Power Ring
- For other uses of this name, see Power Ring (disambiguation).
A Power Ring is an object that features in DC Comics.
Contents |
History
Origin
Power Rings were a type of technology that were constructed long ago and had the ability to create constructs shaped from the Emotional Spectrum. They were examples of Oan technology who were responsible for creating the rings. (Blackest Night v1 #6) The Guardian Rami created them by cannibalising Volthoom's Travel Lantern that was used to create the first seven Power Rings. (Green Lanterns v1 #23) This event occurred ten billion years ago where they were made and dispatched to find seven recruits to fight against Volthoom. (Green Lanterns v1 #24) Volthoom was the first person that had managed to master a Power Ring. (Green Lanterns v1 #12) Around 10 billion years ago, he as the First Lantern threatened to destroy the Guardians of the Universe on Maltus. The Guardians themselves were weak to directly combat Volthoom with them turning to Rami who was one of their own who had created the Power Ring. These devices were to be used as weapons to battle the First Lantern but due to time consideration he could only get them to channel the green light of will in the Emotional Spectrum. (Green Lanterns v1 #13) To defeat Volthoom, the first seven green Power Rings were dispatched to recruit those that overcame great fear to fight in this crisis. These rings chose; Kaja-Dox of Yod-Colu, Brill of Grenda, Z'Kran Z'Rann of Mars, Jan-Al of Krypton, Tyran'r of Tamaran, Alitha of the Third World Galactica and Calleen who was a cosmic plant elemental. A time displaced Jessica Cruz and Simon Baz arrived in this time where they looked towards teaching the original seven how to use their rings to protect the Guardians from the First Lantern. Due to a lack of safeguards, Jan-Al of Krypton was killed as she could not control the spiralling energy int he device. (Green Lanterns v1 #28)
Long ago, Rami had created a new kind of Power Ring that could accept any wielder and was known as the Phantom Ring. (Green Lanterns v1 #8) Eons ago, a group of criminals were exiled to the moon of Titan to mine it for ore that was used in the creation of Power Rings. (The Flash v1 #221)
The original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, had a magical Power Ring which was vulnerable to wood and had to be recharged every 24 hours. (This wood vulnerability was derived from this power ring's original source, the Starheart, which had merged with rogue Green Lantern Yalan Gur, whose ring was specially vulnerable to wood.) Long-term use of the ring apparently affected Alan's body, first by giving his offspring powers, and later by turning him into a being of living green flame. This ring was destroyed by Parallax but later recreated.
Green Lantern Corps
The Green Lantern Corps' power rings were ineffective against anything yellow, but also had to be recharged every 24 hours. The yellow vulnerability derived from the fear-entity Parallax, which was imprisoned within the Central Power Battery on Oa.
The power ring constantly protected their wielder from harm, could not be removed from their owner's possession unwillingly, and could be used as an information resource, since they had limited intelligence. The rings could also duplicate themselves, so that a Green Lantern could pass a ring on to someone worthy. The rings were not permitted to directly kill a person, but (unfortunately) a creative wielder could find ways around that.
