Green Lantern Corps (User:Leader Vladimir)

The Green Lantern Corps are an inter-galactic police force dedicated to protecting sentient life in every form, established thousands of years ago by the Guardians of the Universe. Officers are chosen for their ability to overcome great fear and given a power ring fueled by the strength of their willpower, the mightiest weapon in the universe. They have two representatives for all of the 3600 sectors in the known universe, their headquarters located centrally on the planet Oa.

Origins
In the early days of the Universe, natives of the overpopulated planet Maltus evolved into immortals of great power. They subsequently settled the planet Oa and declared themselves the Guardians of the Universe and enemies of evil after one of their own, the renegade scientist Krona, performed a forbidden experiment that had terrible consequences for the Universe at large.

Some of the Guardians, however, disagreed on how to deal with the chaos that had been unleashed. One group, calling itself the Controllers, separated itself from the others and favored using more violent methods to achieve their ends. They would later found the Darkstars organization. The female Oans, feeling no need to involve themselves in the situation, also left, becoming later known as the Zamarons.

Manhunter Failure
To enforce their will and guard against alien menaces of all sorts, the Guardians had created a legion of robotic sentinels called the Manhunters about 3.5 billion years ago. The Manhunters eventually came to resent their servitude and were also viewed as flawed due to their inability to recognize and/or feel fear. They rebelled against the Guardians and fought a millennia long war that culminated with an attack on the planet Oa. Ultimately, the Guardians overcame their android servants, stripping them of their power and banishing them across the universe. Eventually, they formed their own robotic society where they pursued their own agenda (which often included interfering with and foiling the plans of the Guardians).

Creation of the Corps
Chastened by the failure of the Manhunters, the Guardians decided that their newest force of soldiers for good would consist of living beings, ones who had free will and strong moral character. To arm this new legion of celestial knights, the Guardians created the Power Rings, rings of inconceivably-advanced technology that allowed their wearers to project green beams of energy with which the bearer could conjure objects of any size or shape, limited only by his or her imagination and willpower.

Although the connection between the Guardian Oans and the origin of the Green Lantern symbol has yet to be clarified, it has been revealed that the lantern itself has its roots in the first life in the universe. Allegedly, the first life in the galaxy emerged on an unnamed foggy world, and when they developed a police force - the first in the universe - the constabulary carried a lantern lit with a green chemical flame, hence a corp of Green Lanterns. It is believed that this ideal was adopted and spread throughout the galaxy as a symbol for law and justice and its ability to pierce confusion and uncertainty, eventually resulting in the formation of the Green Lantern Corps, with requisite power rings and lantern-shaped batteries along traditional lines. Initially consisting of only a few dozen agents at a time, the Corps radically increased its numbers approximately 1000 years ago. The Guardians sought to bring order to the planet known as Apokolips. Home to Darkseid, a galactic tyrant, Apokolips was and is a stronghold of evil. Green Lantern Raker Qarrigat sought to remove Darkseid from power, only to be humbled by Darkseid's might. Raker returned to Oa, where he convinced the Guardians that taking Apokolips would require an army. Authorized to start a massive recruitment, Raker and his fellow Lanterns inducted thousands of new members, bringing total membership up to 3600.

Modern Exploits
In the modern times, Abin Sur, Green Lantern of Ungara, defeated the fear entity Parallax, trapping it in the Lost Sector. However, Parallax broke free of his imprisonment and attacked Guardian-controlled space. Parallax was only stopped by the combined might of the entire Corps, led by Human Lantern Hal Jordan.

As Hal Jordan's exploits were known across the Universe, the Guardians chose Guy Gardner and John Stewart as members of the Green Lantern Honor Guard. Although the Corps' laws dictated that a sector could only be guarded by one Lantern, the Guardians justified their selections by rewriting the Book of Oa, which dictated that Earth was to be a focal point in the Corps's history.

A tragic point in the Corps' recent history was the betrayal of Thaal Sinestro, Green Lantern of Korugar. After witnessing Parallax's power, Sinestro had become conviced that fear was more effective than willpower in maintaining peace in the universe. Sinestro conquered Korugar and declared himself ruler. Jordan arrested Sinestro, and the Guardians exiled him to the Antimatter Universe.

