Glossary
Book of Oa
The Corps' law, history, and prophecy.
The story
Kept in the Citadel on Oa, the Book of Oa is the Guardians' sacred text — part history, part law, part prophecy. Written across billions of years, it records the founding of the Green Lantern Corps, the exploits of its greatest Lanterns, and the ten laws every ring-bearer must obey. One Lantern is chosen as Keeper of the Book, among the highest honors the Corps can bestow. But the Book also holds forbidden chapters: the prophecy of the Blackest Night, whispered to Abin Sur by the demons of Ysmault, which the Guardians sealed away rather than face.
The Book was destroyed when Hal Jordan fell. In Emerald Twilight (Green Lantern vol. 3 #48–50, 1994, Marz/Banks), Hal's rampage through the Corps shattered Oa's institutions along with its Lanterns, and the Book burned with them. It was restored only after Kyle Rayner, wielding the power of Ion, resurrected the Guardians themselves — the little blue immortals returned, and their great text returned with them. The Guardians then rewrote it: after the Sinestro Corps War (2007), the ancient prohibition on lethal force was struck from the laws, and Lanterns were authorized to kill.
The Book of Oa endures as the Corps' memory — and its conscience. Its pages hold the names of Lanterns who died heroes and villains alike, and some entries were written before their subjects ever wore a ring, as if the Book itself could see the future. To read it is to understand what the Corps believes about itself. To rewrite it, as the Guardians have done in their darkest hours, is to decide what the Corps will become. Learn more about its authors on the Guardians hub.
Artwork: DC Comics — fan tribute.