Around a quarter million years ago, the Green Lantern Zharan Pel who protected Space Sector 2813 was called upon by the inhabitants of a space station to help against a threat. This threat was a monster who had been killing scores of people forcing the Green Lantern to intervene. He managed to encase the creature in a bubble and requested a stasis-cell to trap the monster. But whilst his attention was diverted, the monster broke free from the construct and killed Zharan Pel. The beast then wielded the Power Ring and developed an innate control over it where he commanded it to take him to Oa as he sought the source of this power. Many Green Lanterns were dispatched to stop the beast but were killed with the monster arriving on Oa where he was confronted by a Guardian of the Universe. The Oan battled the beast but was unable to stop him leading to the Guardian sacrificing his life to unleash a powerful blast to kill the monster. (Doomsday Annual v1 #1)
Abin Sur later came to crash on the planet Earth after being badly wounded where he commanded his ring to find a worthy replacement. It came to find the necessary person in a human test pilot named Hal Jordan who came to be a newly inducted Green Lantern. (Showcase v1 #22)
The Guardians later created a new series of improved Power Rings for the Corps with improved capabilities though it still required a charge after 24 hours. (Green Lantern v2 #90)
On Earth, Hal Jordan began to experience problems with his ring that began to fail at random moments. As a result, he decided to go to Oa to have it examined and inducted Guy Gardner as the planet's back-up Green Lantern. During the journey, Jordan met with the Guardians who scanned the ring with their instruments and determined the fault lay with the Power Battery's psychoplasmic energy. The fault had impacted on the rings ability to function and they provided him with a replacement. They also warned him not to operate his original Power Battery as it could be dangerous with one effect of it being time distortions whereby future events appeared in the present. In the meantime, on Earth Gardner was working with the Green Arrow as a superhero and sought to charge his Power Ring. He was unaware of the fault and began the charging process with Jordan arriving too late to stop him with Guy seemingly shattered and vanished. (Green Lantern v2 #116)
Torchbearer
The power ring held by Kyle Rayner is similar, but has several differences from the "classic" rings. It is not vulnerable to yellow, nor does it need to be recharged every 24 hours- instead, it only needs to be recharged when it has used all of its energy (which varies depending on usage). However, its protective abilities are only running when specifically activated, and it lacks its own intelligence. During his stint as Ion, Kyle added an emergency reserve of power to the ring that would activate in crisis situations.
- In Justice Legion A's timeline, Kyle's ring would eventually be buried as the "Knight Fragment" on Mars, and would eventually fall into the possession of the Prime Superman.
In the face of the great threat, Ganthet triggered a safeguard feature in the various Lantern Power Rings causing them to replicate themselves and deputise various individuals to their respective Corps. Ganthet himself was inducted as a Green Lantern whilst various superheroes and supervillains joined a different spectrum of light to contribute in the fight against the Black Lanterns. (Blackest Night v1 #6)
As a Green Lantern now, Sinestro went to Earth where he created a duplicate of his ring and gave it to Hal Jordan with it subject to his control. Jordan attempted to attack Sinestro but the Korugarian could not be harmed by the duplicate ring as it drew power from his own and he noted that he could strip the copy of its power with a command. Sinestro had deputised Jordan to be assist him on his various operations in the Green Lantern Corps. (Green Lantern v5 #2)
Rebirth
Jessica Cruz's Power Ring later had its A.I. overwritten by her will with this being deemed a contamination after it brought about the death of several people leading to them sending Hal Jordan to remove it from her. (Green Lanterns v1 #47)
Overview
The power ring is the primary weapon of the various Green Lanterns. The power ring, which is recharged via a Power Battery, can shape emerald energy into any shape or device or effect desired by the user. It can create complex machines or big fists, suits of armor or anvils. The energy can also be focused as a blast, used as a universal translator, or even maintain the ebbing life energies of the dead, among many other effects. It is limited only by the user's willpower and imagination. The power rings are widely considered the most powerful weapons in the universe.
