The Guardians of the Universe are a race of extraterrestrial superhero characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Green Lantern. They first appeared in Green Lantern (vol. 2) #1 (July 1960), and were created by John Broome and Gil Kane. The Guardians of the Universe have been adapted to a number of films, television programs, and video games.
The Guardians of the Universe are the founders and leaders of the interstellar law enforcement agency known as the Green Lantern Corps, which they administer from their homeworld Oa at the center of the Universe. The Guardians resemble short humans with blue skin and white hair. They are depicted as being immortal and are the oldest living beings created in the Universe.
History Background The Guardians evolved on the planet Maltus, being among the first intelligent life forms in the universe. At this time, they were tall, grayish-blue humanoids with black hair, who resembled humans except for their skin color. They became scientists and thinkers, experimenting on the worlds around them. One experiment led to the creation of a new species, the Psions. Billions of years ago, a Maltusian named Krona used time-bending technology to observe the beginning of the Universe. However, this experiment, and later attempts to stop it, unleashed disaster upon all existence. Krona's experiment created the multiverse and the antimatter universe of Qward.
Feeling responsible for this, the Maltusians relocated to the planet Oa (at "the center of the Universe") and assumed the mantle of the "Guardians". Their goal was simple: combat evil and create an orderly universe. This was accomplished through the establishment of the Green Lantern Corps, an interstellar police force which patrols the universe. The Guardians changed physically to survive the harsher conditions of Oa: they lost half their height, with larger heads and white hair.
The Guardians originally sought to bring order to the universe through the Manhunters, self-regulating androids programmed with a specific moral and ethical code. The Manhunters operated as cosmic police officers, much like the later Green Lanterns. They protected civilization and maintained peace in the Universe for millions of years, patrolling 3,600 sectors into which the cosmos had been divided.
The Manhunters slowly became disillusioned with their work, concluding that evil was intrinsic to all biological life and therefore would never be truly eradicated. This resulted in the Manhunters turning on those they were sworn to protect, starting with the inhabitants of Sector 666. Before the Guardians intervened, the entire sector had only a small handful of survivors. Most Manhunters were decommissioned after the massacre of Sector 666, but the ones that escaped became the sworn enemies of the Guardians.
The Manhunter rebellion, and its exposure of the seeming futility of trying to police the universe, caused the Guardians to split into groups with different goals. The Controllers declared their intention to dominate all life and shape it to remove the problem of evil. The Zamarons, who gradually came to include all female Oans, decided to focus on self-improvement and the rediscovery of their lost emotions, eventually leaving Oa for another world. Over the years, both groups evolved to look dissimilar to the remaining Guardians.
Survivors of the massacre of Sector 666 – beings labelled "demons" – banded together to form a nation called the Empire of Tears, which opposed the Guardians' efforts and philosophy. They used dark magic to create a galaxy-spanning realm of chaos and evil. The Guardians eventually defeated the Empire and imprisoned its leaders, the Five Inversions, on the bleak world of Ysmault. The Guardians decided that magic was chaotic and posed a threat to the balance they desired to achieve. They labored to destroy sources of magic and suppress or imprison its users throughout the Universe. They succeeded in compacting much of the chaotic magic energy of the Cosmos and imprisoning it inside a star; part of it eventually escaped to become the Starheart used by Alan Scott.
Modern history The Guardians were almost wiped out in the events of Emerald Twilight, the only survivor being Ganthet. They sacrificed themselves to create one final power ring, a power ring perhaps more powerful than all others before it. Oa was itself destroyed in a battle between Parallax and Kyle Rayner, but rebuilt as the final wish of Hal Jordan's power ring. The Guardians are restored when Rayner, as Ion, recharged the Central Power Battery. Rayner lost his power and role as Ion but this sacrifice released all the Guardian's life forces from the dormancy in his ring. The Immortals first appeared as children but aged quickly and many seem to have returned to the identities they had before they created Rayner's power ring. Unlike before, however, the Guardians are male and female, rather than just male. While Rayner had made them children in order for them to grow up and become less cold than their predecessors, this had not worked. Instead, the Guardians were as cold and manipulative as they were before the Emerald Twilight, with the exception of Ganthet and Sayd. With their revival, the Guardians rebuild the Green Lantern Corps and create a planet-wide armor and defensive system to protect Oa. The Guardians expel Ganthet and Sayd from their rank, because of the discovery that they were in a relationship. Another reason for their expulsion was their quotation from the forbidden chapter of the Book of Oa, which contained the prophecy of the Blackest Night.
