Green Lantern's Strangest Villains In DC Comics

Nov 21, 2023

Hal Jordan, John Stewart and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps battle some of the weirdest villains from Earth to Oa and across the DC Universe.

In 1959, John Broome and Gil Kane passed the Green Lantern's mantle from the Golden Age Alan Scott to the Silver Age Hal Jordan, creating the Green Lantern Corps and expanding the mythos to the cosmos. With the inclusion of Oa and the Guardians of the Universe, Green Lantern books also introduced many strange, cosmic villains.

Related: DC's 10 Weirdest B-List Villains

Working across the universe, Green Lanterns encounter all the different Lantern Corps groups and many strange, wonderful beings. From living planets, to evil warlords and even cosmic forces like Parallax who control parts of the Emotional Spectrum, Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps battle some of the weirdest villains in DC Comics.

Evil Star is a scientist from another planet determined to become immortal. He figured out a way to draw power from the stars, thus achieving his goal, but also altering his mind drastically to become a Green Lantern villain.

Evil Star is weird in a lot of ways. His costume for one, with a star plastered across his face that often molds to his cheekbones but completely flattens his nose. His powers are pretty cool, but his strange little Starling army that are just smaller versions of himself only add to his weirdness.

When Hector Hammond came across a mysterious meteor in the woods, he turned from a petty criminal into a powerful villain. Exposure to the meteor gave a person increased intellect, but unfortunately for Hammond, it also increased the size of his brain.

Hector Hammond has a very weird appearance. His head became enormous, and as a result his human body was no longer able to move. While he was granted great power, he also lost his ability to speak. So essentially, Hector Hammond just sits in silence and controls people with his mind.

Weirdly enough, another Green Lantern villain with interesting head anatomy, the Headmen originate from the world Garon. The Headmen rule over their world and use their Cerebro-Ray to keep everyone in line and ensure they remain in charge.

Related: Green Lantern's 10 Greatest Villains, Ranked

The Headmen are aptly named due to their large, dome-shaped, hairless heads being their most prominent feature. They are creepy and have come head-to-head with Green Lantern a few times while trying to retain control and power.

Professor Ojo's parents worked in an atomic testing facility, and as a result of the exposure to radiation, Professor Ojo was born without eyes. With great intellect, he managed to build himself a contraption that allowed him to see.

Unfortunately for Professor Ojo, his contraption was a helmet with a large eye on top, and while it no doubt was a great advancement in technology, it just looked really strange. He also uses big hovering eyes for spying purposes, but was ultimately defeated by Green Lantern and Green Arrow.

There have been a few "Tattooed Men" in DC, the first of which was Abel Tarrant. Originally a sailor who turned to crime, Tarrant was exposed to a strange chemical that he then used to tattoo his own skin which gave him the ability to make the tattoos three-dimensional.

The concept of the Tattooed Man's powers is strange. It has cool potential, but is weird in execution, with him conjuring dragons and axes from his tattoos. He was able to withstand Green Lantern for a time due to the ink being yellow, but of course, the Tattooed Man was ultimately bested when DC retconned that power ring weakness.

Ranx the Sentient City is just as its name suggests: a sentient planet and a part of the Sinestro Corps. Ranx was once prophesied to be the end of the entire Green Lantern Corps once and for all by detonating a blink bomb.

Related: Green Lantern's 10 Greatest Allies

Ranx the Sentient City was foretold to be an incredible foe. A sentient planet isn't the scariest or even most interesting villain to encounter, and while it can control gravitational pulls and has become a popular place for crime, at the end of the day it is just a planet that can kind of control its own surface.

Another Green Lantern villain with a name that's a bit too on the nose, Goldface was once a man named Keith Kenyon who was exposed to toxic waste that of course gave him powers, but also made him appear gold. This color change sparked an all-gold villainous crusade that had him wear gold armor, stealing gold, and using a gold-spraying gun.

Goldface's color being near yellow made him quite a difficult foe for Green Lantern at first, and he even managed to kill one of the Lanterns. However, despite besting a Green Lantern, Goldface's overall look and sudden obsession with gold makes for a weird, forgettable villain.

The Shark was once an ordinary tiger shark that was subject to vast physical changes due to radiation exposure from an explosion. The Shark ended up with advanced mental abilities, and a humanoid-shark appearance.

The Shark is not to be confused with King Shark, although they are similar in some ways. The Shark still has a high prey-drive, yet weirdly is only interested in people he deems a good enough match for his newfound abilities. His appearance is strange, and he can fly, which would no doubt be a weird sight to behold.

Otto Fisher joined the circus and fell in love with a trapeze artist who unfortunately didn't feel the same way. In order to gain her attention, Otto trained himself in acrobatics, becoming an impressive athlete.

Related: Hal Jordan's 10 Greatest Villains, Ranked

Fisher turned to villainy when the girl of his dreams died as a result of an unfortunate accident while performing. Becoming the Aerialist, Fisher decided her death was the fault of the Green Lantern, and vowed revenge. His abilities were impressive to watch, though not quite fear-inducing. Ultimately, the Aerialist's strange reason for villainy was a woman who didn't love him back.

Parallax is a popular and powerful Green Lantern villain and the living embodiment of fear. As part of the Sinestro Corps and the entity inside the Yellow Lantern Central Power Battery, Parallax is one of the weirder villains.

Parallax is a demonic parasite that inhabits a host. Having inhabited the likes of Hal Jordan, Parallax is very powerful, and very terrifying. Depicted as a giant yellow parasite bug-like entity, Parallax is weird, but cool, and a strong counter for the Green Lanterns' willpower.

Next: 10 DC Heroes Worthy Of Joining The Justice League

Chloe is a freelance writer from Scotland who loves all things comic, music, art, and animals. Chloe graduated in 2019 with a degree in Creative Writing and Journalism with English Literature, and has worked for CBR since 2022.