In the fifteen billion years since the creation of the universe, few beings have had such an impact on history as Krona. Though Krona knew of his society's taboos against discovering their origins, he continued in his mad quest for knowledge and power. It appeared Krona had altered the fate of the universe.
Little to nothing is known of Krona's youth, his recorded history begins some four billion years ago. After eons of civilization, the humanoid race on ancient Maltus had achieved immortality and had little need for children. The few Maltusians that were born were assigned to a guardian of the same gender. Krona was responsible for Herupa Hando Hu. Despite his duties, Krona ignored the boy to concentrate on his own secret experiments.
[Secret Origins Vol. 2 #23]
Attempts to stop Krona from completing his experiment were thwarted. A group of supervillains from alternate dimensions travelled back in time from the late twentieth century. They destroyed everything around them, attracting the attention of the Maltusians. The destruction of Maltus was not to be permitted, the majority of villains were easily stopped by the powerful Maltusians.
The small group of Maaldor, the Icicle, and the Mirror Master made it as far as Krona's laboratory. They were about to destroy Krona's time-viewing screen when an explosive blast ended their lives. Krona had not let down his guard so close to his project's completion.
[Crisis on Infinite Earths #10]
The Maltusians had kept watch over Krona and Herupa Hando Hu. Krona's neglect of Herupa Hando Hu was a serious matter, but the outlawed experiments of Krona were of a more pressing matter. Appa Ali Apsa of the Oan Council investigated the laboratory, just in time to witness Krona's deeds.
Krona scanned the distant future, to look at the beginning of time by looking past the end. The experiment somehow linked the beginning and ends of time. Krona opened the portal to see the beginning of creation. A giant hand clutched a galaxy full of stars. Krona gazed upon it and reality shattered.
[Secret Origins Vol. 2 #23]
Other forces were concerned with Krona's experiment. At the beginning of time, the Anti-Monitor seized on the opportunity to gain enough power to destroy the universe at the moment of its creation. While four billions years after Krona's experiment, Dawlakispokpok and his Zamaron mate sought to kill the renegade before the experiment could be completed.
[Crisis on Infinite Earths #10, Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale #1]
Legends tell of a wave of evil spreading through the universe, of the shattering of all reality, the creation of an antimatter universe mirroring our own, and the splintering of the positive matter universe into an infinite multiverse. The positive and negative universes created the Monitors, they were born on the moons of Oa and Qward. The Monitor and the Anti-Monitor would become mortal enemies. Krona's act had other consequences, too. The universe is said to have lost one billion years of potential life as entropy from the end of time flooded through Krona's link, into the dawn of time.
[Green Lantern Vol. 2 #40, Crisis on Infinite Earths #7, 10, History of the DC Universe #1, Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale #1, ZERO HOUR # 4-0]
For his crimes, Krona was reduced to a disembodied prison of pure energy. He was sent to circle the universe for all time. To contain the damage Krona created, some Maltusians left their world for Oa.
[Green Lantern Vol. 2 #40, History of the DC Universe #1, Secret Origins Vol. 2 #23]
Holding themselves responsible for Krona's actions, they set to the task of bringing order to the universe. The Oans created the Manhunters, an android army that eventually rebelled. The Controllers split from their Oan brothers to later form the Darkstars.
[Justice League of America #140, DSTAR # 1]
The Oans appointed themselves the Guardians of the Universe. Where the Manhunters failed, the Guardians were successful with the Green Lantern Corps. Krona continued to fly through the stars, his mind planning his eventual escape.
Crossing through the universes, Krona flew over Gotham City on Earth. He detected the power of Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern. Scott's ring was of a more magical nature, and Krona seized upon this as way to escape.
Krona forced his energy packet to glow like a meteor, catching the attention of the Golden Age Green Lantern. Alan Scott believed Krona was indeed a falling piece of space debris and used his ring to stop it from causing damage. The meteor passed through Scott's ring beam, allowing the mind of Krona a direct link to the Golden Age Green Lantern's mystic ring.
Inside the ring, Krona used his power to give Scott temporary control over wooden objects. Surprised by this new ability, Scott sought out Hal Jordan, a member of the Green Lantern Corps. Krona left Scott's ring shortly afterwards, his full power had been restored.
