1994
Coast City is gone. What should a power ring be allowed to undo?
Start here without the ending: The premise and reading plan below avoid the resolution. Plot history and later continuity changes are in a closed section.
This is part of the main comics continuity, following the destruction of Coast City in Reign of the Supermen. It is a turning point for both Hal and Kyle. Continuity guide.
Hal tries to recreate what he has lost with his ring. The Guardians challenge his use of its power, and the conflict becomes a test of the limits of their authority. Three issues make a dramatic change to the franchise; knowing the familiar ring premise is enough to follow the immediate dispute.
Watch for: the difference between saving people and trying to erase loss. Hal’s relationships with his fellow Lanterns make the confrontation more personal than a battle with a new villain. For a new reader who wants Hal’s usual heroic status first, Secret Origin is the gentler introduction.
If you are following the modern Johns route, this is useful background rather than required homework: Rebirth supplies its own explanation.
Hal takes power from Lanterns sent to stop him, reaches Oa, and drains the Central Power Battery. Kilowog dies in the confrontation and Sinestro appears to die at Hal’s hands. The Corps collapses; Ganthet survives the catastrophe and gives a ring to Kyle Rayner. Hal emerges as Parallax. The issue sequence is Green Lantern #48–50; DC’s account of the lead-in to Zero Hour explains how the fall carries into the next event.
Green Lantern: Rebirth later identifies Parallax as a separate fear entity that possessed Hal; the original 1994 story did not present that explanation. It also revisits Sinestro’s apparent death. Keep the story as first published separate from the later explanation when comparing summaries. DC’s chapter-by-chapter Rebirth guide traces that reinterpretation.
For the franchise, the immediate result is a change in scale: Kyle has to learn what being a Green Lantern means with little of the old institution available to support him. Hal’s story continues through Zero Hour and The Final Night; his return and the Corps’ rebuilding occur much later.
Green Lantern (1990) #50 — published Emerald Twilight Part 3 cover. Darryl Banks (cover pencils); Romeo Tanghal (cover inks). Artwork source & details.
Reading priorities and commentary are our editorial guidance. Issue ranges and publication context are checked against the linked publisher records. Reviewed November 4, 2026.
Credits refer to the illustrations shown here. Open a record for sources, adaptations and unresolved details. Some artwork and source pages contain story spoilers.
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