Green Lantern Corps/Pre-Crisis

The Green Lantern Corps is a group of interstellar law enforcement agents acting under the direction of the Guardians of the Universe. The Guardians were one of the first races to evolve following the creation of the universe. The Guardians and their agents have existed for billions of years and exist at least up through the 30th century.

This article is not a complete history of the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe. Rather, it provides context for events in which the Legion or Legionnaires took part, and highlights some of the agents that have interacted with the Legion prior to the Glorithverse (see separate article for Green Lanterns in the Glorithverse).

A Brief History of Time

The beings known as the Guardians evolved on the planet Oa in the center of the universe. As a young race, they developed a thirst for knowledge about the universe around them. One scientist, named Krona, built a device that would let him look back at the origin of the universe, but when he tried, he saw a pair of hands cradling the nascent universe. Somehow the act of observation caused a disruption, which ultimately led to the creation of the multiverse and the loosing of evil upon it. One universe was made of anti-matter, called Qward, and it became home to a being called the Anti-Monitor. Its opponent, the Monitor, lived in the positive matter universe.

A faction of the Guardians, dissatisfied with their colleagues' tactics in the war against evil, splits off to become the Controllers.

Manhunters

To combat evil, the Guardians first created a corps of robots called Manhunters. This worked at first, but after a time the robots rebelled against their makers and formed their own "race". Since the rebellion, the Manhunters passed themselves off as natives of other worlds and plotted to bring down the Guardians.

Green Lantern Corps

Following the Manhunters, the Guardians realized that they needed live agents, and using a "power battery" on Oa, they founded the Green Lantern Corps. Each member, 3600 in all, was responsible for a certain sector of space. Earth was in sector 2814. Over time, Earth became important in the overall scheme of the universe, and so the Corps maintained a presence on Earth continuously since the 20th century.

In the 20th century, Earth-1's main Green Lantern was Hal Jordan, a member of the Justice League of America. Earth-2's Green Lantern, Alan Scott, was a member of the Justice Society of America and wore a ring derived from the Guardians' power source, but his ring had different limitations and he was not considered part of the Corps. Various members of the JLA and JSA, the GLs included, met with time-travelling members of the Legion from time to time.

The time period between the 20th and 30th centuries is not well documented, and the Green Lantern Corps activities in this time is more or less unknown.

30th Century Green Lanterns

Vidar, aka Argus Oranx III

In the latter part of the 30th century, Earth's Green Lantern was Argus Oranx III, also known as Vidar. Shortly after the formation of the Legion, scientists on Earth attempted to repeat Krona's experiments from millennia earlier and view the origin of the universe, using a new Time Viewer designed by Chronarch Circadia Senius and Brainiac 5 at Metropolis's Time Institute. The Corps stopped the Legion and the scientists, but Vidar attempted to look anyway to become more powerful, only to be thwarted by the Legion. Vidar was expelled from the Green Lantern Corps, and the Corps was banished from Earth and the United Planets for interfering in the first place. Vidar later became the villain known as Universo. (See main article on Universo).

Xenofobe

Vidar's replacement was an alien named Xenofobe. In his only known appearance, Xenofobe and the rest of the Corps battled the Time Trapper, who had attempted to wipe out all timelines following the 20th century in order to ensure that the Legion never came into being. One timeline that remained was that following the event known as The Great Disaster, in which a war caused the release of chemicals which mutated animals into sentient beings. Intelligent humans in that timeline were rare, but included a boy known as Kamandi. Xenofobe travelled back in time to enlist Superman's help in restoring the timelines.

Rond Vidar

Following Universo's attempt to outlaw the Legion and take over Earth by drugging the water supply, and knowing the importance of Earth, the Guardians selected Vidar's son Rond Vidar to be the sector's next Green Lantern, despite the Corps' banishment from the UP. Instead, Rond trained in secret and it was unknown to everyone on Earth (even Rond's closest friends) that he was a Green Lantern. Without knowing of his true nature as a Green Lantern, the Legion made Rond Vidar an honorary Legionnaire. (See main article on Rond Vidar.)

Crisis on Infinite Earths

When Krona attempted to learn the origin of the universe millennia in the past, his actions resulted in not only the formation of the multiverse but also the creation of the Monitor and the Anti-Monitor. The Anti-Monitor succeeded in destroying all but five universes (including those housing Earth-1 and Earth-2), but the Monitor was able to save those five. These events were known as the Crisis on Infinite Earths and offshoots of these battles reached the 30th century. (See main article on Crisis on Infinite Earths.)

Return of the Manhunters

At one point in the late 20th century, the Manhunters came out of hiding and attempted to thwart the Guardians from selecting The Chosen, several humans who it was thought would be the next step in mankind's evolution. One Manhunter was held back and not activated until 1000 years later. It was revealed that Laurel Kent, who had been with the Legion Academy for years and was purportedly a descendant of Superman, was the Manhunter. She self-destructed after finding no trace of The Chosen in the 30th century.

Return of the Green Lantern

After being thought dead, Rond Vidar revealed himself to the Legion as living and as a member of the Green Lantern Corps in a battle with the Time Trapper at the end of time.

Following the Great Collapse, the Khundish Wars, and the disbanding of the Legion, Rond Vidar was captured by Mordru and his vampiric servant Vykros. Mordru destroyed his Green Lantern ring. Shortly afterwards, this timeline ended when the Time Trapper was destroyed, leading to the creation of an altered timeline known as the Glorithverse.

See article on Celeste Rockfish for further Green Lantern-related events in the Glorithverse timeline.

External links

• Cosmic Teams Legion timeline
• The Book of Oa, with profiles on all Green Lanterns including Vidar[1], Xenofobe[2], and Rond Vidar[3].