All the pretty colors...
In DC Comics, one of the most powerful forces in the universe is the Emotional Spectrum. Like the visual/color spectrum, it is divided into seven different emotions. Willpower is said to be the central emotion in life, yet it's one of the hardest to master. On the far ends of the spectrum are rage and love, and not only are they difficult to control, they wind up controlling you. And here's the segue to check them out...
Aaaaaand Segway! Come on!!!
Rage
I'd be mad if I rocked the Lemmy beard, too.
Rage is one of the strongest emotions there is. It can start as a little seedling, a tiny bit of nothing, but before you know it, it has taken over you completely. While engulfed in rage, you cannot control your actions, and, unfortunately, they are often your id breaking through. What you do while consumed in rage is exactly what you want to do, magnified significantly. Yes, once the rage subsides, you (hopefully) feel bad about what you did, but you did it because you wanted to.
"Seeing red" makes so much more sense now.
The Red Lantern Corps are the most ruthless, and least forgiving of the Lanterns. Upon induction into the Corps, the ring bearer's blood is expelled and replaced by the burning flame of rage. Corpsmen no longer have control of their actions, and are like a vicious pack of dogs. Their leader is named Atrocious, and the Rage Entity is called the Butcher.
Avarice
Munny munny munny munny munny.
Avarice, or extreme greed or want of material possessions (for you plebeians out there), is quite controlling as rage. It is not as consuming as is rage, but it can affect your actions without you even realizing it. In extreme cases, a person can become so engrossed with their wants that it leads them to commit crimes. Crimes that were (allegedly) written in stone on a certain mountain, by a certain deity, to a certain Moses. "Thou shalt not covet they neighbor's wife," "Thou shalt not covet the neighbor's belongings," & "Thou shalt not steal." One third (well, statistically 30%, just shy of a true 1/3) of the Ten Commandments tries to shy people away from greed and want...or, you know, avarice. What do you think it's trying to say about the subject?
Mine mine mine mine mine mine mine mine (and so on, and so forth).
Larfleeze, or Agent Orange, is the sole bearer of the Orange light. Why? His greed knows no bounds, and he has hoarded the rings that the lantern has produced. He kills to keep what is rightfully, and wrongfully, his. His constructs are his Corps, made up of the victims that he has killed and consumed. He is a glutton to the fullest extent. The Avarice Entity is called Ophidian.
Fear
Bears are terrifying.
Fear is a frighteningly (see what I did there?) strong emotion. It can control you like rage or avarice, but this time, you absolutely know it. Being a victim of fear, everything that you do is because you're scared. Maybe its powerful enough to keep you from leaving your house, or even your bed. Perhaps it's as simple as not asking a person you have a crush on to go out on a date. The scariest thing about fear is that everybody, at one time or another, has felt it's claws tear at them.
Interesting that the color of fear is also the color of bees...
The Sinestro Corps is, at it's core, a group of bullies. Think the Nazis in good ol' double you double you eye eye. Sure, there are a few sympathetic cases to be had in the the Corps. Karu-Sil's story comes to mind. Orphaned on a savage planet as a child, she was taken in by a pack of beasts. She became one of the pack. Eventually, a Green Lantern accidently killed her pack, thinking they were attacking her. Granted, she's nuttier than a fruitcake, but you can empathize with her loss and believe fear hate and fear is justified. Sinestro is the Corps's leader, and Parallax is the Yellow Entity.
Willpower
*Points finger* Yoooooooooooooooooooou!
Willpower is the balance of all emotions. As with finding balance in anything, it's the most difficult thing to master. Willpower takes a lot out of a person, and there are always things that tempt a person's willpower. Best example? Weight loss. In theory, all you have to do is eat healthy (or even just portion control) and exercise, and you'll lose weight. Simple. Oh. Wait. There are so many forces fighting against your willpower. That delightful box of jelly doughnuts. The Shamrock Shake from McDonalds. That extra serving of mac & cheese. It's not easy. And that's just seeing the way avarice affects willpower. There are just as strong attacks from each and every other emotion. Which is why you have to be the most emotionally mature and emotionally strong to have complete control over willpower.
In Brightest Day, in Blackest Night...
The Green Lantern Corps is powered with willpower. As such, these Corpsmen are the strongest of them all. Yet, at the same time, they're the weakest. While they have their emotions in check, if they waver, they are as good as dead. But, with the right training, they can overcome any obstacle imaginable. Some of the DCU's greatest heroes come from the GLC: Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart (not the Daily Show guy. Wait...), Guy Gardner, and Kilowog. Unfortunately, as the linchpin of the Emotional Spectrum, tragedy seems to strike them at any time, in any place. They follow the laws of the Guardians of the Universe, and Ion is the sentient entity of willpower.
