Blue Hope (JLA: KOR Episode)

Blue Hope is the fourth episode of Justice League: Knights of Rao.

Featured Characters

 * Knights of Rao (first appearance)
 * Terra / Tara Markov
 * Toymaster / Hiro Hamada
 * Blue Lantern / Collin Hill (first appearance) (flashback and main story) (joins team)
 * Indigo Lantern / Amber Lang (first appearance)
 * The Emerald / Dionne Stewart (first appearance)
 * Aya (first appearance) (flashback and main story) (joins team)
 * Galaxor / Mitchell Davies (first appearance)
 * Long Shadow (first appearance)

Supporting Characters

 * Justice League
 * Batman / Bruce Wayne
 * Flash / Barry Allen
 * Geo-Force / Brion Markov
 * Green Lantern Corps
 * Hal Jordan
 * Guy Gardner
 * John Stewart
 * Lana Lang (first appearance)
 * Star Sapphire Corps (first appearance)
 * Carol Ferris (first appearance)
 * Ruby the Red Fox (first appearance)
 * Supergirl / Kara Zor-El
 * Wonder Woman / Diana of Themyscira


 * Blue Lantern Corps (first appearance)
 * Adara (first appearance)
 * Arisia Rrab (first appearance)
 * Brother Warth (first appearance)
 * Saint Walker (first appearance)
 * Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-El


 * Lois Lane
 * Green Lantern Corps
 * Boodikka (first appearance)
 * Guardians of Oa
 * Ganthet (first apearance)
 * Sayd (first appearance)
 * Ranakar (first appearance)
 * Kilowog (first appearance)
 * Tomar-Re (first appearance)
 * Indigo-1 (first appearance)
 * Kobla Vud (first appearance)
 * Space Cabbie (first appearance)

Villains

 * Appa Ali Apsa (single appearance) (flashback and main story) (removed from the Guardians of Oa)
 * Scar (single appearance) (flashback and main story) (removed from the Guardians of Oa)
 * Manhunters (first appearance)
 * Atrocitus (first appearance)
 * Sinestro (first full appearance)
 * Bolphunga the Unrelenting (first appearance)
 * Lobo
 * Project Cadmus Manhunter (single appearance) (destroyed in this issue)
 * Vandal Savage (mentioned only)

Other Characters

 * Mark Hill (single appearance) (flashback only) (death)
 * Victoria Hill (single appearance) (flashback only) (death)

Summary
While Terra looks after and trains Collin Hill, a young boy who has joined the Blue Lantern Corps to overcome the loss of his parents and his brother's disowning of him, Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris work with the Justice League on battling Manhunters attacking Washington D.C. while they try to figure out why their Power Rings keep recharging themselves without the need of their Batteries. Unknown to them, Superman, still determined to forgive himself from his failure, had joined ranks with the Blue Lantern Corps and is working hard to show the pure hearted the meaning of Hope. At the sametime, Tara's friends Amber Lang and Dionne Stewart work to stop a potential disaster which Appa Ali Apsa and Scar plan to cause for the Guardians and the Green Lanern Corps.

Plot
It all starts with a flashback of one week ago telling about Collin Hill, a 9 year old boy who was just orphaned by Vandal Savage's attack in the congress and dissowned by his heartless older brother. Feeling he boy's need of Hope, Adara, the Guardian Entity of the Blue Lantern Corps, appeared next to him in the form of a peacock and bonded him with a Blue Lantern Power Ring, which also led the boy to a lifetime of a superhero. Scene shifts to Present day, on which Hal Jordan is struggling against two of his most hated foes, Sinestro and Atrocitus. Just as the two rogue Lanterns were gainning the upperhand and his Ring was almost out of power, Jordan's ring surprisingly recharges itself enough for him to subdue the two villains and perform a Green Lanern manouver he never tried before, forcing Sinestro and Atrocitus to retreat. And even Hal wonders to himself how he even did this.

