Atrocitus

"redlantern"

- I am Atrocitus, Lord and Master of the Red Lantern Corps. I'm the one who will destroy the Guardians and all they stand for. I am wrath! I am hate! I am righteous vengeance!

Atrocitus was the founder and former leader of the Red Lantern Corps. After his imprisonment he was replaced by Zilius Zox as the leader of the Red Lanterns.

He was briefly freed by the Aya-Monitor in a contest against Carol Ferris, but after she and Hal Jordan defeats him, he was imprisoned again.

Early life
Other than the statements contained within the Book of Rage, very little is known about Atrocitus's early life. According to the book, he was a member of a group known as the Five Inversions, originating from the planet Ysmault. At an unspecified point in time, the Guardians arrived on Ysmault, and said that they would bring peace and order to the planet, while also demanding that the citizens worship them, stating that if they did so they would have been "warned for nothing".

After the citizens refused, the Guardians unleashed their Manhunters which destroyed every single lifeform on the planet. After this horrific tragedy, Atrocitus's "holy hate" gave rise to the power of the first Red Lantern, and he established himself as such.

Some time later, Atrocitus conquered an unnamed planet native to the Forgotten Zone, which was home to Razer, and turned it's warlords against each other instigating warfare and instilling chaos and hate. Sensing the potential in him as an heir to his legacy, Atrocitus planned to give him a "nudge" in order to turn him into "a truly hateful creature". To this end, he slaughtered Razer's wife Ilana, and once he found her lifeless body, his grief opened his heart up to rage, Atrocitus used this as a way to induct him into the Red Lanterns.

Accelerating plans
Aboard Shard, he admonished two of the Red Lanterns, Zilius Zox and Razer, for their mistake of killing three Green Lanterns. After Razer responded that they were better trained, he suspected that the Guardians knew of their plan. Once Razer told him that a drone of his has put a tracking device on their spaceship, however, Atrocitus decided to kill them once and for all.

On Shard, they arrived on Colony 12 and implanted a Liberator on it. Through a hologram, Atrocitus explained that the citizens were under the Corps protection and ordered them to bring him the Green Lanterns under one hour or they will destroy their planet. After an hour, they didn't receive the Green Lanterns, and Atrocitus ordered Razer to activate the countdown. Razer hesitated until Atrocitus reminded him of what the Guardians did to their homeworlds, causing Razer to change his mind and activate the countdown. In an attempt to distract them, Green Lantern Hal Jordan interrupted. Atrocitus and Zox went off to confront him, leaving Razer to guard the bomb. Atrocitus bested Hal Jordan in combat, but as he proceeded to finish him, Zox informed him that the bomb was about to detonate and they left the planet aboard Shard.

After the explosion of the planet, Atrocitus presumed Razer had died in the destruction of the colony. This prompted him to tell Zilius that he had been wrong about Razer's commitment to the Corps and proclaimed that soon they will conquer the galaxy and make the Guardians pay for what they have done.

Reckoning
With one of his most notorious creations presumably dead, Atrocitus was left once again with only Zilius Zox and the rest of the Red Lanterns. After his first encounter with Hal Jordan, he continued to operate primarily from the Red Lanterns' base. However, Razer was not really dead, nor were Jordan and the rest of his group. The four had located the Red Lantern base and had placed it under surveillance. Despite his vast intellect, Atrocitus did not detect their presence and simply went about his days as the group watched the base for weeks before Razer thought of assassinating Atrocitus by himself.

Atrocitus was with Zilius Zox when Razer, whom he had at the time still believed to be dead, arrived. In reality, Razer had been captured by Hal Jordan and turned to his side after he came to save him. He told Zilius to let Razer charge his ring. When Razer came to Atrocitus, he welcomed him at first, but after Razer attempted to literally stab him in the back, he revealed that he pretended to allow Razer to charge his ring and quickly overpowered him and took him prisoner, along with Green Lantern Kilowog. He and Zilius were torturing Razer, when he was saved by Green Lantern Hal Jordan.

Despite his immense strength, Atrocitus was not much of a threat, being easily bested by both Hal and Kilowog. He found the Green Lantern's interceptor Aya, downloading some of the Red Lantern's plans. He quickly subdued her and used her as a way to get the two Green Lanterns and Razer back. He fought Razer, who decided to stray away from Hal Jordan and Kilowog. When Razer arrived, he threw pieces of Aya to him, possibly as a taunt.

Atrocitus dominated Razer, slamming him to the floor. He would have defeated Razer if he had not told him that he was the one who killed his wife, Ilana. This proved to be a mistake as Razer's strength and rage increased. He struck Atrocitus down. Atrocitus would have been killed had he not damaged Aya, who needed to give the Green Lanterns the information on the Red Lanterns that she stole. Atrocitus was left, knocked out, while Razer flew off with Aya.

Regime Change
In his quest to recruit more Red Lanterns, Atrocitus sent a fallen prince named Ragnar a Red Lantern ring because he felt "great rage" in him, which he stated when his voice was projected through the Red Lantern that he had also sent to Ragnar to keep his ring charged.

Defeat
In the final days of the Red Lantern war, Atroctius believed all of his plans to be coming into order. He made the decision to finally strike the Guardians head on and kill them himself. Shortly after this decision, He gained knowledge of Hal Jordan's plan to protect the lighthouse after receiving activation codes from Byth Rok, whom Atroctius also got information from. Prior to Jordan's arrival, Atrocitus ordered Bleez, Veon and Skallox to hold off and defeat him, Kilowog, Aya and Razer. Despite the three's valiant efforts to stop the group, they failed. He decided to take matters into his own hands and chase Hal Jordan and the rest of his team while they were on their ship. Atrocitus and Zilius were almost crushed by a couple of asteroids closing in on them, but, they survived.

