The Book of Oa, a sacred text of the Guardians of the Universe, contains a prophecy called “The Blackest

Night”, which states:

A face of metal and flesh shall speak of the secrets of the 52. Fear will rise. Willpower will gather. And a
wave of light will unleash the truth behind the power of the ring.[1]

The Guardians refer to this prophecy as the last and hidden chapter of the Book, describing their final
fate and ultimate purpose because they did the forbidden – they felt fear.[2]

Blackest Night Prophecy.jpg

The Final Prophecy?

Abin Sur initially uncovered this prophecy and was forbidden to speak of it.[3]Ganthet called the
Sinestro Corps invasion of Earth the second verse of the hidden chapter, with the Blackest Night itself
being the third and final verse. He also acknowledged, however, that even the Guardians themselves did
not know exactly what the Blackest Night was.

Sinestro Corps War

During the Sinestro Corps War, Ganthet and a female Guardian named Sayd are banished from the
council for feeling emotion.

Just as Parallax (now back in his monster form) attacks the Lanterns for freeing Kyle Rayner, Ganthet and
Sayd arrive and draw Parallax into four separate lanterns (Hal, Kyle, John, and Guy’s, respectively). As
Ganthet explains, he and Sayd were kicked out of the Guardians of the Universe. Ganthet’s final act as
Guardian is to make Kyle a new power ring. He asks if Kyle is willing to downgrade himself to a normal
Green Lantern, which Kyle quickly agrees too. The four men then take their lanterns and hearing the
Sinestro Corps oath, recite the classic Green Lantern oath, and depart to confront the Sinestro Corps.

Ganthet and Sayd also explain to the four about the Emotional Spectrum created at the start of
sentience that is separated into 7 colors: green (willpower), yellow (fear), violet (love), red (hate), indigo
(compassion), orange (greed), and blue (hope), each representing different forms of emotion, with
green being in the center and balancing the energies. The further towards one end of the spectrum an
energy color is, the more diffiuclt its power is to control, leading to a corruptive influence over the user.
Ganthet also reveals that in the coming future, each color will have its own forces like the Lantern Corps,
and these forces will fight against the others in a War of Light across the universe that will lead into the
event known as “The Blackest Night”, the worst of the hidden prophecies of the Book of Oa.
War of Light.JPG

“Seven corps will be at war.”

In the aftermath of the war, the Guardians decide to bring the second of the new laws into effect. After
realizing that the “Blackest Night” prophecy will come to pass, Ganthet and Sayd depart after creating a
Blue Lantern Ring with the intention of creating their own Corps. The Anti-Monitor finds himself on a
dark planet and is trapped by an unknown force in a Black Lantern Central Power Battery.

At the end of the Sinestro Corps War, Ganthet and Sayd are currently living on an unknown planet called
Odym, where they harness the emotional blue energy spectrum of hope and make plans to create
another intergalactic police force in order to aid the Guardians and the Green Lantern Corps in their
upcoming battle against “The Blackest Night” by creating blue power rings and batteries. Both Guardians
have evolved into two new beings, capable of bringing hope to others and each other, as they are also
apparently romantically involved.

Atrocitus

Long ago, when the rogue Manhunters rampaged through Sector 666, Atrocitus was one of only five
beings in the entire sector to escape death. He and the other four survivors formed a terrorist cabal
known as the Five Inversions, bent on the destruction of the Guardians of the Universe and all who
served them, and with Atrocitus serving as their leader. The Five Inversions performed a ritual which
allowed them to peer into the future and discover the prophecy of the Blackest Night, which decreed
that all life in the universe would end.

After Abin Sur began making periodic visits to the planet Ysmault, where the Five Inversions were
imprisoned after the Guardians destroyed their Empire of Tears, he began to ask questions regarding the
Blackest Night. Sur even went so far as to free Atrocitus from his imprisonment so he could lead the
Green Lantern to Earth, the birthplace of “the black” that would end the universe. Caged in Sur’s
starship, Atrocitus instilled fear in Sur, allowing the yellow impurity to seep into his willpower constructs
and weakening them enough to escape. After slashing the Green Lantern in the chest, mortally
wounding him, Atrocitus jumped from a point high in Earth’s atmosphere to escape Sur’s failing ship.

