The Green Lantern ring is considered one of the most powerful weapons in the DC Universe. It can project energy, create force fields, make hard-light constructs, and allow the wearer to fly and survive in the depths of space. Other ring colors have been introduced over the years, and each has its own specific twist on the Green Lantern concept.
Both heroes and villains have worn these rings over the years, and, when a villain wears a power ring, they often commit some of the worst atrocities imaginable. However, even known heroes have made grievous mistakes with power rings--many of which have changed the shape of the DC Universe forever.
10 John Stewart Using An Indigo Lantern Ring To Kill Mogo The Living GL Planet
The corrupt Guardian Krona, to strike back at his kin, placed Parallax back inside the Green Lantern Central Power Battery to corrupt the Corps. This succeeded, except human Lanterns Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and Guy Gardner were able to escape its effects by removing their rings. Krona began mass-producing Green Lantern rings to spread his corruption to new Lanterns with the help of Mogo, a living planet and Green Lantern.
Hal, Guy, John, and Kyle put on different colored power rings to fight back, with John putting on an Indigo Lantern ring. The Indigo Tribe is unique, as it can siphon the power of other Lantern Corps. To stop Mogo, John used Black Lantern Corps energy to destroy the living world and everything on it.
9 John Stewart Failing To Save The Planet Xanshi From Destruction
Unlike Mogo, John Stewart didn't actively destroy the planet Xanshi, but the destruction of the planet is, to a degree, John's fault. The planet was threatened by an entity spawned by the Anti-Life Equation, and John and Martian Manhunter were tasked with defending it.
John was still fairly fresh and cocky, and he sent Martian Manhunter away. However, a "Blink Bomb" lay at Xanshi's core, and it was made from a yellow metal. Had John not sent J'onn away, the Martian Manhunter may have been able to defuse the bomb. However, John's Green Lantern ring still had the yellow impurity, so it was unable to defuse the bomb. It detonated, destroying Xanshi by launching it into its star.
8 Atrocitus And The Red Lantern Corps Trying To Enact Crimson Dawn On Earth
The Red Lantern Corps, led by Atrocitus, decided that it was high time they invaded the Earth. They tried to enact the "Crimson Dawn" by unleashing a rage virus across the planet and therefore strengthening their corps.
At the time, the veteran Green Lanterns were off-world, so it was up to freshman GLs Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz to stop the Red Lantern Corps and save the Earth. In doing so, they even managed to briefly free Red Corpsman Bleez from the effects of the Red Lantern ring.
7 The Indigo Lanterns Creating An Entire Brainwashed Lantern Corps
The very premise of the Indigo Lanterns is an unsettling idea. The Indigo Tribe is made of some of the worst criminals in the universe, brainwashed and pressed into servitude. At one point, Hal Jordan and Sinestro discovered this and attempted to disband the Indigo Tribe.
However, Indigo-1, whose true name was Iroque, convinced Hal and Sinestro not to do this, as Iroque felt more peace in the Indigo Tribe than she ever had before. The other Indigo Lanterns supported Iroque in this, and Hal and Sinestro decided to leave the Indigos be.
6 Sinestro Instating Himself As The Dictator Of Korugar
The crimes of Sinestro are many, but his first was the one that got him ejected from the Green Lantern Corps in the first place. Sinestro believed in the power of authority through fear. To this end, he believed it best to protect his home planet of Korugar by controlling it.
Sinestro became a brutal dictator to his own people. Hal Jordan discovered this, took on Sinestro, and had him exposed to the Guardians of the Universe.
5 Sinestro Enslaving The People Of The Anti-Matter Planet, Qward
Later, Sinestro sought to create his own ring powered by the instillation of fear in others. He went to the Anti-Matter Universe and discovered the planet, Qward. The Qwardians were a race of master weaponsmiths, and Sinestro had them create his first yellow ring and used it to enslave the Qwardians.
With this weapon, Sinestro became a thorn in the side of the Green Lanterns for years to come. He eventually forced the Qwardians to make countless more rings like the first so that Sinestro could build his own Lantern Corps.
4 Sinestro Trying To Replace The Green Lantern Corps And Building The Fear Engine
When the Green Lantern Corps mysteriously disappeared years later, Sinestro was free to expand his Corps and finally become the top authority in the universe. At this point, Sinestro had taken control of Parallax and was more powerful than ever before. He took Warworld from Mongul and made it the new seat of power for his Corps.
Sinestro began kidnapping sentient beings from across the universe to power his Fear Engine, a machine that would finally, in Sinestro's mind, bring order to the universe and make the Sinestro Corps more powerful than ever before. Thankfully, Hal Jordan, powered by a Green Lantern ring forged by his own will, was able to beat Sinestro and overthrow the Sinestro Corps.
3 Sinestro Using The Ultraviolet Ring To Help Lex Luthor End Reality
Later, Sinestro was armed with a new ring. It was the Ultraviolet Ring, a weapon from the Invisible Spectrum. Sinestro was gifted this by Lex Luthor. In exchange, Sinestro joined the Legion of Doom. Their mission was to turn the tides of Justice and Doom towards the latter and allow the goddess Perpetua to reshape reality.
Sinestro battled the John Stewart and the Justice League several times in service to this mission. Perpetua seemingly won, and Sinestro, Cheetah, and Gorilla Grodd were remade into her throne of power.
2 Hal Jordan Slaughtering The Rest Of The GL Corps As Parallax
This ranks among the worst crimes of any Green Lantern Corps member. After the destruction of Coast City by Mongul and Cyborg Superman, Hal Jordan was desperate to rebuild his home. However, the Guardians told Hal that it couldn't be done. In retaliation, Hal took on the name Parallax, began stealing Green Lantern rings, eventually slaughtered the whole Corps with his newfound power.
It was later revealed that Parallax was the Yellow Entity of fear and had been living inside the Green Lanter Central Power Battery. He possessed Hal Jordan and pushed him to commit these atrocities.
1 Black Hand Enacting The Blackest Night With the Black Lantern Rings And Nekron
However, it's hard to beat the unholy acts committed by Black Hand after he received his Black Lantern ring from Nekron, the embodiment of death. Black Hand distributed Black Lantern rings across the DC Universe, raising the dead to slay the living.
Among the dead were many fallen heroes of the Justice League, but Black Hand and Nekron eventually began enslaving heroes who came back from the dead, including Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow. It took the combined efforts of the Justice League and every Lantern Corps to forge the White Lantern rings and banish Nekron from this realm of existence.
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