Within the cosmic side of the DC universe is something known as the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum. This is a series of energies that are generated from certain emotions across the galaxies. Certain beings such as the Guardians of the Universe have tapped into this power to create rings.
These rings are worn by those worthy enough, thus creating a Corps, including the famous Green Lanterns. Each colored Corps represents different emotions, which give different powers and abilities to accomplish their missions, whether they are good or evil.
Green Lantern Corps (Will)
Easily the most recognizable Corps of the spectrum, Green Lanterns are protectors of justice across the 3600 sectors of the known universe. Most stories with the Green Lanterns follow members that protect Sector 2814, which is where Earth resides.
Green Lantern rings are charged with the green energy of will. Using their courage to fight fear and other threats, Green Lanterns can forge any construct, with their imagination being their only limit. Essentially, Green Lanterns are police officers that are led by the immortals called the Guardians of the Universe.
Sinestro Corps (Fear)
Also known as the Yellow Lanterns, these villainous Lanterns were formed by Thaal Sinestro. He was a high-ranking officer of the Green Lanterns, but he felt that their form of protection was not enough. He created the Sinestro Corps to dispatch a simpler and darker version of justice through control.
Yellow Lanterns wield the energy of fear, generated by the evil entity known as Parallax. Rather than fight it, they instill fear onto their victims and use that fear to generate similar constructs with their rings. The yellow energy of fear is also the main weakness of will, allowing Sinestro, one of the best villains of the Green Lanterns, to fight his greatest rival: Hal Jordan.
Red Lantern Corps (Rage)
Much like the Sinestro Corps, the Red Lanterns are seekers of justice but are less radical. Yellow Lanterns are corrupted and are willing to hurt innocents for their cause; Red Lanterns are only interested in purifying evil from the galaxy.
Led by Atrocitus, the Red Lantern Corps are powered by the red energy of rage. Not only can they form constructs, but their rage can also allow them to vomit a stream of acidic blood. They use this power for revenge against injustice in the universe via destructive and brutal methods that, more often than not, result in death.
Blue Lantern Corps (Hope)
Blue Lanterns, holders of the energy of hope, are a peaceful monk-like Corps that is focused less on fighting with constructs and more on bringing hope to others. When it comes to the battlefield, they use hope to enhance the powers of others, particularly other types of Lanterns. This was shown in the criminally underrated Green Lantern: The Animated Series.
Blue Lanterns are extremely powerful and channel their energy into other Lanterns. For example, a Green Lantern ring can become twice as powerful while enhanced by a Blue Lantern. However, Blue Lanterns can still defend themselves if needed using similar powers, but as a weakness, their blue energy can drain faster than any other in the spectrum.
Orange Lantern Corps (Avarice)
What helps the Orange Lantern stand out is that there is only ever one member of the Corps, the most famous being the Green Lantern villain Larfleeze. Orange is the color of greed or avarice, so the power of the Orange Lantern can never be shared with others.
Larfleeze's greed is so powerful that he will consume anyone who gets too close to his ring and Power Battery. As a result, they become ghost-like avatars whom Larfleeze can summon as constructs to fight for him. It is one of the more disturbing portions of the Emotional Electromagnetic Spectrum.
Star Sapphires (Love)
Instead of a ring, Star Sapphires wield powerful gems that flow with the energy of love. Rather than policing the galaxy, Star Sapphires use their charm and power to manipulate worlds into peace. The Star Sapphires will even go as far as mind-control and forced rehabilitation to meet that goal.
Of course, this has made them enemies of Green Lanterns, so Sapphires can still create constructs and energy blasts to fight. One of the most famous members is Carol Ferris, who has one of DC's most toxic relationships with Hal Jordan.
Indigo Tribe (Compassion)
Indigo Tribe members are not chosen for their compassion. In fact, it is the opposite, with some of the universe's worst killers and other evildoers making up its members as they pay for their crimes by spreading goodwill. In a way, it was a means for criminals to redeem themselves through years of service.
Indigo Tribe wield spears instead of Lantern Power Batteries, and they wield indigo rings fueled with compassion. Indigo members have the ultimate empathy of others, especially Lanterns, so their rings allow them to replicate the powers of any Lantern on the spectrum.
Black Lantern Corps (Death)
Easily the most horrific Corps, Black Lanterns wield the power of death. Each of the Corps' members is only recruited after they have perished and the black energy of the death resurrects them as zombies. Their mission is simply to eliminate all life in the universe, thus making their army infinite.
This Corps is led by Nekron, one of Green Lantern's most powerful villains. The Black Lantern Corps managed to overpower every other color of energy from green to red. It took the Indigo Tribe and the White Lantern in order to defeat the Black Lanterns.
White Lantern Corps (Life)
White can only be achieved by mastering all energies on the Emotional Spectrum. The first one to do this was none other than former Green Lantern member Kyle Rayner. At first, Kyle Rayner was the only White Lantern, thus making him one of the DC universe's most powerful beings. That is until he split the power among multiple rings to create a Corps.
What are the powers of a White Lantern of life? They are the ability to use any energy on the Spectrum, as well as its own powerful white energy to create constructs, turn invisible, and fire devastating blasts. White Lanterns can also control the rings of others from any Corps and see through any Lantern ring in the universe. To simplify it, a White Lantern is basically a Lantern god.