- I was once a Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. It was a long time ago, under very different circumstances. I achieved a depth of understanding in the Lantern Corps that you may not, at this point, be capable of conceiving! I resigned my commission to pursue a more... spiritual... calling. Its nature cannot be clearly expressed in terms you comprehend!
- — Priest src
The alien known as Priest was once a member of the Green Lantern Corps before resigning to follow his own path of enlightenment.
History
With the loss of function in the Central Power Battery of Oa, a neighbouring Sector to Sector 2814 lost its Green Lantern who had become revered as a deity by the inhabitants. With the Lantern's absence, war flared up and threatened to spread on an intergalactic scale. Priest wished to prevent the conflict and remotely destroyed Hal Jordan's power battery,[1] forcing him to follow the yellow trail into the next Sector where his ring was less effective.[2] Priest met Jordan on his arrival, who was cautious about the mysterious stranger and tried to used his ring against him. Priest was able to not only stop the construct without a ring of his own, but use it against Jordan, dragging him into an alien spaceship. On board, Jordan saved the inhabitants from an assault by another race, after which Priest introduced himself and informed Jordan that he lured him out of his sector to prevent a war.[3]
Priest began training Hal Jordan, teaching him to harness the less effective ring after having only relied on its automatic functions in his own sector. He spoke of being a former Lantern himself, but chose a different path of enlightenment he could not explain to the Earthling in a way he could comprehend. While Jordan wanted to help he constantly feared his ring losing power, yet Priest insisted he didn't need his battery. Jordan grew angry, so Priest returned his restored lantern but claimed it wouldn't work as the power source was elsewhere in the sector. Jordan barely managed to recover the energy and recharged his ring. When he returned, Priest revealed Jordan's real lantern, still broken into pieces. He told the Green Lantern that it was not the battery that recharged his ring, but his belief which allowed him to tap directly into the power source itself. Priest effortlessly restored Jordan's lantern and hoped he would eventually learn to discard the unnecessary relic in a thousand years or so.[4]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Self-Sustenance: Priest could survive in the vacuum of space.[3]
- Flight: Priest had some form of self propulsion.[3]
- Energy Negation: Priest was able to stop Jordan's constructs and use them against him.[3]
Abilities
- Indomitable Will[4]
- Theology/Philosophy: Priest left the Corps to follow a "spiritual" path beyond human understanding.[4]
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Green Lantern Power Battery (Formerly)
Weapons
- Green Lantern Ring (Formerly)
- Black Lantern Ring
Notes
- Priest first displayed a red stream behind him when flying through space which is more likely to represent the speed at which he travels rather than an energy aura protecting him from the vacuum.[3]
- Priest was also depicted as having a yellow aura around him when flying, and the energy that shattered Jordan's lantern was yellow also. This story occurs when the Lanterns' rings are ineffective against yellow which offers an explanation to how Priest negates Hal's constructs, but it predates the introduction of the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum which means he is not an acolyte of fear.
Related
- 8 Appearances of Priest (New Earth)
- 2 Images featuring Priest (New Earth)
- 1 Quotations by or about Priest (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Priest (New Earth)
Footnotes
Green Lantern Corps member |
Black Lantern Corps member |