Lights Out is a month long Green Lantern crossover event that happened in October 2013. This story begins in Green Lantern and goes through Green Lantern Corps, Green Lantern: New Guardians, Red Lanterns, before concluding in Green Lantern Annual #2.
Still recovering from the aftermath of Wrath of the First Lantern, the Lanterns encounter Relic, an ancient being who has survived the end of the universe previous to this one. Fearing that the various Lantern Corps will destroy the universe in a matter which eventually destroyed his universe, he seeks out to destroy them all to save it. It will take the Lanterns all they have to prove him wrong.
Lights Out contains examples of:
- An Arm and a Leg: During Oa's last stand, Green Lantern recruit Jruk loses his left arm when a building falls on him. After he's been tended to, he's ready to get back in the fight.
- Bat Family Crossover: The third major Lantern crossover since the Flashpoint reboot and the first of the post-Geoff Johns era.
- Becoming the Mask: Having been sent by Green Lanterns to spy on the Red Lanterns, Guy Gardner eventually starts to like being a Red Lantern. He kicks Atrocitus out and makes the Corps a democracy, he finds them a ship to live in so they won't have to sleep on the ground, and he makes a deal with Hal to give them their own space sector to protect in exchange for helping to fight Relic.
- Bookends: Not in regards to the story, but to Green Lantern recruit Ergann. His ring chose him because he was not afraid to be left behind to die so that his tribe can continue on their journey. During Oa's last stand, he dies when he stays behind to distract Relic so John and the other recruits can flee.Ergann: I'm not afraid to die.
- Boom Stick: In Relic's universe the light of the spectrum was channeled in staves rather than rings.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": In Relic's old universe, wielders of light were called Lightsmiths. When he awakens in the DC Universe, he sees that the Lanterns wield light and calls them Lightsmiths out of habit.
- Cassandra Truth: In Relic's old universe, he tried to tell the Lightsmiths that their light is a resource that would dry up eventually. No one listened and sure enough, their light source ran dry and caused the end of the universe. Not wanting to relive the experience, Relic decides to take a more forceful approach to the Lanterns.
- Continuity Overlap: Lights Out runs parallel to Forever Evil. This actually nicely justifies why the Lanterns don't pitch in to help against the Crime Syndicate takeover on Earth, as they're too busy fighting for their lives against Ruin.
- Despair Event Horizon: In the finale, some of the Green Lanterns don't partake in the oath now that they know their energy source is finite. Kyle's sacrifice may have replenished the emotional spectrum and saved the universe, but since he's the only White Lantern, they fear that there might not be another chance if this happens again. Little do they know, but fortunately for them, Kyle is alive and well.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The villain maintains that overdependence on a resource will destroy a society when that resource runs out. Huh
. - Earth-Shattering Kaboom: When Relic destroys the central Green Lantern battery, it renders Oa unstable and it ultimately explodes. Fortunately, nearly everyone is able to make it out alive.
- Enemy Mine: In part 3, Kyle learns that he must help Relic if the universe is to be saved.
- Face Death with Dignity: With their central battery destroyed and their power dwindling, the Blue Lantern corps use the last of their power to help Kyle Rayner teleport Saint Walker and Carol Ferris away. Their rings empty, the Blue Lanterns sit down and calmly await their destruction at the hands of Relic.
- Gondor Calls for Aid:
- To stop Relic, Hal suggests the Green Lantern Corps to go to the Red Lantern Corps for help because he has Guy Gardner there as a double agent.
- John and the Lantern recruits go to the Indigo Tribe's homeworld for help. With their help, he builds a new Green central battery on Mogo: the living planet.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- During Oa's last stand, Green Lantern recruit Ergann stays behind to keep Relic at bay so the John Stweart and his squad can escape. Having lived a good, long life, he's not afraid to die.
- In the finale, Kyle pulls Relic through the Source Wall and everyone thinks he's died. After all but the Templar Guardians leave, he emerges safe and sound. The entities within him sacrificed themselves to replenish the emotional spectrum's reservoir, including the Entity.
- Heroism Incentive: To get the Red Lantern Corps to help fight Relic, Hal makes a deal to give them their space sector to protect. Space Sector 2814, the same one Ysmault and Earth are in.
- Last of His Kind:
- Relic is the last being left from his universe. He escaped its destruction by going through the edge of his universe and into the DC Universe.
- Saint Walker is the last Blue Lantern after Relic decimated the Blue Lantern corps and their central battery.
- Last Stand: When Relic invades Oa, he puts up such a fight that the Green Lantern Corps must evacuate everyone before Oa is destroyed. To make it any clearer, part 2 is titled "Oa's Last Stand".
