Overview
A large part of the DC Universe are the Lantern Corps. Their lore is massive, and their spacefaring adventures stories reach all corners of the universe. Typically their villains are very powerful due to the cosmic setting, and the stakes in these stories have major effects on the rest of the DCU. An argument can be made for Volthoom being the most relevant villain in terms of the history and mechanics of the Lantern Corps, due solely to the fact that he is the first creature in the Multiverse to ever wield a Power Ring — and by proxy — he is the most powerful Lantern of all time.
The Acolyte of the Spectrum
There are different renditions of Volthoom's backstory in several of the comics that he took part in. But the most thorough and gripping recount was from none other than Volthoom himself in Green Lanterns (2016) #18. Volthoom chronicles (in a detailed lamentation to Nekron) his origin, motives, eventual downfall, and why all of those things contributed to his then-current desire to die.
There's a lot to unpack, but it's a very interesting story. Volthoom was born in the 31st Century on Earth-15. Him and his mother, who shared a very close bond, were scientists that together discovered the Electromagnetic Emotional Spectrum. They invented the Travel Lantern, an experimental device engineered for "infinite exploration" and the travel of all time and space. Their planet was under attack by a being they referred to as Destroyer Pulsar. Volthoom's mother was caught under debris of a building, so Volthoom took the Travel Lantern to journey across the multiverse in order to find a way to save his home world from its untimely destruction.
He spent a lot of time learning how to use the Travel Lantern. Once he mastered the Emotional Spectrum and the Travel Lantern, he finally arrived at Earth-0 (the primary reality of the mainstream DCU) on the planet Maltus, 10 billion years in the past. The Maltusians, who would later be known as the Guardians of the Universe, were the perfect partners for Volthoom. But they abandoned emotion, and poured all of their's into a Lantern of their own creation, called the Great Heart. This event resulted in the creation of the first Power Ring. Volthoom forcibly took the Power Ring was transformed into the First Lantern in the universe. He then teamed up with the Maltusians again, striking a deal that he'd help them perfect their technology and in return take the Power Ring home to save his planet. The Maltusians implanted the Great Heart into Volthoom which gave him a mainlined connection to the Emotional Spectrum. In Volthoom's own words, somewhere along the line he started "slipping", and the source of power began breaking him apart.
The details get fuzzy from that point on in Volthoom's own perspective. His friend Rami apparently lied to him and the Guardians destroyed his Travel Lantern in order to leave him stranded in that dimension. Because of that, Volthoom went on a ballistic rampage and murdered thousands of Guardians. He was souped up on his direct streamline to the Emotional Spectrum and the Power Ring. The Guardians created the Green Lanterns to stop him and stole his ring, before imprisoning him in the Chamber of Shadows for 10 billion years. After that comes the events that went down in the Wrath of the First Lantern story arc in the New 52.
The Guardians deemed the GLC a failure due to their emotions and free will, so they began siphoning power from Volthoom in order to create a race of beings known as the Third Army, who went on to assimilate most of the galaxy before being apprehended by rogue Lanterns. The Guardians got greedy, and weakened Volthoom's confinement in order to draw more power from him, which inadvertently led to his escape. Volthoom then emotionally abused several ring-bearers in order to regain his power and rewrite history to remake the universe.
He was only stopped after Black Lantern Hal Jordan removed the ES from him, de-powering him before Nekron struck the killing blow. However, while in the Dead Zone, Nekron revealed that his connection to the ES was too powerful and that he could never die so long as there exists light in the universe. (I think in this context it refers to the Emotional Spectrum).
So shortly after Volthoom returned to the mortal realm. He spurred on the events in the Phantom Lantern arc and even in his debilitated state easily defeated a Guardian.
That's pretty much it for his story. The other accounts support it, though there is one notable contradiction. The actual person who destroyed Earth-15, Volthoom's home planet, was officially recorded to be Superboy-Prime in the Multiversity guide.
