5 Major DC Questions After the Lanterns Season Finale, Including a Man of Tomorrow Plot Point

After eight weeks of mystery, surprise deaths, and power ring shenanigans, the first season of HBO’s Lanterns has come to a close. With an entire corner of the DCU now fully established, this new take on the characters and worlds from DC Comics is taking shape in fresh and exciting ways. Now that we’ve arrived at the end of the season, though, there are questions that still linger. Sure, the narrative of Lanterns itself was fully completed, and most of the holes closed; there are still a few lingering threads that will no doubt be on the minds of fans paying close attention.

The next chapter in this cinematic universe will be the upcoming Clayface movie, and though that one is expected to further expand the web of lore for the DCU, it’s not one where we should expect any kind of resolution from this series. The good news is that the future of Lanterns is something DC Studios is already considering, and though news of a renewal hasn’t been confirmed, we know that at least some of these characters will be returning on the big screen next year in Man of Tomorrow. With that in mind, these are the questions we were left asking when Lanterns ended. Naturally, spoilers follow.

5) So, What about Sinestro?

Ahead of the Lanterns finale, there was an expectation that maybe Sinestro would be forging his signature yellow lantern ring in the last episode. In the end, that wasn’t the case, but the guesses weren’t that far off. The final reveals that Sinestro was freed from prison by Noah Macon, the secret Manhunter, who had him create a Green Lantern. By the end of Sinestro’s time on screen, though, John has taken the lantern and left him behind…with no hints of what’s to come next.

So what’s going to happen to Sinestro now? Since there appears to be no way off the dead planet in which he is trapped, and he’s already proven that he has the resources around him to forge a ring, it stands to reason that this could still very well be the time and place that Sinestro starts his own fear-powered corps program. When we might see this happen or even get a hint that it’s occurring off-screen remains to be seen, though, so for now, this is a major dangling thread.

4) Is Hal really gone?

The death of Hal Jordan in the series premiere of Lanterns rocked DC fans who had been waiting on the character’s live-action return. Theories formed that maybe it wasn’t really him or that it was a clone of some kind, anything to keep Kyle Chandler around as Hal Jordan. Despite this pleading (stage 3 of the grieving process), the Lanterns finale confirms that Hal is really dead and gone… or is he?

It’s worth noting that the seed is planted early in the episode by Sinestro that he can bring Hal back to life, revealing that all he needs is his ring, but if Stewart wears and charges it himself, their chances will go away entirely. All of that is to say, it’s not only unclear if Sinestro was being truthful here or just trying to say anything to get his hands on a power ring, but it still has us wondering if it’s possible that Hal could return. In the pages of DC Comics, he was once possessed by Parallax, something that the DCU could use as a means to get Kyle Chandler back in the franchise.

3) Where are the Guardians during all this?

The presence of the Guardians of the Universe is one that has been felt across Lanterns as a series, including the times that they literally appear on screen with actress Laura Linney as Lianna. Their influence not only shapes the entirety of John Stewart’s arc in the show, but also reveals that their levels of manipulation aren’t all that different from the Manhunters they’re out to eliminate, though maybe with less death.

All of that is to say, where the heck were they? One assumes they’re floating about on OA in their giant robes and with their great big bundles of white hair, but the fact they never showed back up is something of a surprise. Given how Lanterns concludes, with John Stewart declaring himself a freelance Green Lantern who doesn’t answer to them, what they think about all of this and what happened on Earth should be something that the DCU addresses at some point. For now, all we have are assumptions.

2) How will the Manhunter return in the DCU?

The biggest dangling plot thread for the future of Lanterns and even the DCU at large is what will happen next with Noah Macon, revealed to be the actual final Manhunter. Not only do we know that Noah himself has retaken much of the technology that his mother Zoe previously had when she was alive, but he even has enough self-awareness to know that his programming as a Manhunter could potentially result in him taking control of powerful weapons on Earth.

By the end of the episode, a clear arrangement has been made between he and John Stewart, with the latter taking on his Green Lantern role knowing that one day he might have to put Noah down. That said, the episode itself leans heavily on the existential nature of Noah’s life, and the nature vs. nurture debate that has been at the heart of all of Lanterns. To that end, it would seem like Noah isn’t a threat, but who’s to say that in a few years the DCU creative teams won’t decide that they have a plan to bring him back and make him a major antagonist? Or perhaps reveal that he’s started a family and made a new Manhunter, one that isn’t so keen on harboring a good nature?

1) What Will John and Guy’s Next Moment Be Like?

The biggest question that the Lanterns season finale has left us with, though, is the one about what comes next for John Stewart and his fellow Green Lantern. In the pages of DC Comics there are a handful of humans who wear the rings and work together, and over the decades the lore has evolved so that it makes sense despite only 1 Green Lantern per sector originally. As Lanterns reveals, John Stewart is officially his own kind of Green Lantern, one that doesn’t answer to the Guardians and who doesn’t work with Guy Gardner and his stupid golden tooth.

To that end, we already know that both actors will appear in the upcoming Man of Tomorrow, and even though Stewart draws specific battle lines between them (Stewart will be a Green Lantern for Earth itself, while Gardner can keep patrolling the whole sector), it stands to reason that they’ll come to blows in some way. As Guy tells John before he flies away, “This ain’t over, hot shot,” to which Stewart responds, “Oh, I hope not.”

If we’re venturing a guess, they’ll very well share the screen and come to blows in Man of Tomorrow when the threat of Brainiac arrives. That said, Stewart may stick to his guns and fight the antagonist on Earth, giving Guy the chance to face off with him in space. In any event, we’ll find out next July.

What questions do you still have after the ending of Lanterns Season 1? Let us know in the comments below.