Atrocitus is the leader and founder of the Red Lantern Corps. Wielding a Red Lantern Ring fueled by rage, he has sworn revenge on the Guardians of the Universe for the death of his family in the massacre of Sector 666.
History
Long ago, when the rogue Manhunters rampaged through Green Lantern 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, with Atrocitus serving as their leader. The Five Inversions performed a ritual that 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. They ruled a massive domain known as the Empire of Tears, until the Guardians of the Universe defeated the Five Inversions and imprisoned them on their capital, Ysmault.
After Abin Sur arrived trying to locate survivors of a crash, he went to the imprisoned demons and asked for their assistance. Atrocitus refused to help him, but his comrade Qull freely offered to answer three questions: the location of the survivors, the fate of Abin Sur, and the prophecy of the Blackest Night. Sur told this to the Guardians of the Universe, in turn kept the Five Inversions on Ysmault instead of transferring them to Oan sciencells. Following this, Sur began to make periodic visits to Ysmault to learn how to prevent 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.[1]
Atrocitus continued his violent rampage on the planet Earth. After killing an unspecified number of Air Force troopers, Atrocitus recited an oath that would become the battle cry of the Red Lanterns and performed a ritual that gave him the name of the herald of the Blackest Night: William Hand. Atrocitus created a device using gun parts which acted as a cosmic divining rod, and used it to lead him to Hand (the device eventually became Hand's criminal weapon). Once he tracked down the human who, it is said, will play a prominent role in the coming of the Blackest Night, he attacked, and planned to take Hand's innards back to Ysmault. Before his plan proceeded, Sinestro and rookie Green Lantern Hal Jordan intercepted him, spiriting William Hand to safety. Atrocitus used his newly-constructed device to sap the power from their rings, leaving them with only their wits to defend them before the master of the Five Inversions.[2] Sinestro was able to restore their rings' powers through his power battery, but Atrocitus still had the upper hand. Just as he was about to crush Sinestro with a power shovel, Hal used his ring to blow up the yellow vehicle, surprising Atrocitus greatly, as he believed that Green Lantern rings do not work on yellow. Defeated, Atrocitus was contained by Sinestro, and taken to Oa.[3]
After Sinestro dropped Atrocitus back on Ysmault, Atrocitus and the other Inversions imparted a prophecy of the eventual rebellion of Sinestro's homeworld of Korugar. Sinestro didn't believe his lies and told Atrocitus unlike Abin Sur, he would not fall to fear.[4]
Rage of the Red Lanterns
Atrocitus is shown in the aftermath of the Sinestro Corps War to be the first to forge a Red Lantern power battery, utilizing the power of rage.[5] He said that his first new victim would be the one who called himself "the greatest Green Lantern:" Sinestro, who had long since abandoned the Green Lantern Corps to forge a Corps in his own namesake. His Red Lantern power battery needed to be christened with blood, and he used it to beat Qull to death.