Another very detailed account of the origin story was from Rami, Volthoom's close friend, and it takes place in Green Lanterns (2016) #26. Rami states that it was Volthoom himself who destroyed Earth-15.
This version made the most sense chronologically, considering the subsequent events. Volthoom snapped upon hearing that, thinking that Rami wanted the ring. Seeing his extremely volatile emotional state, the rest of the Guardians demanded the ring back from him, and he felt betrayed and went on a rampage killing them. Then Rami destroyed the Travel Lantern because he witnessed firsthand that Volthoom was indeed capable of destroying his planet. Rami then created the first seven Green Lantern rings from the shattered pieces of the Travel Lantern. He dispersed them into the universe and the Rings chose the first seven wielders that became the GLC, who stole the Power Ring from Volthoom and allowed him to be sealed.
As you can see Volthoom is very powerful, even by lore alone. The fact that all the feats he completed in the Wrath of the First Lantern event were completed when he didn't have a Power Ring and was freshly drained/weakened by the Guardians after escaping shift his first few feats into perspective, before he slowly regained power and became strong enough to fight off all 7 Lantern Corps at the same time.
His powers and abilities include:oul Manipulation
Emotional Spectrum Manipulation - Volthoom is the Acolyte of the Spectrum and has direct access to the entirety of its power. As repeatedly stated, he posseses a profound connection to it, and additionally, Volthoom has showcased the ability to tap into all of it's colors and emotions simultaneously. Volthoom also feeds off of prominent emotions, and is an empath since he can sense the emotions and feelings of being and can tell which emotion is the strongest in them. He feeds off of prominent emotions, and can manipulate a person to evoke strong emotional responses from them in order to absorb those emotions and grow in power.
Energy Manipulation - Volthoom can fire energy blasts and also create constructs or seals made out of energy.
Immortality - Volthoom's connection to the Emotional Spectrum is so powerful that he can't die so long as it exists in the universe. Nekron himself, who presides over the forces of death, is proven unable to destroy Volthoom's soul.
Reality Warping - Volthoom can and has rewritten/altered reality to anything he sees fit.
Time Manipulation - Volthoom can and has stopped time. He can also view an entire timeline at once, and even multiple timelines, seeing into the past and future.
Soul Manipulation - Volthoom can and has forcibly removed a soul from a body. He can also imprison the soul and possess the body.
Flight
Telepathy
Intangibility
Regeneration
Size Alteration
Teleportation
Genius level intellect
Superhuman physical stats
The First Lantern
Volthoom took center-stage when he first appeared in Green Lantern (2011) #17. Only his silhouette was visible prior in the prologues. Upon first seeing him, his eerie, yet visually stunning character design and cunning demeanor dominated the panels. This arc was a great showcase of his mind-bending powers, but also a notable reminder of how weakened he was at the time.
Technically, Volthoom's first feat was one-shotting the planet Earth-15. But based on Rami's timeline (since that event took place in the future, and the destruction of his world was what caused him to travel the Multiverse where he landed on Maltus anyway) his first showing was massacring thousands of Guardians. This is very impressive, especially when one considers that characters like Larfleeze's high end showings involves fighting off half a dozen of them in comparison.
Green Lantern (2011) #17 - This is when he faces the Guardians.
Volthoom invades Ganthet's mind and views a timeline of his entire life, before putting the Guardians through multiple timelines. He then reaches into the past in attempt to "exorcise and reshape" the events that transpired.
He was too weak to truly alter reality at the time, however, because he was incarcerated for too long and the Guardians had stole some of his power. So in order to regain his power he began tracking down ring-bearers with the strongest emotional signatures.
Green Lantern Corps (2011) #17 - His first victim was Guy Gardener.
He peered into Guy's past and rewrote pivotal events that transpired in order to break his mind and absorb strong emotional responses from it, particularly despair.
Green Lantern: New Guardians (2011) #17 - Next he encounters Kyle Rayner.
(WIP)
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