Darkseid is, without a doubt, the most dangerous foe DC’s heroes could ever face. He’s not always the most powerful villain, but he’s one of the most present and is always the most evil. His cunning and desire to subjugate all existence will never relent. In pursuit of that goal, he’s employed countless weapons and armies, but none have been more dangerous than the Anti-Life Equation. This powerful idea is mathematical proof that life is not worth living, and saps the will to do anything from the souls of whoever is unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of its power. Darkseid has used it to take over the entire world before, but now there’s an equation that’s even more dangerous.
The Absolute Universe is an entirely different beast than the mainline. Darkseid merged his essence with the fabric of the universe, transforming it into a cesspool of evil pointed towards injustice. Every hero and villain has been reimagined from the ground up, and for today’s topic, that includes the Green Lantern Corps. Absolute Green Lantern spent its first seventeen issues raising question after question, but issue #18 finally gave us the first hint of answers. The Manhunters are so much more than ever before. Instead of mere robots, they are embodiments of the Anti-Love Equation.
The Manhunters have loomed as an unknowable threat darn near since the beginning of this series, with multiple characters quoting their famous taglines, saying that people should “fear the face of steel” and that “no man escapes.” They even served as the controlling, computer-like entity that traumatized and spurred on Sinestro. This issue finally gave us a glimpse into what they actually are, starting all the way back during World War II. Emily Hawke was a special agent tasked with taking down Baron Blitzkrieg’s experiments, but she only arrived in time to see him open a portal that made contact with the Manhunters.
Blitzkrieg explained that the Manhunters were beings of higher dimensions with a singular goal, expressed in their line that no man escapes. Here, it doesn’t mean a literal man or even the human race, but the entire concept of sapient races. The Manhunters aren’t a people, but the embodiment of an equation that is fundamental to the fabric of the universe. The Anti-Love Equation is what drives the Manhunters, which seems to express itself as a desire to eliminate all emotion in the universe and replace it with cold, calculating order. They exist in a higher plane as a concept that, when experienced, can literally expunge anything but their order from people’s minds.
The Lantern Corps have always run on emotions, and that’s even more true in the Absolute Universe, where understanding and emotional power play equal parts in defining what they can do. While knowledge brings strength, it also enforces limits on what they can do, which is why the most powerful Lanterns are those who feel their emotion but have no idea what they can or can’t do. They embody chaotic action, freedom from restriction, which is the truest essence of unchecked emotion. That’s what makes Jo, Hal, and all the other Tomars so powerful, and exactly what the Manhunters strive to stomp out.
The reason they used Sinestro to enact their will in the first place is that he became consumed with knowledge without emotion. They want to enforce order to eliminate chaos, and at their core, emotions bring chaos. So, because they cannot simply eliminate emotions in the mortal realm without a passageway, they created a code that ensnares people. Their Black Star way is meant to break down people’s individuality and ideology, forcing them to become husks of people who live only to serve. Of course, when they finally arrive on Earth, their powers could be much, much greater.
The Anti-Life Equation is the proof that life isn’t worth living, and in turn, the Anti-Love Equation must be proof that emotions only bring suffering. The Manhunters will attempt to cross into the mortal dimension to enforce their control, wiping out the very concept of good and evil entirely. They want a people that are blank, soulless, and perfectly calculating. Unlike the mindless drones that fall under Anti-Life, the power of Anti-Love would likely make people uncaring monsters with their full intellect intact, which makes them very, very dangerous indeed.
The idea of a fundamental equation just as, if not more powerful than, the Anti-Life Equation being out there is terrifying, especially when it’s guiding the Manhunters. Of course, that also means that, at the heart of the universe, there’s a Love Equation that spurs the Lanterns on and gives them their power. I, for one, am excited to see how all of this develops.
Absolute Green Lantern #18 is on sale now!
