In DC Comics, the Red Lantern Corps instead taps into rage to empower its , literally boiling their blood in order to weaponize it against their enemies.
Far less versatile with their rings than any other Corps, these Red Lanterns are a brutal force to be reckoned with in every sense of the term. But who exactly are the Red Lanterns, and why is it that they wield the most pointless power rings in the entirety of the Emotional Spectrum?
Introduced into the greater Green Lantern mythos by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, the Red Lanterns, headed by the hulking alien known as Atrocitus, are an enraged wrecking crew fueled by a one-track mindset that relishes spilling the blood of their enemies, and even their own. Bucking the usual trend set by other Corps that exclusively use their rings to fight (especially the Orange Lanterns, most of who are constructs), the Red Lanterns choose to use their fists and specialized power of projectile vomiting their own blood to combat their enemies, a tactic that is equally disturbing and effective.
Usually preferring to utilize their rings for only the most basic of space-faring needs, which includes a protective red aura and the power of flight, the Red Lanterns are still one of the most dominant Corps on the Emotional Spectrum this side of the Black Lanterns.
Red Lanterns are generally selected because of their rage. Their leader, Atrocitus, seized the power of the Emotional Spectrum after the Manhunters - a failed attempt at what would eventually become the Green Lantern Corps - killed his family, imbuing him with a burning hatred for the Guardians and their willpower-based Corps. Other suffered similar fates - the conniving Bleez was deeply wronged by the Sinestro Corps, while Dex-Starr - an Earth cat - gained a Red Lantern ring after his owner was killed in a burglary.
While the Red Lanterns are the least complex Corps both in of motivation and powers, they're not the 2D villains they seem. Consumed with rage, the Red Lanterns often act as a more definitive source of "justice" than the more even-tempered Green Lanterns - a fact which has led like Guy Gardner to defect in the past. They're also less organized and operate less in the long-term, often making them the wildcard of the Emotional Spectrum, since their bond with their rings - and their anger - is necessary to keep them living, let alone fighting. Overall, the Red Lantern Corps may be the characters whose power rings you'd least want to wear, but their own righteous anger has made them effective both as allies and enemies of the Green Lantern Corps.