Black Hand

William Hand’s parents run a coroner’s/funeral home, the logo of which is the same symbol William will
adopt at the beginning of his criminal career. At the time a teenager, Hand was shown as having a
severe preoccupation with death and the dead, including implied necrophilia. His energy-absorbing
weapon is now portrayed as being built by Atrocitus, a fervent enemy of the Guardians of the Universe.
He comes to Earth to seek out the being who will bring on the events to be known as the Blackest Night.
This being is revealed to be William Hand. At this moment, is it revealed how these changes will affect
later events in Hand’s life, including the details of his career as Black Hand.
Prelude

William Hand wakes up in a grave on Earth. He “hears” death speaking to him. He walks throughout the
graveyard discovers that he is at the Hand Family Mortuary, his childhood home. Upon entering, he kills
his two brothers and mother, saving his father for last. When his father asks “Why?”, Hand replies,
“Because this is what I do.” Before killing his father. Hand then commits suicide and is resurrected by the
Scarred Guardian, a Black Lantern, and tells Hand that he is the sentient embodiment of death, much
like how Ion and Parallax are the sentient embodiments of willpower and fear respectively. Hand then
heads towards Gotham City, with Scar at his side.

At the grave of Bruce Wayne in Gotham City, Hal Jordan and Barry Allen reflect on Batman’s death and
how the hero community is avoiding linking Wayne to Batman.

This reflection turns to the pair looking at their own deaths, comparing the sadness that Barry’s
engendered in others while Hal’s produced anger. Hal sums it up by telling Barry, “I died a sinner. You
died a saint.” The conversation moves on to the world becoming “more dangerous” after Barry’s death
and observing that the deaths of Arthur Curry and J’onn J’onzz cost the Justice League its “heart and
soul”. As they leave the cemetery, Barry expresses hope that their dead comrades will be returned to
them. He specifically cites Batman noting, “If there’s an escape, you can bet Batman’s already planning
it.”

Black Hand approaches the grave saying “Yes. This one.” He then pushes his hand through the ground in
front of the headstone and forcibly extracts Batman’s skull. He then begins to recite:

The Blackest Night falls from the skies

The darkness grows as all light dies

We crave your hearts and your demise

By my Black Hand – the dead shall rise!

Interspersed with this are scenes of the headstones of Ralph & Sue Dibny and Ronnie Raymond.

While reciting the oath, Black Hand’s ring begins to glow and swirl as light shines in the eyes of the skull
he is holding. The Guardian Scar is shown watching and grinning.
Meanwhile, in Sector 666, Black Lantern Rings are shown emerging from the Black Lantern Central
Power Battery and spreading across the universe.

Hal Jordan meets up with John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, and several members of the U.S. Air
Force in Coast City to take part in the anniversary of Superman’s death, which is now a day to honor the
dead of the metahuman community.

After making an appearance and lighting a memorial statue honoring the inhabitants of Coast City
before being destroyed by Mongul and the Cyborg-Superman, Kyle Rayner leaves to visit the grave of his
deceased girlfriend, Jade, Guy Gardner goes to be with his girlfriend, Ice, and John Stewart goes to visit
the remains of the planet Xanshi.

All across the world, superhumans are seen honoring their dead friends and family, and vice-versa.

In Smallville, Kansas, Clark, Connor, and Martha Kent visit the grave of Jonathan Kent. In Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, Jason Rusch, Gehenna Hewitt, and Martin Stein visit the grave of Ronnie Raymond.
Gehenna notices that even though it is raining, all the plant life in the cemetery is dying.

At Titans Tower, Cassie Sandsmark, Bart Allen, Victor Stone, Koriand’r, Holly Granger, Rachel Roth, Brion
Markov, and Wendy honor the graves of Marvin and Tara Markov.

The Rogues gather at their own secret cemetery (Avernus) to honor the graves of Roscoe Dillon, Lisa
Snart, and Digger Harkness.

At Valhalla National Cemetery, several superheroes (including Kyle Rayner and Alan Scott) gather at the
graves of Charles McNider, Jenny Lynn-Hayden, Wesley Dodds, Lee Walter Travis, Kent Nelson, Max
Mercury, and many others. Atom-Smasher berates Damage for ignoring Al Pratt’s grave. Damage
recounts how the Freedom Fighters (Dee Tyler, Ryan Kendall and Roy Lincoln) were murdered during
Infinite Crisis while he was on their team.

In Amnesty Bay, Mera and Garth stand over the grave of Aquaman. Garth attempts to convince Mera to
move Aquaman’s remains to Atlantis, stating that “the dirt is no place for a king of the seas.”

The Blackest Night Begins

And in Gotham City, Alfred Pennyworth makes his way to the graves of Bruce, Martha, and Thomas
Wayne. He discovers Black Hand’s raid of Bruce’s grave, and goes to alert the Justice League.

After the ceremonies, Jordan meets Barry Allen at the Hall of Justice in Washington, DC. Hal shows Barry
the vaults beneath the Hall containing the remains of several dead supervillains. Barry demands to know
who has died since he was lost to the Speed Force. Hal creates a construct with his ring that shows all
the heroes that have died since the Crisis on Infinite Earths.