Atrocitus and Zilius sneaked onto the Interceptor, while Hal Jordan, Kilowog and Razer went to confront them on the Red Lantern ship. Now with Drusa, Atrocitus and Zilius Zox decided to go to head for the Guardians of Oa. Once arriving on Oa, Atrocitus and Zilius left the Interceptor and left Drusa in command. The two made their way to confront the Guardians of Oa. As his solders melted down the door, he told them that he was just a wall away from the vengeance he had been waiting for centuries. A Green Lantern tried to stop them once they got inside. But, Atrocitus and his minions outnumbered him and easily defeated him. Atrocitus proved to be the turning point of the short fight as he shot Salaak in the back, easily allowing the other Red Lanterns to do as they pleased. Shortly after Atrocitus used his ring to shoot Salaak, Zilius Zox used his ring to tie the Green Lantern up and prepared to execute him.

With the solo Green Lantern defeated and the Guardians of Oa standing a few feet away from him, Atrocitus believed himself to have won. However, the solo Green Lantern opened the dome, letting Hal Jordan inside. Atrocitus told Hal sarcastically he was pleased he could join them. Hal Jordan told him that he was "right". Shortly after being told he was correct, Atrocitus stared at the Green Lantern bizarrely. When Hal offered to make restitution for the Forgotten Zone, Atrocitus told him his dying screams would sooth the souls of the dead members of the sector.

He outclassed Hal in physical strength, as he broke through several of the Green Lantern's constructs. In one particular instance, Atrocitus used his fists to destroy a construct of Hal's and push him to the curve of the dome rather easily. He continued to brutalize Jordan several times while he laid on the floor. This displayed Atrocitus' anger in the Guardians of Oa, indicating he may have been taking his anger out solely on Hal due to them. Atrocitus was surprised to see Jordan get back up. Atrocitus was punched several times by Jordan before a final punch defeated him. After the fight, Atrocitus was stripped of his ring and taken to prison.

While being sent away to prison, Atrocitus stared at Razer. He looked at him angrily, as did Razer while he was being taken away.

Aftermath fight against Love and demise
After his defeat several events happened, Zilius Zox became the new leader of the Red Lanterns and made an agreement with the Guardians of Oa to rebuild the Forgotten Zone and Hal Jordan gained a better reputation with the Guardians.

During the invasion on Zamaron by Aya along with several Manhunters, Atrocitus was teleported to Zamaron, by Aya, from his cell to duel Carol Ferris, in order to prove that love was useless. Atrocitus opted not to fight her, but changed his mind after he was told that Carol Ferris was the love of his enemy: Hal Jordan. In addition to create an even match against Carol Ferris who wore a Star Sapphire Power Ring, Atrocitus received his Red Power Ring back by Aya. He and Carol squared off, which Atrocitus had the upperhand in battle. However, he was put to a stalemate after Carol summoned Hal to her side.

As they duked it out, Atrocitus prepared to finish Hal off with an energy blast. However as he fired, Ghia'ta jumped in the path, resulting in her death. This angered Hal to viciously batter Atrocitus, he was rendered unconscious after Carol plunged a huge rock on him. After his defeat, Aya disappointed by his failure, stripped him of his power ring and returned Atrocitus to prison.

Physical appearance
Atrocitus is a muscular male with a dark red skin color, with burn scars on his body. His most notable feature is his half burned face showing the right side of his gingiva. He has big-blockish teeth, two small horns on each side of his face, a small round nose and has yellow eyes. Atrocitus wore imposing Red Lantern battle armor, with large red boots, should pads and gloves and has the Red Lantern symbol on his chest.

Personality and traits
Atrocitus' rage after the massacre on his space sector caused him to always bear a deep hatred for the Guardians, as well as the entirety of the Green Lantern Corps for working for them. Atrocitus does not have any sense of remorse for his actions nor does he try to take in and believe the words of others. He was easily provoked to fight Hal Jordan after Jordan tried to make a bargain with him with restorations for the Forgotten Zone being made. His scars from the Manhunter massacre do not merely show on his physical appearance, they have penetrated his mind as well.

He truly has become selfish and inconsiderate towards anyone, as he lays down the lives of his Red Lanterns for his cause. Though he said otherwise, he knew within that he really did not care about Razer and was only using him as a tool for his own misdeeds. As was the case with his other Red Lantern recruits, he tricked and manipulated Ragnar through his own personal problems at the time. No matter whom, he always tries to convince someone that they'd be better off with his assistance. The memorial service for Razer after his supposed death, was only held by Atrocitus due to a sense of failure being cast on him after the destruction of one of his proudest creations.

He has little regard for how his insults and lies affect others, particularly leaving Razer in a wreck. While knowing something on anyone, he will throw their failures in their faces and mock them in a rather damaging regard. Atrocitus prefers to bully or recruit those of a weaker strength than him, as he feels more powerful and stronger with each new member. His hostility towards Green Lanterns maybe neutral, but only he desires to kill anyone.

Despite being supposedly saddened and torn apart over the destruction of the Forgotten Zone by the Manhunters, Atrocitus has very little hesitation in torturing others. This causes him to be a hypocrite, as many of his fellow denizens were tortured and attacked during the attack on the sector. He claimed that he did everything he did out of a willingness to find peace and justice for his destroyed sector, when in reality, he only wanted to find his own way of personal vengeance.

Equipment

 * Red Lantern Power Battery
 * Red Lantern Power Ring

Zilius Zox
Atrocitus most trusted ally during his time as leader of the Red Lantern Corps. Atrocitus would mostly scold him for any failures he made. Despite his loyalty, Atrocitus usually would be physically abusive to him, and pushes him away when he gets in his way.