DC is turning the Green Lantern mythos into a brutal intergalactic war with Green Lantern: Doomed Cosmos, a new Elseworlds series that casts humanity as the galaxy’s greatest threat and forces Hal Jordan to fight against his own species.
Written by Dan Watters with art by Kyle Hotz, the six-issue series takes place in an alternate DC Universe where the Empire of Humanity has spent centuries conquering planets and bringing entire civilizations under its control. Standing against this expansion is a heavily militarized Green Lantern Corps, whose war against humanity has left its members battered and pushed to the brink.
Hal Jordan once fought alongside the Empire as one of its soldiers, but his life changes after his battle-brother Oliver Queen betrays him and leaves him for dead on an alien world. Rescued and deprogrammed by the Green Lantern Corps, Hal becomes its first human warrior, turning his knowledge of the Empire against the civilization he once served.
The resulting conflict promises a considerably darker take on the familiar Green Lantern mythology, with Hal embarking on a violent journey through a universe defined by conquest, destruction, and dwindling hope. Rather than presenting the Corps as an unstoppable force for good, Doomed Cosmos depicts its members as exhausted soldiers fighting a seemingly endless war, with damaged armor and makeshift weapons reflecting just how close they are to defeat.
Hotz says his approach to the artwork draws from both the grand scale of space opera and the emotional weight of war films. His goal is to portray the Lanterns as worn-down underdogs nearing the end of their fight, grounding the series’ cosmic spectacle in the desperation of soldiers struggling to survive.
As part of DC’s Elseworlds line, Green Lantern: Doomed Cosmos will offer a fresh interpretation of familiar characters and relationships, with the alternate setting allowing Watters and Hotz to take the DC Universe in directions that would be difficult to explore in its main continuity.
Green Lantern: Doomed Cosmos #1 arrives at participating comic book shops and digital retailers on January 20, 2027. The debut issue is written by Dan Watters, with art and a main cover by Kyle Hotz, colors by Dan Brown, and lettering by Steve Wands.
The 32-page issue will cost $4.99 US, with $5.99 US card stock variant editions and a $7.99 US foil variant. Additional covers come from Björn Barends, Steve Beach, and Ashley Wood, with Barends also providing the foil variant cover.