Capabilities & Limitations of the Power Ring08:54 May 16 2013
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Capabilities
No hard upper limit to the power ring's capabilities has yet been demonstrated; it is often referred to as "the most powerful weapon in the universe."
The power ring's most distinctive effect is the generation of green, solid-light constructs, the precise physical nature of which has never been specified. The size, complexity, and strength of these constructs is limited only by the ring-bearer's willpower; whatever the wearer imagines, the ring will create.
When active, a power ring will encase its user in a protective, life-supporting force field. This force field allows the user to fly, travel through inhospitable environments (outer space, underwater, etc.), and enter hyperspace in order to move vast distances quickly. The ring also generates its wearer's Green Lantern uniform: the uniform appears over their normal attire and vanishes at the user's will. The uniform varies from Lantern to Lantern, based on anatomy, personal preference, and the social norms of their race. The only rule in this regard seems to be that the uniform must openly display the symbol of the corps, though even this has been modified based on preference, (a vampire-hunting Lantern adapts the symbol into a cross, and a blind Lantern with no concept of light or color uses the image of a bell) as in the case of Kyle Rayner who wears a modified version of the symbol on his uniform.
Power rings also appear to be highly advanced computers; they are able to talk to and advise the wearer as to various courses of action, as well as act as a universal translator. The ring can also scan for energy signatures or particular objects. For more intricate problems or problems that require a back logged history (Of a planet, person, group, ETC.), the ring connects with the main power battery on Oa which is the "main" computer, of sorts.
Power rings are able to give off electromagnetic radiation of various frequencies. This radiation can be focused by the wearer into a beam, similar in appearance and effect to a powerful laser. The ring is also capable of producing an electrical current. Less frequently used capabilities include splitting atomic nuclei and manipulating subatomic particles (thereby transmuting chemical elements). A power ring is also capable of creating fully functional duplicates of itself.
While power rings have to be worn to be effective, at several points Green Lanterns have shown the ability to summon the ring to them from a distance (even if someone else is wearing it) or order it to carry out commands automatically after being removed. Some power rings have been shown to be genetically keyed to the wearer, like Kyle Rayner's, though villains have circumvented this through various means. For instance, Manhunters use tissue samples to make Kyle's ring think it is still on his hand. When a Green Lantern is slain, their ring will automatically seek out a suitable replacement after logging the death for record. While the Green Lantern ring is an extremely advanced computer and is highly intelligent, it cannot think for itself. The ring will only act if it is given instructions by its wearer. Also, when a wearer expires, it will seek out a new replacement, but at that point, Mogo, the planet sized Green lantern takes over telepathic "custody" of the ring and issues its commands helping it find a suitable new recruit. Without Mogo, the ring would just transport itself to Oa and fall to the ground inert until it is needed again.
Limitations
Originally Green Lantern power rings typically held a limited charge. In earlier appearances, they required recharging every twenty-four hours, but more recently they possess a fixed amount of regular charge: that is, the charge is good for twenty-four hours of 'typical' use, but extended or extensive use will drain the charge more quickly. Green Lantern rings typically reserve a small portion of their power for a passive force field that protects its wielder from mortal harm. In dire emergencies, that energy reserve can be tapped at the expense of said protection. Power rings are usually recharged by a Green Lantern's personal battery, which looks like an old fashioned lantern made of dark green metal. The user typically points the ring towards the lantern, and usually gives the Green Lantern oath while recharging the ring. These batteries are directly linked to the Central Power Battery on Oa and do not themselves need recharging.
Originally, power rings were unable to affect objects colored yellow, though Lanterns have typically found ways around the limitation by indirect manipulation. The reason why the rings were unable to affect yellow objects has changed significantly from writer to writer. In early stories, it was because of a design flaw. Gerard Jones revised this, in a story that revealed that the Guardians could change the weakness randomly and at will. After the destruction of the central battery Ganthet revealed to Kyle Rayner that an "imperfection" in the central battery was responsible for the yellow weakness (which his ring didn't have as there was no Central Battery). In Green Lantern: Rebirth, writer Geoff Johns revealed that the "yellow impurity" was the result of Parallax, a yellow energy being made of pure fear, which had been imprisoned in the Central Power Battery. This change to the fictional history also allowed characters to overcome the yellow weakness by recognizing the fear behind it and facing that fear.
By far, the most significant limitation of the power ring is the willpower of the wielder. The requirements needed to wield a power ring have changed sporadically during the history of Green Lantern titles, often creating continuity confusions. Allowing power rings to fall into the wrong hands has been a favorite plot device in many previous Green Lantern stories. However, only people with exceptional willpower can use a power ring, a restriction which makes use of the rings by average individuals incredibly difficult (if not impossible). For instance, when Green Arrow used a power ring to attack Sinestro, it pushed the hero's body to the point of exhaustion (and for all his effort he was only able to generate a single arrow, which did little to Sinestro other than annoy him). Mind control, hallucinogens, psychic attacks, "neural chaff" and other phenomena that disrupt thought processes will all indirectly impair a power ring's effectiveness. More abstractly, so can a weakening of resolve and will. For example, during the Millennium crossover, Hal Jordan fights a Manhunter who psychologically attacks him, to make him doubt that the people he is protecting value the principles he is fighting for. Jordan's resolve begins to weaken and his ring loses effectiveness until one of his charges strikes the Manhunter, declaring that she does deeply value Jordan's principles as well. With this dramatic affirmation, Jordan's faith in his cause is restored and the ring instantly returns to full power. The ring, though, does have some psychic defenses: Guy Gardner's ring apparently is able to put up psi-shields around him and Blue Beetle in their battle against the Ultra-Humanite. There is also a limit to the amount of willpower the ring can take, as seen when John Stewart attempted to use his ring to re-build a destroyed planet, only to have his ring inform him, "Willpower exceeding power ring capabilities."
In the current incarnation of the Corps, the ring originally possessed programming to prevent the wearer from killing sentient beings. Hal Jordan was thought to have used power rings to kill a number of Corps members during Emerald Twilight, though he did tell Kilowog that he "left them enough power to survive." During the Sinestro Corps War event, they were revealed to be alive, held prisoner by the Cyborg Superman on the planet Biot. These Lanterns are referred to as the "Lost Lanterns". Any attempt to kill using a green power ring was automatically diverted, and in some cases resulted in the ring locking out the user. However, this restriction was rescinded by the Guardians to combat the Sinestro Corps, then for the general execution of their duties. However, the Rings are apparently still unable to be used against a Guardian, although Hal Jordan was apparently able to overpower this restriction when he killed the renegade Guardian Krona in the final battle.
It has been claimed in-universe that only a pure form of willpower can use the ring effectively. When Green Arrow tried to use Hal Jordan's power ring against Sinestro, it caused him great pain and difficulty because (according to Sinestro) Green Arrow's will was "cynical". It has also been shown that the user's stamina is drained with every construct. When Green Arrow fires a small arrow-like construct from the ring, he describes the experience as feeling like losing a week's worth of sleep. When he questions Kyle Rayner about this, Kyle affirms that the feeling is normal.
In the alternae universe of Superman & Batman: Generations, it was stated that the rings' weakness is actually only based on what the users believe the rings are vulnerable to; Alan Scott- whose ring here is a lost Green Lantern ring rather than the Starheart- believed that his ring was vulnerable to wood because he was caught off-guard by someone wielding a wooden block the first time he used the ring.
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