The Guardians of the Universe are one of several races that originated on the planet Maltus and were among the first intelligent life forms in the universe. At this time they were short greyish blue humanoids with black hair. They became scientists and thinkers, experimenting on the worlds around them. In a pivotal moment billions of years ago, a Maltusian named Krona used time-bending technology to observe the beginning of the universe. However, this test unleashed disaster upon all existence. Originally, the experiment splintered the universe into the multiverse and created the evil anti-matter universe. Following the retroactive destruction of the Multiverse, it was revealed that Krona flooded the beginning of the universe with entropy causing it “to be born old”.

Krona’s experiment also drew Volthoom, a traveler from the multiverse looking to save his Earth. He brought with him the Travel Lantern powered by the Emotional Spectrum. Through working with Volthoom the future Guardians shed their emotions into The Great Heart and inadvertently created the First Ring. Volthoom received this ring and had the Great Heart implanted in his chest, controlling the whole emotional spectrum made him dangerous. The future guardians destroyed his Travel Lantern further escalating the situation. Future Guardian Rami used the pieces of the Travel Lantern to create the first seven green lantern rings and imprison the First Lantern Volthoom. Soon after it was decided that the emotional spectrum was at present too dangerous to wield.

The male Maltusians argued about how to deal with the situation. One group decided to dedicate their eternal existences to contain evil; this group fractured into the Guardians of the Universe and the Controllers. Later a single male Guardian would become the Pale Bishop and found The Paling, an anti-emotion faith. The females, however, saw no need to involve themselves and, since the Oans were by then immortal and had no more need to reproduce, left their mates and became known as the Zamarons later founding the Star Sapphires. Relocating to the planet Oa at “the center of the universe”, the Guardians dedicated themselves to combatting evil and creating an orderly universe. During this period they slowly evolved into their current appearance.