In appearance, a Power Ring resembled an ordinary ring but were in fact an advanced neural interface that were designed by hyperintelligent interdimensional beings and generated willpower-based hard light constructs. (Green Lanterns Annual v1 #1) It served as a portable battery and mind-key transmitter to the central power source. (Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn v1 #3) As such, they served as conduits to the main power source which was the Central Power Battery. (Green Lantern: Rebirth v1 #3) Within the ring was a jewel that contained a crystalline structure which maintained its functions. In some cases, the structure could develop a flaw leading to some unexpected side effects such as absorbing the electrical emanations of its wielder and amplifying their emotional responses causing them to act uncharacteristically. (Green Lantern v2 #58) They were constructed from a special kind of ore with these ring-gems being treated with willpower. (The Flash v1 #221)
Rings were dependent on the will and imagination of their wearer with only a tiny few capable of unlocking their potential. (Blue Beetle v8 #20) For green Power Rings, users forced their willpower into the ring and asked it to give their thoughts life. For an untrained user, the experience was exhausting and such individuals felt like they had not slept for days. (Green Lantern: Rebirth v1 #4) A ring could also be used to create a mental block over a spot thus preventing people from entering an area. Until the block was removed, people simply ignored it and did not realise a closed off section even existed. (Green Lantern/Superman: Legend of the Green Flame v1 #1) It was claimed that the rings had enough power within them to split a planet in half. (Superman/Batman v1 #29) Skilled users with enough concentration and combined with others were shown to be capable of affecting the weather on a planet. (Green Lanterns v1 #51)
A ring could be used to he repair injuries on the wielder or others. (The Brave and the Bold v1 #59) In rare cases, the ring can keep its user alive after his/her body reaches a state of irreversible death. In Driq's case, the Green Lantern was kept "alive" by his power ring's refusal to let his life slip away. (Green Lantern Corps v1 #217)
Experienced ring wielders were capable of navigating black holes. (Green Lantern Corps v1 #219)
Interstellar travel was achieved by the rings compensating for faster-than-light travel and countering the space-time effect of a journey as otherwise they user went through hundreds of years normally to go through space. (Justice League v3 #41) During travel, the ring could take charge and engage an automated flight path whilst leaving the wearer in hibernation mode until they reached the destination. However, regions of unknown space required the Lantern to travel manually as the rings were not programmed with a flight path in such areas. (Green Lantern v4 #11) A user was able to get the ring to cloak itself making it appear invisible when on the wielders limb unless they were giving an update to the individual by glowing. On command, the ring could remotely encase targets in green energy to fix them in place until the user arrived on the scene. (Green Lantern v2 #46) A ring could be set to protect the minds of the user and others from telepathic attacks. (Blue Beetle v8 #14)
Power Rings were designed to protect their user from mortal harm. This ability lay in a reserve power that was built into the ring. Every time the wielder recharged from their Power Battery then this reserve was replenished. It operated automatically by itself in periods of extreme peril to protect the wielder from danger. Typically, this reserve power could not be accessed by the user unless the used all their emotions to tap into it but it meant that it would not operate for the wielder in times of need. (Green Lantern v2 #46)
A Ring was capable of accessing its own ring memories for data queries asked by its wielder and contained logs of previous users or other shared information. It could either do this through audio breakdowns or a full-environmental playback whereby a simulation was created. (Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn v1 #3) Green Lantern Corps members were able to use the rings to open or close a duty log that was saved for later use. (Brave and the Bold v3 #1) In the event of its users death, a ring could be consulted where it recounted the events that led to their wielders demise. (Green Lantern v2 #46)
They could be programmed to register an alert to their user where they began to glow and notify the wielder of anything of interest occurring on the world. (Green Lantern v2 #46) A further method of communication was through switching to a telepathic sub-channel allowing the users to mentally speak to one another. This proved particularly useful to mentally communicate sensitive information without others in the area overhearing the conversation. (Green Lantern: The Lost Army v1 #1) When encountering other races, the ring could activate its omni-translation mode allowing communication with other species. (Green Lantern 80-Page Giant v1 #1) A ring also granted the wearer the ability to communicate telepathically with other people from different points in time. (The Brave and the Bold v1 #59)
Whilst able to travel at high speeds, the extreme speed limits could cause his construct to lose integrity as the willpower was not able to go at such levels with the threat of a Speed Force singularity forming. (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1 #28) An autopilot feature was present within the ring allowing it to remotely pilot the user to their destination though the wearer could disable this feature. (Brave and the Bold v3 #1) Power Rings were able to open portals into transluminal space allowing others to pass through it and journey to the location setting by the user. (Action Comics v1 #992) A feature within the Oan rings was if their wearer was unable to respond or recharge then it went into emergency evacuation procedures. This resulted in it opening a wormhole towards Oa and warned anyone nearby to stay away from the departure area as it took its wearer to safety. (Justice League of America v4 #1)