At the Stonechat Museum in St. Roch, Hawkman argues with Atom over the phone about visiting the
grave of Jean Loring. Carter smashes the phone in anger, but is then calmed down by Hawkgirl.

Back at The Watchtower, Hal and Barry are informed of Bruce’s missing skull and race to investigate.

On Oa, the Guardians of the Universe discover that the War of Light has broken out across the universe.
The Sinestro Corps battle the Star Sapphires on Zamaron, while Mongul leads his recently defeated
troops towards the planet Korugar. The Lost Lanterns fight the Red Lantern Corps on Ysmault for Laira’s
corpse. And on Odym, the Blue Lantern Corps face off against the Orange Lantern Corps. As it becomes
apparent that the Blackest Night has fallen, Scar attacks one of her fellow Guardians and rips his heart
out. She then imprisons her fellow Guardians with a black goo that she spits from her mouth, claiming
“You abandoned emotion eons ago. Your hearts are useless. Empty. The darkness cannot feast on your
hearts. They need to hunt full ones.”

A swarm of black rings descend on Earth, while a single ring spirals off towards Mars. It blasts its way
into J’onn J’onzz’s crypt, and says, “J’onn J’onzz of Mars. Rise.” J’onn blasts out of his tomb and heads to
Earth, where Hal Jordan and Barry Allen are investigating Bruce Wayne’s compromised crypt.

In Valhalla National Cemetery, the black rings swoop down and convert all the dead bodies in the
cemetery. Jade escapes her grave and heads toward Oa.

Above Oa, Kyle Rayner confesses to Guy Gardner that when he looked into Star Sapphire Miri’s crystal,
he saw Jade, not Soranik Natu as he originally claimed. Guy convinces him to give the relationship a
chance, and to value the hearts that are still beating. The two then meet up with Natu and Princess
Iolande, and are approaching Oa when they encounter a swarm of black power rings headed towards
the planet. After a failed attempt to halt the rings’ progress, Natu and Iolande head off towards Oa’s
hospitals to evacuate them while Guy and Kyle alert the other Lanterns to the rings’ presence.
Meanwhile, on Daxam, Arisia Rrab contemplates Sodam Yat’s death and the nature of the Daxamite
people. She then tearfully flies back towards Oa.

On Zamaron, Sinestro and Tekik attempt to free Kryb and the other female Sinestro Corps members
from their Zamaron transformation crystal.

On Korugar, Mongul sets an example to its population by executing several government leaders in public
and renaming his soldiers the Mongul Corps.

On Oa, the other Lanterns try to head the black rings off, but they blaze past them and enter the crypt,
where Morro the Cryptkeeper prepares for battle. Although every single dead Lantern is compromised,
Morro’s dratures airlift him to safety. As the Green Lanterns combat the Black, Jade joins the army of
Black Lanterns fighting Kyle Rayner.

At the Stonechat Museum, Hawkgirl is taken by surprise and killed by Black Lantern Sue Dibny.
Hawkman, aware of the threat, holds out a little longer, but is eventually killed by Black Lantern Ralph
Dibny. The two Black Lanterns rip out the heroes’ hearts. The Black Lantern Rings they are wearing
register 0.02% charged, 0.01% for each heart gathered. Black Hand appears, holding Bruce Wayne’s
skull. Two rings float out of it, commanding Hawkman and Hawkgirl to rise as Black Lanterns.

Meanwhile, at Bruce Wayne’s grave, the Martian Manhunter descends on Hal Jordan and Barry Allen.
Their fight eventually leads them to a fire station in Gotham City, where J’onn uses his telepathy to
make Barry think that Hal is him. Barry pummels Hal to the point of unconsciousness. J’onn then throws
Hal towards the Bat-Signal and attempts to drown Barry.

On Oa, Scar witnesses the black rings descending across the universe—on Ysmault, on Odym, on Okaara,
on Qward, and on Zamaron. The black rings’ power charge grows to 1.20%.

John Stewart sits on an asteroid in the remains of the planet Xanshi. The black rings suddenly rip
through the field, reanimating the dead population of an entire planet.

In Ivy Town, Ray Palmer repeatedly calls Hawkman. The newly reanimated Black Lantern invites him to
talk at St. Roch. Ray says, “I’ll be right there.”
In Gotham City, atop Gotham PD Headquarters, Commissioner Gordon and Barbara Gordon speculate
about the uncannily black night that has fallen. Green Lantern then forcefully slams into the Bat-Signal.

In Amnesty Bay, Mera and Garth lead a cadre of Atlantian warriors to move Aquaman’s remains to the
ocean. They soon discover that his corpse his gone. Black Lantern Aquaman then reveals himself to
them by killing one of the Atlantians.

