Who Will Be The Third Army?
ENTRY #65
1204.25
I've been giving some more thought to the sanity (or lack thereof) of the Guardians Of The Universe. I've looked over my previous entries on the subject, and I think it all boils down to three little things:
1. The Guardians' prime motivation is guilt.
They see themselves as being responsible for the cosmic catastrophe that Krona unleashed billions of years ago, and everything they have done since then has been in one way or another an effort to atone for Krona's actions.
2. The Guardians are control freaks.
I mentioned this in my last entry. They assert a firm control over the Green portion of the Emotional Spectrum. (I suspect that the Guardians would more than likely do whatever they felt necessary to prevent anyone else from tapping into the energy of Will as a power source.) Even though they disdain the other colors of the Emotional Spectrum, they also don't want anyone else utilizing them, either. They see the various other-colored Lantern Corps as nuisances at best, and enemies to be obliterated at worst. And they are intent on imposing order on the rest of the universe -- or at least order as they see it.
3. The Guardians are perfectionists.
They don't like being reminded of their mistakes. Of course, this is something of a paradox, as the very existence of the Green Lantern Corps (and before them, the Manhunters) is a constant reminder of what they would have to consider their greatest mistake. Which means that they have been constantly reminded of their greatest mistake for billions of years. (Or as the late Carl Sagan would say, "BILL-yuns and BILL-yuns of years.")
I think all three of this factors are going to play into an upcoming storyline in the various Green Lantern titles. A storyline which will deal with their attempting to create what they have so far cryptically referred to as "The Third Army."
Their First Army, of course, was the Manhunters. An army of androids which served the Guardians well for millions of years, until a glitch in their programming caused things (to borrow a tagline from the movie Westworld), to go worng . . .
The Second Army is the Green Lantern Corps. An army of living beings recruited from every corner of the universe. But the Guardians now seem to be thinking that this group of agents has too much independent thought. Members of the Green Lantern Corps are carrying out their duties, but the Guardians appear to be easily annoyed if the Green Lanterns are not carrying those duties out the way that they feel those duties should be carried out.
My feeling is that the Guardians want an army that they can control to their liking. But if artificial lifeforms are subject to breakdowns in programming, living beings are too prone to doing things in a way that annoy the Guardians, and the Guardians themselves have neither the numbers to carry out this task themselves nor the inclination to increase those numbers, what option or options remain to them? And while we're at it, how do they deal with (to them) the pesky little problem of all those other multi-colored Lantern Corps zipping around the universe?
My theory is that the Guardians are going to deal with all of these problems in creating their Third Army -- or so they think. First, I think the Guardians are going to decide that the only proper way for them to deal with the other six Corps is to take control of the entire Emotional Spectrum. And to some extent, they are already doing this.
The first storyline of "The New 52" Green Lantern had Thaal Sinestro (former renegade GL, now returned to the fold) shutting down the Yellow-based corps he created, and bringing its Central Power Battery to Oa (where the Guardians are no doubt keeping a watchful eye on it). My guess is that this is just the first step, and that the Guardians are going to bring the other five Central Power Batteries to Oa, by whatever means possible. (One could almost imagine the late Patrick McGoohan defiantly telling the Guardians, "You won't get them!" To which one of the Guardians would reply, "By hook or by crook, we will.")
And the Orange battery of Avarice will be the key to their Third Army. You see, the Orange energy of Avarice is a bit different from the other colors of the Emotional Spectrum. There is no "Orange Lantern Corps" per se; only a single wielder of the energy -- an individual named Larfleeze. And the nature of the Orange energy he wields means that Larfleeze, for lack of a better term, doesn't play well with others. He doesn't want anyone else using his power. Millions of years ago, Larfleeze and the Guardians came to an uneasy arrangement -- Larfleeze would have free reign over a small area of space, and that area would be off-limits to the Green Lantern Corps. The breach of that arrangement was one of the precursors to the Blackest Night storyline.
While there are no Orange Lanterns, Larfleeze does have an army of sorts at his command. Whenever Larfleeze kills someone using the Orange energy of Avarice, the power scans the fallen adversary, and creates a duplicate of him (or her, or it). Think of it as the ultimate form of identity theft. Larfleeze can bring up these orange avatars at will, he has complete control over them, and there doesn't seem to be any limit on how many he can create.
So here in a nutshell is my theory on the Third Army. The Guardians are going to acquire the remaining five Central Power Batteries (Red, Orange, Blue, Indigo, and Violet). Using the Orange Battery's "identity theft" ability, they are going to create an army of energy avatars which will take the place of the current Green Lantern Corps. My guess is that the Guardians will need the power of all seven Batteries to properly create and maintain the Third Army. (I am also assuming that the identity theft ability is something that is unavailable to the Green energy of Will.)
And when I say that the Third Army will take the place of the Green Lantern Corps, I mean that quite literally. My guess is that the Guardians will use the Green Lanterns as the templates for the initial members of the Third Army.
Yes, I am suggesting that the Guardians Of The Universe are contemplating the murder of some 7200 sentient beings -- all of whom have served them quite valiantly. But the more I see the Third Army mentioned, the more I get the feeling that the Guardians are looking at their Third Army as an omelet.
And I don't think I have to remind you of that old saying about making an omelet.
