Extending the Spectrum

[Dataweaver]

Back when the EmoSpectrum was a new concept that fans were just beginning to wrap their heads around, a forum dedicated to the Green Lantern mythology ended up producing a set of banners for each of the Corps. As a joke, I ended up making a half-dozen new banners for Corps belonging to parts of the EM spectrum beyond visible light. It was meant as a joke at the time; but in the back of my mind, I figured that it would only be a matter of time before the comics went there.

And now they are.

Well, they’re starting to: we now have the Ultraviolet Corps, powered by Shame. Noting the pattern of the others, this implies that there should also be an Infrared “Light” that contrasts with Ultraviolet in much the same way that Red’s hatred conflicts with Violet’s love, Indigo’s selfless Compassion contrasts with Orange’s selfish Avarice, and Blue’s hope counters Yellow’s fear. Perhaps Infrared is Pride, shading into arrogance?

Beyond that, Ultraviolet gives way to X-rays and then to gamma radiation. Meanwhile, Infrared gives way to shortwaves, a.k.a. microwaves, and eventually to radio waves. This could give us at least two more corps (“hard radiation” on one end and radio waves, including shortwaves and longwaves as well as conventional radio, on the other) or maybe four (I originally treated X-Rays and Gamma rays as separate things; likewise with microwaves an radio). Either way, Hal’s cousin could return as Airwave, master of the Radio Corps...

[Franny6422]

Great concept.

[Trey Strain]

How about just one good GREEN Corps, instead of fifty crappy Corps of various sorts?

Are three thousand six hundred Lantern not enough for someone to write about? Is that number paltry and constricting to someone's boundless imagination?

Show me some of that imagination before you object that it's being stifled.

Remember "Show me the money?" I say, "Show me the stories!"

[Jody Garland]

You know, Trey, we've had about a decade of those precious 'stories' you keep asking for. Geoff's GL, Tomasi's GLC in its various incarnations, Milligan and Soule's well received Red Lantern runs,, Giffen's Larfleeze, plenty of action, albeit in a different canon, in Injustice... We've had stories and a lot of people liked them.

On topic, I sort of assumed Ultraviolet was powered by Hatred, with the self-loathing/shame being a subcomponent. The same line in issue 2 made me think that the Infrared will be powered by Violence. Maybe I'm wrong.

A Radio Corps would honestly be pretty interesting. Given Hal's family history, you could, as Dataweaver said, bring in Airwave. I'd go full Morrisonian and bring in Krakll and Kwyzz, maybe do a team-up with Wally. As for separating radio and microwaves, given Airwave III's brief tenure as Maser, I'd keep them together.

[Dataweaver]

You know, Trey, we've had about a decade of those precious 'stories' you keep asking for. Geoff's GL, Tomasi's GLC in its various incarnations, Milligan and Soule's well received Red Lantern runs,, Giffen's Larfleeze, plenty of action, albeit in a different canon, in Injustice... We've had stories and a lot of people liked them.

More to the point, the genie is out of the bottle: for better or worse, the EmoSpectrum is here to stay. (Personally, I’m not really a fan; while the concept is an interesting one, and it technically has a history stretching all the way back to the Silver Age with Sinestro and Star Sapphire, I’m not all that fond of how it was executed. But it is what it is, and it’s not going away.)

On topic, I sort of assumed Ultraviolet was powered by Hatred, with the self-loathing/shame being a subcomponent. The same line in issue 2 made me think that the Infrared will be powered by Violence. Maybe I'm wrong.

My understanding is that John Stewart was vulnerable to recruitment because of his sense of guilt and shame over that planet he had let die. As well: hatred and violence are very much under the purview of the Red Lanterns.

A Radio Corps would honestly be pretty interesting. Given Hal's family history, you could, as Dataweaver said, bring in Airwave. I'd go full Morrisonian and bring in Krakll and Kwyzz, maybe do a team-up with Wally. As for separating radio and microwaves, given Airwave III's brief tenure as Maser, I'd keep them together.

Yeah, that’s my thought, too. I hadn’t considered Krakll, but that’s a good point.

[scary harpy]

I love the Spectrum and am looking forward to the Invisible additions.

In time, we will have good stories with all the Lanterns. Let's be honest: we had the Green Lanterns for over 55 years and not all of their tales are winners.

Dataweaver, I like your ideas.

I love the idea of bringing back Airwave/Maser as an integral part of the GL mythology. I'd never heard of Krakll of Kwyzz but it sounds great.