Superman Wouldn’t Stand a Chance Against One Horrific Green Lantern Foe

The most insidious villain that’s ever gone up against the Green Lanterns might just have what it takes to fell Superman. Despite Clark Kent’s overwhelming power, he might not be able to fight off the Sinestro Corps’ most lethal member.

While the Green Lantern Corps has kept the universe safe from evil for thousands of years, even they have faced challenges too great for some of their best ring-slingers. As great as the Green Light of Willpower is, even the mightiest Lanterns can’t stack up to the power of Superman. As a Kryptonian, Superman has a number of powers that allow him to take on forces that could level entire galaxies. That’s not to say there are slouches in the Green Lantern Corps, but for someone without a Power Ring, the Man of Steel seems to have an edge on the Lanterns.

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But even the most powerful hero could be taken down by the smallest threats (and not just kryptonite, either). In Green Lantern #18, the backup story “Despotellis Spreads Fear” by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons, newly-recruited Sinestro Corps member Amon Sur gets a lesson on what real power is from senior officer Lyssa Drak. The Sinestro Corps trainer regales Sur with a story of their fellow member Despotellis to show him how every member of their army spreads fear in their own unique ways. Drak tells Sur about a Green Lantern named Reemuz, who returned to his home planet only to find his entire race completely wiped out. The Lantern spends an entire day searching for the perpetrator, only to grow critically ill. Before dying, Reemuz sees the monster that killed his people: Despotellis, a sentient and extremely contagious virus that also serves as a Sinestro Corps member.

A living germ may sound strange, but even the Green Lanterns have a living math equation on their side, so it’s not that out of the ordinary. What is strange is Despotellis’ overwhelming body count. Lyssa Drak has said it can turn “entire planets into rotting graveyards,” so clearly Reemuz’s story isn’t its only victory. Such insidious power in such a small package really raises the question of what would happen if Superman found himself infected by the diminutive Sinestro Corps member?

While Superman has demonstrated an immunity to most Earth-based illnesses, he has shown to be vulnerable to viruses from other planets. But even if infected, there’s a chance that Superman’s immune system is too powerful for most germs and bacteria floating around in space. However, what Despotellis has in its favor is its rapid onset and severe lethality. A virus with autonomy that has the power to kill entire planets is essentially a germ version of Superman. If Despotellis made its way into Clark Kent’s system, could it do the impossible and actually kill the Man of Steel? With its sheer number of victims, it’s probably for the best that Superman stays far away from this particular Green Lantern villain.

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