The Guardians of the Universe have divided the universe into 3,600 space sectors, each one protected by one powerful Green Lantern, selected among fearless beings and supplied by a ring fed by the willpower from the planet Oa. When the evil force Parallax that is fed by fear destroys several Green Lanterns, Abin Sur flees in his spacecraft but crashes on Earth.

Mortally wounded, his green ring seeks out a successor for him and finds the reckless but efficient test pilot Hal Jordan. Hal Jordan learns about the Green Lanterns and is bestowed with the powers of the ring. Meanwhile, scientist Hector Hammond is summoned to conduct an autopsy of Abin Sur and is possessed by Parallax.