The Sinestro Corps, also known as the Yellow Lanterns or Yellow Lantern Corps, is one of the major Lantern Corps in the DC Comics universe. They represent the emotional spectrum's yellow light of fear, serving as a dark mirror to the Green Lantern Corps (which runs on willpower/will).
Thaal Sinestro, a native of the planet Korugar in Sector 1417, was once widely regarded as one of the greatest Green Lanterns ever. He was a strict authoritarian who believed true order required instilling fear and control in the population—methods that went far beyond the Corps' ethical guidelines. After abusing his power ring to impose totalitarian rule on his homeworld, his former protégé Hal Jordan exposed him, leading the Guardians of the Universe to strip him of his ring and exile him to Qward in the Antimatter Universe.
On Qward, Sinestro forged alliances with the Weaponers (who crafted his first yellow power ring) and tapped into the yellow impurity that had long plagued Green Lantern rings. This impurity stemmed from Parallax, an ancient parasitic entity embodying pure fear, which had been trapped inside the Green Lanterns' Central Power Battery on Oa for eons. Sinestro awakened and harnessed Parallax's power, realizing fear was a stronger, more controllable emotion than willpower for enforcing "peace" through terror and intimidation.
Believing the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians were weak and ineffective, Sinestro created his own corps around 2006–2007 in the comics (during Geoff Johns' run on Green Lantern vol. 4). He recruited the universe's most terrifying beings—those capable of instilling overwhelming fear—and equipped them with yellow power rings. The Sinestro Corps debuted prominently in the "Sinestro Corps War" storyline (Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1 and Green Lantern vol. 4 #21–25), where they launched a massive assault on the Green Lanterns, nearly destroying them and sparking the larger "War of Light" involving all emotional spectrum corps.
Yellow Lantern rings operate on the same basic principles as other rings (flight, energy constructs, force fields, translation, etc.), but their power is fueled by fear rather than willpower. Key traits include:
Fear Manipulation — Rings can project fear energy to induce terror, break minds, or force victims to experience their worst nightmares.
Overcoming Green Lantern Weakness — Yellow energy was historically the "impurity" that weakened green rings; Yellow Lanterns exploit this to overpower Green Lanterns more easily.
No "Two Rings" Limitation — Unlike Green Lanterns, Yellow Lanterns have no stated limit on how many rings one person can wield (though this varies by situation).
Greater Raw Power in Fearful Situations — The more fear present (in themselves or others), the stronger the ring becomes.
Parallax Entity — As the living embodiment of fear, Parallax serves as the corps' emotional entity (similar to Ion for Green Lanterns or the Butcher for Red Lanterns). It can possess hosts, amplify fear on a cosmic scale, and has driven major events like corrupting Hal Jordan into Parallax.
The Sinestro Corps oath is a chilling inversion of the classic Green Lantern oath:
"In darkest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who try to stop what's right,
Burn like my power... Sinestro's might!"
Sinestro views his corps not as villains, but as the necessary enforcers of order. He argues that fear is the ultimate deterrent to chaos—stronger than willpower, which he sees as flawed and unreliable. In his mind, he's saving the universe by imposing iron-fisted control, even if it means ruling through terror. The corps is often portrayed as fascistic, with members selected for their cruelty and ability to inspire dread.
Notable members include Arkillo (a brutal warrior who serves as drill sergeant), Lyssa Drak (keeper of the Book of Parallax), Karu-Sil (a feral fear-inducing beast), and others like the Scarecrow (in some crossovers). The corps has fluctuated in size and allegiance over time, with Sinestro occasionally allying with or against other Lantern Corps.
The Sinestro Corps remains one of the most iconic expansions of the Lantern mythos, emphasizing how fear can be weaponized as effectively as courage.