In the Himalayas, Deadman becomes aware of the dead rising across the globe. He is then pulled to his
grave in Gotham City and witnesses a black ring possess his corpse. He attempts to jump into it, but is
forced out again. He then flees to find help from Dick Grayson.

At Georgetown University, black rings head toward the graves of Hank and Don Hall. Several rings
attempt to possess Don, but are stopped by an invisible barrier, each one saying, “ Don Hall of Earth. Ri
—Don Hall of Earth at peace.” Hawk then rises from his grave and takes flight.

Tempest, Mera, and the other Atlantians continue to fight Arthur, but Dolphin and Tula ambush Garth
and throw him into a lighthouse. Aquaman summons several undead sharks, which make quick work of
the Atlantian warriors.

The Spectre, Blue Devil, Zatanna and the Phantom Stranger investigate the empty grave of Boston Brand
in Gotham City. Black Lantern Pariah then appears and sends several black rings shooting towards the
four. Black Hand then appears and witnesses a black ring possess Crispus Allen. As he is taken, the
Spectre cries, “No! I will not be used! I am the spirit of vengeance! I am the Spectrrrrrrrrrrrrr….”. Upon
rising, he sets out in search of Hal Jordan.

At Gotham PD, Hal Jordan borrows Jim Gordon’s car and resumes the fight against the Martian
Manhunter with the Flash.

Back at Amnesty Bay, Mera manages to fend off Aquaman and races to help Garth. After she freezes
Dolphin’s head with a spell, Mera shatters it with her trident. However, Dolphin merely reforms her
head and continues to fight Mera. Tula manages to rip out Garth’s heart and he is then inducted into the
Black Lantern Corps. A hurricane throws Mera onto a parked car. Aquaman, Tula, Garth, and Dolphin
then advance on her, but she flees into the fog.
Back in Gotham, Barry Allen mixes flammable chemicals to fend off the Martian Manhunter. Green
Lantern then sends a police car into the mix, which Barry funnels into a tornado. Barry says that after
the fire dies down, he wants to retrieve J’onn’s remains. Martian Manhunter, Hawkman, Hawkgirl,
Elongated Man, Sue Dibny, and Firestorm then shoot out of the smoke towards the two.

Blackest Night: Batman

Back at Bruce Wayne’s grave, Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne move the bodies of Thomas and Martha
Wayne out of the graveyard. Deadman possesses Dick while he is driving the Batmobile away from the
cemetery. Damian reacts in alarm to Deadman’s presence, and punches him until the Batmobile flies off
the road. Deadman then takes possession of Damian and tells Dick what he knows about the Blackest
Night. They drive to the graveyard of Jack and Janet Drake, only to find the graves empty. Dick alerts Tim
to come back from France, but Damian notices the Batsignal with the silhouettes of many people in
front of it. While the undead Gotham Rogues cut their way to the police station to Jim & Barbara
Gordon, Dick knows he cannot stop the Black Lanterns with nothing less than a shotgun, but Batman’s
hatred of firearms did not die with Bruce, so Dick grabs some flamethrowers and the Dynamic Duo make
their way to the GCPD. Deadman enters the body of Barbara and rescues Jim as Dick and Damian arrive,
unfortunately the creatures keep coming and the fuel is nearly depleted. Suddenly, Tim Drake arrives in
a plane ready to pick up the Duo and the Gordon’s. The trio finally realize the scope of the Crisis but find
themselves with two undead parties on board, The Graysons and The Drakes. With no other alternative,
Dick crashes the plane into a graveyard. Dick orders Damian to get help from someone when Tim and
Dick are forced to live the worst days of their lives: Dick is made to watch his parents die again and
begins to pummel Tony Zucco (also undead) while Tim is also made to watch his father’s death but he
sees it as a chance to save him and starts to beat Captain Boomerang, as they begin to glow red with
rage. The Black Lanterns begin to strike until Jason Blood AKA Etrigan possessed by Deadman begins to
fight the undead foes. Dick tells Damian to bring something from the armory and Damian arrives with
Mr. Freeze’s Freeze gun pointing it first at the Robins. Batman then uses it on himself. During their time
frozen, their hearts stop and all emotions vanish. Seeking new sustenance, the Black Lanterns fly away
and Deadman rescues the Boy Wonders, as they are now ready to thwart the Black Menace!