Scott was disappointed his ring stopped working on wood, he had hoped to share the knowledge with Jordan and eliminate the Corpsman's vulnerability to yellow. At the suggestion of Jordan, Scott asked his power ring to reveal what had happened when it contacted the strange meteor. The story astounded them.
The Guardians of the Universe knew of Krona's escape and came to Earth to find him. They warned the Green Lanterns of the evil that would permeate the vicinity of Krona. Tectonic activity increased and strange disasters threatened Coast City. The Green Lanterns were on hand to preserve order. Learning of the Guardians' approach, Krona took control over Alan Scott.
Through Alan Scott, Krona gained control of the Guardians that had arrived on Earth. Though he controlled the Oans and Alan Scott, he could not exert that same power over Jordan. He commanded the Guardians to order Jordan to return his power ring and be replaced by Alan Scott as Green Lantern of Space Sector 2814. Jordan refused and a fight broke out between the two Green Lanterns. As Alan Scott, Krona knocked out Hal Jordan. He would have killed Jordan but for the Green Lantern's power ring which saved him from mortal injury.
Krona rebuilt his time viewer and planned to recreate his experiment. No longer seeing a reason to disguise himself, Krona appeared in his true form. He created a duplicate of Alan Scott's power ring to take him to an alternate universe in case the ancient legend of universal destruction came true. The magical ring would spare Krona from the universe's fate.
Alan Scott was disembodied from Krona's control. He telepathically communicated with Jordan and helped during the fight between Krona and the Green Lantern of 2814. Reversing the trick Krona used, Jordan was now able to utilize his power on yellow objects. Though surprised, Krona still had the power to cast cosmic lightning from his finger tips.
Combining their willpower, Jordan and Scott were able to break Krona' concentration and allow the Guardians to escape. The Oans destroyed Krona's viewscreen and returned him to his energy state to resume his journey through the heavens.
[Green Lantern Vol. 2 #40]
Years later, Krona's spirit burst into the dimension ruled by Nekron, Lord of the Unliving. Though Nekron was not truly Death herself, the dimension he ruled contained the souls of the dead, passing through his domain on the way to their final destination.
Nekron restored Krona to his original form and increased his powers. He sent the renegade Maltusian against his brothers, the Guardians of the Universe. For each Guardian Krona killed, the rift between dimensions widened, allowing Nekron to gain access to our universe. Krona and Nekron would destroy the universe and create it anew.
[Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #2-3]
Sensing the oncoming threat to the universe, the Guardians dispatched several of their number throughout the cosmos. They would protect known space in the absence of the emerald warriors. For the first time in three billion years, the entire Green Lantern Corps was assembled on Oa.
Krona tore through the tapestry of stars, his undead army behind him. He knew the Guardians were watching him as he promised death to his Maltusian brothers. Krona's force of will shattered the stellar screen on far off Oa.
The Guardians left Oa to fight Nekron while the Corps charged their power rings. Krona's will was indeed strong, he shattered the Central Power Battery, injuring ring wielders such as Skyrd of Multu and killing numerous other Green Lanterns, including Spak-Drom of Xerses.
[Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #1]
The Guardians uncovered Krona's portal to Nekron's realm but were unable to close it. One of the Guardians was chosen to warn the Green Lantern Corps of their discovery.
The Green Lanterns spread out across the universe, searching for Krona. Unfortunately for Stel of Grenda, the robotic Green Lantern was found by Krona first. Stel was torn apart by Krona in a savage battle. The villain left the Green Lantern for dead.
The Green Lanterns answered Stel's distress call and discovered the nature of their threat. The universe was being contracted back to the primal atom. For protection, Tomar-Re of Xudar suggested the Corps be split into three divisions, each led by a member of the Green Lantern Corps Honor Guard.
Tomar-Re's division met Krona's army in the depths of space. The battle caused casualties on both sides. The leader of the undead, Tylot, was mind-probed by Hal Jordan.
A lone Guardian warned the Green Lanterns of Krona's plan. While they were fighting his army, Krona was on Oa. The Guardian died of exhaustion as the interdimensional rift grew wider.
Krona had been waiting for the arrival of the Green Lanterns. His dark lightning claimed the lives of many emerald warriors. He could not be contained by any of the Green Lanterns.
Hal Jordan was the last Green Lantern left standing. He gained mental control over all the power rings in his vicinity, channeling that power against Krona. It was useless. Though staggered, Krona tore the emerald beam in half. He could read Jordan's mind and threatened to kill the Green Lantern of Earth. Krona decided to let the Green Lantern live to watch and suffer as the universe died.
[Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #2]
Krona returned to Nekron's side to kill the Guardians. He crushed the life from one Guardian with his bare hands. The Oans were facing an impossible battle on two fronts when the Green Lantern Corps arrived. Led by Hal Jordan, even Krona was surprised by their appearance. The Green Lantern of Earth had rallied the Green Lantern Corps to strike back at Krona.
The unliving army of Krona sought the destruction of the Green Lanterns, though one of their numbers had his doubts. Tylot was thrown into battle against the emerald warriors. He realized the evil of Krona and saved Arisia of Graxos IV from death, winning the admiration of Jordan. Tylot was granted a power ring to serve the side of life.
Hal Jordan entered Nekron's realm seeking allies. The souls of hundreds of deceased Green Lanterns were in the dimension of death and turned on their master. Krona lost much of his power, forcing him and his army to retreat. Jordan escaped Nekron's realm as the dimensional warp was sealed. Krona swore to return to destroy the Guardians.
[Tales of the Green Lantern Corps #3]
After billions of years of inactivity, the Anti-Monitor had been awakened. He continued his battle with his brother during the so-called Crisis on Infinite Earths. The Anti-Monitor swept through the multiverse, each universe he came upon was destroyed by waves upon waves of antimatter.
To fight the Anti-Monitor, champions of the positive matter universes sought to prevent Krona from completing his experiment that would inadvertently create the Anti-Monitor. A group of supervillains from alternate dimensions travelled back in time four billion years to the world of Maltus. They failed to stop Krona, the multiverse was destroyed and reborn as one universe.
[Crisis on Infinite Earths #10]
Guardian Dawlakispokpok felt responsible for Krona's need to view the universal origin. Dawlakispokpok had created the origin story as a defensive screen for the Guardians of the Universe. Concerned that the enemies of the Oans might try to attack the Guardians in their ancient past, Dawlakispokpok's fabricated origin story would lead their enemies to believe the Guardians were all-powerful, that they were creators of the universe itself.
Dawlakispokpok and his Zamaron mate, Thwarcharchura, left their fellow Maltusians to build a family and undo the crime of Krona. They created a time platform to view Krona and prevent him from continuing his experiment. Krona would be plunged through the warp he created into the last moments of the universe. In the total entropy, Krona would cease to exist.
Guardian Ganthet recruited Hal Jordan and Percival of Earth to halt Dawlakispokpok's plans. They fought the Guardian and Zamaron's children, Darthartheen and Doranchatok, and lost. Percival was believed dead while Jordan and Ganthet were captured. They were told of the plan to eliminate Krona. Jordan objected to Dawlakispokpok's idea of justice, as Krona would be killed for a crime he had not yet committed. Dawlakispokpok went on, he would dispose of Krona and alter history from that point. One billion years of life and energy would be restored to the universe.
The Green Lantern Percival was indeed alive. He fought Doranchatok, learning from each defeat. Percival outsmarted the Oan-Zamaron offspring by creating a formidable ring construct for his opponent to smash through. Instead of increasing its density, Percival had reduced the density to nothingness. Doranchatok flew right through it, crashing through the time viewer behind it.
The destruction of the time platform released the containment of the time portal. Entropy flooded through the viewer, killing Dawlakispokpok. Four billion years earlier, Krona recovered from the explosion he thought he had caused.
The lone Guardian and his Zamaron mate were responsible for the crime of Krona. After four billion years they had done what Krona, with his limited technology, could not. Their device linked the ends of time. Four billion years ago in Krona's era, this would remain a mystery.
[Green Lantern: Ganthet's Tale #1]
The crime of Krona had come full circle. The explosion created by Dawlakispokpok transformed Krona into the manifestation of Entropy.
Kroef's Island, the home of the New Guardians, was Entropy's first target. Large, black worms of anti-energy crawled through the island seeking the Chosen. Floro was the first to fall, then RAM, Extrano, Harbinger and Gloss. Tom "Pieface" Kalmaku escaped with his family and the head of Floro. Kalmaku used Floro's head to contact Green Lantern.
[Green Lantern Vol. 3 #32]
Hal Jordan arrived in time to see Kroef's Island surrounded by a field of black energy. His power beam was absorbed by the darkness and he was plunged into the sea. Voices told him of the betrayal of the Guardians. Their return from their other dimensional retreat broke the third law. As the Chosen fell, so must the Green Lantern Corps.