In their headquarters, Terra and Toymaster train Galaxor, an Australian young hero who idolized the Justice League since he was a child and was given by S.T.A.R. Labs' scientists an super soldier serrum and armor which gave him super powers, and Long Shadow, a teenage-looking Super Soldier produced by Project Cadmus whose life was saved by Toymaster. Terra is informed by her friends Amber Lang and Dionne Stewart that they have spotted a Blue Lantern in Coast City and goes there to find him. In the Watchtower, Jordan is taking a talk with fellow Green Lanterns John Stewart and Lana Lang about what happened and find out that his wife Carol Ferris' Star Sapphire Ring is in the same condition. Just then, the Lanterns and the Justice League are alerted about Manhunters attacking Washington D.C.. Meanwhile, Dionne (who is also a Green Lantern like her father John Stewart (known for the identity Emerald)) and Amber (who is a member of the Indigo Tribe) secretly go to Oa, wherethey are aware that two of the Guardians of Oa have secretly gone rogue.

Terra eventually finds Collin defeating a Project Cadmus-made Manhunter attacking a downtown Coast City and, impressed with his performance and dedication, invites him to train with her. He accepts, although he is persuaded to train with the Blue Lanterns, including Superman, who is working to redeem his failure on Earth by helping honorable warriors in the Galaxy battle greedy foes (as shown when he saves Space Cabbie and one of his warrior passengers from getting captured by Lobo and aids volcanic warrior Kobla Vud defeat alien bounty hunter Bolphunga the Unlerenting). In Oa, Amber and Dionne spy on Appa Ali Apsa and Scar, who are secretly working with the Sinestro Corps and the Red Lantern Corps to regain control over the Manhunters. The two girls record everything with their rings before the two rogues leave. Just then, they also sneak into Scar's lab, where they find an A.I. which was secretly created by Scar using a fragment of the Green Lantern central battery.

Just as they both activate it, the A.I. regains its lost memmories and shows some sympathetic gratitude for them. Superman is aware of what Terra's friends are doing and, knowing that the Green Lantern Corps will be extinguised if Apsa and Scar get what they want, decides to help the two girls while Collin, after finishing training with Superman, and Saint Walker, go back to Earth to help the Justice League. The Guardians of Oa continue observing the events on Earth as Apsa and Scar are ambitiously expecting to see the human Lanterns fail. Just then, Dionne passes the recorded convesation between the two Guardians and the Rogue Lanterns to the other Gaurdians, including Ganthet and Sayd, who quickly turn on Apsa and Scar. The two rogues attempt to fight back, but are subdued by the combined efforts of the two girls as well as Superman and Amber's mentor Indigo-1. The rogue Guardians are depowered and sent to prison while Ganthet entrusts Amber and Dionne to look after Aya. Back on Earth, the Justice League and the human Lanterns struggle against the Manhunters until Saint Walker and Collin arrive, causing the power rings of the Green Lanterns and Star Sapphires to be super charged on the same level Hal and Carol's rings were before and succesfully end the Manhunter threat. As the League thanks the Blue Lanterns for their help, Saint Walker returns to Odym while Collin regroups with Terra's team. Hal and Carol assume that their rings' condition was the presence of Blue Lanterns on Earth after all and Batman and Wonder Woman silently deduce that Superman may be a Blue Lantern as well.

Voice Cast

 * Ashley Johnson as Terra / Tara Markov
 * George Newsbern as Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-El
 * Grey Delisle as Wonder Woman / Diana of Themyscira, Aya
 * Kevin Conroy as Batman / Bruce Wayne
 * Dana Delany as Lois Lane
 * Jason Marsden as Geo-Force
 * Tara Strong as Supergirl
 * Eric Bauza as Toymaster
 * James Arnold Taylor as Saint Walker, Blue Lantern Power Rings
 * Colleen Villard as Blue Lantern / Collin Hill, Indigo Lantern / Amber Lang
 * Kimberly Brooks as The Emerald / Dionne Stewart
 * Phil LaMarr as John Stewart
 * Wally Wingert as the Flash / Barry Allen
 * Travis Willingham as Adara, Green Lantern Power Rings
 * Troy Baker as Sinestro, Long Shadow
 * J. B. Blanc as Atrocitus, Lobo
 * Steve Blum as Bolphunga the Unrelenting, Sinestro Corps Ring