Blackest Night: Superman

In Smallville, Kal-L and Lois Lane of Earth-Two are inducted into the Black Lantern Corps. Pete Ross and
his friends watch the sunset. They see Kal-L among the clouds, but he disappears immediately and they
decide it was nothing. He then proceeds on a rampage through the town, killing 39 people and using
their heart energies to charge his ring. In the Kent household, Martha, Connor, and Clark Kent wait with
Krypto for Lois Lane to arrive. Upon hearing a strange sound at the grave of Jonathan Kent, Connor and
Clark depart to find Kal-L digging it up. Kal-L knocks Superboy unconscious and flies towards the sky,
Superman in hot pursuit.

Back at the Kent household, Martha washes dishes with Krypto at her side. Black Lantern Lois Lane of
Earth-Two then breaks down the front of the house and retrieves Martha.
Superman punches a hole in Kal-L’s head, making him drop Connor. Kal-El saves him, but the Superman
of Earth-Two has disappeared. On Kandor, New Krypton, Alura In-Ze and Kara Zor-El honor the grave of
Zor-El. A black ring shoots into his tomb and inducts him into the Black Lantern Corps. He bursts free of
his tomb and advances upon Alura and Supergirl.

Superman and Superboy hurry back to the Kent home, only to find it half-destroyed and Krypto
wounded among the wreckage. They fly into downtown Smallville, and Connor surmises how the town is
deathly quiet. They find Kal-L on top of Jonathan Kent’s coffin and Lois Lane of Earth-Two with Martha
Kent in Lois’ arms. Conner goes after Lois, while Superman continues to battle Kal-L. Meanwhile, Black
Lantern Psycho-Pirate is using his Medusa Mask to make the people of Smallville feel different emotions,
allowing him to rip their hearts out. Superboy goes after Psycho-Pirate, but he uses his powers on Kon-
El, and tells him to fight against Superman, as he and Kal-L are beating Kal-El up. Just as Superman is
about to fall unconscious, Conner breaks free of the Psycho-Pirate’s control and uses his tactile
telekinesis on Kal-L, temporarily destroying him. As Kal-L begins to reform, Superman goes after his
Black Lantern counterpart as Conner resumes his battle against Psycho-Pirate. Meanwhile, Martha tries
to hide from Black Lantern Lois Lane in a cornfield. She then burns the Black Lantern, but it doesn’t stop
her. However, it allows Krypto to attack Lois from behind and bite her arm off, taking the Black Lantern
Ring with him.

In Kandor, Alura and Supergirl are having a hard time dealing with the Black Lanterns on New Krypton,
including Zor-El. The Kryptonians manage to create a device that creates a forcefield around the planet,
which prevents the Black Lanterns from entering the planet but, at the same time, it prevents anyone
from coming in.

As Superboy continues to battle the Psycho-Pirate, he manages to take the Medusa Mask, and uses it on
the Psycho-Pirate, turning him back into a corpse. He then uses the mask on the people of Smallville,
returning them to normal. Finally, he flies up to Kal-L, defeating him and returning him to his corpse
state. After Conner throws the mask away, they both realize that this event is related to the Green
Lantern Corps and they head off, trying to find one of them.

Amongst the remains of Xanshi, John Stewart is knocked unconscious by Black Lantern Pariah. When he
comes to, he sees the planet Xanshi recreated, a Black Hand symbol gleaming up from it.

On Zamaron, the Star Sapphires fight against the Sinestro Corps. The Zamarons are impressed and
somewhat disturbed to discover that Carol Ferris can resist the ring’s control upon herself. Sinestro
arrives and frees Kryb, Karu-Sil, and numerous other female Sinestros before fighting Carol.
On Ysmault, Boodikka kills every Red Lantern in sight with a shot to the head, including Veon. The other
Lost Lanterns attempt to leave, but Honnu is attacked by Atrocitus trying to help Boodikka. Five black
rings then appear and resurrect the four remaining Inversions and Laira.

Back on Zamaron, Sinestro and Carol seem relatively well matched until Carol imprisons Sinestro in a
Star Sapphire crystal. This brings back the memory of his lost love, Arin Sur, Abin Sur’s sister. Sinestro
then breaks free of his crystal and pummels Carol close to the point of unconsciousness. Tekik and the
Sinestro of Space Sector 11 are about to execute Carol with Sinestro when a black ring flies through the
heart of Sinestro 11. The power levels are charged from 0.01% to 45.43%. Amon Sur and several
deceased Sinestros descend from the sky on them, as Black Lanterns.

On Oa, Lyssa Drak bears witness to the Book of the Black, which shows numerous Black Lanterns
standing around the Red Lantern Central Power Battery, Larfleeze surrounded by corpses, and Black
Lantern Amon Sur, Sinestro, and Carol Ferris fighting each other. The Guardian Scar attacks Lyssa from
behind and puts her inside the Book of the Black. She watches the imprisoned Guardians. Speaking to an
unknown presence, she states that the Indigo light will soon be theirs.

