Warning: The following contains spoilers for Justice League #40 by Robert Venditti, Doug Mahnke, Richard Friend, David Baron, and Tom Napolitano, on sale now.
The Green Lanterns are among the most powerful beings within the DC Universe. But even among them, some of their members stand out in terms of sheer power. One of those Lanterns is Sodam Yat, who is prophecized to be greatest Green Lantern of all time.
While he's been out of the action in recent years, he just returned to Earth in Justice League #40 with a terrible warning for the titular team. He also revealed he's going to offer no help in the coming battle, which does not bode well for the heroes of Earth.
THE GREATEST GREEN LANTERN
Sodam Yat was first mentioned in the story "Tygers" by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill on 1986's Tales of the Green Lantern Corps Annual #2. Years before he died and his ring went to Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern Abin Sur heard a prophecy from Qull of the Five Inversions. One of the things he spoke of where the final days of the Green Lantern Corps. In an endless war against the darkest corners of the universe, Sodam Yat, a Daxamite with Superman-esque abilities, was the last Green Lantern. He was the greatest Green Lantern of all time, but even he fell in the fabled final battle.
In the modern era, Sodam Yat was born on Daxam. As such, his body is similar to a Kryptonian - he becomes stronger in the presence of yellow sunlight, only he has a weakness to lead instead of kryptonite. Daxam was highly isolationist society that tried to avoid exposure from the rest of the universe.
Despite this, Sodam was fascinated by the cosmos. Sodam Yat got the chance to explore it when a Green Lantern ring chose him to join the Green Lantern Corps. He quickly proved to be something of a prodigy amongst the new class of Green Lanterns. He formed a close friendship with Arisia, and served a major role in the Sinestro Corps War by helping destroy the Ranx and saving Mogo. He also briefly bonded to the Ion Entity, becoming one of the most powerful beings in the entire multiverse.
Eventually, Yat lost his connection to this power after using it to help change Daxam's sun from red to yellow, which gave his entire race superpowers. He ended up captured and mind-controlled by the intergalactic warlord Zardor before disappearing and going missing alongside the villain. However, he was found by Arisia and John Stewart on a prison planet, returning alongside them back to his world to help stop an invasion that had already secretly claimed the lives of countless Daxamites, including his own father. This forced Sodam Yat to remain behind and take on a role of leadership with what remained of his people.
SODAM YAT AND THE JUSTICE LEAGUE
In the opening pages of Justice League #40, the assembled Justice League find Sodam Yat crashed into a crater on Earth. He appears injured and lashes out in a panic that requires the entire team to hold him down long enough for him to come to his senses. New Justice League field commander John Stewart is able to break up the fight with his old ally. Taking Sodam Yat to a special cell in the Hall of Justice that can protect him from the elements on Earth that are poisonous to him, Sodam Yat explains the situation. Since leaving the Green Lantern Corps, Sodam Yat has become a Senator of Daxam. He's also the leader of the Isolationist Party, who tried to keep Daxam from interacting - and invading - other worlds.
However, the Eradicator has returned and created a new breed of Daxamite soldiers who lack the typical weakness to lead. This unstoppable army is revealed to be coming directly to Earth in hopes of taking it from the humans and turning it into a new colony. From there, they could charge their entire army with the sun's rays and create an entire army of Superman-level threats.
To make matters worse, Sodam Yat has only come as a messenger, not to actively take part in the fight. He reveals to the Justice League that he's essentially taken an oath of pacifism, as he believes the Daximites to be too dangerous to be allowed to take violent action. It remains to be seen how the Justice League will deal with an entire army of Daximites who lack any real weaknesses, and it's only more complicated now that Sodam Yat doesn't want to take part in the battle.
While there's always a chance that the former Lantern could actually try to help, it's looking like an increasingly dangerous battle is coming to Earth, and DC's heroes might be on their own to stop it.