Thoughts of a Sinestrologist.

[Gauntlet101010 Alpha-Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Gauntlet101010]

I don't think Sinestro's insane. But I think his arrogance blinds him to a lot.

Like when he brought his Corps to Krugar. And then he's shocked that they're terrorizing people. And he doesn't seem to see the problem with giving a whole bunch of murderers great power just so he can force change on the GLC, as if that wouldn't bring a truckload of problems or that nobody would suffer. He sort of sits on an ivory tower where he thinks he's above people. We can see him confronted by this when he's put in a cell with the Krugarians.

But the Indigos aren't like police officers and being in their tribe is not like being in jail. Their rings pretty much brainwash criminals into being decent people, questions of sanity nonwithsatnding.

[Corwin Star Sapphire's Love Slave Find all posts View Profile Close Corwin]

Send him back to the anti-matter universe? I don't think he's insane, quite the opposite, he's a genius, and sometimes the line between the two is razor thin.

You know, this is a really good question.

What IS insane in the case of Sinestro?

Is he a megalomaniac? Not plagued by the unrealistic thoughts of supposed power, Sinestro wields true power not just in his ring (regardless of color) but in his mastery of. Before the arrival of Hal Jordan, Sinestro was the greatest of all the Green Lanterns. He is the unquestionable master of the yellow light of fear. He had the strength of will to force the white to do his bidding. So no, Sinestro is no megalomaniac. He possesses true power and mastery of his bailiwick.

Does he suffer from grandiosity or delusions of grandeur? Simply put, no. He simply is what he is. Is it a delusion for Sinestro to realize he is one of the most, if not the most powerful being in the universe? He wields the most powerful weapon in the universe with ease and amazing proficiency, a skill matched only in the Green by Jordan, unmatched whatsoever in the yellow. And even Hal Jordan's transition to the greatest Green Lantern is based on Hal's raw willpower, evidenced in its most extreme in the killing of Krona. It's the sledgehammer versus the scalpel. And the fact remains, there is no delusion concerning Sinestro's ability or capability wielding a ring.

Is Sinestro narcissistic? You bet. Is it a sign of insanity or a characterization? A personality trait? I believe it's moreso based on his experience and ability, an offshoot of his status. Muhammad Ali told the world he was The Greatest. And for a time, he was right. Did that make Ali insane? Self-promoting and narcissistic, yes. But not insane.

Does Sinestro suffer from a superiority complex? Plainly put, no. As Adler described, there is a yin to the yang where a defined superiority complex is in place to either defend a pronounced INferiority complex or lies beneath the surface of the more extroverted inferiority perception. This however leads us to begin to understand what Sinestro is by understanding what he is not.

He is narcissistic. He enjoys an incomparable sense of self-righteousness and hubris. There is no question he has the ability to act on his beliefs regardless of how skewed with societal norms they may be. He is effective, a master within his own bailiwick whose drives seem "evil" when again compared to societal norms. But we cannot look at "evil" and assign its presence as an attribute of insanity.

In other words, no. Sinestro is not insane. He's just a bad ass.

I am LOVING this thread...but I am mixed. I'd say Sinestro is borderline narcissistic. But I don't know if he either doesn't care or doesn't fully see the consequences of his actions. I certainly lean towards doesn't care as long as he gets the end result...then again he's my #1 favorite lantern so I may be a bit biased...as someone else pointed out to me Vegeta was my favorite character in Dragonball Z...

Actually I think Gauntlet101010 says it best...his arrogance blinds him a lot.

I do envy how easily and quickly he makes his decisions though.

[DocLantern Manhunter Repairman Find all posts View Profile Close DocLantern]

I am LOVING this thread...but I am mixed. I'd say Sinestro is borderline narcissistic. But I don't know if he either doesn't care or doesn't fully see the consequences of his actions. I certainly lean towards doesn't care as long as he gets the end result...then again he's my #1 favorite lantern so I may be a bit biased...as someone else pointed out to me Vegeta was my favorite character in Dragonball Z...

Actually I think Gauntlet101010 says it best...his arrogance blinds him a lot.

I do envy how easily and quickly he makes his decisions though.

Sinestro is full on narcissistic.....100%. I agree with you that he doesn't care as long as he gets what he sees is right.

[Rotten2thecorps Alpha-Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Rotten2thecorps]

Let's pretend for just a second,that Sinestro suffers from a split personality. On one side of the coin is The greatest Green Lantern ever,and the other side is the Renagade Green Lantern. If you can can cure him and return him to that person,Do you? and if you do do you punish the one personality for the actions of the other?

I my self say let him remain evil,and punish that verson of the two personalities.

