DC’s Most Powerful Green Lanterns Explained: Who Are the Alpha Corps?

In DC Comics, the Green Lantern Corps is a group of powerful space cops that protect and serve the galaxy to the best of their abilities, and within their ranks exists an elite squad dubbed the Alpha Lanterns that are utilized in ways which regular Green Lanterns aren’t. Differing ever so slightly from their colleagues in terms of their look, power set, origin, and more, these Lanterns are hands down a force to be reckoned with.

But who exactly are these Alpha Lanterns, and what sets them apart from the Hal Jordans and Kyle Rayners of the Corps? Furthermore, why have they fallen by the wayside over the years, and how do they stack up against the Guardian of the Universe’s other galactic endeavors linked to the willpower wavelength of the colorful Emotional Spectrum?

The Origins of the Alpha Lanterns

Created after the epic story arc of the Sinestro Corps War almost brought the Green Lantern Corps to their knees during the Sinestro-led invasion of Earth, the creation of the Alpha Lanterns were seen as a much-needed response to the growing galactic concerns of the Green Lanterns’ bosses collectively known as the Guardians of the Universe. Acting as brand new additions to the already robust Green Lantern Corps, these Alpha Lanterns were made to actively police all Lantern officers, enforce the newly developed laws the Guardians of the Universe penciled into the Book of Oa (like finally allowing Lanterns to use lethal force), and above all else, act as shining examples for what Green Lantern recruits should be striving for as they protect the galaxy.

Considered to be the highest honor among all Green Lanterns, the Guardians selected six individuals to be “converted” to Alpha Lantern status, five of which eventually took on these highly demanding roles. Choosing the aggressive Boodikka, the crystal-like orb being known as Chaselon, the misfit named Green Man, the Apokoliptian called Kraken, the hypochondriac named Varix, and finally the fan-favorite Lantern of John Stewart, the Guardians were all set with a group of loyal Lanterns that they believed would stop at nothing to carry out their duties. And although John Stewart eventually decided against being turned into an Alpha Lantern due to some misgivings about the way their duties were outlined, the rest went through with their conversions to become something never seen before in the DC Universe.

The Power of the Alpha Lanterns

Needing to be physically transformed via a sort of cybernetic conversion surgery that saw each Lantern receive a mini version of a Power Battery inserted into their bodies, the Alpha Lanterns immediately became the most powerful kind of Lanterns around, while holding a kind of logistical efficiency that the Guardians’ pre-Green Lantern experiments known as the Manhunters possessed almost to a fault. Linking their minds to the Lantern Bible that is the Book of Oa as well as having a direct line to the Central Power Battery due to their personal batteries’ special abilities, these Alpha Lanterns never needed to recharge their rings in the traditional way, giving them versatility and a sense of power that normal Lanterns do not possess.

Acting as internal affairs officers once they’ve been fully inducted into the Corps, the Alpha Lanterns’ power set is fairly similar to regular Lanterns, just with the added boost of being far more powerful and efficient in their use of them. Capable of flight, the ability to manifest constructs, a never-ending supply of Emotional Spectrum energy, and a more logical mindset that oftentimes helped them in their duties as much as it hurt, these Lanterns were the pinnacle of law enforcement for some time before things started to go sideways for the Green Lanterns and Alpha Lanterns alike.

The Journey of the Alpha Lanterns

Featured in classic DC Comics stories such as Grant Morrison’s epic Final Crisis event and the zombie-tinged crossover that was Blackest Night, the Alpha Lanterns’ tenure in the Corps was cut short after a series of events led to their corruption on more than one occasion. Taken control of during Final Crisis by the Darkseid-related baddie of Granny Goodness, Alpha Lantern Kraken was the first to succumb to the outside influence of someone other than the Guardians, with the events of Blackest Night showing even more so how strict and by the book these Lanterns can be.

Moving onto a story titled “Revolt of the Alpha Lanterns,” this arc saw the return of Hank Henshaw aka Cyborg Superman, who is shown to have secretly subverted and taken control of near every Alpha Lantern in the Corps to use for his own nefarious means. Luring a Guardian of the Universe named Ganthet into his clutches, Cyborg Superman reveals that he’s been forcibly converting Lanterns into Alphas and wants Ganthet to perform a reverse surgery to return them to their organic forms. Revealing that he needs to find a way to transform himself from a similarly constructed cyborg into a human of flesh and blood so he can fulfill his obsessive death wish, Cyborg Superman is eventually defeated by Alpha Lantern Boodikka who is able to force him to release those he’s held under his thrall, ultimately bringing these Lanterns back to their rightful place in the Corps.

Where Are The Alpha Lanterns Now?

Following these events, the downfall of the Alpha Lantern Corps came swiftly and decisively. Hung up on policing and bringing to justice any Lantern that went against the Guardians and the Book of Oa’s teachings, the Alpha Lanterns sentenced John Stewart to death after he was forced to kill one of their own to save the secrets of Oa’s Central Power Battery from getting out. Punishing those that stood against them and their decision, the Alphas took to draining other Lanterns’ rings to put them in their place, unintentionally sowing even more dissent amongst the members of the Corps as the situation dragged on.

Eventually turning on his crew, Alpha Lantern Varix dismantled and killed his colleagues with the help of a freed John Stewart and Guy Gardner, and terminated himself in the aftermath as he believed that the Alpha Lanterns as a whole had disgraced the Corps with their actions, solidifying this incident as the final nail in the coffin for these overpowered Lanterns. Placed in the hallowed halls of the Crypt of the Green Lantern Corps, the bodies of the Alpha Lanterns remain there today, potentially dead forever or simply waiting to be revived as a new version of the Alpha Lanterns sometime soon.

So while the Alpha Lanterns haven’t been seen in current Green Lantern continuity after these harrowing events, there will undoubtedly always be a way for them to come back and make their presence known should the DC Universe need their services again. The Alpha Lanterns were once a powerful part of the Green Lantern Corps, and until the Guardians of the Universe inevitably find a new way to develop an even more powerful version of these Lanterns, they’ll go down in Oan history as the best-botched idea of all time.

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