Sinestro

Superherobox


caption=Art by Ethan Van Sciver
character_name=Sinestro
alter_ego=
publisher=DC Comics
debut="Green Lantern (vol. 2)" # 7
(August 1961)
creators=John Broome
Gil Kane
homeworld= Korugar
species=
alliances=Sinestro Corps The Society Injustice League Weaponeers of Qward Green Lantern Corps
aliases=
powers=Qwardian power ring|

Sinestro is a fictional character, an alien supervillain in the DC Comics Universe. Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, Sinestro is the former mentor and arch-nemesis of the superhero Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Sinestro first appears in "Green Lantern" (vol. 2) #7 (July-August 1961).

The visual appearance of Sinestro was based upon British actor David Niven. [cite web |url=http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/004721821.cfm |title=WIZARD INSIDER: SINESTRO |accessdate=2007-10-05 |last=Brown |first=Jeremy |date=June 10, 2007 |publisher=Wizard]

Fictional character biography

Green Lantern

A native of the planet Korugar in space sector 1417 (as the Guardians designate space), Sinestro's dedication to preserving order originally manifested in his previous career, an anthropologist specializing in reconstructions of ruins of long-dead civilization. One day while he was on one such site, a Green Lantern named Prohl Gosgotha crashlanded into the site, injured and apparently dying. He quickly gave his ring to Sinestro, just in time for Sinestro, who barely even understood what the ring could do, to defend himself from the Lantern's pursuer, a yellow-clad Weaponer of Qward. However, Sinestro had to destroy the very ruins he had spent loving care restoring, to crush the Qwardian. Afterward, Gosgotha turned out to still be alive, and asked for his ring back to keep him alive long enough to get help. Sinestro, knowing this would mean not being a Green Lantern himself, instead allowed him to die and took over his post, the Guardians unaware of his actions. [Secret Origins of Super-Villains 80-Page Giant #1, DC Comics, 1999]

His desire for order did well by him in the Corps, and initially led him to be considered one of the greatest Green Lanterns. As the years passed, he became more and more fixated upon not simply protecting his sector, but on preserving order in the society of his home planet no matter the cost. Eventually he concluded that the best way to accomplish this was to conquer Korugar, and to rule the planet as a dictator.

When Hal Jordan joined the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro was assigned to be his instructor. Jordan was horrified at his new mentor's fascistic methods, though Sinestro maintained that his iron-fisted rule was necessary to protect his people from alien forces. During his training, Jordan helped Sinestro repel an attempted invasion of Korugar by the alien warlords known as the Khunds. When Jordan called for help from the other Green Lanterns, Sinestro's dictatorship was exposed and he was forced to appear before the Guardians for punishment. Katma Tui, the leader of a Korugarian resistance movement who felt that Sinestro's "protection" kept her people from growing as a society through contact with other alien races, was recruited as his replacement in the Corps. Though Katma Tui eventually grew into one of the most respected Green Lanterns, she and the rest of Korugar initially resisted her appointment to the Corps; due to Sinestro's actions, Korugar had come to consider the symbol of the Green Lantern Corps an emblem of terror and oppression.

Punishment and villainy

For using the power of the Green Lantern to instill fear rather than combat it, the Guardians banished Sinestro to the antimatter universe -- a counterpart to the "real" universe made up of "negative matter" -- in particular, the alien world of Qward, the Antimatter counterpart of the Guardians' homeworld Oa, ruled by a race of warriors and scientists known as the Weaponers of Qward, who bore a fierce hatred of the Guardians and all Green Lanterns. By exiling Sinestro to a world ruled by evil beings who specifically hated him as a Green Lantern, the Guardians hoped to humble him. Their attempt at punishment would be a major miscalculation, however. Sinestro believed himself to have been wronged by his former masters, and now hated them just as much as the Weaponers did. Through their mutual hatred of the Guardians, Sinestro and the Weaponers became allies, with the Weaponers offering to help Sinestro gain revenge on the Guardians and the Corps.

Creating a yellow power ring for Sinestro to use, the Weaponers sent him back to the "positive matter" universe to seek his revenge. Sinestro quickly became the Green Lantern Corps' most powerful nemesis, partially due to a weakness in their power rings that prevented them from directly affecting the color yellow. Despite this, skilled Green Lanterns like Jordan, Sinestro's most hated enemy, always found ways to defeat him.