-30-
1204.25
I've been giving some more thought to the sanity (or lack thereof) of the Guardians Of The Universe. I've looked over my previous entries on the subject, and I think it all boils down to three little things:
1. The Guardians' prime motivation is guilt.
They see themselves as being responsible for the cosmic catastrophe that Krona unleashed billions of years ago, and everything they have done since then has been in one way or another an effort to atone for Krona's actions.
2. The Guardians are control freaks.
I mentioned this in my last entry. They assert a firm control over the Green portion of the Emotional Spectrum. (I suspect that the Guardians would more than likely do whatever they felt necessary to prevent anyone else from tapping into the energy of Will as a power source.) Even though they disdain the other colors of the Emotional Spectrum, they also don't want anyone else utilizing them, either. They see the various other-colored Lantern Corps as nuisances at best, and enemies to be obliterated at worst. And they are intent on imposing order on the rest of the universe -- or at least order as they see it.
3. The Guardians are perfectionists.
They don't like being reminded of their mistakes. Of course, this is something of a paradox, as the very existence of the Green Lantern Corps (and before them, the Manhunters) is a constant reminder of what they would have to consider their greatest mistake. Which means that they have been constantly reminded of their greatest mistake for billions of years. (Or as the late Carl Sagan would say, "BILL-yuns and BILL-yuns of years.")
I think all three of this factors are going to play into an upcoming storyline in the various Green Lantern titles. A storyline which will deal with their attempting to create what they have so far cryptically referred to as "The Third Army."
Their First Army, of course, was the Manhunters. An army of androids which served the Guardians well for millions of years, until a glitch in their programming caused things (to borrow a tagline from the movie Westworld), to go worng . . .
The Second Army is the Green Lantern Corps. An army of living beings recruited from every corner of the universe. But the Guardians now seem to be thinking that this group of agents has too much independent thought. Members of the Green Lantern Corps are carrying out their duties, but the Guardians appear to be easily annoyed if the Green Lanterns are not carrying those duties out the way that they feel those duties should be carried out.
My feeling is that the Guardians want an army that they can control to their liking. But if artificial lifeforms are subject to breakdowns in programming, living beings are too prone to doing things in a way that annoy the Guardians, and the Guardians themselves have neither the numbers to carry out this task themselves nor the inclination to increase those numbers, what option or options remain to them? And while we're at it, how do they deal with (to them) the pesky little problem of all those other multi-colored Lantern Corps zipping around the universe?
My theory is that the Guardians are going to deal with all of these problems in creating their Third Army -- or so they think. First, I think the Guardians are going to decide that the only proper way for them to deal with the other six Corps is to take control of the entire Emotional Spectrum. And to some extent, they are already doing this.
The first storyline of "The New 52" Green Lantern had Thaal Sinestro (former renegade GL, now returned to the fold) shutting down the Yellow-based corps he created, and bringing its Central Power Battery to Oa (where the Guardians are no doubt keeping a watchful eye on it). My guess is that this is just the first step, and that the Guardians are going to bring the other five Central Power Batteries to Oa, by whatever means possible. (One could almost imagine the late Patrick McGoohan defiantly telling the Guardians, "You won't get them!" To which one of the Guardians would reply, "By hook or by crook, we will.")
And the Orange battery of Avarice will be the key to their Third Army. You see, the Orange energy of Avarice is a bit different from the other colors of the Emotional Spectrum. There is no "Orange Lantern Corps" per se; only a single wielder of the energy -- an individual named Larfleeze. And the nature of the Orange energy he wields means that Larfleeze, for lack of a better term, doesn't play well with others. He doesn't want anyone else using his power. Millions of years ago, Larfleeze and the Guardians came to an uneasy arrangement -- Larfleeze would have free reign over a small area of space, and that area would be off-limits to the Green Lantern Corps. The breach of that arrangement was one of the precursors to the Blackest Night storyline.
While there are no Orange Lanterns, Larfleeze does have an army of sorts at his command. Whenever Larfleeze kills someone using the Orange energy of Avarice, the power scans the fallen adversary, and creates a duplicate of him (or her, or it). Think of it as the ultimate form of identity theft. Larfleeze can bring up these orange avatars at will, he has complete control over them, and there doesn't seem to be any limit on how many he can create.
So here in a nutshell is my theory on the Third Army. The Guardians are going to acquire the remaining five Central Power Batteries (Red, Orange, Blue, Indigo, and Violet). Using the Orange Battery's "identity theft" ability, they are going to create an army of energy avatars which will take the place of the current Green Lantern Corps. My guess is that the Guardians will need the power of all seven Batteries to properly create and maintain the Third Army. (I am also assuming that the identity theft ability is something that is unavailable to the Green energy of Will.)
And when I say that the Third Army will take the place of the Green Lantern Corps, I mean that quite literally. My guess is that the Guardians will use the Green Lanterns as the templates for the initial members of the Third Army.
Yes, I am suggesting that the Guardians Of The Universe are contemplating the murder of some 7200 sentient beings -- all of whom have served them quite valiantly. But the more I see the Third Army mentioned, the more I get the feeling that the Guardians are looking at their Third Army as an omelet.
And I don't think I have to remind you of that old saying about making an omelet.
-30-