However, Sinestro has so much knowldge of the both being a Green Lantern and the villians they fight. His value as a allie is almost with out equal. Plus shouldn't a person at least have a chance to make amends. Killing him won't bring anybody back, it will only avenge them. Is vengance for the lives he took a fair trade off for the lives his other half may save?

Wouldn't it be awesome to see the Guardians talking about things like this instead of always being up to something sneaky?

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Have you read Identity Crisis? That series dealt with the issues of forced rehabilitation and behavior modification. It was pretty interesting.

[Corwin Star Sapphire's Love Slave Find all posts View Profile Close Corwin]

Let's pretend for just a second,that Sinestro suffers from a split personality. On one side of the coin is The greatest Green Lantern ever,and the other side is the Renagade Green Lantern. If you can can cure him and return him to that person,Do you? and if you do do you punish the one personality for the actions of the other?

I my self say let him remain evil,and punish that verson of the two personalities.

However, Sinestro has so much knowldge of the both being a Green Lantern and the villians they fight. His value as a allie is almost with out equal. Plus shouldn't a person at least have a chance to make amends. Killing him won't bring anybody back, it will only avenge them. Is vengance for the lives he took a fair trade off for the lives his other half may save?

Wouldn't it be awesome to see the Guardians talking about things like this instead of always being up to something sneaky?

I feel like giving him a crutch like split personality make an easy excuse for his actions. I prefer Sinestro be the only cause for his actions. Johns did play up the influence of the Yellow Ring when Hal had it...Even Atrocitus influenced Sinestro by telling him his "future".

[Rotten2thecorps Alpha-Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Rotten2thecorps]

Have you read Identity Crisis? That series dealt with the issues of forced rehabilitation and behavior modification. It was pretty interesting.

I had the fisrt two, but never really got into it. I like these ideas in Green Lantern because they have so much power that, every decision made should not be taken likley.

[BLACK HAND Green Lantern Initiate Find all posts View Profile Close BLACK HAND]

I feel like giving him a crutch like split personality make an easy excuse for his actions. I prefer Sinestro be the only cause for his actions. Johns did play up the influence of the Yellow Ring when Hal had it...Even Atrocitus influenced Sinestro by telling him his "future".

I agree, I don't think Sinestro can really absolve himself of any of his previous crimes. For the split personality scenario to work he'd have to not be aware of what all his split personalities were doing. Sinestro strikes me as a character that prides himself in being in complete control, so having split personalities doesn't really jive with what he's all about. I feel like he's almost hyper aware of his actions; like a sociopath. He's constantly positioning people on a chess board in his mind, I don't think he would be able to keep up with the pieces if he spends half the time not knowing what his other personality is up to.

The Indigo solution is akin to lobotomy. I'm not familiar enough with what happens after beings escape the Indigo clan, if they return to their former personality or are permanently affected, but I'm guessing that even the Indigo glow won't permanently put the old man down. I think that his only true redemption is in saving the universe and martyring himself in the process. This may be off, but sometimes I think of Sinestro as a Hitler-like character, someone responsible for genocide and war, for the suffering of millions or rather billions on an intergalactic scale. His victims want to see him pay. The outrage against Sinestro would be too much to sate by simply reconstituting his persona to feel compassion. He would have to punished publicly, and I don't see that happening while he wields the most powerful weapon in existence. So again I think the only way for Sinestro to redeem himself is by sacrificing his life to save the universe.

[Corwin Star Sapphire's Love Slave Find all posts View Profile Close Corwin]

I'd eventually want him to go back to his Yellow Ring but I don't think I even want Sinestro to be redeemed but maybe Johns will change my mind.

[Rotten2thecorps Alpha-Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Rotten2thecorps]

I agree, I don't think Sinestro can really absolve himself of any of his previous crimes. For the split personality scenario to work he'd have to not be aware of what all his split personalities were doing. Sinestro strikes me as a character that prides himself in being in complete control, so having split personalities doesn't really jive with what he's all about. I feel like he's almost hyper aware of his actions; like a sociopath. He's constantly positioning people on a chess board in his mind, I don't think he would be able to keep up with the pieces if he spends half the time not knowing what his other personality is up to.

The Indigo solution is akin to lobotomy. I'm not familiar enough with what happens after beings escape the Indigo clan, if they return to their former personality or are permanently affected, but I'm guessing that even the Indigo glow won't permanently put the old man down. I think that his only true redemption is in saving the universe and martyring himself in the process. This may be off, but sometimes I think of Sinestro as a Hitler-like character, someone responsible for genocide and war, for the suffering of millions or rather billions on an intergalactic scale. His victims want to see him pay. The outrage against Sinestro would be too much to sate by simply reconstituting his persona to feel compassion. He would have to punished publicly, and I don't see that happening while he wields the most powerful weapon in existence. So again I think the only way for Sinestro to redeem himself is by sacrificing his life to save the universe.

