The group is composed of deceased fictional characters in zombie form that seek to eliminate all life from the DC Universe.

[1] During the arc, Hand's energy-absorbing weapon (previously thought to be an original invention) is revealed to have been constructed by Atrocitus, enemy of the Guardians of the Universe and future founder of the Red Lantern Corps.

[2] Atrocitus comes to Earth and approaches Hand, recognizing him as a "doorway to the black" that possesses the power to bring about the Blackest Night.

[3][4] The possession of this weapon soon leads him to become an enemy of the Green Lantern Corps, as he now feels a need to extinguish the light of the emotional spectrum.

[5] While being transported to prison, Black Hand experiences a sudden power surge that kills his captors.

She reveals that Hand is the physical embodiment of death, and serves as the avatar of the Black Lantern Corps in the same manner that Ion, Parallax, and the Predator are for willpower, fear, and love respectively.

[5] Hand later digs up Bruce Wayne's corpse, removes his skull, and recites the Black Lantern oath for the first time.

After being introduced into a primary role within the Blackest Night event, Indigo-1 recruits Hal Jordan to gather a team capable of recreating the white light of creation (chosen for having a personal connection to the most powerful members of the five remaining Corps).

[9] The story unfolding in Green Lantern depicts Jordan and Indigo-1 recruiting Carol Ferris, Sinestro, Atrocitus, Larfleeze, Saint Walker, to their purpose.

[10] In Blackest Night #5, the team assaults the Black Central Power Battery with the opposite results intended.

[11] Though seemingly destroyed, an aspect of the Black Lanterns returned within Firestorm when his dark undead persona emerged - claiming the name Deathstorm.

[19] In Dark Nights: Death Metal, Batman obtains a Black Lantern Ring and uses it to resurrect various deceased heroes.

So, scenes like Elongated Man and Sue Dibny taking on Hawkman and Hawkgirl is kind of the beginning of that emotional conflict and terror that you'll see throughout Blackest Night.

[23] During his initial creation of the new Corps, Johns drew from information he had collected on light while taking physics classes.

Whereas other villains may have a particular motivation, Hand is meant to be depicted as a character who is clearly insane and whose presence makes others uncomfortable.

[24] In Blackest Night #2, multiple black power rings attempt to reanimate the body of the Dove (Don Hall), only to be prevented from disturbing his grave by an invisible barrier.

In Blackest Night: Batman #1, the spirit of Deadman is unable to prevent a black power ring from reviving his remains.

[27] During the Blackest Night panel at San Diego Comic-Con in 2009, Geoff Johns was asked whether the revived corpses of the Black Lanterns were speaking for themselves or if they were being controlled by an outside force.

"[25] Prior to the Spectre's conversion, Black Hand makes note of the Shadowpact members Zatanna and Blue Devil being surrounded by an aura of life.

After Scar's true death and the end of the Blackest Night, The Book of the Black is found by Ganthet, who notes it retains much forbidden knowledge within its pages.

She is capable of trapping Sinestro himself, Carol Ferris, Indigo-1, Atrocitus, Saint Walker and Larfleeze inside the book.

The energy explosion also affects The Book of the Black, which disappears in a rainbow light, leaving only behind the rings of the six trapped Lanterns.

[41] The book's prophecy is revealed to be true when Hal Jordan transforms into a Black Lantern as a means to escape the Dead Zone.

Corpses reanimated by black power rings are reconstructed if damaged, keeping the body in working order at all times.

[42] Black power rings are capable of regenerating typically fatal injuries inflicted upon their users (including the complete dissolution).

It is unknown if this power can work on any living being, or only those characters who have been reanimated from death before (such as Superman, the Green Arrow, and Donna Troy).

It is alluded to in several comics and "Origins and Omens" backstories that it is the Anti-Monitor's desire for the end of humanity that made him the primary candidate to become the Battery's power supply following his betrayal and subsequent murder at the hands of Superboy-Prime during the Sinestro Corps War.

[29] When facing beings with warped mental states, or otherwise addled minds (such as Bizarro), the correlation between the emotion detected and the actual color that the Black Lanterns see is inverted.