When writer Geoff Johns introduced the concept of the “other” colored lanterns, that basically meant one thing for toy collectors like myself….MORE TOYS. Now while I couldn’t really afford to start collecting yet ANOTHER toyline, I figured putting together a little set of figures with each color being represented by one member wouldn’t hurt my wallet TOO much. So this exactly what I set out to do....
For green, I decided to use Kyle Rayner to represent the Green Lanterns. Back when Green Lantern comic sales were waning, DC opted to kill off main Green Lantern Hal Jordan and replace him with a younger and hopefully hipper Kyle Rayner. Now while Geoff Johns brought back Hal, Kyle actually managed to remain relevant. In fact, in the current comic, it is Kyle Rayner who is currently interacting the most with the other colored lanterns.
Next we have yellow. The fear powered corps composed of the ugliest most fear inducing creatures in the galaxy. Again, the obvious choice to represent the Sinestro Corps (as they are properly known) is the founder, Sinestro himself. But just for the sake of variety in size, I decided to get his second in command, Arkillo…he’s a beast of a figure and represents the aspect of fear quite nicely don’t you think? And eventually, Sinestro does pass on the corps to Arkillo so it’s all good.
The Red Lanterns are unique in the fact that they don’t really make any red constructs…instead, their rage fueled power is manifested though corrosive blood that they project out of their mouth…yup killer vomit.
I picked up Atrocitus, the leader of the Red Lantern Corps off eBay, from one of those Chinese sellers who’s stuff could *quite possibly* be stolen directly from the toy factories there. Who knows? All I know is that they’re usually sold for a cheaper price but don’t usually come with any accessories. In Atrocitus’ case, it didn’t really matter. The official retail version comes with a red lantern, but in a genius move by Mattel, they sculpted Atrocitus with two closed fists (I guess to show off how angry he was…) unfortunately, this meant he had no way of holding his lantern, so not having it didn’t really bother me much. To make up for it, I am debating on eventually getting his pet
cat.
The Violet corps, properly known as the Star Sapphires also create violet light constructs, but their true unique power is the ability to create special crystals used to entrap their enemies and over time slowly reform them and ultimately convert them into Star Sapphires themselves.
Carol Ferris, Hal Jordan’s love interest is probably the best known Star Saphire. And she was also bought for cheap from a local eBay seller and like Atrocitus didn’t have any accessories, which was fine with me…those two “accessories” on her chest were good enough (sorry….couldn’t help it!). I kid…I kid :P
And then we have Blue Lantern Saint Walker and Orange Lantern Larfleeze…..these were the only 2 that I bought brand new versions of. They were part of the Mattel’s online DC toyline and it was the fact that they were being released that convinced me to start my rainbow corps in the first place.
Saint Walker and his Blue Lanterns represent the emotion of hope. On their own, blue lanterns aren’t really made for battle. They are a rather passive group and it is only when in the presence of a green lantern that their powers actually manifest. The blue ring has the ability to heal and even restore lost body parts. Plus in return they have the ability to supercharge any green lantern in their presence. And in case you were wondering what the reasoning was behind this sort of symbiotic relationship? You cannot have hope without any willpower….nice ☺
Now the Orange Lanterns is Larfleeze. Yup, he’s the only one. The orange lantern is powered by the emotion of avarice or greed, so unlike the other corps, Larfleeze refuses to share his power with anyone. In fact, his orange constructs are representations of all the people & creatures he has defeated & killed. It is their orange constructs that form his “corps”. Now I did see loose versions of this guy selling for cheap in a number of local shops, but again, these versions didn’t come with any accessories. Unlike Atrocitus however, this guy NEEDED his lantern so he could strike his most iconic pose of greedily holding tight to his lantern and keeping it away from peoples' prying eyes. So yeah I went ahead and got a brand new version of him.
And finally we have the Indigo Tribe, represented by Indigo-1. From their introduction, the indigo tribe was established as the least known and most mysterious tribe, they even spoke in their own indiscernible language. Powered by the emotion of compassion, their unique ability allowed them to mimic all the other rings’ powers (I guess you could say they empathized with the other colors…). Still later on however, the truth behind the Indigo tribe was finally revealed. It turned out that the tribe was actually composed of some of the worst and most despicable beings in the universe. It was actually the power of the indigo ring they wore that actually reformed these criminals into doing good. So basically it was through the power of compassion that these individuals were given a chance to change for the better….nice nice.
Unfortunately, Mattel has yet to make any Indigo tribe figure, so I had to settle for one from DC Direct, who make their own similar sized action figures, the trade-off being that they usually lack articulation. In any case however, I found a cheap figure of their leader, Indigo-1 again on eBay to stand in and represent her tribe in my disply until Mattel wisens up and makes their own version of Indigo-1.
So there you have it. My *little* emotional spectrum display, unfortunately until I find a permanent space for them, they will be occupying some ewok real estate…..