Swearing to destroy Sinestro, Atrocitus became the first member of the Red Lantern Corps. Killing the other inversions, Atrocitus used their blood to form a Central Power Battery, as well as form a power ring. Sending more rings into space, Atrocitus soon formed an army of victims of the Sinestro Corps. Once they were ready, Atrocitus led the Red Lanterns in an attack on the Green Lanterns escorting Sinestro back to Korugar to face execution, who were already suffering an ambush from the Sinestro Corps. Atrocitus tore one Green Lantern in half, as the Red Lanterns killed any and all between them as Sinestro. Once they captured Sinestro and a number of his Corps, they retreated to Ysmault, leaving the Green Lanterns to die.[6]
Returning to Ysmault, Atrocitus had Sinestro crucified to a Red Lantern symbol, vowing to use his blood to form new Red rings for his Corps, which would destroy Korugar, the Sinestro Corps, and the Green Lantern Corps. Sinestro was not intimidated. Further incensed that he was unable to frighten Sinestro, Atrocitus used the heart of a dead Sinestro Corps member to learn his enemy's secrets. The ritual showed the truth to Atrocitus, who vowed to destroy the one thing which Sinestro had hidden from all others–his daughter.[7] Following this, Hal Jordan arrived with the Blue Lanterns Saint Walker and Brother Warth, as the Sinestro Corps launched another rescue attempt. Atrocitus knew that the Blue Lanterns needed Jordan's Green ring to make their Blue rings reach their full potential, and told Jordan that he would rebel again and destroy the Guardians.[7] When Jordan was possessed by a Red ring, Atrocitus took the fight to Walker, breaking his wrist and revealing the truth of the Blue Lanterns weakness. Walker countered by placing his own ring upon Jordan, breaking the Red light's hold over Jordan and destroying the Red ring, injuring Atrocitus. Sinestro and his corps escaped to Qward, while Atrocitus and his Red Lanterns retreated to the dark side of Ysmault. There, Atrocitus performed another a ritual to reveal the location of the Blue Lanterns homeworld.[8]
Blackest Night
The New Guardians
During the Blackest Night the Lost Lanterns came to Ysmault to retrieve Laira's body, but were opposed by Atrocitus and the Red Lanterns. During the conflict, several black power rings descended onto Ysmault, reanimating the bodies of Laira and Atrocitus's fellow Inversions. The reanimated Qull ripped out Atrocitus' heart; However, because Red Lantern rings effectively replace their wearer's hearts, the attack did not kill Atrocitus.
Atrocitus later appeared on Okaara to steal Larfleeze's power battery. However, Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris, Sinestro, Saint Walker, Ganthet, Sayd, and Indigo-1, save the two from Black Lanterns and stop Atrocitus. He was then brought back to Ryut, where his rage subsided into grief for his lost world. He agreed to help in the fight against the Black Lanterns, but promised to kill the Guardians when the conflict was over. Following the Black Lantern central power battery to Earth, the Corps leaders combined their lights to form the white light of creation, which, despite Indigo-1's claims, failed to destroy the battery, instead making the force behind it stronger. Ganthet then duplicated the leader's rings, in an attempt to bolster their forces. The duplicate of Atrocitus' ring found its way to Mera, temporarily inducting her into the Red Lantern Corps. When the Corps leaders and their deputies being attack by a Black Lantern Spectre, Atrocitus senses the spirit's true nature despite being influenced by the black ring; an embodiment of rage and vengeance. Atrocitus desires to harness The Spectre's powers for his vendettas against the Guardians after the spirit is free from the Black Lantern Corps. When Parallax frees the Spectre, Atrocitus attempts to convert him into his own rage entity, but fails, the Spectre warning him that the true rage entity is not to be trifled with.
Brightest Day
Following the defeat of the Black Lanterns, Atrocitus returns to Ysmault, and is soon after approached by Ganthet and Guy Gardner, who ask him to join them in an as-yet unidentified mission. Despite his utter hatred for the Guardians, Atrocitus agrees, sending the Red Lantern Bleez to assist Guy.
Sometime later, he appeared in New York City with the feline Red Lantern Corps member, Dex-Starr in search of the emotional spectrum entities. They killed several criminals in the subway, while sparing the remaining riders in the subway car. When he performed his blood ritual, it revealed to him the location of the entities except for Ion and Parallax. Hal, Carol and Sinestro confronted Atrocitus for his murderous actions as he finished the ritual; however, Atrocitus justified them by claiming they did what they did to protect innocents. Carol confirmed Atrocitus's sincerity by detecting a spark of love in his heart with her powers that wasn't there during their previous encounter, only to have her words ignite his anger. Enraged, Atrocitus blasts the trio out of the subway, and engages in combat. During the brawl, it is revealed that Atrocitus has learned how to create constructs with his powers. Their fight is then interrupted as Lobo makes an appearance, incapacitating Hal. The Lanterns join together to fight off Lobo, with Atrocitus revealing that he is on Earth to stop the being who is capturing the Emotional entities. It is later revealed that Atrocitus had hired Lobo to attack him, in order to gain the others trust. During his search for the Rage Entity, known as the Butcher, Atrocitus incinerates a prison bus full of murderers, claiming that "Those who take life do not deserve it."
