<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Oaths are stated commitments. In Sci Fi, they are often quite long, and it may be a commitment just to memorize them. When reciting an oath, a character reinforces a promise, to an action and/or to a way of behaving.

There may be more than one variation of a specific oath.

Contents 1 Oaths 1.1 Green Lantern 1.1.1 External GL Oath Links 1.2 The Sinestro Corps Oath 1.3 Alpha Lantern 1.4 Doc Savage 1.5 The Phantom 1.5.1 External Phantom Oath Links 1.6 Batman

Oaths

Green Lantern

Green Lantern is a DC Comics superhero. The silver age Hal Jordan would repeat his oath while charging his power ring.

In brightest day
In blackest night
No evil shall escape my sight
Let those who worship evil's might
Beware my power, Green Lantern's light!

According to the story, Hal Jordan created this oath on his own, and other Green Lanterns have either had a different oath, or none at all. Some Green Lantern's have since adopted his oath. This oath was actually written by Alfred Bester, one of the great Science Fiction writers, during a time when he was writing the Golden Age Green Lantern. The oath replaced Alan Scott's towards the end of his run, though this fact has been erased from the Green Lantern continuity.

Alan Scott, the original golden age Green Lantern had an oath that he made out of the words of the mysterious Green Flame which powered his magic lantern and the ring that was made from its substance. It is thought that Hal Jordan's oath was inserted into his story by comic book creators to keep up this tradition. This oath was actually written by Green Lantern creator Bill Finger.

Alan Scott's Oath follows:

And I shall shed my light over dark evil.
For the dark things cannot stand
the light of the Green Lantern.

External GL Oath Links

Unofficial Green Lantern Corps article on the GL oath

The Sinestro Corps Oath

Sinestro, Green Lantern's arch nemesis, created his own oath for his own Corps. The Sinestro Corps' goal is to impose order to the universe through fear. They say their oath while charging their yellow power rings.

In blackest day
In brightest night
Beware your fears made into light
Let those who try to stop what's right
Burn like my power, Sinestro's might!

Alpha Lantern

After the Sinestro War, the Guardians of the Universe established the Alpha Lanterns, a group of specialized Lanterns whose job it is to enforce the rules of the Corps, a kind of Military Police or Internal Affairs division of the Green Lantern Corps. Their oath is as follows:

In days of peace
In nights of of war
Obey the laws forevermore
Misconduct must be answered for
Swear us the chosen
The Alpha Corps!

Doc Savage

Doc Savage is a pulp non-super hero. His oath was not actually used in the original adventures, but came from ancillary materials.

Let me strive every moment of my life to make myself better and better,
to the best of my ability,
that all may profit by it.
Let me think of the right and lend all my assistance to those who need it, with no regard for anything but justice.
Let me take what comes with a smile, without loss of courage.
Let me be considerate of my country, of my fellow citizens and my
associates in everything I say and do.
Let me do right to all, and wrong no man.

The Phantom

The Phantom is a non-super hero: actually, a generational lineage of heros. Each designated descendent eventually takes the "Oath of the Skull":

I swear to devote my life to the destruction of piracy,
greed, cruelty and injustice!

External Phantom Oath Links

King Features article on The Phantom detailing the Oath

Batman

In some tellings of the Batman origin, young Bruce Wayne, soon after his parent's death, kneels on his parent's grave and says these deathless words:

I swear to dedicate my life and my inheritance to bringing
your murderer, and all criminals, to justice. I swear it.