Kara finally understood the origins of Doomsday.
Damn it, she'd known all along that the Guardians and the dwarves couldn't be trusted. The universe's most disastrous events—especially those involving the Green Lantern Corps—almost always led back to the Guardians. The Parallax entity, the embodiment of fear, had even parasitized one of these little blue Oans, morphing it into a monstrous creature with tentacles.
What a twisted mess.
Left with no other option, the Kryptonians created the monstrosity that would come to be known as Doomsday. They'd developed it from the remains of their most enhanced warriors—Kryptonians powered by artificial golden rays—who had been defeated by red sunlight during the war, only to be transformed into bioweapons after death.
Doomsday was terrifying, a being that defied the laws of life and ethics. Even under the power-sapping rays of a red sun, it almost wiped out the Seven Lantern Corps. Kara smirked as she reviewed these records. No wonder the Guardians had initially despised her—they'd had a brutal history with Krypton, a history in which Kryptonians had nearly obliterated their most prized Green Lantern Corps.
At the end of the war, the uncontrollable destruction wrought by Doomsday had come to light. In the absence of an enemy, the monster turned against the Kryptonians themselves. Unable to stop it, even those Kryptonians who had become "Supermen" through genetic enhancements couldn't withstand its onslaught. After all, on Krypton, a red sun rendered them powerless, and the presence of kryptonite added a lethal risk.
Though Doomsday had been created by Kryptonians, it wasn't bound by the same limitations. When exposed to red sunlight or kryptonite, Doomsday's strength far exceeded that of any Superman. Krypton was nearly obliterated by its own creation.
And then Darkseid entered the picture. In his quest to cement his place among the New Gods, the Apokoliptian warlord began an expansive campaign to conquer the universe. But his forces were soon decimated by Krypton's Doomsday weapon.
Apokolips had started its expansions over 100,000 years prior, and the impact of their invasions could still be found on Earth in ancient texts. Even the three Mother Boxes were left behind after Apokolips' defeat. However, the reason Apokolips hadn't continued its conquest of the Milky Way was Krypton. Their confrontation with Krypton's forces had been a devastating setback for Apokolips.
Darkseid had learned to fear the Kryptonian genetic potential and the horror of bioweapons like Doomsday. Even the goal of the "Darkseid War" was to capture Superman's DNA—and Kara's as well, by extension.
As it turned out, Apokolips had been forced to serve as a reluctant ally in defeating Doomsday. The casualties taken by Apokolips had helped the Kryptonians manage the Doomsday threat, and Kara made a mental note: if she ever found herself at war with Apokolips, she might consider showing some mercy. Perhaps she'd simply take down Steppenwolf without dragging it out.
Lost in her musings, Kara continued reading. She soon learned that the Guardians had indeed given Green Lantern rings to numerous Kryptonians in an effort to destroy Doomsday. The Lanterns' energy shields allowed the Kryptonians to retain their enhanced strength even under red sunlight. These Kryptonian Lanterns fought the Doomsday army on Krypton's soil, ultimately leading to the creation of kryptonite weaponry.
Though they suffered heavy losses, the Kryptonians managed to subdue the Doomsday threat. This victory, however, came at a cost. Afterward, all research on Doomsday was strictly forbidden, and anyone caught inquiring about it was exiled to the Phantom Zone.
After the ordeal, the Kryptonians returned the Lantern rings to the Guardians. One Kryptonian, however, was granted a position as a Green Lantern assigned to Apokolips' sector—a story for another day.
The encounter with Doomsday profoundly changed Krypton's mindset. They abandoned exploration and colonization, choosing instead to develop the Code of Life. In hindsight, it made sense. Jor-El, Kara's uncle, and Zor-El, her father, had likely uncovered secrets about Earth's yellow sun that would one day empower Kara and Kal-El.
The Al family, as one of Krypton's oldest bloodlines, had been aware of this history for generations. Records from 100,000 years prior even showed Kara's ancestors donning the House of El symbol and fighting valiantly in those ancient wars. Pride surged within Kara, tempered by a profound sadness. Krypton was lost, and she couldn't help but grieve for her people.
Suddenly, colored lights filled the space before her—a blue light of hope, a purple light of love, an orange light of avarice, and the yellow light of fear. Even the Asgardians watched in stunned silence.
Could it be that she, Kara Zor-El, was the center of this universe's hope?