A ring was able to turn their bearer invisible. (Green Lantern v2 #2)
Current models of the devices were classed as twelfth generation solid state Power Rings that were constructed by the Guardians of Oa. (Green Lanterns v1 #2) The Guardians claimed that only they held the knowledge and ability to forge a Power Ring. (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth v1 #1) These were forged at the Foundry that was once on Oa in a process arduous even for the Guardians with massive and potentially lethal levels of willpower being used throughout the process. It involved the Power Battery being cast in a mold whereupon the ring was summoned from it through the oath. (Green Lantern Corps v2 #48) One special version of these devices was the Phantom Ring that had the power to tap into emotion. However, it lacked any safety with it controlling its user and feeding on their emotions. (Green Lanterns v1 #12)
Rings were known to go through system updates. (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1 #19)
They had recruitment subroutines that were designed to seek out new wielders. (Green Lanterns v1 #24) As Oan technology, all Power Rings contain a safeguard that allowed could replicate itself in times of need whereupon the deputised a sentient being for a 24 hour period. (Blackest Night v1 #6) A Lantern could also create a duplicate of their ring and give it to another individual making them into a temporary user. Their respective ring drew power from the wielders who could command it for certain functions such as not attacking the main ring or they could strip it of its power. (Green Lantern v5 #2)
Initially, a yellow impurity meant that a ring could not directly affect objects that were coloured yellow. (Showcase v1 #22)
Wielders
- Sinestro :
- Alan Scott :
- Hal Jordan :
- Guy Gardner :
- Kyle Rayner :
- Nero :
- Simon Baz :
- Jessica Cruz :
- Frank Laminski :
- Sojourner Mullein :
- Kala Lour :
Notes
- The Power Ring was created by Bill Finger and Martin Nodell where it made its first appearance in All-American Comics v1 Number Sixteen (July 1940).
- In Justice League - the Darkseid War: Green Lantern v1 #1 (2015), a Mother Box merged with Hal Jordan's Power Ring as he accepted the transformation into a New God where he became the god of light whilst his ring was transformed into the godly Mother Ring. With its power, he reversed time to prevent the destruction of Oa and death of the Green Lantern Corps, consoled his younger self after his father died and relinquished the power to become a mortal again.
Alternate Versions
- In Superman/Batman v1 #15 (2005), the timeline was altered by the actions of the Legion of Super-Villains who sought to change history by raising Superman and Batman. The supervillains were responsible for killing Abin Sur when his ship crashed on Earth and prevented his ring from selecting a replacement. Wonder Woman led Uncle Sam to Abin Sur's remains in order to give him the Power Ring and empower him for their eventual fight against Superman and Batman.
- In Smallville: Lantern v1 (2014), Power Rings appeared in the Smallville Season 11 tie-in comics set after the events of the television show. They were creations of the Guardians of the Universe with them being ancient technology that predated anything on Earth. The rings operated by enabling he user to tap into power from beneath the fabric of reality whereupon the users mind told the ring on how to filter and implement the energy. They were equipped to the Green Lantern Corps who used them in their role as cosmic patrolmen though not all Green Lanterns understood the nature on how their rings operated with them thinking that the ring-slinger generated the emerald energy of will. During the Parallax War, the threat of the resurgent Manhunters across the universe led the Guardians into seeking a force that could combat this threat as it could not be contained alone by their Green Lantern Corps. Thus, they forged a treaty with the cosmic entity Parallax and sent forth yellow Power Rings that utilised fear that sought out inhabitants of devastated worlds conscripting them into shock troops against the invaders. During this time, Hal Jordan was overwhelmed by Parallax and was responsible for devastating the Corps leading to it being nearly decimated though it continued to operate at a reduced capacity. After the establishment of the Argo colony, life was registered in the sector leading to fallen Green Lantern Tomar-Re's Power Ring to seek out a Kryptonian replacement leading to it selecting Superman who resided on Earth.
- In Green Lantern/Star Trek: The Spectrum War (2015), they featured in the cross over story between the two franchises. They were described as being advanced alien computers designed by the Guardians of the Universe with their origins being exactly the same as the DC Comics universe. A point of divergence was that the Blackest Night was won by Nekron with the Oan Ganthet initiating the Last Light protocol. He gathered a ring from each aspect of the Emotional Spectrum and used them to open a doorway to escape into another universe along with a Lantern from each of the Corps. The act killed Ganthet and his remains were discovered by the U.S.S. Enterprise whereupon the rings activated and selected users from various inhabitants of the Star Trek universe.
