Emotional Entity · Mainstream comics
Parallax
Fear given form—and a name whose meaning changed with Green Lantern history.
Fear · Yellow light
Hal's identity: Green Lantern (1990) #50 (1994)
Entity revelation: Green Lantern: Rebirth #3 (2004–05 series)
Spoiler boundary: the explanation below reveals the central retcon in Green Lantern: Rebirth and a major development in Sinestro Corps War.
One name, two publication milestones
In Emerald Twilight, Hal Jordan destroys the Corps and emerges as Parallax. Readers in 1994 encountered a fallen hero using a new identity. They were not yet being shown the separate, insectlike fear entity of later stories.
Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver's Green Lantern: Rebirth reinterprets that history: Parallax is an ancient being that infected Hal. The distinction matters when reading older comics. Hal's actions remain part of the story, but the explanation for his fall was added a decade later. DC's retrospective explicitly describes this later revelation in its account of Kyle Rayner's debut era.
Why green rings once failed against yellow
The Guardians imprisoned Parallax inside the Central Power Battery. Its presence contaminated the green power supply: the yellow impurity was fear embedded in the Corps' own source of power. Rebirth #3 connects the old color weakness to that imprisonment and to the need to confront fear. DC's official history timeline cites that issue for the explanation.
This is a later explanation of an older rule, not evidence that every yellow object contains Parallax. Nor is wearing a yellow ring the same as hosting the entity: a Sinestro Corps member channels fear through a ring; a host carries Parallax itself.
Spoilers — hosts and outcomes in Rebirth and Sinestro Corps War
Hal Jordan is the defining host in Rebirth. Kyle Rayner becomes another during Sinestro Corps War, making the fear entity a personal threat to the Lantern who carried the Corps' legacy after Hal's fall. DC's 2007 Ion one-shot synopsis identifies Kyle's possession and the question of who will next bear Ion.
Ion represents willpower; Parallax represents fear. Their opposition gives the spectrum a conflict that can be fought within a person as well as between armies.
Read the change in context
- Green Lantern (1990) #48–50 — Hal's fall and the original Parallax identity.
- Green Lantern: Rebirth #1–6 — the fear-entity explanation, especially #3.
- Sinestro Corps War — begin with Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1 (2007), then follow the crossover order.
Sources: issue references and linked DC histories above. Reviewed November 4, 2026. This profile discusses comics continuity; screen adaptations may use different origins.
Green Lantern (2011) #35 (2014), Monster variant cover without trade dress. Ivan Reis (cover artist (publisher credit)); Joe Prado (cover artist (publisher credit)). Artwork source & details.
Artwork credits (1 image)
Credits refer to the illustrations shown here. Open a record for sources, adaptations and unresolved details. Some artwork and source pages contain story spoilers.
- Parallax — Green Lantern (2011) #35 (2014), Monster variant cover without trade dress. Ivan Reis (cover artist (publisher credit)); Joe Prado (cover artist (publisher credit)).