In Gotham City, Hal Jordan and Flash continue to battle against the Black Lantern Justice League.
Suddenly, Indigo-1 and Munk of the Indigo Tribe arrive and help halt the advance of the Black Lanterns.
They tell the two heroes that they need Green Lantern to recruit the heads of the other Lantern Corps in
order to create the white light necessary to destroy the Black Lanterns. While Munk teleports to Oa to
help the Green Lantern Corps, Indigo-1 and Hal teleport to Zamaron, where they convince Carol and
Sinestro to help fight the Black Lantern Corps. They then teleport to Korugar, where Sinestro battles
Mongul for control of the Sinestro Corps. Though Mongul is stronger than Sinestro, Sinestro activates a
program in the six Yellow Power Rings on Mongul’s hand to shut off and turn against him. Sinestro then
brings the Yellow Lantern Central Power Battery on top of Mongul and imprisons him inside the Battery.
They then have to fight against Abin and Arin Sur, who have been reanimated as Black Lanterns. While
Hal and Carol deal with Abin Sur, Sinestro and Indigo-1 go up against Arin Sur. Together, the four
Lanterns destroy Abin and Arin Sur. Indigo-1 then teleports them to Odym.

On Qward, the Sinestro Corps fight for their lives against several Black Lantern Qwardians.

The Gathering of the Corps

On Odym, the black rings hover in the sky, awaiting a death on the planet surface. The Orange Lantern
Corps are on the verge of uprooting the Blue Lantern Central Power Battery and stealing it. Just as the
Orange Lanterns are about to take the Blue Lantern Central Power Battery, the Blue Lantern Rings
activate and they stop the Orange Lanterns before they disappear. Hal, Sinestro, Carol, and Indigo-1
arrive, where they recruit Saint Walker and the Guardians Ganthet and Sayd.
On Okaara, Larfleeze monitors his Lanterns on Odym through his Orange Lantern Power Battery. Several
black rings shoot into his lair and resurrect the bodies of his Corps. The Black Lanterns attack Larfleeze,
but he is then attacked by Atrocitus who wants his Orange Lantern Power Battery, and briefly succeeds
before Larfleeze takes it back and knocks the Red Lantern out. Before Larfleeze and Atrocitus are
destroyed by the Black Lanterns, Hal, Carol, Sinestro, Indigo-1, Saint Walker, Ganthet and Sayd, arrive
and dispose of the Black Lanterns on Okaara and manage to make a deal with Larfleeze, who wants his
own Guardian, to which Sayd agrees to become. They then see Jean Loring take out the heart of
Damage, which causes the Black Lantern Rings to reach 100%.

On Ryut, Scar begins the second phase in the plan of the Black Lanterns and teleports the Black Lantern
Central Power Battery to Coast City. Suddenly, Hal and Barry hear a voice calling their names. Indigo-1
uses her powers on a destroyed black ring, and finds the source of their power and teleports the others
with her.

Nekron’s Rise

In Gotham City, the announcement causes pain to Barry as he races to Coast City. He finds Black Hand
and goes after him, but an explosion blows him away, as the Black Lantern Central Power Battery
appears. Black Hand then says, “Nekron. RISE.” Nekron then rises from the ground, carrying a scythe
with a Black Lantern Power Battery on top of it. He then tells the dead of Coast City to rise, surrounding
Barry Allen. Nekron then tells him that he owes him his life, as does everyone else.

Deathstroke stands at the grave of his son, Grant Wilson. Deathstroke says “The H.I.V.E. never should
have hired you to go after the Titans, son. That’s what got you killed. They’re still paying for that
mistake.”

On Oa, Kyle Rayner and the Green Lantern Corps are bravely fighting the Black Lanterns. They even
release the Red Lantern Vice from the Sciencells and unleash him onto the Black Lanterns, but is killed
by the Alpha Lantern Corps. But, even with the help of Munk of the Indigo Tribe, the Black Lanterns are
able to create a fissure in Oa which threatens to destroy the Alpha Lantern Power Battery which could in
turn, could destroy Oa. Kyle leads the Black Lanterns to the Battery and places an energy bubble around
it, and kills all the Black Lanterns around him, but at a cost, himself. Kyle’s death is too much to bear for
Guy Gardner, who succumbs to his rage, and Vice’s Red Lantern Ring attaches itself on to Guy’s hand,
and he starts attacking the Black Lanterns around him. The Green Lantern Corps then get help from Star
Sapphire Miri Riam, who takes Kyle’s body to Soranik Natu and uses her powers to connect Natu’s heart
to Kyle’s, which brings Kyle back to life.
Issue #5 opens on the planet Ryut of Space Sector 666, the homeworld of the Black Lantern Central
Power Battery where we not only see the Guardians of the Blue Lanterns, Ganthet and Sayd, but also
the heads of the 7 Lantern Corps (Atrocitus, Larfleeze, Saint Walker, Star Sapphire, Hal Jordan, Sinestro,
and Indigo-1). Atrocitus recognizes it at his homeworld and then attacks Ganthet and Green Lantern,
blaming them for the devastation of his home by the Manhunters and causing the Blackest Night to
happen, and we find out that he once valued life before he succumbed to the rage of the Red Lantern
Corps. They find that the Black Lantern Battery is no longer on the planet Ryut. So, in order to find out its
location, the lanterns recite their respective Corps oaths and recharge their rings, except for Larfleeze
who does not have an oath for the Orange Lantern Corps.