Hope
I *hope* Terry Funk doesn't keel over in the ring.
Alternatively: Do you have any clue how
difficult it is to compare hope to wrestling?
Hope is powerful. But unlike the other emotions, hope is a supportive emotion. The smallest bit of emotion can sustain a person's willpower or keep love alive. Yet, hope is a tricky emotion. Many people confuse hope with avarice. Just because you say "I hope..." doesn't mean it's the true use of the word. "I hope i win the lottery." "I hope Megan Fox realizes the error of her ways and ditches BAG for me." That's not hope. That's want. That's greed. It isn't selfless. "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed..." and "I wish our servicemen across seas come home safe." That is true hope: that "all will be well."
I *hope* you like the color blue. Wakka wakka.
The Blue Lantern Corps is powered by hope. Unlike other Lanterns, to earn a blue power ring, the bearer must be chosen by the Corpsmen that received his or her ring last. Because of this, and the fact that the BLC is new, they are but few, though their power outshines all others. Flying Spaghetti Monster that was a hokey sentence. These Blue Lanterns are the basically the monks of the emotional spectrum. They take the title of Brother or Sister (respectively) and are led by an actual living saint. Their one drawback, much like with the actual emotion of hope, is that, power as it might be, hope is stagnant without the willpower to put it in action. As such, Blue Lanterns are (nearly) powerless without a GL nearby to power them. Saint Walker heads the Blue Lanterns, and Adara is the name of the Hope Entity.
Compassion
Do it because you would want the help too.
Oh, and it's the right thing to do.
Compassion is elusive, and not everybody can really feel compassion. It's a virtue that is sometimes elusive. To feel compassion is to empathizes, sympathizes, care for, and suffer with another (or a group). Real compassion is actively trying to alleviate the suffering or hardships of others. This can be through caregiving (Florence Nightingale), philanthropy/altruism (Warren Buffett), or truly ethical people that follow the Golden Rule of "Do unto others as you would have them do" (Vegans. Allegedly).
I'm just feeling pretty mellow right now.
Compassion powers the Indigo Tribe. Unlike the other Corps powered by the Emotional Spectrum, the Indigos, as their name implies, are more of an itinerant tribe of nomads than a Corps of warriors. They are as elusive as true compassion is (more so in the comics than it really is in the real world, as compassion is a very fleeting thing in the DCU). Another thing that separates them from the other Corps is that, instead of rings, they use staves powered by the Indigo Entity. They have given up their possessions, wearing only handmade clothes, with the Indigo Tribe symbol adorned on their body with paint. Fun Fact: they (mostly) speak in a tongue unknown to all but other Indigos. It's kind of like that movie Nell, in some respects. Indigo-1 is the Tribe's leader, with the Compassion Entity known as Proselyte.
Love
Best. Picture. Ever. Lechery rules the day.
Love is extremely powerful. But like rage, it can cause you to do things that you know are irrational, insane, dangerous, and, at times, creep-a-licious. Also like rage, love can start as a seed and grow inside you. But unlike rage, which grows unchecked like a weed, love can be nurtured into something beautiful. Unfortunately, its roots grow deep inside of a person and refuses to let go. True love gives you that can't eat, can't sleep feeling that can only be tamed by contact with the object of your affection. Which is (mostly) a good thing. Love conquers all. But then again, love can be misunderstood and have too much of a hold on people. Which is where you get the (sadly) always relevant double-murder-suicide, or the less tragic, but equally awful, stalkapalooza.
Real men wear pink. There (as of now) are no men in
the Star Sapphires, powered by violet light. Hmm...
The Star Sapphires, wielders of the Violet Light of Love, have a long history with the Green Lantern Corps. This dates back to the dawn of creation, when the Guardians, the Controllers, and the Zamarons. They were all of the same planet, but different rifts between the groups caused them to split from each other's company. The Zamarons felt that to truly live, you need love, where the Guardians shunned all emotion on the belief that the will to do something is strongest. Who cares what the Controllers had to say? Nobody. They championed a female warrior with the title Star Sapphire, based on the name of the jewel that gave her the powers. Recently, with the hope that forging rings instead of directly using the stone, thusly (hopefully) lessening the hold that love has over the bearer, the Zamarons created a Corps of Star Sapphires. Carol Ferris has become the new Queen of the Zamarons, the the Violet Entity is known as the Predator.
So, where do you fall in the Emotional Spectrum? Are you a level-headed Green Lantern? A pious wielder of hope? A fear monger? Or do you fall to the more baser of emotions? Feel free to comment and let me know.
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