What is The Blackest Night?

Overview

The video explains how DC Comics retroactively reinterprets Hal Jordan’s origin, using it as the narrative backbone for the massive crossover event “Blackest Night.” It argues that the original Silver Age explanation for Abin Sur’s crash contains plot holes—such as why his ring/ship seems unnecessary, why he was on Earth, and why he died despite being a top-tier Lantern.

Later writers resolve these issues by tying Abin Sur’s death to a long-running, psychologically corrosive system of prophecies and cosmic manipulation by demonic forces.

Key Argument: Abin Sur’s “Crash Landing” Is Shaped by Prophecy and Darkness

1. Baseline version of the origin

   • Abin Sur dies on Earth, and Hal Jordan inherits his Green Lantern ring.

2. Why the original doesn’t fully add up

   • The video claims the explanation clashes with Green Lantern abilities and logistics—e.g., why Abin Sur used a spaceship, and why interstellar travel and ring-related mechanics feel inconsistent.

3. Silver Age partial fix

   • Abin Sur’s ring is disrupted/complicated by a prior battle and radiation bands, sending him toward Earth.

4. Post-reboot expansion tied to “Blackest Night”

   • The explanation grows more elaborate and more directly relevant to Blackest Night.
   • Through Alan Moore’s short story, Abin Sur bargains with demons on Ishmalth, learning of the “Final Catastrophe”—a prophecy framing the Corps’ destruction and a demonic collapse of Oa.

Geoff Johns’ Retelling: Prophecy Becomes Paranoia, Paranoia Becomes Betrayal

The video credits Geoff Johns with integrating Abin Sur’s paranoia directly into the origin.

• Abin Sur becomes obsessed with preventing the coming event.
• He increasingly connects Earth to a threat called the Black, described as an antithesis to the emotional spectrum.

Core claim: Abin Sur isn’t merely a victim of fate—he’s psychologically manipulated.

• Even as he tries to act “against prophecy,” his fear and mistrust enable Atrocitus and the ring’s choices to push Hal toward becoming Green Lantern.
• Abin Sur attempts to restrain Atrocitus on his ship, but paranoia/failure leads to his death.
• The ring still selects Hal.

Core Report: “Blackest Night” Fulfills the Prophecy Through Emotion-Powered Resurrection

The event’s main mechanism centers on Black Lantern rings that resurrect the dead as emotionally driven forces.

• The dead are controlled via Black rings that grow stronger as each victim increases the “battery” charge.
• The rings exploit peak emotions:
  • Black Lanterns provoke victims emotionally.
  • Then they kill them by tearing out/destroying hearts.

The crisis scales universally

• Death is undone across worlds.
• Whole corpses of dead superheroes rise (including famous figures), destabilizing planets and Lantern cosmology.
• The Guardians admit failure, and the War of Light begins in earnest.

Major Expansion: A Multi-Corp, Multi-Reality War

The video emphasizes that “Blackest Night” isn’t only about the Green Lanterns. It becomes a broader conflict across the emotional-spectrum factions:

• Star Sapphires (love)
• Yellow Lanterns (fear)
• Blue Lanterns (hope)
• Red Lanterns (rage)
• Orange Lantern constructs
• and others

It also describes:

• how each corps is affected,
• and how counterplay emerges (including how combinations of emotional energies can neutralize Black rings).

“Life vs. Death” cosmology and Nekron

A major plot reveal is the broader cosmic framework, centered on the emergence of Nekron—presented not just as a villain, but as a cosmic force of darkness/empty space that requires specific tethering conditions to affect reality.

William Hand’s Transformation: Death’s Black Lantern “Embodiment”

The video zooms in on William Hand, initially a “Black Hand” villain, then reframed as the origin point for the first Black Lantern.

• Scar (the rogue Guardian) and demonic/prophetic forces use Hand’s obsession with death to form the Black Lantern power.
• Hand’s backstory is portrayed as deeply violent and psychologically disturbing.
• The result is his resurrection as a zombie-like embodiment controlled by Blackest Night machinery.

The video argues Hand is not simply recruited—he becomes the nucleus of the Black Lantern corps.

Climax: Nekron Is Defeated by “Life” (White-Light Resurrection Logic)

The ending reframes the conflict through spectrum-based reversal.

• Heroes learn that Black rings can be undone by combined spectrum light.
• The culmination is a restoration of something called white light / the “essence of life.”
• Sinestro becomes a key turning point by receiving a “white” connection through the living essence of creation.
• Final defeat comes when Nekron’s tether is countered/removed and the darkness source is destroyed.

Outcome details

The video describes the aftermath as:

• Many resurrected characters return, including heroes and some villains.
• Some remain dead forever, with the resurrection selection mechanism described as inconsistent/unclear.
• The Indigo Tribe and William Hand are taken out of general circulation—implying consequences beyond Blackest Night.

Presenters/Contributors

• No explicit named presenters are provided in the subtitle text.
• The video references major creators within the story:
  • Alan Moore (author of “Tigers”)
  • Geoff Johns (responsible for the retelling of Hal/Abin Sur’s origin)
  • Crispus Allen (mentioned as the Spectre’s current master within the story)