Rise of the New Guardians

Meanwhile on Earth, Barry, and the rest of Earth’s heroes converge on Coast City, where they are joined
by Hal and the other Lanterns. The Lanterns then combine their rings and destroy Scar, and turn their
attention to Nekron and the Black Lantern Central Power Battery and unleash their powers on the
Battery, but it has no effect on either the Battery nor Nekron, who then reveals the next stage of his
plan. Black Hand then resurrects Batman who spits out Black Power Rings while Nekron explains that he
was behind every resurrection and they are all still connected to him. Superman, Kid Flash, Superboy,
Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Animal Man and Ice are transformed into Black Lanterns with Barry and
Hal fighting away the rings. Barry and Hal try to escape not only the black rings meant for them, but the
resurrected heroes that were just transformed into Black Lanterns by Nekron. In order to escape the
black rings, Barry has Hal throw him a construct of a line, and runs both of them two seconds into the
future, preventing the black rings from targetting them. The Lanterns then realize that even with their
combined powers, they are only recreating a fraction of the white light necessary to destroy Nekron and
the Battery. So, in order to bolster their ranks, Ganthet initializes a program in Hal’s ring, which
duplicates it. Ganthet attaches the duplicate on to his hand and inducts himself into the Green Lantern
Corps. His last act as Guardian is to initialize the same program in the other power rings to deputize
individuals for 24 hours, citing that though each ring is different from each other, they are all based on
Oan technology. While Ganthet himself is the Green Lantern Corps deputy, the other duplicate rings
seek out beings capable of their respective emotions to serve as a temporary member for each Corps,
Atrocitus’s ring attaches itself to Mera, while Saint Walker’s ring attaches itself to Flash. Larfleeze’s ring
goes to Lex Luthor. Sinestro’s ring goes to the Scarecrow, while Indigo-1’s staff welcomes the Atom into
the Indigo Tribe, and Carol’s ring attaches itself to Wonder Woman, which frees Diana from the Black
Lantern Ring attached to her and brings her back to life. In order to fully recreate the white light,
Ganthet has Indigo-1 and her tribe bring all the members of the other Corps to Earth, so that they can
destroy Nekron and the Black Lantern Corps.

Back on Oa, the Green Lantern Corps continue to battle the Black Lantern Corps and Guy Gardner, who
became a Red Lantern after Kyle died. Kyle and the other Lanterns try to get through to Guy to free him
from the red ring’s influence, but Guy thinks it’s a trick by the Black Lanterns and uses both the Red
Lantern Ring and the Green Lantern Ring attached to him to attack his friends. Suddenly, the Green
Lantern planet Mogo arrives, on an old order given to him by the Guardians of the Universe to use his
planet’s gravity to suck any infestation on Oa on to his planet and destroy them. Mogo increases his
gravity to suck everyone, including the Green Lantern Corps, the Black Lantern Corps, and Red Lantern
Guy on to his planet. He disposes of the Black Lanterns by drowning them into his core, and destroys
them permanently. As for Guy, he immerses him in a nutrient bath, which removes the toxic effect of
the red ring from his body, freeing him from the power of the ring. Now that the Black Lanterns on Oa
have been destroyed, the Green Lantern Corps, along with Miri Riam, the Indigo Tribe, and the members
of the other Lantern Corps, who then teleport to Earth, where they help John Stewart deal with the
Black Lanterns from space, including the dead planet Xanshi.