[Green Lantern Vol. 3 #33]
As the black orb of the Entropoids flew off, Green Lantern went to follow. He was hit by another wave of darkness, and heard another voice in the void. Jordan went to Oa to inform the Guardians, but was only left with more questions.
Entropy planned on the doubt of the Green Lanterns. It asked the ring wielders to join it against the Guardians. Some of the Green Lanterns chose to fight for their masters. Boodikka, Kilowog and Kreon fought Entropy's Soldiers of the Third Law.
[Green Lantern Vol. 3 #34]
Other Green Lanterns joined the battle. John Stewart led Chaselon of Barrio III, G'nort of G'Newt and Larvox of Sputa against Entropy. Jordan tried to stop his fellow warriors, the Guardians were ordering them to their deaths for no reason. Aa, Amanita, Brik, and Tomar-Tu each had their reservations about fighting for the Guardians' cause. Entropy sought to divide the Corps and achieve victory by destroying the Central Power Battery.
Entropy offered to transform the Green Lanterns into his soldiers and explain the nature of the cosmos. Despite their distrust of the Guardians, the Green Lanterns would not join their foes.
Ganthet told the Corps of Krona's change into the force of Entropy. The Green Lanterns would have to decide who to believe, Entropy or the Guardians. They chose the Guardians. Even though the Corps was against him, Entropy still tried to divide them. Jordan sought the minds within Entropy, the minds of the New Guardians.
Entropy was devolving the New Guardians, taking the secrets of the Chosen and the Guardians. Under the leadership of Hal Jordan, the Corps united. Their energy was focused on the captive minds within the heart of Entropy. The minds shaped the will power of the Green Lanterns, creating order out of Entropy. The force of order was too much, Entropy and its servants exploded, their dark force shot off into the stars. The Green Lantern Corps prevailed.
[Green Lantern Vol. 3 #35]
A short time later, Entropy returned to our universe, renewing his destruction on the planet Alaxos. The former Krona could sense the Green Lantern Corps and their Guardian masters had ceased to be.
NEMO Headquarters mistakenly believed Hal Jordan had returned as Parallax. They dispatched Darkstar Donna Troy and her deputies to meet the threat. Though the Darkstars were surprised their foe was not Jordan, they were nonetheless ready for combat. The maser beams of the Darkstars were useless against Entropy.
The chronal disturbances of Zero Hour pulled Green Lantern Abin Sur and Darkstar Vardan Radz into the present day. The two heroes of the past joined the present day Darkstars in the battle.
A simultaneous strike by Abin Sur and Radz against their foe caused all three to vanish in a flash of light. Donna Troy speculated the two heroes might have created a black hole which negated Entropy.
There is no evidence that Entropy/Krona was either destroyed or had escaped. He has not been seen since in any incarnation.
Krona, original form, Green Lantern Vol. 2 #40:
|CREATIVE TEAM (First Appearance)|
Script: John Broome
Pencils: Gil Kane
Inks: Sid Greene
Edits: Julius Schwartz
Krona, as Entropy, Green Lantern Vol. 3 #34:
Script: Gerard Jones
Pencils: M.D. Bright
Inks: Romeo Tanghal
Colors: Anthony Tollin
Letters: Albert De Guzman
Edits: Kevin Dooley
I'm sure Green Lantern Vol. 2 #40 was well received by GL fans in 1965, it told "The Secret Origin of the Guardians of the Universe" and featured the first appearance (in the Silver Age GL title) of Alan Scott. Twenty years later, the story of Krona was used as a springboard by Marv Wolfman for Crisis on Infinite Earths.
I've had to change some parts of the history to reflect the changes in the DC Universe. I tried as best I could to get everything to line up, Crisis followed Green Lantern Vol. 2 #40's lead with Krona's story taking place on Oa, four billion years ago. As we can see in other issues and titles, Krona's actions led the Guardians to leave Maltus for Oa.
I've always liked the idea of an enemy from within, and Krona was the first "evil Guardian." Still, I've got to wonder why Krona chose to uncover the truth about the beginning of time while his fellow Guardians were so against it. One idea I've had is that the Guardians might not have been as noble as they'd like to think... maybe Krona (like the Controllers) was working on a weapon of sorts?