The Weaponers of Qward
1942 - The Weaponers begin attacking outside of Qwardian space for the first time. While pursuing Green Lantern Prohl Gosgotha, a single Weaponer witnesses Thaal Sinestro first claiming his ring. Sinestro goes on to stem their expansion and confine them to Qwardian Space.
17 years ago - The Weaponers High Thunderer Kalmin is overthrown in a revolution by Thaal Sinestro after he is banished into Qwardian Space. He becomes their new leader.
16 years ago - The Weaponers of Qward perfect a new anti-oan power ring for Thaal Sinestro.
13 years ago - The Weaponers follow Thaal Sinestro as he returns to Guardian space, assaulting several Green Lanterns inside their own sectors until he is stopped by Hal Jordan & Arisia Rrab.
11 years ago - The Weaponers stage an assault to free Thaal Sinestro after his capture by John Stewart.
8 years ago - The Weaponers & Thaal Sinestro stage a massive coordinated assault of Citadel Space, exploiting the divide between the Guardians of Oa & the Rogue Guardians. They are ultimately stopped by Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corp. Qwardian Space is sealed.
5 years ago - The Weaponers prison in Qwardian Space is breached by Amon Sur who brings Thaal Sinestro to their planet after the destruction of Oa.
4 years ago - The Weaponers occupied territory is breached by Yrra Cynril, who steals her own anti-oan power ring.
3 years ago - The Weaponers are mobilized by Thaal Sinestro & his lieutenants, building up their war efforts to take surrounding sectors.
1 year ago - The Weaponers battle Kyle Rayner and a group of surviving Green Lanterns, who manage to restart the Oan Power Battery and rebuild the Corps, defeating the threat of Thaal Sinestro's army.
There's a trope that happens in comic book movies. The movie wants to give the heroes extended fight sequences, and it's often easier to create an army of indistinct, faceless baddies that they can continually plow through, making them look awesome and giving us all sorts of images to use in the movie trailer. This happens occasionally in comics, although they're just as prone to do it the other way, giving us one super-powerful baddie that a whole team of heroes have to gang up on.
Among the examples of armies of similar-looking baddies that appear in comics, one of the earliest and most fun is the Weaponers of Qward. They have a certain wacky silver-age silliness to them, while still presenting a known threat. Comic book movies would probably do well to start thinking in these terms when looking to give their heroes something to punch.
Among the examples of armies of similar-looking baddies that appear in comics, one of the earliest and most fun is the Weaponers of Qward. They have a certain wacky silver-age silliness to them, while still presenting a known threat. Comic book movies would probably do well to start thinking in these terms when looking to give their heroes something to punch.
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The Weaponers Comic HistoryThe Qwardians appeared all the way back in 1960's Green Lantern #2. Qward was introduced as an antimatter universe, which of course presents all sorts of questions. The concept of an antimatter or alternate universe cropped up fairly often in several places in the early days of DC's Silver Age, like the introduction of the evil mirror-universe version of the Justice League, the Crime Syndicate. Later it was revealed that the anti-matter universe was ruled by the Anti-Monitor, who would go on to be the driving force behind the Crisis of Infinite Earths.
As for the Qwardians themselves, they've served as cannon-fodder baddies for the Green Lantern to fight basically forever. The specific nature of who they are and what job they were doing shifted from story to story. They were often related to Sinestro, as his Yellow Ring was made by their Weaponers. Even when the concept of the multiverse was gone the anti-matter universe was still a thing, and the Qwardians continued to be a persistent thorn in the side of the Green Lantern. |
Our Weaponers StoryThere's a lot of useful content that comes from including the Qwardians. They create a whole army to follow Sinestro, elevating him from a dangerous comic book villain to an actual intergalactic despot. They also provide a great source for the anti-oan ring that Sinestro (and later Guy Gardner) uses, and for anti-oan technology in general.
One big change we've had to make is to rethink just what Qward is. We're not making it an antimatter universe. If we simply consider Qwardian space as an area in space that is primarily empty and concentrated with anti-oan energy, then you actually have most of what we need. The Green Lantern Corps would be forced to leave that sector essentially unpatrolled, making it an ideal place for this small planet of militant weaponsmiths to create armies built to invade other planets. This sets them up to be exploited by Sinestro and his followers. It's actually incredibly satisfying to break down the timeline year by year and craft each possible incident featuring these villains. It creates a sense of the growth and scope of the larger story that you really dont get when the timeline is resetting every few years in the comics. |
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