In DC Comics, the Green Lantern Corps is only one part of a much larger network of groups powered by the emotional spectrum. Over time, other Lantern Corps have emerged, with rings tied to emotions such as fear, rage, hopeand love. Their members wield distinct abilities and often serve very different purposes.
The Justice League’s main heroes have occasionally found themselves involved with these groups, whether by wearing a ring during a major crisis or being temporarily transformed into a Lantern in other scenarios. These moments can reveal sides of familiar characters that their usual powers and responsibilities rarely bring to the surface.
The circumstances behind these appearances differ from hero to hero. Some have taken up rings in battles involving multiple Corps, while others have undergone transformations more closely tied to the values they represent. The colors they've worn and the stories behind them offer a glimpse into brief yet exciting moments in many of these heroes’ comic book histories.
Their Lantern forms also offer opportunities to explore fresh designs that add intrigue to a character’s appearance. Beyond a color change, heroes often don distinctive Lantern attire with unique features that enhance their appeal. Every main member of the Justice League has been affiliated with a Lantern color at some point, and this piece highlights the story behind each one.
7 Aquaman (White)
Aquaman’s connection to the White Lantern color comes from the events of Blackest Night, when the White Entity’s power brought him back to life. Aquaman had been dead since sacrificing himself in an earlier storyline, and his resurrection placed him among a group of heroes and villains brought back as the conflict with Nekron came to an end.
The return took place at the climax of Blackest Night, when white power rings emerged and restored a dozen previously dead figures. Aquaman was among them, reappearing alongside Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter, and others. In Brightest Day #7, a burst of Lantern light gave Arthur’s orange-and-green outfit a stark white finish.
Its familiar shape remained, but the new coloring made the King of Atlantis look markedly different from his usual self. The moment occurs while the resurrected heroes investigate the reasons for their return. Aquaman’s own mission is closely tied to the oceans, where his powers and relationship with marine life become part of the mystery.
6 Wonder Woman (Violet)
Wonder Woman became a Violet Lantern during Blackest Night, when a Star Sapphire ring chose Diana Prince amid the war against Nekron’s Black Lantern Corps. At the time, a black ring had taken control of her, making the encounter a fight to free herself as much as another battle against the dead.
The violet ring recognized the depth of Diana’s love and forced the black ring off her finger, ending its hold over her. She joined Carol Ferris and the other temporary representatives of the Lantern Corps, who were gathering the different lights of the emotional spectrum to confront the threat facing the universe.
As a Star Sapphire, Wonder Woman harnessed the violet energy associated with love and wore a costume that replaced parts of her familiar red, blue, and gold palette with shades of pink and purple. Her role placed her among the temporary deputies assembled to confront Nekron, joining an alliance whose members drew power from different parts of the emotional spectrum.
5 Martian Manhunter (White)
Martian Manhunter’s connection to the White Lantern light also began during Blackest Night, when the White Entity restored J’onn J’onzz to life alongside other figures, including the aforementioned Aquaman. He had been killed before the event, and his return placed him among the resurrected heroes and villains whose second lives became the focus of Brightest Day.
In Brightest Day #7, J’onn’s familiar costume changed into a solid white outfit as the Entity communicated with him. It assigned him a cryptic task to burn down a forest in Star City, sending the Martian Manhunter toward a mission whose purpose was far from clear to him at first.
Green Arrow stopped J’onn from destroying the Star City forest, after which he learned that the Entity’s instruction concerned a different woodland on Mars. Created by D’Kay D’razz, another surviving Green Martian, the forest formed part of a malicious scheme. J’onn burned it down and battled D’Kay, carrying her into the Sun in a final attempt to stop her.
4 The Flash (Blue)
The Flash was yet another member of the League to receive a Lantern power-up during Blackest Night, temporarily chosen to wield the Blue Lantern ring powered by hope. As the Black Lantern army threatened the living, Barry Allen joined Saint Walker, a member of the Blue Lantern Corps, in the fight.
These events unfolded in Blackest Night: The Flash #2, with Barry also working alongside Wally West. His immediate goal was to free his grandson Bart Allen from the black ring controlling him. Barry created energy constructs depicting Bart as Impulse and Kid Flash, hoping they would stir memories of his earlier life.
As Blue Lantern energy is associated with hope, Barry’s brief affiliation was especially fitting in a battle where the living were extremely close to being overwhelmed. The blue ring also gave him a distinctive version of his familiar Flash look, turning his scarlet costume mostly blue and featuring the signature Blue Lantern emblem.
3 Superman (Green)
Superman’s history of wielding Green Lantern power dates back to DC Comics Presents #6, when Hal Jordan was badly injured during a confrontation with Star Sapphire. Before losing consciousness, the Green Lantern handed Clark Kent his power ring, leaving the Man of Steel to take over while Hal was unable to continue the fight.
Years later, Up, Up, and Away! revisited the possibility of Clark taking on a Lantern role. After Infinite Crisis left him without his powers, Hal Jordan and Hawkgirl offered him a Green Lantern ring in Superman #651. Clark tried it out, but did not ultimately commit to using it as his new means of heroism.
Another exploration occurred in The One-Man JLA!, a 1999 storyline that examined what might have happened if Kal-El had been raised on Oa rather than on Earth. In this hypothetical scenario, the future Man of Steel grew up under the Guardians’ influence and became a Green Lantern instead of taking on his familiar role as Earth’s protector.
2 Batman (Yellow)
Yellow Lantern rings draw power from fear, and the Sinestro Corps targeted Batman because he made criminals, and even aliens, fear him. In Green Lantern (Vol. 4) #17, a ring found him and attempted to recruit him. However, his strong willpower prevented the ring from overcoming his resistance, forcing it to seek another candidate.
Batman’s encounter with the yellow ring was not his last, as during Forever Evil, he revealed that he had kept another Sinestro Corps ring since the Corps’ earlier attack on Earth. He stored it with equipment meant to counter the Justice League should its members go rogue, bringing it out when Power Ring cornered him during the Crime Syndicate’s takeover.
The ring had little energy left, so Batman’s counterattack quickly failed, and Power Ring tore it away. Even so, activating the ring drew Sinestro to the confrontation, turning Batman’s desperate contingency into the trigger for the next stage of the fight. Although yellow rings suited Batman’s fearsome reputation, he never became a member of the Sinestro Corps
1 Hal Jordan (Green)
Hal Jordan’s place in the emotional spectrum is firmly rooted in green, the color of willpower and the foundation of the Green Lantern Corps. Introduced in Showcase #22, he was a test pilot chosen by the dying alien Abin Sur, whose ring selected him to inherit the duties of protecting Earth’s sector of space.
The ring allows Hal to create solid-light constructs limited largely by his imagination, while also providing flight, protection, and the ability to travel through space. He draws on the Green Lantern Corps’ central power source by charging the ring with a personal battery, reciting the Corps’ legendary oath before returning to duty.
He has also famously donned other colors in certain circumstances, including red, blue, black, white, and even yellow. He sometimes shares his responsibilities on Earth with other humans, but he remains largely the most iconic. Across several stories, he acts as a paragon of willpower and is undeniably one of the most renowned characters to wear the illustrious green colors.
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