Red Lanterns are often seen as the bad guys, especially their leader, Atrocitus. But Here's the thing Atrocitus isn't a bad guy. He's a good guy. He just has a stronger sense of justice than the green Lanterns. Let me talk to you for a second.
Atrocitus starts off life in Sector 666 chilling happily with his wife and children. Then all of a suddenly Manhunter robots created by The Guardians roll through and kill everyone except for 5 people. One of those is Atrocitus. The five survivors form a group named the Five Inversions. They carved out a nice life for themselves but word got around that they were trying to plot on the Guardians. So the next thing you know all of Atrocitus friends are either dead or snitching thanks to Abin Sur and get this, some young upstart lantern rookie named Sinestro. Eventually Abin Sur convinces Atrocitus to tell him about the Blackest Night Prophecy. Abin Sur tries to drag him to Earth but he was afraid of Atrocitus. Atrocitus used the fear to swipe at him and jump out the ship. Abin Sur crashed and died. (Hal got a ring)
Atrocitus hunts down William Hand in an attempt to end the Blackest Night before it starts. He tries to explain this but gets beat down by Sinestro and Hal. They let William Hand run of with Atrocitus weapon while he's yelling "No, he's gonna kill people," and William Hand did kill people, a lot. Atrocitus lets the Lanterns know they're just as guilty as the Guardians now. So they need to be punished as well. Then Sinestro gives him a lecture, Sinestro is really good at lectures for a guy who goes on to, well you know. In return Atrocitus tells Sinestro that that some things will go down in the future that lead to a rebellion against him on his home planet. Sinestro laughs and flies off. Years go by and Atrocitus is stranded on a desert planet being angry then he creates the first red power ring.
Now let's talk about why he's not evil. The Guardians wiped out his entire species and countless others. That's a punishable offense in my book. Abin Sur chained him and tried to use him as a blood hound. He didn't even kill Abin Sur he hit him then Abin Sur freaked out and crashed. Hal and Sinestro didn't listen to him and inadvertently brought on The Blackest Night. That's pretty guilty.
I know you're saying he kills a lot of people and he does, but as we've seen there's a good reason. What nobody ever talks about is his kindness. There are people he won't let join the Red Lanterns because they're angry at the world and don't have a good reason. On one occasion he stops the Specter from killing a man that was possessed because the man was possessed and unaware of his crimes. He's also a lonely guy who loves his pet cat Dexx-Star. You can't hate that.
Atrocitus eventually got his revenge by killing just the Guardian who caused the murders. He let everyone else live. He's still angry, but doesn't know why. So what does he do? He turns the Red Lanterns into a more vicious version of the Green Lanterns. They do the same job but if you get caught by a Red Lantern you lose your life. The other Red Lanterns didn't like playing hero and he ends up losing control to Guy Gardner. Guy makes them red clones of the Green Lanterns. With nothing but his uncharged ring Atrocitus is abandoned by every Red Lantern except his pet Dexx-Star.
Atrocitus is a sad story. He does all the right things. He just does them a little different. There's not really a reason to consider him a villain. Everything he holds dear is always killed. Of course he'd be angry. I just hope nobody kill Dexx. Atrocitus they see you as a villain, but I know you're a good guy. So when you get excommunicated for not being cruel. I feel you.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
Follow @OriginalKingD
Atrocitus hunts down William Hand in an attempt to end the Blackest Night before it starts. He tries to explain this but gets beat down by Sinestro and Hal. They let William Hand run of with Atrocitus weapon while he's yelling "No, he's gonna kill people," and William Hand did kill people, a lot. Atrocitus lets the Lanterns know they're just as guilty as the Guardians now. So they need to be punished as well. Then Sinestro gives him a lecture, Sinestro is really good at lectures for a guy who goes on to, well you know. In return Atrocitus tells Sinestro that that some things will go down in the future that lead to a rebellion against him on his home planet. Sinestro laughs and flies off. Years go by and Atrocitus is stranded on a desert planet being angry then he creates the first red power ring.
Now let's talk about why he's not evil. The Guardians wiped out his entire species and countless others. That's a punishable offense in my book. Abin Sur chained him and tried to use him as a blood hound. He didn't even kill Abin Sur he hit him then Abin Sur freaked out and crashed. Hal and Sinestro didn't listen to him and inadvertently brought on The Blackest Night. That's pretty guilty.
I know you're saying he kills a lot of people and he does, but as we've seen there's a good reason. What nobody ever talks about is his kindness. There are people he won't let join the Red Lanterns because they're angry at the world and don't have a good reason. On one occasion he stops the Specter from killing a man that was possessed because the man was possessed and unaware of his crimes. He's also a lonely guy who loves his pet cat Dexx-Star. You can't hate that.Atrocitus eventually got his revenge by killing just the Guardian who caused the murders. He let everyone else live. He's still angry, but doesn't know why. So what does he do? He turns the Red Lanterns into a more vicious version of the Green Lanterns. They do the same job but if you get caught by a Red Lantern you lose your life. The other Red Lanterns didn't like playing hero and he ends up losing control to Guy Gardner. Guy makes them red clones of the Green Lanterns. With nothing but his uncharged ring Atrocitus is abandoned by every Red Lantern except his pet Dexx-Star.
Atrocitus is a sad story. He does all the right things. He just does them a little different. There's not really a reason to consider him a villain. Everything he holds dear is always killed. Of course he'd be angry. I just hope nobody kill Dexx. Atrocitus they see you as a villain, but I know you're a good guy. So when you get excommunicated for not being cruel. I feel you.
You can hear Darrell on the CP Time and Powerbomb Jutsu podcasts. He also plays classic arcade games on The Cabinet
Follow @OriginalKingD
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