Before the Guardians took a leave of absence from their universe to attempt mating with their female counterparts the Zamarons, they constructed an inescapable prison for Sinestro and thousands of others on Oa. However, Sinestro's cunning prevailed once again and he managed to free himself through the mental manipulation of the Mad God of Sector 3600. Now wielding nearly unlimited power, Sinestro murdered entire star systems until he was finally subdued by the Green Lantern Corps of Earth. Now guilty of multiple acts of genocide, Sinestro was put on trial again by the assembled membership of the Green Lantern Corps. Finding him guilty, they condemned him to death and executed him, but Sinestro managed to cheat death itself by sending his essence into the Central Power Battery, and shut it down. While in the Battery, he also made a startling discovery about the ancient weakness to yellow within the Green Lantern's light.

Hal Jordan entered the Battery to desperately try and restore the powers of his fellow Lanterns, and ultimately defeated Sinestro, whose spirit was condemned to remain trapped inside the Central Battery, powerless, for eternity. Yet Sinestro had earned an even greater personal victory: the so-called "Yellow Impurity" turned out to be a sentient entity known as Parallax, the living embodiment of fear. Thanks to Sinestro's actions, Parallax had successfully infected Jordan's mind, leaving the so-called "greatest Green Lantern" vulnerable to fear for the first time in his life... and setting up Sinestro's ultimate triumph.

Guy Gardner

Guy Gardner, forced to forfeit his Green Lantern ring after a grudge match with Jordan, set out on a quest to regain his power and identity. With the help of Lobo, Gardner acquired the yellow power ring of Sinestro from Oa's "Crypt of the Green Lantern Corps". The yellow ring did not use a battery to recharge but actually needed to be used against Green Lanterns to restore power. Gardner found this out by accident when a member of the GLC fought him while he had absolutely no power.

As the yellow ring spoke Sinestro's native language, Guy was unable to communicate with it, although it seemed to understand him to a degree.

Guy only wore the yellow ring for a short while as the character was caught up in the new editorial direction for the Green Lantern franchise that led to the controversial "Emerald Twilight" storyline in "Green Lantern (vol. 3) #48-50" and it was decided to take the yellow ring from Gardner and completely reinvent the character.

Parallax

In the meantime, the return of the Guardians resulted in the Corps being reestablished. The newly restored Corps would be short-lived, however, thanks to the inadvertent efforts of the alien warlord Mongul and Hank Henshaw, a cyborg who was at the time impersonating Superman. As part of their ultimately thwarted plot to transform Earth into a new version of Mongul's interstellar fortress Warworld and gain revenge on Superman, Mongul and the Cyborg used several nuclear devices to completely destroy Coast City, California -- Hal Jordan's home -- and everyone living in it. Driven mad with grief by the destruction of his city and the Guardians' apathy towards his plight, Jordan's previously indomitable willpower was shattered. Parallax was thus able to possess him completely and push him towards a homicidal rampage that wiped out most of the Guardians and left scores of Green Lanterns dead or maimed, as Parallax sought to absorb the Central Power Battery's energies into his being.

Sinestro was freed by the Guardians from the Central Power Battery and sent to stop Jordan, only to have his neck snapped by him after the battle. While that appeared to be what happened, the Guardians actually extracted from the Battery a construct created by Parallax with Sinestro puppeteering the creature's creation with his Qwardian ring from within it. Parallax promptly finished off the Green Lantern Corps by absorbing the Central Power Battery's energies into himself. With the Battery destroyed, Sinestro escaped and went into hiding as he watched Jordan become what Sinestro once became: a traitor and a murderer reviled by his friends and his allies. He also becomes obsessed with Kyle Rayner after Ganthet gave him his power ring, knowing that his plan to end the Green Lantern Corps' legacy has failed.

Duplicate

During the Wonder Woman "Lifeline" storyline, an imperfect duplicate of Sinestro was created by an artificial intelligence based on the son of scientist Doctor Julian Lazarus, who was attempting to bring his son back after being responsible for the accident that killed him. The AI based on the child had already created a short-lived copy of Barry Allen, and subsequently created a copy of Sinestro based on an old video tape of the villain. Although lacking Sinestro's tactical genius, the boy's random use of Sinestro's powers resulted in the destruction of at least two skyscrapers and a bridge, and he would have killed Wonder Woman were it not for the intervention of a disguised Hercules. The program went on to create a duplicate of Doomsday before it was shut down for good.

Return

Sinestro eventually revealed the charade of his 'death' when Kyle Rayner discovered the existence of Parallax and revealed it to Green Arrow and the Justice League. Nearly killing the two heroes, Sinestro was stopped by the newly resurrected Hal Jordan, who reclaimed his ring and was purged of Parallax's influence. The two fought to a draw, with Sinestro escaping to the antimatter universe when his ring was damaged by Hal during the fight.

