Warning: contains spoilers Green Lantern #16!Teen Lantern has been missing for months, and now DC has revealed his disturbing fate. Green Lantern helper. Thaaros, the Prime Minister of the United Planets, turned the once-beloved Green Lantern Corps into a fascist police force and declared war on the rest of the Emotional Spectrum, and as seen in Green Lantern #16, Teen Lantern has been instrumental in Thaaros’ evil crusade.
Green Lantern #16 was written by Jeremy Adams and drawn by Xermanico. A group of Tharros’ former aides met to discuss Premiere’s plans. They reveal that Thaaros had the Teen Lantern imprisoned for months. Thaaros discovered that she found a way to harness the green light without the Guardians and tortured Teen Lantern to learn how she did it. Thaaros was using what he learned to wreak havoc on the other Lantern Corps, including the Green Lanterns. Advisors fear that Thaaros’ experiences have contributed to his recent bouts of instability.
Teen Lantern’s disturbing fate is a new low for Green Lantern’s new big bad
Thaaros waged war against the entire Lantern Corps
Thaaros’ rise to leadership of the United Planets actually coincided with a descent into madness. However, kidnapping and torturing Teen Lantern is a new low for him. The Durlan Thaaros took control of the newly formed United Planets. Shortly before Thaaros’ ascension, the Guardians of the Universe transferred majority control of the Green Lantern Corps to the United Planets. Thaaros took this opportunity to create an army to do his will across the cosmos, including an inner group of Lanterns answerable only to him. Dissenters, such as Hal Jordan and John Stewart, were expelled.
Parts of Teen Lantern’s backstory, including the device she uses for her powers, are still shrouded in mystery.
Thaaros continued to consolidate his dominance over the Green Lantern Corps, and Teen flashlight finds himself stuck in his hands. As one of Thaaros’ advisors noted, the Teen Lantern was able to harness Green Lantern’s energy without the need for a ring or battery. Introduced in Brian Michael Bendis’s re-release of Young Justice in 2019, Teen Lantern was an exciting addition to the Green Lantern mythos. Parts of Teen Lantern’s backstory, including the device she uses for her powers, are still shrouded in mystery.
Teen flashlight was used as a weapon of mass destruction
Teen Lantern Traumatized Beyond Belief by Thaaros
And now Thaaros is working to crack the code of the Teen Lantern’s powers – and he’s willing to do whatever is disturbing to do it. None of the counselors explained what exactly Thaaros did to Teen Lantern, but he entered his mind to extract his secrets. Reading a person’s mind without their consent is morally questionable to begin with, but Thaaros adds enough layers to make it downright heinous. He tortures a teenage girl to get what he needs, and although the problem suggests a savior for Teen Lantern, she has already suffered enough trauma at the hands of Thaaros.
Thaaros also used a teenager to help him wage war against dissident elements across the galaxy, such as the rogue Lanterns and the other Emotional Spectrum Corps. It was revealed that Thaaros was also behind the attacks on the Blue Lanterns and the Sinestro Corps, and the Teen Lantern technology may have contributed to this as well. The damage Teen Lantern was forced to do to the galaxy is staggering. Using a teenager in this way should erase all doubts that Thaaros is the worst villain ever. Green Lantern history.
Green Lantern #16 is now on sale at DC Comics.