In the aftermath of the War, Ganthet and Sayd create blue power rings and batteries, planning to create another intergalactic police force to aid the Guardians and the Green Lantern Corps. During the Blackest Night, the Guardians finally realized that Ganthet and Sayd were correct in their interpretation of the prophecy. However, the Guardian Scar kills another Guardian and binds the rest to prevent them from interfering. She later sends a number of black power rings to the Green Lantern Corps' memorial, reviving the deceased members of the Corps as undead Black Lanterns. She also weakens Oa's planetary defenses for an attack from the Black Lantern Corps.Blackest Night #1 (July 2009)
The New 52 With Kyle Rayner having rebelled against the Guardians to join the 'New Guardians', a makeshift team consisting of representatives from all seven Corps,Green Lantern: New Guardians #4 (December 2011) Hal Jordan's expulsion (although he has been forced to assist Sinestro's activities), and the 'recommendations' of the now-emotionless Ganthet,Green Lantern (vol. 5) #1 (November 2011) the Guardians create the 'Third Army' to replace the Green Lantern Corps.Green Lantern (vol. 5) #3 (January 2012) Sinestro, who learned about this prophecy after touching the Book of the Black, to enlist Jordan's aid in stopping this scheme.Green Lantern (vol. 5) #6 (February 2012)
The Guardians use the First Lantern to create the Third Army from their own flesh and will.Green Lantern (vol. 5) Annual #1 (August 2012)
The Guardians assign John Stewart to track down Mogo's remains, due to claims that they are moving and trying to reform it. The Guardians then promote Guy Gardner as the 'Sentinel Lantern' and entrust him with guarding a group of ambassadors traveling to a planet for a crucial conference, only to subsequently release Xar, Gardner's old enemy, from the Sciencells. They presume Xar will go after Gardner's family on Earth, serving as a distraction to stop Gardner from protecting the ambassadors.Green Lantern Corps (vol. 3) #13 (October 2012) Later, the Guardians realize they cannot completely control the universe and need more members of the Third Army. They use more of the power of the First Lantern, without realizing that the First Lantern's prison is breaking.Green Lantern (vol. 5) #15 (December 2012)
When Volthoom is killed by Nekron, the Guardians are freed, only to be executed by Sinestro. Sinestro spares Ganthet and Sayd, but exiles them from Oa.Green Lantern (vol. 5) #20 (May 2013) The Guardians were resurrected following the DC Rebirth relaunch.Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps #33 (November 2017)
Powers and abilities Functionally immortal, the Guardians possess vast knowledge, flight, telepathy, psionic and cosmic powers manifested through green plasma energy drawn from the most stable color of the emotional spectrum, green (willpower). Although, since it has been said that they chose the most stable color of the spectrum, it is possible that the Guardians may have limited access to all colors. In Green Lantern: Rebirth, Kyle Rayner is recorded saying that Ganthet could crack a planet in half with a thought and have been shown able to stagger Superman-Prime and the Anti-Monitor. The Guardians display the power of time travel as they send a time-lost Rayner back to his present timeline.Green Lantern (vol. 3) #100 (July 1998)
Appearance The Guardians usually appear as diminutive, blue-skinned humanoids wearing red robes and white tabards bearing their crest, the Green Lantern symbol. The appearance of the male Guardians is modeled after former Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion.
After their rebirth, the females are typically bald and appear younger than males. Their male counterparts tend to have short white hair, and to be more wrinkled and aged looking. One long going inconsistency between artists has been the relative size of the Guardians' heads to their short bodies, most artists designing them with larger heads, whereas others have been shown to draw near enough human-like proportional heads. Another difference has been their ears, which have been seen to be human-like, and on other occasions, to be pointed and elf-like.
The Guardians' attire originally featured a long red robe with a stylized collar and their symbol emblazoned on the chest. Following their rebirth, this changed to them wearing a long red robe with a more scholarly collar, and a white tabard with their emblem on the chest area. They have also been shown by some artists to wear white undershirts, the sleeves of which can be seen sometimes under the robe's sleeves. Though their feet are not usually seen beneath their robes, they have been shown to wear red, pointed shoes.
Guardians known by name It has been said that "Guardians do not take names". When Krona invaded Oa in the War of the Green Lanterns story-arc, he revealed that all Oans have names, but have since forgotten them. Nonetheless, a few of their lot have been named in the stories.Green Lantern (vol. 4) #64 (March 2011) It was eventually revealed that the reason for the Guardians having forgotten their names was because they had removed their own emotions to defeat Volthoom.Green Lantern (vol. 5) #17 (February 2013)
Appa Ali Apsa – A Guardian who was chosen to experience life on Earth. He later renounces his Guardian title, powers and immortality, and chooses to travel the universe. After Crisis on Infinite Earths, Apsa loses his mind and is killed by his former brethren. In post-Flashpoint continuity, Apsa was once a member of the Circle, a group of powerful beings.The Man of Steel (vol. 2) #1 Broome Bon Barris BasilusDC Challenge #9 (July 1986) DawlakispokpokGreen Lantern: Ganthet's Tale (November 1992) Dennap Ganthet – A leading Guardian and founding member of the Blue Lantern Corps. Herupa Hando Hu – His name is revealed by Krona. Lianna – A second-generation Guardian who was altered by Heartstone and raised by a Zamaron. Kontross Krona – A renegade Guardian and prominent enemy of the Green Lantern Corps. Pazu Pinder Pol Sayd – A leading Guardian and founding member of the Blue Lantern Corps.