Sinestro

Lore & Background

Sinestro was born on Korugar in space sector 1417, where he worked as an anthropologist reconstructing ancient civilizations. After Green Lantern Prohl Gosgotha crash-landed near him, Sinestro received his ring but let Gosgotha die to keep the power for himself. Assigned to train Hal Jordan, Sinestro's dictatorial methods were exposed when Jordan contacted other Lanterns during a Khund invasion. Recruited by Katma Tui as his replacement, Korugar came to view the Green Lantern symbol as one of terror. Banished to the antimatter universe on Qward by the Guardians, Sinestro allied with the Weaponers of Qward. They created a yellow power ring for him, exploiting the Corps' weakness to the color yellow. In the Post-Crisis era, after being executed by the Green Lantern Corps, Sinestro sent his essence into the Central Power Battery, discovering that the "yellow impurity" was actually Parallax, the embodiment of fear.

In Their Own Story

After escaping imprisonment on Oa through the mental manipulation of the Mad God of Sector 3600, Sinestro murdered entire star systems before being tried and executed by the Green Lantern Corps. He cheated death by trapping his spirit in the Central Power Battery, where he discovered the nature of Parallax. Later, while John Stewart was on Oa, Sinestro's spirit possessed him via Stewart's power ring, causing havoc on Mosaic World until a boy named Toby broke the possession. Following Hal Jordan's rampage as Parallax, which destroyed Coast City, the Guardians freed Sinestro to stop him; Jordan snapped his neck, though he survived. In the Villains United mini-series, Sinestro joined the Secret Society of Super Villains, killing Black Condor and defeating Uncle Sam. He later founded the Sinestro Corps in the antimatter universe, allying with the Anti-Monitor. During the Sinestro Corps War, he returned to Korugar to confront his successor, Soranik Natu, making it appear she defeated him so she would remain as "the Savior of Korugar".

Reader's Guide

Sinestro wields a yellow power ring fueled by fear, allowing him to create constructs that instill terror. His primary weakness is the color yellow in the pre-Sinestro Corps era, though his own ring utilizes it. He founded an army of feared warriors to spread order through dread. Key events include his creation in 1961, his banishment to Qward, and the War of Light. He has been voiced by actors such as Ted Levine, Miguel Ferrer, Xander Berkeley, Ron Perlman, Victor Garber, and Jason Isaacs. His live-action debut was in the 2011 film Green Lantern, played by Mark Strong, with Ulrich Thomsen set to portray him in the upcoming series Lanterns.

Did You Know?

• In 2009, IGN ranked Sinestro as the 15th-greatest comic book villain of all time.
• Sinestro's appearance was modeled after British actor David Niven.
• He originally worked as an anthropologist specializing in the reconstruction of ancient Korugan civilizations before becoming a Green Lantern.
• The yellow weakness in Green Lantern rings was revealed to be Parallax, the embodiment of fear, while Sinestro was trapped inside the Central Power Battery.
• Sinestro is set to be portrayed by Ulrich Thomsen in the DC Universe series Lanterns.