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The whole Green Lantern Corps' reaction when Relic destroys the central green power battery. Salaak is shocked in particular because he knows that the central battery was linked to the caverns beneath Oa and without it, Oa will crumble.
- Meaningful Name: Relic's name has a double meaning. He was called Relic in his old universe because he was accused of wanting to return to a less enlightened time. When his universe was destroyed, he became a relic in the literal sense as well.
- Negated Moment of Awesome: Atrocitus fused with the Butcher, the embodiment of the red light, and was on his way to kill Guy Gardner and become the leader of the Red Lantern Corps again. Before he can do that, Kyle Rayner flies by and has the Butcher merge with him to be with the other light entities. This leaves Atrocitus powerless once again and stuck having to find another plan.
- No-Sell: Unlike the other Lanterns, the Red Lantern Corp is not suffering from power loss because their powers come from a mixture of technology and magic. Since Relic's powers come from technology, the Green Lanterns go to them for assistance, thinking the Red Lanterns might have an advantage against him.
- Nothing Is the Same Anymore: The story is billed as "the story that will change the Green Lantern universe forever". And given the destruction of Oa, it's safe to say it's living up to the hype. Their new base of operations is now Green Lantern Mogo: the living planet, and Sector 2814 has been evacuated by the Green Lantern Corps in favor of the Reds.
- Our Giants Are Bigger: Relic is twenty times the size of a human. Flashbacks show that this is normal size for someone from his universe; meaning to him, everything is smaller.
- Phlebotinum Breakdown: The Lantern rings (except the Reds) malfunction a few times because of the Dimming; which means the embodiments of the light spectrum are dying. When the rings malfuntion during critical times, Kilowog orders the Green Lantern corps to stay grounded so they won't lose power in the vacuum of space.
- Pyramid Power: In Relic's universe the light of the spectrum was stored in pyramids rather than lanterns.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Hal thinks John and some recruits are dead when they stay behind to distract Relic during Oa's last stand. Guy is enraged when he Hal tells him that his best friend is dead. In reality, John and most of the recruits survive because one recruit sacrificed himself so they can escape. When they catch up with the rest of the Lanterns in the finale, Guy is overjoyed to see John again.
- Rule of Symbolism: In both universes the blue light of Hope was the first thing lost in the Dimming.
- Running Gag: Nobody seems to remember Green Lantern recruit Gazzl's name.
- Science Villain: Relic was a scientist in his universe. Most of his powers come from the tech he made.
- Attack Reflector: Relic can deploy discs that can absorb lantern light and redirect it.
- Cool Starship: After being released from the Anomaly, Relic uses his tech to assimilate nearby spaceships into one massive spaceship for him to travel in. It's heavily armed; complete with a Kill Sat on its underside.
- Mecha-Mooks: Relics has thousands of insect-like drones to help him drain the spectrum energy of the Lanterns.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: After escaping the destruction of his universe, he became encased inside the Anomaly, a cyst-like region of space containing the remains of his universe. When White Lantern Kyle Rayner and the Templar Guardians come to investigate they accidentally release him.
- Shout-Out:
- During Oa's last stand, John Stewart creates a Humongous Mecha construct that looks like the mechas from Pacific Rim.
- When meeting Relic for the first time, Hal calls him Gulliver.
- Symbiotic Possession: In part 3, the living embodiments of the green (Ion), blue (Adara), orange (Ophidian), violet (Predator), indigo (Proselyte), and white (Entity) lights possess White Lantern Kyle Rayner to use him for their purpose. With the help of the Templar Gaurdians, Kyle gets control of his body again. However, being possesed by them allows him to read their minds and figure what he must do: help Relic.
- The Swarm: Relic uses hordes of small robots to drain central lantern batteries. They also have lasers.
- Taken for Granite: Anything that touches the Source Wall, the barrier surrounding the edge of the universe, will become part of the wall. Relic tries to break through the Source Wall to get to the reservoir of the emotional spectrum. In the finale, Relic becomes part of the Source Wall when Kyle pulls him through it.
- Teleport Spam: In the finale, the lanterns bypass Relic's Attack Reflector discs by having the Indigo Tribe teleport them past the discs and keep them there.
- Terminally Dependent Society: In Relic's universe they used light constructs for practically everything, building entire cities and vehicles out of them, no wonder it ran out. Even if it wasn't literally the life of the universe they would have all died when it did.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Relic has nothing personal against the Lanterns. It's just that he believes that this universe would suffer the same fate as his old one if they keep using the emotional spectrum. He even offers to spare the Green Lanterns if they give up their rings and surrender.
- We Need a Distraction: In order to evacuate Oa, John Stewart rounds up a squad of recent recruits to distract Relic. They do it by making the biggest constructs they can to fight him.
