Lanterns episode 3 was a thrilling flashback, revealing John Stewart’s backstory – or so it seemed. Three episodes in, and it’s clear Lanterns isn’t your standard superhero TV show. This story doesn’t just feature twists and turns; the script is smarter than that, with each twist subtly rewriting everything that came before. When it comes to Lanterns, you really shouldn’t take anything as read.
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John’s Green Lantern story began when he was just a baby, when his father was passed on for the Power Ring. But for years, it seemed like nothing more than an odd obsession; he had no idea the Guardians of the Universe had even noticed him. Until, that is, one of the Guardians approached him and transported John to some sort of liminal space. There, he was tested to see whether he was worthy to become a Lantern. John apparently passed the test. But was all this genuine, or was episode 3 hiding a much deeper mystery?
Lanterns Episode 3 Dropped an Important Clue… One Few Viewers Have Spotted
Lanterns episode 3 revealed that John entered what seemed to be an abandoned shopping mall, transported there through one of the Guardians’ black portals. Such liminal spaces tend to be important in fiction, because they serve as a bridge between two worlds; that means creative teams tend to think them through carefully, and details can be very important indeed. Say, for example, a particularly significant poster in the background of the shopping mall; an advertisement for “Janus Cosmetics.”
At first, I thought this was just a bit of humor. In Roman mythology, Janus was the god of beginnings, gateways, and transitions. We still remember him today; the first month of the year (its beginning) is called “January” in his honor. I initially assumed the Janus Cometics nod was just a very smart in-joke, a way of telling us this liminal space was a place of transition and change for John. But there’s a catch; since the 17th century, Janus has been used in a completely different way.
Since the 17th century, Janus has been seen as an image of deception. To be “Janus-faced” is to be two-faced, to pretend at friendship and benevolence while really having a malevolent intent of some kind. Modern viewers may recognize it from the James Bond film GoldenEye, where Alec Trevelyan goes by the codename “Janus.” Bond eventually realized the codename foreshadowed his betrayal; “Hence, Janus,” he noted. “The two-faced Roman god come to life.”
What Does the Janus Reference Tell Us About John Stewart’s “Choosing”?
Lanterns is a show about duality. It’s visible right from the start, because the show positions two Green Lanterns against one another in an antagonistic relationship. But it’s also visible in everything from the Manhunters to the Guardians themselves – beings who apparently conceal their true natures, living in human society as though they are ordinary people, while in reality serving as powerful alien threats. The Janus poster serves as a visual cue, warning us we should be very careful with everything we see in that shopping mall. This liminal space is in fact a deception.
Oddly enough, the show’s subtitles drop another clue. They identify the Guardian who spoke to John; she’s named “Lianna,” and that’s not actually the name of a Guardian in the comics. Although she’s a member of their race, Lianna is distinguished by the fact she’s far taller than the Guardians, and she went rogue. Lianna’s motivations were never entirely clear – she betrays the Guardians in one story, never stopping to explain herself – but she appears to have an extreme notion of order. In Lanterns episode 3, there’s a scene where Lianna takes on her Oan form – and she’s shown to be remarkably tall. This feels like the DCU version of the character.
If this is indeed the character of Lianna from the comics, then it’s quite likely John Stewart has been a pawn in a rather more malevolent game than episode 3 seems to suggest. That would certainly explain why even Sinestro is apparently concerned about John, considering the threat he poses to be greater than even the Manhunters. It’s even possible she’s part of a conspiracy among the Guardians, the same one that led Sinestro to kill a Guardian. One thing’s for sure; we shouldn’t assume episode 3 has closed the book on John’s origin story. It’s very likely that everything he believes about himself was a lie.
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Image Courtesy of Marvel Studios
