Interstellar Life-forms | The Oans
The Guardians of the Universe
The diminutive Oans or Guardians of the Universe are the keepers of the Green Lantern Battery. The Guardians need neither sleep nor rest, can control great energy with their minds, and are virtually immortal. Their greatest asset is their superhuman intelligence and billions of years of life-experience. Originally, the Guardians created a number of robots, The Manhunters, who were to be the guardians of the galaxy. When the Manhunters proved incapable of determining between right and wrong, they replaced them with the Green Lanterns who were chosen based on the moral character. Each Green Lantern receives a power ring that is capable of generating light structures. Every ring must be recharged every twenty-four hours by reciting the Green Lantern Oath. All rings receive their power from the Green Lantern Battery on the Guardian’s home planet, Oa. The Oans also gave the Skrulls their shape-changing powers. The Oans hoped it would make them better people but only led them to attack each other and ultimatly the universe.
The first time all people of Earth met the Guardians was when the Manhunters grew bitter of how they were treated and rebelled against the Guardians. They were able to attack their home planet of Oa by framing John Stewart of destroying a planet, guessing the Guardians would save him. The Manhunters almost gained control of the Power Battery, but John Stewart and the Justice League managed to stop them. Before that, some humans knew of the Guardians when they made earthman Hal Jordan, a member of the Green Lantern Corps.
Also of note, it was a Guardian, named Krona, who caused the DC Multiverse to form. This from Krona's viewing of the DC universe's birth, resulting in the universe splitting into myriad parallel dimensions. Thus creating the Anti-monitor, who destroy most of those dimensions and some non-DC universes not once but thanks to Dr. Geyser, twice. Also, Korna is causing the universe crisis that is threatening Earth DC and Earth-Marvel as seen in the JLA/Avengers crossover.
