Every Wednesday (or Thursday on a holiday week 🙂 ) from here until July 15th, the release date of DC Comics’ Blackest Night #1, we here at IoM will be presenting a history of each of the corps involved in the upcoming battle, as well as some background on the major players and the storylines leading up to the big event!

We started with the Green Lantern Corps, then followed up with the Red Lanterns, the Sinestro Corps, and Blue Lanterns.  This week we focus on the color of love, and the Star Sapphires!

When the renegade Maltusian scientist named Krona performed an experiment that had terrible effects on the whole universe, the male Maltusians, who became known as the Oans, decided to dedicate their lives to battle evil.  They became the Guardians of the Universe.  The females left their mates (due to the Guardians’ decision to suppress their emotions, while the Zamarons decided to embrace them.), and became known as the Zamarons.

The Zamarons, Guardians, and a third group of Oans known as the Controllers evolved into different forms. Originally human-like but blue-skinned, the Zamarons eventually developed a warrior-like culture, and, focused on developing their physical abilities over their mental ones.  On the planet Zamaron, they discovered a parasitic violet crystal sprouting from the remains of two corpses. They used these crystals to create the Star Sapphire gemstones and gave these to women who had been loved and spurned, giving them the opportunity to gain revenge.

After the first Star Sapphire was defeated and banished, the second Star Sapphire was Carol Ferris, the girlfriend of Hal Jordan. Possessed by the Star Sapphire crystal, she battled Jordan on and off for years. After his death and resurrection as the Spectre, he removed the Star Sapphire persona from Ferris.   Years later, the crystal possessed her once more, but Jordan was now with Jillian Pearlman (Cowgirl) and abandoned Ferris.

As the years passed, many other women became the Star Sapphire, Dela Pharon, Deborah Darnell and, for a brief time, even Jillian Pearlman.  While it possessed her, Jordan pursued the Zamarons while Ferris attempted to remove the Star Sapphire gem from Pearlman.

The Zamarons explained to Jordan that if the gem bonded with one of the two women and he became her mate, that she would live with him forever. In response, Jordan chose one of the Zamarons themselves. The gem (believing Jordan has a new object of desire) attached to the Zamaron he kissed. The Star Sapphire had a deadly reaction with the Zamaron, and the other Zamarons retreat with her to their planet to remove it. After returning home, the Zamarons safely removed the gem and believed that Jordan was right. They decided that the Star Sapphire was perhaps too powerful to be attached to one woman. The reason behind this being that the Star Sapphire is powered by the violet light of love. In the powered lights of the color spectrum, the farther the color is from the center the more control is has over its user (red and violet being farthest from the center: green).Using their crystals, the Zamarons created a Violet Lantern Power Battery and the first Star Sapphire ring. They placed their ring and lantern on a dais which contained a similar set from the Green Lantern Corps and the Sinestro Corps, commenting that they must collect them all. They soon created their own Main Power Battery, and began recruiting members for their Corps shortly after that. Their first recruit was Miri Riam of the planet Lartnec.

After the Sinestro Corps War, the Zamarons captured several female Sinestro Corps members and attempted to replace the anger and fear in their hearts with love. A Star Sapphire Ring was also sent to Carol Ferris, though it is still unclear if she accepted the ring, or if she was forcibly inducted once more.  Preview images of the Star Sapphires show her at the head of the pack for the coming Blackest Night.  What side they’ll be on remains to be seen but, if the past is any indication, the Green Lantern Corps aren’t looking at another ally in the War of Light…

Star Sapphires from the Star Sapphire Corps all wear a violet power ring, powered by the emotion of love. Their capabilities appear to be comparable to those of Green Lanterns. They allow the wearer to fly, generate a protective aura (which creates distinct feathered and organic shapes), and create violet light contructs. The most notable creation of the violet rings are crystals that encase prisoners from other lantern corps on the Zamaron planet. Over time, the rings of the prisoners trapped in stasis within the crystals are infected with violet energy. After spending enough time inside, the prisoner will emerge as a Star Sapphire.

Other unique abilities of the Star Sapphires’ rings include the ability to reveal the wearer’s greatest love. They’re also able to detect when a loving heart is embattled and in need of aid. By connecting the heart of the ring bearer to a true love in danger, the power of the ring can also act as a tether.

For hearts long lost and full of fright,
For those alone in blackest night,
Accept our ring and join our fight,
Love conquers all–
With violet light!

Thanks to the Wikpedia entries on the Star Sapphires and Zamarons, and the DCU Wiki Entry!

Read more tales of the Star Sapphires below!