simon and Jess, it also presents them as equals to the rest of their Corps members, having graduated from rookies to full-fledged Green Lanterns.

In the latest issue, the Green Lantern Corps is stuck defending an innocent planet from a group of hostile invading aliens who plan on sacking the world like pirates, draining it of its resources and moving onto the next conquest. According to their rings, these are the Ravagers, but that’s a surprisingly common name in comics so you might not be aware of which Ravagers they are.

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They’re not to be confused with the New 52 team of teenage anti-heroes, of course, a group which included several Wildstorm heroes, and they’re definitely not to be confused with Yondu Udonta’s team of space pirates from the Guardians of the Galaxy films. These are the Ravagers of Olys, who made their first debut in 1975’s The Flash #237, back when Hal Jordan was starring in back-up features by the legendary team of Denny O’Neil and Mike Grell.

In those back-up stories, Green Lantern chased the Ravagers across Space Sector 2814, as they attacked worlds seemingly at random, but later learned that they have what they consider to be a holy mission which they need to carry out. After attacking the Earth itself with a “Reversion Ray” to undo evolution, Hal Jordan realises that the Ravagers were following the story of creation from the Bible, but undoing each step of the process as part of their own holy ritual. The story comes to somewhat of an abrupt end because Hal’s back-up feature ended as O’Neill and Grell moved over to a revived Green Lantern/Green Arrow, so there’s always been a lot of untapped potential in the Ravagers that hasn’t been explored to its fullest.

Green Lanterns #52 tells somewhat of a cliff notes version of The Ravagers story from the mid-seventies and does away with the religious aspect entirely. As described by Hal Jordan as he flies through space talking to his ring — whom, it should be noted, already knows everything he’s telling it — The Ravagers were a species from far out in the sector trying to join a larger federation of planets, and in order to prove their worth The Ravagers were instructed to prove that they had the technology to de-evolve planets. Removing the link to The Bible is probably a smart move in these more secular times, but it also kinda reduced The Ravagers to just another race of bad guys by removing the most interesting thing about them.

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Insubordination

The Ravagers of Olys aren’t the Green Lantern Corps only worry right now, as Green Lanterns #52 starts with a sinister and ominous presence speaking directly to the reader, seemingly from inside Simon Baz’s power ring. From their hiding space, this presence is able to interfere with transmissions from other Lanterns, which makes Simon mishear an order from Guy Gardner, giving him the appearance of recklessness and insubordination.

Not only that, but on Mogo, the Guardians of the Universe find themselves cut-off from the Green Lantern Power Battery itself, possibly as a result of this meddling force inside Simon’s ring.

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There’s also the unknown quantity of Eon, who was introduced by Dan Jurgens and Mike Perkins a couple of issues ago in Green Lanterns #50. Described as a being of energy, Eon speaks in a way that makes it seem that he is the combined amalgamation of a number of individuals, as he refers to being of “The One” and sees those who are not as his enemies. In his first appearance, he defeated John Stewart and left him for dead floating in space at the whim of his master. This is the same master which The Ravagers serve, which was more than likely spoiled by solicitations for upcoming issues as Hank Henshaw, the Cyborg Superman.

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The Man of Flesh and Steel

Created by Dan Jurgens during the '90s' "Death of Superman" storyline, Hank Henshaw is somewhat of a pet character of the legendary creator and one that he seemingly put to rest with a happy ending in his final issue of Action Comics. The solicitation for next month’s Green Lanterns #54 gives the game away a bit too much, reading:

The Cyborg Superman, Hank Henshaw, found a way to override the Green Lanterns’ Power Rings, and he’s using that ability to gaslight Simon Baz in part five of the “Evil’s Might” storyline. Communicating with Baz through his ring, Henshaw convinces Simon to trespass in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, where Henshaw will have access to all the cosmic weaponry that would make him unstoppable. Can Simon throw off the mental shackles ensnaring him? Or will he unwittingly help Hank Henshaw become an omega-level threat once again?

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While best known as the Cyborg Superman, Hank Henshaw is actually a digital consciousness occupying the cyborg body of a Superman doppelganger and there’s no reason for him to be confined to it aside from his hatred of The Man of Tomorrow. It’s likely that as a consciousness without a body, Henshaw could have wormed his way into a Green Lantern’s ring and made it from there to the Central Power Battery, which would give him access over every ring in the universe.

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Even with all this power at his digital fingertips, Hank Henshaw is still preoccupied with Superman and by forcing Baz to break into the Fortress of Solitude, Henshaw may have once again bitten off more than he can digitally chew. Cyborg Superman’s hatred of the real deal has always been his downfall, and instead of being happy with the immense power he’s wormed his way into, he always has to take it that one step further which leads to his down fall.