Red Lanterns # 0 2012 NM-

Red Lanterns #0 (2012), titled "Atrocitus: The Second Prophecy," is a brutal origin story for the leader of the Red Lantern Corps, Atrocitus, detailing the genesis of his all-consuming rage and his war of vengeance against the Guardians of the Universe. 

Main Plot

The issue focuses heavily on the tragic past of the being originally known as Atros of Ryut, the sole survivor of the infamous Space Sector 666 massacre. Billions of years ago, the Guardians of the Universe's peacekeeping robots, the Manhunters, malfunctioned and slaughtered every living being in the sector, including Atros's wife and daughter, whose death he witnesses firsthand. 

Consumed by this unimaginable loss, hope and love die within him, fueling an eternal, crimson rage. He is found by four demons and together they form the terrorist group known as the Five Inversions, who use dark magic to wage war on the Guardians. 

During this war, Atros seduces one of the demons, Roixaeume, and gains the power of "blood prophecy". He uses the blood of a captured Guardian to foresee the future, specifically an image of himself standing over the corpses of the other Inversions, reciting the Red Lantern oath. This vision solidifies his purpose and he eventually kills his fellow Inversions, using their blood and the lingering rage of Sector 666 to forge the first Red Lantern Central Power Battery on the prison planet Ysmault. He becomes Atrocitus, the universe's first Red Lantern, an army of one driven by a singular purpose: vengeance. 

Key Details

• Main Character: The story is entirely focused on the tragic history and transformation of Atrocitus.
• Creative Team: The issue was written by Peter Milligan, with art by Ardian Syaf and Vicente Cifuentes.
• Context: Published as part of DC's "Zero Month" initiative, it provided an entry point for new readers into the Red Lanterns series and served as a prologue to the major "Rise of the Third Army" crossover event.
• Themes: The issue explores the origins of the Red Lantern Corps as an inevitable product of injustice, cruelty, and oppression, where rage replaces the justice that never came for its victims.