- In Planet of the Apes/Green Lantern v1 (2017), an alternate version of the Power Rings appeared in the crossover comic between DC Comics and Planet of the Apes. In this setting, a new ring was created by the Guardians of the Universe called the Universal Ring that was made by using sorcery and science in conjunction. The user of this ring can tap directly into the energies of the emotional spectrum and harness any color of it, despite whatever emotion is being felt and regardless of intentions. This ring can also drain the other rings of the energies that power them, rendering them useless. However, the Guardians of the Universe would eventually discover that users of the ring will eventually succumb to its corrupted power and be forced to create more rings. As they were unable to destroy it, they sent it away to a version of Earth permanently locked in a time loop, therefore isolating it from the rest of Hypertime, with them hoping that it could never be found.
In other media
Television
- In The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, the Power Ring featured in the Green Lantern shorts. It was described as being magical and was used by Hal Jordan when he operated as Green Lantern.
- In the DC Animated Universe, Power Rings made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
- In Superman: The Animated Series, a Power Ring made its first appearance in the episode "Brightest Day". A ring arrived on Earth where it selected Kyle Rayner to be its wearer with Sinestro arriving on the planet to retrieve it.
- In Justice League, a Power Ring made regular appearances in the animated series starting from the pilot episode with it being worn by Green Lantern John Stewart.
- In The Batman, the Power Ring featured as part of the plot in the episode "Ring Toss". It was being worn by Green Lantern Hal Jordan when he was attacked by Sinestro who was equipped with a yellow ring. To protect it, he hid the Power Ring in Gotham City where it was stolen by Penguin. Jordan teamed up with Batman to recover the ring with Batman being forced to wear it in order to battle Sinestro. However, the charge in the Power Ring was low which forced Batman on the run where he threw it to Hal Jordan. In Hal's hands, he used his Power Battery to re-power it and used it to battle Sinestro. During the battle, Batman managed to snatch Sinestro's ring from his hand allowing the Dark Knight to knock him out and defeat him.
- In Green Lantern: The Animated Series, the Power Ring featured heavily in the plotline of the cartoon series as it was the prime weapon of the Green Lanterns. The Green Lantern Corps made use of green Power Rings given by the Guardians to bring order to the cosmos. In the Forgotten Zone, Atrocitus's Red Lanterns used red Power Rings that made use of rage. Ganthet managed to create the first blue Power Ring that was powered by hope in order to combat evil.
- In Justice League Action, Power Rings made a number of appearances in the animated television series. The Red Lanterns were shown to wield ones that operated on rage whereas the Sinestro Corps used fear. During a battle between Hal Jordan and Sinestro, Sinestro had Despotellis place a Power Battery to charge his yellow ring to give him an advantage over the Green Lantern.
Films
- In Green Lantern: First Flight, Abin Sur's Power Ring was given to Hal Jordan of Earth when he crashed on that world and died. He was later inducted into the Green Lantern Corps and placed under the tutelage of Sinestro after the Guardians reluctantly accepted the human based on him being chosen by the ring. Green Lantern Sinestro decided to take Jordan to find Sur's murderer namely the criminal Kanjar Ro. However, first he would take the human to the Central Power Battery in order for Jordan to download from it all information regarding Space Sector 2815. At the Battery, Hal was told to put his ring into the light and think the words 2815 with the information on that region of space downloaded directly into his mind through the Power Ring.