Sinestro later appeared in the miniseries "Villains United", where he captured Lady Quark for the Secret Society of Super-Villains. Sinestro had been a member of the group in the past. Here he plays a major role in the Society's massacre of the Freedom Fighters, who are investigating the meeting place of other villains, but walk into an ambush. Sinestro begins the fight by blowing a hole through the chest of the second Black Condor, killing him instantly. He then defeats Uncle Sam, leaving him for dead.

inestro Corps

After the Battle of Metropolis, Sinestro retreated to the antimatter universe. Here, he encountered the Anti-Monitor and embraced the doctrine of spreading fear. With the Green Lantern Corps restarted with the return of Hal Jordan, Sinestro has decided to found the Sinestro Corps, offering yellow power rings and a role in the Corps to the most feared and savage warriors of the universe. The size and scope of this new organization has yet to be revealed but stands to be a major threat for the Green Lantern Corps in the near future. He is also revealed to have masterminded the death of Kyle Rayner's mother by having the sentient virus Despotellis invade her as part of a plot to break Kyle's will so that he can become Parallax's latest host.

As the Sinestro Corps continue to attack Green Lanterns across space, Sinestro himself returns to Korugar to confront his successor, Soranik Natu. Sinestro defeats her, but spares her life, calculating that this will force her to stay on Korugar to fulfill her responsibilities as "the Savior of Korugar." Sinestro then returns to Qward to join the battle occurring there, and demands to know where Jordan is.

Sinestro, upon returning to Qward, confronts Earth's Green Lanterns, and upon their escape, follows them toward Earth: the Sinestro Corps' real target. Hal Jordan calls for backup, and upon their arrival, the Sinestro Corps begin attacking Earth. Sinestro reveals to Hal, Guy, and John, that he intends to turn Earth into the new homeworld for the Sinestro Corps, and the site of the new Coast City into a mass graveyard.

Though the Sinestro Corps is set back, they are not truly defeated. By enacting new laws--including giving the Green Lanterns the ability to kill--the Guardians have played into what Sinestro claims is his overall goal. Now the Green Lanterns spread fear by being unchecked. Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner beat Sinestro in hand-to-hand combat. Following the finale of "The Sinestro Corps War", Sinestro is depicted in the custody of the Guardians, imprisoned in Oa's Sciencells where he learns from Hal Jordan that he has received a death penalty. Despite his personal defeat, Sinestro claims victory, as loyalty to the Green Lantern Corps. Sinestro's overall goal through his war was to groom his former corps for a more active, forceful role in the universe. With the enactment of the corps new laws and the approval of lethal force, the Green Lantern corps will inspire fear, creating the same effect as the Sinestro Corps: order through fear.

With the hunt for the members of the Sinestro Corps becoming one of the Green Lantern Corps' highest priorities, many of those who wield yellow power rings have been incarcerated in Oa's sciencells, with their power rings stored in the large chamber that houses the entire detention facility. Sinestro has been shown to have chewed a very large hole in his finger, and he used his blood to paint the insignia of the Sinestro Corps on his cell window. All Sinestro Corps members followed his example, with the result of thousands of emblems across the cosmic jail. Interestingly, when Sinestro formed his insignia from blood, the power rings stationed on Oa seemed to react violently, threatening to break free of their confines.

Although he has been sentenced to death and incarcerated for an indefinite period, no execution date has been set for Sinestro. Atrocitus, the first Red Lantern and Abin Sur's killer, has also become fixated on ending Sinestro's life.

Powers and abilities

Sinestro uses yellow power rings built on Qward. The rings can create objects based on the wielder's own thoughts. The power rings are fuelled by fear instead of willpower. The yellow rings are charged by Manhunter androids that have yellow power batteries built into themselves, which in turn are connected to a large yellow Power Battery based on Qward. The rings have no known weaknesses, unlike a Green Lantern power ring's previous vulnerability to yellow. Also, the yellow rings are not restricted from killing sentient beings as the Green Lantern's power rings were.

Other versions

52 Multiverse

In the final issue of DC Comics' 2006-07 year-long weekly series, "52" #52, it was revealed that a "Multiverse" system of 52 parallel universes, with each Earth being a different take on established DC Comics characters as featured in the mainstream continuity (designated as "New Earth") had come into existence. The Multiverse acts as a storytelling device that allows writers to introduce alternate versions of fictional characters, hypothesize "what if?" scenarios, revisit popular Elseworlds stories and allow these characters to interact with the mainstream continuity.