Atrocitus locates the Butcher, who is about to possess a man whose daughter had been killed by a death row inmate. Despite the Spectre's attempts to stop it, the Butcher succeeds, killing the criminal. The Butcher then attempts to possess Atrocitus, revealing that Atrocitus had a wife and children who were killed in the Manhunters' attack. With the Spectre's help, Atrocitus wards off the Butcher and imprisons it within his power battery. The Spectre attempts to judge the man that the Butcher possessed, but Atrocitus argues that his method of judgment is flawed. The Spectre calls off his judgment, and is unable to judge Atrocitus, discovering that his mission is a "holy" one.
He returns to Jordan and the other New Guardians (Hal Jordan, Carol Ferris, Sinestro, Larfleeze/Agent Orange, Saint Walker, Indigo-1, and himself) just as a robed figure gained the upper hand in their fight. Catching him off guard with a burst of his napalm-acidic blood, Atrocitus vented his long suppressed rage against the Guardians upon Krona, knowing of his Maltus origins and how he was once connected to the Guardians of the Universe. Without the rage entity to control Atrocitus's powers, Krona fell victim to his attack as the Red Lantern viciously bites him in the jugular. Using the Ion entity to counterattack, Krona used Ophidian to disrupt the New Guardians from fighting back (including Atrocitus). Learning that Atrocitus had trapped the Butcher inside of his lantern, Krona exorcised the rage entity from its prison, and made him his own. Atrocitus and the New Guardians were utterly defeated, and once again stuck together to find Krona using Larfleeze to track down the avarice entity.
War of the Green Lanterns
Atrocitus and the rest of the New Guardians make their way to Ryut, where Larfleeze has detected Ophidian. Krona and the entities are nowhere to be found but the group does come upon the Book of the Black. Inside they discover that it was Krona who purposefully reprogrammed the Manhunters to wipe out all life in Sector 666. Atrocitus reveals that he already knew this. Former Sinestro Corps member Lyssa Drak appears and quickly subdues the New Guardians trapping all but Hal in the Book of the Black.
When Hal meets up with Guy Gardner at the "Green House", Guy reveals the pact made between him, Ganthet, and Atrocitus. It is revealed that part of the pact was that once Krona had been defeated he would be turned over to Atrocitus to face justice. Hal told Guy that this most likely means executing Krona.
The DC Universe was rebooted in 2011 as part of the Flashpoint event. This was an attempt to simplify continuity, and make DC Comics more accessible to new readers. Prior to this, mainstream comics took place in New Earth continuity since the Crisis on Infinite Earths in 1985. The continuity established following Flashpoint is Prime Earth.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Alien Physiology
- Magic: Using blood magic, he is able to call upon the necromancy powers formerly used by the Empire of Tears and later the Five Inversions. This magic is steeped in ancient and complex rituals.
- Precognition: By using blood rituals, he is capable of opening himself to discern the future. General prophecy is easier to ascertain than specific knowledge. He and other inversions were able to foretell the Blackest Night prophecy and determine the beginning of the fall of Sinestro from the Green Lantern Corps. But when he was upon Earth looking for William Hand, he had to enact a blood ritual to discern specific details of his whereabouts.
Abilities
- Boundless Rage: Over countless millennia of imprisonment, Atrocitus has developed a tremendous rage and hatred for his jailers, the Guardians of the Universe and their Green Lantern Corps.
- Occultism
Other Characteristics
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Weapons
Related
- 61 Appearances of Atrocitus (New Earth)
- 24 Images featuring Atrocitus (New Earth)
- 5 Quotations by or about Atrocitus (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Atrocitus (New Earth)
Footnotes
This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Atrocitus. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. The text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.  This character is or was primarily an enemy of the Green Lantern of Earth, or the Green Lantern Corps as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Green Lantern Villains." |
 Red Lantern Corps member |