In the comic world you can absolve any body of any crime. It just takes the right gint space cricket or what ever.

That said, I don't want to see Sinestro absolved of his crimes. I wan't to see him answer for them. In real life we would just give him the chair and be done with it. But this is a diffrent world. Sinestro actually has to power just as much as an unstoppable force for good as he is for evil. In the end is that not the purpose of The Green Lantern Corps? I want to see Sinestro pay emotionally for his crimes,because there is not other realistic way to punish him.

Have a Guardian join with him like they did with Hal when he became Parallax,Make him go see the after math of his crimes,and face to face with the people he has hurt. The Green Lantern's weild so much power without a thought.



After the story runs its course Return him to his normal self with the Sinestro Corps.

[Tommy Boy Hal's Understudy Find all posts View Profile Close Tommy Boy]

Sinestro is full on narcissistic.....100%. I agree with you that he doesn't care as long as he gets what he sees is right.

And think about this one step further.

Is it rooted in narcissism or simply an expression of Sinestro's amazing will?

Sinestro brought an entire planet to their knees in his pursuit of order under the premise that he was doing the right thing by not only the Guardians, but universal order. The Guardians step in and say, "Whoooaaaaa, there buddy. Crossed the line." To which Sinestro says, "Go f*ck yourself, I'll do it myself."

And he did. And spiraled into the "fallen angel" stereotype we've come to know and love. Add a dash of bitterness and a few brazillion deaths and he's potentially the universe's greatest threat. With that power surely would come arrogance and narcissism, but ALL as extensions of a will strong enough to spit in the face of even the Guardians of the Universe. To roll with the Anti-Monitor and Superboy Prime. To be the numero uno foil to the greatest Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. This is the way Sinestro does business and he'll be damned if anyone has the nuts to stop him. All serving as a testament as to why he once was the greatest of all the green lanterns.

His inconquerable will.

[Corwin Star Sapphire's Love Slave Find all posts View Profile Close Corwin]

And think about this one step further.

Is it rooted in narcissism or simply an expression of Sinestro's amazing will?

Sinestro brought an entire planet to their knees in his pursuit of order under the premise that he was doing the right thing by not only the Guardians, but universal order. The Guardians step in and say, "Whoooaaaaa, there buddy. Crossed the line." To which Sinestro says, "Go f*ck yourself, I'll do it myself."

And he did. And spiraled into the "fallen angel" stereotype we've come to know and love. Add a dash of bitterness and a few brazillion deaths and he's potentially the universe's greatest threat. With that power surely would come arrogance and narcissism, but ALL as extensions of a will strong enough to spit in the face of even the Guardians of the Universe. To roll with the Anti-Monitor and Superboy Prime. To be the numero uno foil to the greatest Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. This is the way Sinestro does business and he'll be damned if anyone has the nuts to stop him. All serving as a testament as to why he once was the greatest of all the green lanterns.

His inconquerable will.

Sinestro: "To instill fear is to instill order! Our order. The Guardians had BILLIONS of years to bring order to this Universe. They failed. Now it is our turn to spread our light. Our turn to take CONTROL. We will drive fear into the hearts of those who worship chaos. But first we burn those who stand in our way."

Now that I remember all the beef he had with Kyle (killing his mom) I don't think they'd EVER work together. Hell Kyle may be pissed at Hal for even working WITH him.

[Lantern2814.20850 Green Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Lantern2814.20850]

If Sinestro has any psychological hang ups the most obvious would be a planet sized case of Osessive/Compulsive Disorder.

[Raweas Kyle's Nude Model Find all posts View Profile Close Raweas]

I honestly do not think Sinestro is insane. Also going the insanity route feels like a cheap cop out to me. It kinda removes the power of his villiany for him to have been insane all along. I think he represents fear a lot better as a sane indivudal.

Also on the matter of sanity (or lack of) and intelligence. I would like to point out that Nikolai Tesla, whom many consider the grandfather of modern science, was highly intelligent but also bat shit insane. There is no denying the brilliance behind most of his ideas (many of which were far far ahead of his time). But there is also no denying the man was not sane. For instance he honestly believed that he could communicate with pigeons. Not only that he believed one pigeon in particular loved him and would come to him when he called her. And he loved her just as much as she loved him.

Ones overall intelligence does not appear to be limited by ones overall sanity.

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

I don't think Sinestro is "insane" per se, but he definitely has displayed some serious psychological issues over the years. Certainly megalomania. Possibly paranoia. Maybe OCD or something similar, to account for his overboard obsession with order on even the smallest scale that has been shown at times.

What his issues are NOW is harder to say, as the character is being redefined rather drastically. I'd still say megalomania is a safe bet. Paranoia may be, too, but given that his misgivings with regards to the Guardians seem to be panning out, maybe that can't be seen as paranoia after all.