The Green Lantern Corps also stopped an assault from Agent Orange. It also successfully defended the Milky Way Galaxy from the Manhunters, although Hal Jordan was killed in battle. Kyle Rayner was chosen as Jordan's replacement. Rayner also became the temporary of host of Ion, the sentient embodiment of will. During his tenure as Ion, Kyle resurrected Hal.

Sinestro Corps War
Rogue Lantern Sinestro, working with the Anti-Monitor, has created his own version of the Corps. Dubbed the "Sinestro Corps", it recruits beings capable of generating great fear. Armed with yellow Power Rings and Lanterns manufactured on Qward, the Sinestro Corps recently staged an attack on Oa, killing dozens of GLC officers and kidnapping Kyle Rayner and freeing Parallax and the Cyborg Superman from the Corps' supervision.

As the Sinestro Corps' campaign of terror spreads, the Guardians, in desperation, rewrite the first Law of Ten in the Book of Oa, enabling the remaining Lanterns to use lethal force. When the Sinestro Corps gathered for an assault on Earth, the Green Lantern Corps and Earth's Superheroes united to fight off the invasion force. Eventually, during the Battle of New York, Guy Gardner and John Stewart used Warworld and it's mobile Power Battery as a weapon against the Anti-Monitor, with the Green Lanterns throwing up a shield to contain the Anti-Monitor and the explosion. The Anti-Monitor and Cyborg Superman were both seriously injured in the explosion, and Superboy-Prime then betrayed the Anti-Monitor, hurling him away from Earth. At Coast City, Hal Jordan was able to free Kyle Rayner from Parallax's control, and he was imprisoned in the Earth Lanterns power batteries. During the Sinestro Corps subsequent invasion of Coast City, Hal and Kyle were able to defeat and arrest Sinestro, ending the Sinestro Corps War.

Equipment

 * Green Lantern Power Battery
 * Central Power Battery
 * Book of Oa

Weapons

 * Green Lantern Ring

Structure
The Corps is an organization of 7200 Green Lanterns (formerly 3600) who are chosen by the ring for being able to overcome great fear, with two assigned to sectors of space that require the protection of more than one Green Lantern (Earth, home to Hal Jordan and John Stewart, is in Sector 2814). Heavily-populated Sectors like 2814 can have several Lanterns. While the primary Lanterns of Sector 2814 are Hal Jordan and John Stewart, Kyle Rayner and Guy Gardner call Earth home, but are stationed on Oa, first as teachers, and then specially assigned to cases that are too difficult for the average GL.

Each member has a great deal of autonomy as to their methods in their jurisdiction, subject to review by the Guardians if they feel the Green Lantern in question has abused his/her assigned authority. The individual Lanterns are responsible for arranging their replacements if they are near retirement or death. If the Lantern dies before that obligation is met, the ring will find and seek another to be trained on its own. In rare circumstances, Guardians will personally go out into the field to recruit a replacement.

Upon recruitment each Green Lantern received a Power Ring, a Power Battery shaped like a lantern (with which the ring is recharged), and a uniform. The default uniform design for humanoids was a green section covering the torso and shoulders, black arms and leggings, green boots, white gloves, green domino mask and a chest symbol of a stylized Green Lantern icon on a white circle. Lanterns were allowed to customize their uniforms as long as the color scheme and the symbol were present. When the nature of the being precludes a standard uniform, an equivalent arrangement is expected as a substitute. For instance, Mogo, a sentient planet, arranges his foliage to create a green circling band and lantern symbol on his body. Jack T. Chance, a humanoid, refused to wear a uniform, but conceded to wearing a badge on the lapel of his coat. Lanterns were also allowed the option of a secret identity as a security measure and it is implied that the Corps were instructed to honor that choice by taking care not to expose them. Training in the use of the ring was optional and appropriate facilities and personnel were available on Oa upon request. In addition, a senior Lantern can be assigned to coach a recruit while in the field in their sector.

Departments

 * Alpha-Lantern Corps
 * The Corpse
 * Green Lantern Honor Guard