The DCU’s new Lanterns theory is no stranger to controversy. The comic book franchise is best known for its cosmic scale, but Lanterns promises to be rather more grounded; something like a police procedural of sorts, but with super-powers and aliens. We now know Lanterns weaves between two parts of the DCU timeline, 2016 and 2026, and Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart are no “buddy cops.” Rather, the trailers have presented them as rivals.
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The Lanterns controversy has raged throughout the show’s marketing. Many viewers have been frustrated that it’s taken so long for trailers to give a proper look at Green Lantern powers (“It’s a Green Lantern show, so there’s green,” Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy recently insisted in response to this backlash). The new Lanterns trailer finally shows us the Power Rings at work, and they look stunning, so hopefully that particular debate is now over. What is not, though, is that the trailer commits to a very unusual new plot.
There’s Only One Power Ring Between Hal & John
Commanded by the Guardians of the Universe, the Green Lanterns are essentially “space cops.” Each Green Lantern is assigned a specific sector, where they work hard to keep cosmic crime down, fight against terrifying threats, and prevent atrocities. Traditionally, there’s only been one Green Lantern per sector, but Earth has always been an anomaly. There have long been multiple active Lanterns on Earth at a single time: Hal Jordan, Kyle Rayner, John Stewart, Jessica Cruz, and Simon Baz being prominent examples. Cruz and Baz even worked as a literal team back when they were rookiees.
It didn’t take viewers long to notice, though, that Lanterns seemed to be a little different. Official images never seemed to show Hal or John using their powers at the same time. The first Lanterns trailer was clearly setting up John as Hal’s replacement, with Hal resenting his presence. And then there was the tagline released alongside the first trailer: “Only one can wear the ring.” That, more than anything else, seemed to set up a story where there was just one Power Ring between two people, with John proving he was worthy to take Hal’s ring. Unsurprisingly, this Lanterns theory divided the fanbase.
It’s easy to see why the DCU has gone with this approach. There’s an inherent sense of drama to it, an intense rivalry between the two characters that will give the story a powerful emotional core. But there’s also a risk; it places the characters of Hal and John as antagonists, and divides the Green Lantern fanbase against itself. The narrative may be a compelling one, but it risks embedding division between the fans who prefer Hal and others who love John more. This kind of plot needs to be handled with great care, if an already-controversial show isn’t going to become even more divisive.
Does the Rivalry Between Hal and John Explain Lanterns’ Whole Plot?
So far, the Lanterns trailers have mostly showed the 2016 part of the plot; the segment of the show where Hal and John are working together. We know there are two mysteries, one investigated by Hal and John in 2016, and an unknown “something else” in 2026. But there must be a narrative link between them, a reason John’s time with Hal is somehow relevant to the 2026 case as well. The new Lanterns trailer may well give a couple of major clues.
The trailer opens with a scene that feels like heavy foreshadowing, as Hal insists there’s only one way John will ever get the Power Ring; over his dead body. It ends with John encouraged to get the Power Ring from Hal, setting up a confrontation between Jordan and Stewart. Then, in the same trailer, we also have a mysterious shot of Guy Gardner appearing to visit John Stewart in prison. Putting all these pieces together, it’s possible Hal Jordan is believed dead in 2016, and John Stewart is blamed for his murder. He’s then imprisoned for ten years, until 2026, when Guy visits him.
This would explain what seems, at first glance, to be an apparent plot hole: why Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner has a Power Ring in Superman, when there’s apparently only supposed to be one Power Ring assigned to this sector. It would mean John Stewart is not a Green Lantern at all in 2026. He’s a wannabe Lantern who is blamed for Hal Jordan’s death. And there’s only one reason Guy would visit a failed Lantern; because evidence has come to light suggesting Hal isn’t dead. The 2016 and 2026 cases ask the same question. What happened to Hal Jordan?
In the comics, Hal was replaced by a Lantern named Kyle Chandler; Hal himself suffered a horrific fate, descending into madness after the destruction of his home city and calling himself Parallax. DC eventually retconned this to save the character, explaining he had become possessed by the Parallax entity, an impurity trapped within the rings. Parallax was essentially a fear demon – which also matches with the new trailer. This features a repeated refrain: “Are you afraid?” It’s the perfect way to tease Parallax.
What Does This DCU Theory Mean For Lanterns?
If this theory is right, Lanterns is bringing one of the most controversial Green Lantern stories ever to life; it’s telling the story of how Hal Jordan became the DCU’s Parallax. It should be able to avoid the comic books’ missteps, where Hal was initially portrayed as too much of a villain, with the demonic entity created as something of a “Get Out Of Jail Free” twist that explained it away and made it possible for him to be used as a hero again. The DCU can play this much smarter, setting up Parallax in 2016, and unleashing the threat in 2026 – with John Stewart and Guy Gardner standing against it.
The trailers have given Hal a very good reason to be afraid. He fears obsolescence, being retired against his will, losing his power. That fear is turning into anger, and both emotions may him vulnerable to the fear impurity in the rings. That’s an incredibly smart way to draw the threads together, turning the relationship between Hal and John into a major part of his fall, perhaps meaning only John can reach him. Such a Parallax twist would potentially prove the DCU wise to court so much controversy with Lanterns, because the payoff would be tremendous.
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