WARNING: Contains Potential Spoilers for ABSOLUTE GREEN LANTERN #5 (2025)!
The Darkseid-created Absolute Universe has just reinterpreted theGreen Lantern’s iconic“In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night”oath, giving its origin a whole new meaning that reshapes the lore-defining vow. This bold reimagining is not only unexpected but also sparks some significant questions.
All GL fans knowthe iconic Green Lantern oath:“In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might, beware my power, Green Lantern’s light.”While a few different versions appeared in Alan Scott’s earliest stories, it was Alfred Bester and Martin Nodell’sGreen Lantern#9 (1943) that cemented the version we all know and love today.
Now, Al Ewing and Jahnoy Lindsay’sAbsolute Green Lantern#5 uses the oath in an exceptionally surprising context: as wedding vows,or more accurately, vows that were broken.
The Absolute Universe Reimagines the Green Lantern Oath as Wedding Vows
Cover B Juliet Nneka Variant forAbsolute Green Lantern#5 (2025)
Absolute Green Lantern#5 features a fight between Sojourner"Jo"Mullein and Hal Jordan, where he demands she removeher Green Lantern ring. This moment triggers a flashback for Jo, recalling a fight with her wife. In the scene, Jo is moving out of their shared home as her partner insists she give back the ring she originally bought for her.
Jo’s wife explains that the ring represents their vows and commitment, even partially reciting them to make her point:“In the brightest day and the blackest night…”Green Lantern fans will instantly recognize this line as a mirror of the Corps’ iconic oath, now reimagined in a deeply personal and emotional context between two partners rather than spacefaring heroes.
The Green Lantern oath has been completelyredefined in the Absolute Universe, transformed into heartfelt wedding vows rather than the Corps’ legendary motto. This reinvention not only gives the iconic phrase a new origin, but it also adds a layer of tragedy, as it’s now tied to Jo’s painful breakup and failed marriage rather than triumph or unity.
Will Jo’s Vows to Her Spouse Become the Green Lantern’s Oath in the Absolute Universe?
Cover C Tirso Cons Variant forAbsolute Green Lantern#5 (2025)
Ewing’s repurposing ofthe iconic Green Lantern oathin the Absolute Universe is exceptionally clever. With Jo seemingly the first, or one of the first, human Lanterns in this reality, it raises the question of whether she’ll bring the oath full circle by adopting it as her own and ultimately cementing it as the Green Lantern Corps' official oath, just like in the main universe.
While it may seem unusual for Jo to turn her failed wedding vows into an oath for her new mantle, it feels plausible. Earlier issues hint that Jo’s ex-wife is now deceased, as Jo expresses regret about not being able to speak to her. Reclaiming those words as herGreen Lanternoath could serve as a powerful way to honor their memory.