- In Green Lantern: Emerald Knights, Power Rings featured as part of the setting in the animated film. Their origin was stated to be in scripture in the Book of Oa where long ago they were created by the Guardians of the Universe during an early point in the universe where chaos and conflict erupted in the cosmos. To stop evil, they gathered the light and choose that of will to form a weapon unequal that could defeat armies which formed the first Power Ring. Four Power Rings were crafted with the greatest warriors gathered before the Guardians who sought to select the first Green Lanterns with these being chosen by the Power Rings. Three were among the gathered warriors but one surprisingly was the Guardians scribe Avra with it said that from that point onwards the rings chose their successors. The four later were dispatched to fight the Dominators who were plundering all of space where initially they seemed overwhelmed by their foes until Avra managed to tap into the power of the ring to create constructs that defeated their enemies. Avra later accepted his role as Green Lantern and began the training of subsequent members of the Corps before passing away with his ring choosing a successor.
- In Green Lantern, the Power Rings appeared in the live-action film. They were created billions of years ago by the Guardians of the Universe after they harnessed the emerald light of willpower. Following their creation, they were provided to the Guardians intergalactic peacekeeping force known as the Green Lantern Corps.
- In Justice League: War, a Power Ring was worn by Hal Jordan who was the Green Lantern in the animated movie with the Power Ring being voiced by Andrea Romano. It operated on concentration and was said to be linked to the knowledge of the Guardians of the Universe. Jordan used it to analyze the Mother Box placed by a Parademon underground in Gotham City. Despite its knowledge, the ring was unable to determine the origin of the artifact but was unable to do so during this first contact with Apokolips.
- In Justice League, a green Power Ring was briefly shown in the 2017 live-action film. It was shown in a flashback scene set thousands of years ago where it was worn by a Green Lantern that helped defend Earth alongside the old gods, Amazons and Atlanteans against the forces of the New God Steppenwolf. During the battle, the Green Lantern was slain and his Power Ring departed the world.
- In Justice League vs. the Fatal Five, a green Power Ring appeared in the setting of the 2019 animated film where it was voiced by actor Tom Kenny. One such ring had chosen Jessica Cruz making her a member of the Green Lantern Corps. During the battle with the Fatal Five, the ring was destroyed by the Persuader but Cruz was able to use her willpower to reassemble it.
- In Green Lantern: Beware My Power, Power Rings appeared in the setting of the 2022 animated film where it was voiced by actor Sunil Malhotra. They were wielded by the Green Lantern Corps with Hal Jordan being their chosen champion from Earth. This was until he was seemingly killed around Rann with his ring being taken back by the Guardians until they were killed by Parallax who also destroyed the Green Lantern Corps. The last surviving Guardian escaped to Earth where he gave the ring to John Stewart who had tried to save the Oan.
Video games
- In Green Lantern: Rise of the Manhunters, power rings made an appearance as part of the videogame's setting with Hal Jordan's ring being voiced by Grey DeLisle.
- In DC Comics Legends, Green Lanterns Power Ring featured in the iOS video game where Hal Jordan needed to recharge it after it was nearly depleted of energy. It was referenced in his backstory and abilities as being the source of his powers as it allowed him to generate constructs and other feats.
- In Injustice: Gods Among Us, Power Rings appeared on multiple Lantern characters in the fighting video game. On the alternate Earth, Hal Jordan was formerly a Green Lantern but abandoned his green Power Ring and wore the yellow ring of the Sinestro Corps. As Yellow Lantern, he served alongside Sinestro in that world's Superman's One Earth Regime.
- In Injustice 2, Power Rings appeared on multiple Lantern characters in the fighting video game. Hal Jordan after he was taken by the Guardians repented for his actions as a Yellow Lantern and went through trials in order to earn back a green Power Ring turning him back into a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Atrocitus felt great rage within Jordan and saw potential for him in becoming a Red Lantern and attempted to unleash this power but Jordan fought off the temptation and remained a Green Lantern. He later assisted Earth's superheroes against Brainiac and later against the rogue superhumans that comprised Superman's One Earth Regime.
Appearances
- Green Lantern:
- Showcase v1: (1959)
- Green Lantern Corps v1:
- Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors v1:
- Green Lantern: New Guardians v1:
- Justice League v2:
- Red Lanterns v1:
- Larfleeze v1:
- Sinestro v1:
- Justice League v3:
- Green Lantern: The Lost Army v1:
- Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1:
- Green Lanterns v1:
- Justice League v4:
- The Green Lantern v1:
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