Since 1940, DC Comics has had some version of a character called Green Lantern. Ok, technically, it wasn’t even DC at that point, but that’s another story/bit of comics trivia that probably no one cares about. The best known Green Lantern is a toss up between Hal Jordan, who was the first modern era GL, and John Stewart, one of his replacements who starred in the Justice League Unlimited cartoon. So it makes sense they pair the two for the new series, Lanterns, showing on HBO and another piece of James Gunn’s DC Universe.
The first episode, at the very least, jumps between three different points in time: 1996, 2016, and 2026. In 1996, we see a young John Stewart breathlessly watching a 60 Minutes interview with Earth’s best known hero, Green Lantern. We learn a bit about Hal’s past, and see that this version of the DCU seems to be continuing the trend against heroes having secret identities for the most part. This is really something I dislike, but I’ll get into that later. John’s father gets home and we see what is most definitely not a healthy family dynamic as they reenact a modern spin on an old folk tale.
In 2016, we John working out at a gym and then meeting up with Hal outside. The trailers have made it apparent that Hal and John don’t have the best relationship, and that continues here. Honestly, this version of Hal is a jerk, which is something I hope they explain. It seems like a strange choice. This leads to one of Hal’s many “tests” of John that we’ve seen in the trailers. It seems showy and wasteful to me, and really doesn’t help make Hal any more likeable.
The aftermath of this scene deals us several surprises. While John is hiking along to meet up with Hal, he has a very unexpected conversation with a surprising person. Among other things, we learn that Hal isn’t following protocol (no surprise there), that John is still in contact with his father (I am a bit surprised at that), and then John gets a message to pass along. Hal is playing the celebrity at their meeting spot, where we also learn that he rarely wears the GL uniform any more. To me, this is starting to seem like another show that’s based on comics but is somehow afraid or ashamed of their source material, like season one of Arrow. Regardless, John eventually arrives and passes on the message. For the first time, Hal looks something other than smug as he hurriedly takes to the skies and leaves John behind. Again.
They show a few scenes of John’s efforts to catch up, emphasizing he’s stuck in “mundane” mode as opposed to Hal just flying off like he did. Eventually, John gets where he’s going, and once again meets up with Hal. We also encounter Sheriff Kerry Kane, who is utterly unimpressed with having a superhero in her town. We also see that Hal’s fame comes with limitations, as they essentially get into a jurisdictional battle over what a Green Lantern can and can’t do in the course of an investigation. There’s a lot of chatting in the bleachers near a football stadium, which will become a frequently used set piece in the episode. There’s a chase scene with a suspicious person, and then Hal and the Sheriff clash yet again. I will 100% admit I have a tendency to read too much into some things, but when you’re making a new character, you have nearly endless possibilities for a name. The fact that Sheriff Kerry Kane is so close to Kate Kane, better known as Batwoman, makes me really curious about that choice.
Continuing his string of questionable choices, Hal heads out for the town bar. He tells John a bit more about his origin and we hear a few times that Hal is Earth’s first GL. In the Superman movie, there was a famous mural in the background that showed, or at least strongly hinted at, some of that Earth’s history of superhumans. That showed several notable Golden Age heroes, and sort of hinted at the Justice Society, but apparently this world didn’t get Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern. Or maybe he was called something else—he did briefly go by Sentinel in the comics. Hal kicks off his not-great plan, ignores John’s comments about it, and gets himself in a fair amount of trouble. John has a much better night, as he meets a new friend.
The next morning we, and Hal, learn that Hal isn’t anywhere near as slick as he thinks he is, and he had a really bad night for nothing. His poor judgement continues, as he goes to court for arraignment, and the judge is about as impressed with him as the sheriff is. As things are looking worse and worse for the ring-slinging hero, he gets some unexpected help from a very unlikely source. We quickly get an idea about how some key parts of this small town work, and Hal gets an unexpected invitation. We get some of John’s background from the comics confirmed (he was a Marine), and they also give him a new twist or two that, to me, seems a bit out of character.
We skip to a big dinner and meet the inevitable local shady rich guy. He is remarkably well informed, and has some unusual ideas, as well as a lot of what you’d expect from a rural small town rich guy. It’s an odd evening with some interesting backstory and a few revelations. But, while some cordial relationships, at least on the surface, get established, Hal also gets something he wanted, which, of course, makes him happy.
The next morning, Hal and John are back at the sheriff’s office and there’s an unusual version of an interrogation scene. Eventually, we learn that a seemingly out-there theory was right on target, and not everyone is happy about that. The scene quite literally ends with a bang, and we get to see one of the uses of Hal’s ring in the episode.
This series of unexpected revelations jumps us ahead to the final scene in 2026. John returns to the small town, and we see that he’s got at least one good relationship here. Given what we know of his background, that’s actually rather impressive, between his father and Hal’s “mentorship.” The final scene takes us back to those bleachers once again for a very surprising ending, or surprising to me, at least. They kept this twist under wraps, and I heard no spoilers about it. I’ll be curious to see how the rest of the series handles this.
What I Liked: Having Hal be the modern era’s first big hero is an interesting spin on DC history I don’t think I’ve seen before. I’m amused he did an interview on 60 Minutes. They set up an interesting looming threat, and while I think what it is has been spoiled for me, it should be a hell of a test for Hal and John. I liked the sheriff, and later the judge, not letting Hal bulldoze over them. If this world ends up with a Justice League (no, I don’t count the “Justice Gang”), it’s going to be a very different one. The final scene was a hell of a surprise that really left me wondering what happened.
What I Didn’t: I just don’t like this take on Hal. He’s not this much of a jerk. I’m not sure he was this much of a jerk when he was briefly a supervillain. I don’t like that they apparently skipped over Alan Scott, or are burying him in obscurity or something. I really, really don’t like the trend of no secret identities. It’s been a part of the genre since it started, and for good reason. The current pattern of ditching it for the majority of characters isn’t something I’m enjoying at all. Canonically, John never had one, but Hal certainly did. It seems like they’re not only jettisoning that, but so much of his usual supporting cast, too. And, as I said above, I don’t like that they’re trying to do a superhero show without costumes, codenames, or the usual stuff. Those are all genre staples. The DC Universe is full of amazingly talented detectives and investigators. Hal has never been one of them. Choosing to use him as the central character in a mystery just seems odd. And while I get a lot of shows start off with an episode called “Pilot,” none of the episodes appear to have titles, which feels lazy. Hopefully that will change as the season goes on.
I didn’t love this, but I didn’t hate it. I’ll give it a 3 out of 5 for the start, and see where they go.
