Sinestro: was he born evil?

[Fanofthegoblins]

At the end of the Green Lantern film, the yellow ring turns him into an evil man. My question is, was he born evil in the comics? Did he used to be a good fella that turned evil or was he villainous from the start?

I'm confused, the older cartoons portray him as a saturday morning cartoon villain who was evil from the start, but the movie portrays him as a good man who is corrupted by the yellow ring.

[davidn15]

He wants what's best for the universe, his methods are just really questionable...

[Man-Thing]

I'd love to see a "secret origin" for Sinestro, now that we've had Sinestro: Rebirth. It'd be nice to either see some of his early days with Abin or a Geoff Johns' re-imagining of Emerald Dawn II.

[Nayrman]

He's not evil per se, he just thinks he knows better than everyone else and that only he can really bring peace to the universe. Of course, the methods he uses to get his results are the very questionable and in some cases despicable reasons he's usually the villain.

[Jabare]

Compared to Hal, Sinestro really doesn't look that bad half the time

[Harbinger of Apocalypse]

At the end of the Green Lantern film, the yellow ring turns him into an evil man. My question is, was he born evil in the comics? Did he used to be a good fella that turned evil or was he villainous from the start?

I'm confused, the older cartoons portray him as a saturday morning cartoon villain who was evil from the start, but the movie portrays him as a good man who is corrupted by the yellow ring.

Maybe he was just born this way... sorry, sorry, had to joke first

But anyway, originally in the comics, he was basically power mad and used his power ring to dominate his world and place it under his rule. After that, he got booted out of the Corps and simply wanted revenge. Under GJ's run, seems he believes that only he can bring order to the cosmos... so, the end justifies the means kind of thing. So, less evil than his original version but capable of evil actions.

[Mr. Holmes]

Seriously, what character other than maybe Darkseid is "born evil?" Even the Joker was born "good."

[ascended]

Yeah, very few people, even in comics, are born bad. Generally, its the events in life and the choices we make that drive us one way or the other.

As for Sinestro....he started out as a stand up member of the Corps. He believed in the mission. He was proud of his station. And he rose up to become one of their best. I doubt if he ever shied away from a dirty job, but it was all for a greater good. But over the years, Sinestro began to realize something. Slowly, he started to come to the conclusion that the universe was not a better place than it had been, and all the Corps' efforts were not enough. He saw them as firemen. They showed up to put the fires out, but did very little to ensure the fires never started in the first place. That was not enough.

Thus did Sinestro's fall from grace begin. He took control of his home world. And he did it fairly peacefully as I recall, with the blessing of his people. But he ruled them with an iron fist. His punishments were often far disproportionate to the crime. And he spread that rule out across his Sector. And he began to see the merits of ruling through fear. Keeping the population too afraid (of him) to break the law.

And to Sinestro's point of view, he was making his Sector a better, more peaceful place. In fact, the Guardians applauded him for having the most lawful Sector in the universe. They were however, ignorant of his methods. Until Hal Jordan found out what really went down in Sinestro's Sector. Sinestro was put on trial, found guilty, and exiled.

Its not just about revenge for Sinestro. He has seen that his methods, while brutal, yield results. And if the Guardians are too short sighted to see that he can do a better job of policing the universe than they, well, that's their problem. Yet Sinestro still believes in the spirit of the Corps. He believes that the universe needs a police force to ensure order. Most of his actions leading up to the Sinestro Corps War were designed to push the Guardians closer to his way of thinking. And it worked. Thanks to Sinestro, the Green Lantern Corps are now allowed to kill. They are harsher, rougher, and after surviving everything Sinestro has done to them, better prepared to handle bigger threats.

Personally, I think Sinestro knows that his methods are evil. But they get the job done. I think he knows that he is damned. And I think its a price he is willing to pay for a safer universe, because no one else has the shoulders to damn themselves so completely. He's willing to corrupt himself for a better universe. At least thats my take on him.

[Kiryu]

Well, I'd say his parents might've had an idea he could be a bad apple based on his name

[Cavemold]

No, he just uses extreme methods. In the real work he be a commie.

[BeastieRunner]

Sinestro needs to be DCU's Space Hitler.

MAYBE ... Space Stalin.

[Schornforce]

Well, I'd say his parents might've had an idea he could be a bad apple based on his name

"Oh, look at our newborn, Dear..."
"aw... what little pointed eyebrows he has. Gets it from his mother..."
"and is that a pencil thin mustache? Adorable!"
"What should we call such an angelic little beacon of joy?"
"Matthaius? Porkpie? Aloysius Snuffleupagus?"
"No... none of those hippie names. He needs a good, solid, honest name. Something unimpeachable..."
"Screw it. We'll just call him Sinestro."
"...okeydokey."

[Buried Alien]

Even if he wasn't, the name "Sinestro" doesn't do much to secure him the benefit of the doubt.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[blinker]

Clearly he was born evil, since Geoff Johns wants to turn him into a good guy.

Nah he wasn't born evil, in his own opinion he is a good guy. He thinks what he's doing is right. He's basically an alien version of Hitler.

[BohemiaDrinker]

He was born good. The evil came at puberty, along with his moustache.