The 2007-08 weekly series "Countdown to Final Crisis" (or simply "Countdown") and its spin-offs would either directly show or insinuate the existence of alternate versions of Sinestro in the Multiverse. For example, "Countdown" #16 detailed that the Sinestro of Earth-51 has been murdered by the pro-active Batman of his world, in a crusade against its villains. "Countdown" spin-off series "Countdown Presents: Lord Havok and the Extremists" depicted a version of Sinestro in its 3rd issue (2008) from an alternate world referred to as "Green Sinestro", depicted as a part of the villainous Monarch's army. This version has his original green power ring, but is no less vicious than his mainstream continuity counterpart and the official designation of his world is unrevealed.

Other media

"Super Friends"

Sinestro has been prominently featured in "Challenge of the Super Friends" (where he was part of the "Legion of Doom") voiced by Vic Perrin for the first three episodes and from then on by Don Messick.

"Legends of the Superheroes

In 1979, comedian Charlie Callas played Sinestro in the "Legends of the Superheroes" live action TV specials.

uperman: The Animated Series

Sinestro appeared in an episode of "". His origins, while not explicitly developed, follow the same dramatic line of his comics origin: Sinestro was a Green Lantern whom the Guardians determined was unfit for the power of the job. His yellow ring is of unexplained origin (since the animated Green Lanterns have no determinable weakness to yellow, the color of Sinestro's energy is essentially just a small tribute to the comics). He is also right-handed, while in the comics, he is left-handed.This version of Sinestro was voiced by Ted Levine.

Justice League, Justice League Unlimited and Static Shock

Sinestro later appeared on "Justice League", as part of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society, and on "Static Shock". In these episodes, Sinestro's focus has been John Stewart, as opposed to Rayner. According to Grodd, Sinestro "has sworn a blood oath against all Green Lanterns." He is also a member of the new Secret Society on the final season of "Justice League Unlimited", featured as a powerful and competent member of a train heist in "The Great Brain Robbery", as well as saving the lives of several members of the Secret Society from Darkseid in "Alive!". In these appearances, he was voiced by Ted Levine.

"Duck Dodgers"

He has appeared in an episode of "Duck Dodgers" in a plan to kidnap all the Green Lanterns, but was stopped by Dodgers himself. He was voiced by John de Lancie. Dodgers pointed out to him his satanic appearance.

"The Batman"

Sinestro appeared in the episode "Ring Toss" during the fifth season of "The Batman", voiced by Miguel Ferrer. Just like the comics, Sinestro served as Hal Jordan's teacher in the Green Lantern Corps until he went power hungry and was stopped by the Green Lantern Corps. Sinestro escaped from his prison and came to Earth where he attacked Green Lantern (before he had a chance to recharge his Power Ring) at the airport as Hal Jordan sends his Power Ring to Batman. When Penguin ended up with the Power Ring, however, he used it to commit a series of petty thefts. He fought Batman, Robin, and Hal Jordan. Sinestro, however, attacked Penguin, calling him stupid and unworthy. Penguin ended up reluctantly giving the ring to Batman. Batman placed the ring on his own finger to fight Sinestro; however, as Penguin had expended much energy with his foolishness, the Power Ring started to weaken and sputter. Once Hal Jordan recharged his Power Ring, he helped Batman fight Sinestro where Sinestro was disarmed of his ring by Batman, who, ironically, opened his hand with Sinestro's power ring in it, then formed a fist and knocked out Sinestro. Green Lantern then took Sinestro back to his cell.

This version of Sinestro has a pronounced point to his head and a little forked beard, thus playing up his Satanic appearance.

Other

Sinestro is referenced in The Simpsons Movie by Comic Book Guy. He recalls when Sinestro threw the Green Lantern into a vat of acid.

Awards

* 2007: Nominated for "Favourite Comics Villain" Eagle Award

Notes

References

*comicbookdb|type=character|id=1194|title=Sinestro
*imdb character|0000236|Sinestro

External links

* [http://glcorps.dcuguide.com/book2.php The Book of OA]
* [http://members.tripod.com/~Lantern_light/ The Green Lantern Shrine]
* [http://www.monitorduty.com/mdarchives/2006/02/alan_kistlers_p_4.shtml Alan Kistler's Profile On: Green Lantern] - A detailed article that goes through the history of the GL Corps and Sinestro. Several picture scans.