Warning: spoilers for Green Lantern #1!
The Green Lantern Corps are officially under new management, and it might just be the thing that fixes a systemic issue that has plagued DC’s space cops since their inception. For as long as they have existed, the Green Lanterns have worked under the leadership of the Guardians of the Universe. Coming into existence on the planet Maltus, the Guardians are quite possibly the oldest form of sentient life in the DCU. Initially a blood-thirsty species, they eventually embraced order and made it their goal to bring justice to the universe. Among many other ventures, the Guardians eventually created the Central Power Battery and established the galactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps.
As part of the Infinite Frontier initiative, things are changing across DC’s newly formed Omniverse. Those changes are also in store for the Green Lantern Corps. As part of a summit organized by a new universal coalition called the United Planets, an unfathomable number of representatives of many worlds vote to decide if they want to let the planet Oa and its Green Lanterns join their coalition. The result of the vote is one that will likely change the status quo of the Green Lantern Corps for years to come, and for the better.
In Green Lantern #1 – from Geoffrey Thorne, Dexter Soy, Marco Santucci, Alex Sinclair, and Rob Leigh – the Guardians relinquish the authority they’ve long presumed to hold over other sentient races, saying, “We are not your rulers. We are not your parents. We are, perhaps, only your eldest siblings.” While there is still quite a bit of infighting before a decision is made, the United Planets ultimately decide to let Oa join their ranks. As a result, the Green Lanterns no longer answer to the self-appointed authority of the Guardians, but rather to the far more democratic governing body of the United Planets. It’s a step in the right direction for the entire universe. Because frankly, the Guardians have been pretty terrible.
As pointed out by Sinestro of all people, the Guardians’ tenure has been one of cold-blooded control and needless bloodshed. Their disastrous decision-making and arrogance directly led to the nightmare that was the Blackest Night, their brutal defeat of the Empire of Tears led to the founding of the Red Lantern Corps, and even the deadly Manhunters can trace their origins to the Guardians of the Universe. The ancient species creates more problems than they solve, and traditionally while shunning natural forces like magic and the emotional spectrum that powers every color of Lantern.
With the United Planets in charge, the Green Lantern Corps find themselves under leadership from a governing body of diverse mortals. No more robotic thinking from an out of touch council of cosmic senior citizens with fascistic tendencies. The relationship between the Green Lantern Corps and the universe they patrol is much more intimate now, and they’re finally answerable in a real way to the people over whom they exercise authority. In trading the Guardians for the United Planets, the Green Lanterns finally have the mandate they’ve always pretended to hold. Hopefully, the newly formed United Planets won’t have to make all the Guardians’ mistakes to find the wisdom they’ve shown in letting go of control.