Parallax: Rebirth

As Green Lantern and the other Lanterns continue to battle the Black Lantern Corps, they are attacked
by the Spectre, who goes after Hal and nearly turns him into a Black Lantern. Ganthet and Sayd free him,
but are themselves eaten by the Spectre, but Hal frees them. Hal and Ganthet then create a construct of
a stake and drive it into the Spectre, but it has no effect on him. They then realize that the real Spectre is
trapped inside the body of Crispus Allen. Hal then has Ganthet summon his Power Battery, as well as
Guy’s, Johns’ and Kyle’s batteries as well. He then tells the others that the only being capable of beating
the Spectre is Parallax, and that if he joins with the parasite again, then they will beat the Black Lantern
Spectre, and separate him from Parallax right after that. Sinestro disagrees with Hal, saying that he
joined with Parallax because Coast City was destroyed, but Hal says that he has made peace with that
and has Sinestro use his ring to destroy the four batteries and release Parallax. Hal and Sinestro then
fight with each other over who gets to bond with Parallax, but Hal wins in the end. But, before he heads
towards the entity, Star Sapphire comes over to him and kisses him, saying that she loves him. Hal then
joins with Parallax, and we see him in the same uniform he wore when he first joined with Parallax. With
the increase in power, Parallax battles the Spectre while the others fight against the Black Lanterns
around them. Parallax then goes inside the Spectre’s body and finds the real Spectre, and the Black
Lantern Ring controlling the body of Crispus Allen. Parallax destroys the ring, which turns Crispus Allen’s
body back into a corpse, releasing the real Spectre. The Lanterns attempt to free Hal from Parallax, but
Parallax fights back, not wanting to separate again from Hal Jordan. Ganthet and Carol manage to pull
Parallax out of Hal. Sinestro tries to bond with Parallax, but something pulls Parallax away and he
disappears. The Spectre tries to destroy Nekron, but since Nekron doesn’t have a soul and is death itself,
the Spectre has no effect on him and transports the Spirit of Vengeance away.

The Sentient Embodiment of Life Revealed

In Coast City, Nekron has Black Lantern Superman kill a Guardian. Black Hand then uses the blood of the
Guardian to draw a symbol on the ground. Then, Nekron says, “Trespasser. RISE.” A being of white light
then comes out of the ground, to which Ganthet says is the sentient embodiment of life itself, meaning
that the Guardians lied when they said that life began on Oa, when it actually began on Earth. Nekron
then begins to attack the Entity, causing pain in every living being. Hal and Sinestro realize that the
Entity is like Parallax and Ion, it needs a host. Hal heads for the Entity, but is stopped by Sinestro, saying
that Hal had his chance with Parallax and that he himself will continue Abin Sur’s mission, and bonds
with the Entity, who says, “Thaal Sinestro of Korugar. Destiny Awaits.”
In the last issue of the Blackest Night event, we see Sinestro in a White Lantern uniform and begins
attacking the Black Lanterns around him. As he’s bonded with the Entity, he sees the history of life, from
when it was created on Earth at the beginning of the universe, to when the first living beings began to
feel emotions, creating the Emotional Spectrum. Suddenly, Nekron kills Sinestro, by slicing him in half,
trying to draw out the Entity, but the Entity heals Sinestro, who resumes his attack, this time going after
Nekron himself. Meanwhile, in space above Earth, the seven Lantern Corps continue to battle the Black
Lanterns coming from Xanshi. In order to destroy the Black Lanterns, the Lantern forces go into Xanshi’s
core, where they see a fusion of Black Lantern Rings at the core of the planet. They then use their rings
and destroy the connection, thus destroying the planet once and for all, as the members of the Lantern
Corps head down to Coast City to defeat Nekron and destroy the Black Lantern Central Power Battery.

White Lantern Corps

Nekron manages to separate the Entity from Sinestro, but before he can continue his attack, Hal bonds
with the Entity, bringing the Anti-Monitor back to life, which destroys the Black Lantern Central Power
Battery. The Anti-Monitor starts to attack Nekron, but his powers have no effect on him. Nekron then
counterattacks and transports the Anti-Monitor back to the Antimatter Universe. Hal also turns
Superman, Wonder Woman, Superboy, Green Arrow, Ice, and all the resurrected heroes that Nekron
turned into Black Lanterns, into a White Lantern Corps. Hal and the White Lanterns then attack Nekron
and destroy him. Hal then uses the White Lantern Ring to resurrect Black Hand, who coughs up a
number of white rings, which attach themselves to Osiris, Jade, Captain Boomerang, Hawk, Ronnie
Raymond, Professor Zoom, Maxwell Lord, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, and
Deadman, bringing them back from the dead.

Brightest Day Begins

After the battle, we see Hal and Barry at Bruce’s grave. Barry is wondering why the Entity resurrected
only the specific people that it resurrected, instead of everyone who died. Hal tells him that he doesn’t
know, but tells him that because he bonded with the Entity, he can feel it in space, as the Blackest Night
ends and the Brightest Day begins, as we see a White Lantern Power Battery in a crater. And Black Hand
with the Indigo Tribe, in chain.