Lanterns: The Weenie

The Lanterns series continues hopping around in time as we try and figure out what happened to Hal Jordan in 2026 that led to his being dead in rural Rushville, Nebraska. Then again, the way he acts, who didn’t want to kill him might be a shorter list. This version of Hal was very brash (at best) and didn’t really seem to care who he offended or by how much. The mystery deepens in “The Weenie,” which yes, is a goofy name, but we do eventually find out why.

In 2016, Hal leaves Earth to go speak with Sinestro. In this world, Sinestro was Hal’s mentor. In the comics, Sinestro is one of the Green Lantern Corps’ greatest foes, formerly one of the best Lanterns. Hal went looking for answers, but ends up with a lot of questions and being forced to confront a few things he’d rather not think about.

While John gets a phone call on Earth that’s guaranteed to make things more complicated, Sinestro keeps playing the proverbial devil on Hal’s shoulder. Sinestro is certainly a schemer, and whatever faults Hal might have, that doesn’t seem to be one of them. They keep verbally sparring, with Sinestro seemingly intent on dragging Hal over to the dark side, and like many moments that feature the temptation of the hero, Sinestro doesn’t seem to get anything out of what he’s suggesting. Which makes it a deal Hal should look at very, very closely in my opinion. Back in Rushville, John runs an errand, deals with some local resentful residents, and spends a lot of money without blinking an eye, which once again leads me to wonder where John’s getting his money. Flying around on last minute flights, car rentals, hotel bills, purchases… who is footing the bill here?

The Green Lantern and his trainee (who keeps not getting any training) finally meet up and compare notes, or they would if Hal was actually offering information. All he’s doing is evading questions while finding things out from John. This leads to an unexpected joke and a few references to Walt Disney and the Disney parks. Finally, Hal decides to update the Sheriff on what he’s learned, and takes off after John passes on the offer of a ride. Honestly, I’m not sure I would have taken Hal’s offer, either. I’m finding this Hal very hard to trust.

Eventually, Hal and John meet up with Sheriff Kane, and tell her a whole lot of things she doesn’t want to hear about Manhunters, deadlines, and an additional alien presence. After a tense exchange, the Sheriff offers her support, mostly out of a desire to keep assorted aliens from destroying her town. That, at least, is an understandable motivation. Part of their plan involves waiting for nightfall, so Hal goes to take a nap, while John ends up with an unexpected guest in his room. They have something of an argument, and while, as I said, I find this Hal hard to trust, the guest John has is clearly buried in layers of secrets and plots. This scene parallels Hal’s being tempted by Sinestro in many ways. It’s a good things these Lanterns are required to be fearless and not honest.

Hal and John finally start their plan, and John manages to surprise Hal with some suggestions about how to best go about getting access to the Macon Ranch, which seems to be the center of at least most of the secrets in Rushville. Hal continues to be even more surprised as he learns more about John’s past. The fact that they’ve been training (in theory) together for months and Hal doesn’t know any of this speaks volumes about their relationship.

The pair make their way into some hidden rooms eventually, and find a lot of things that shouldn’t be there. They also meet some of the security forces who have interesting toys. Exactly what they are using is never really explained, but it’s creative, original to the series, and one of the few things I’ve ever seen nullify GL constructs in any medium. Eventually, the two of them are captured and, once again, it appears that pretty much anyone can take a ring off a Green Lantern, which is a huge difference from the Lantern mythos in the comics. Otherwise, one of the Green Lantern Corps biggest foes wouldn’t be some cosmic power, but a halfway decent pickpocket.

Hal and John are brought to Macon’s study, and he’s acting very odd, even for what seems to be the big bad guy of the piece. I’m a bit curious how he knows more about John than Hal did up to a few minutes ago. It’s a very peculiar scene with a lot of back and forth as Hal tries to get some answers, Macon evades the questions, and John focuses on the task at hand. It’s also kind of funny watching Hal be the only one really uncomfortable with the strange circumstances of the conversation. Eventually, John proves his skill and the Sheriff comes to take them away for trespassing, which is, I suppose, technically valid.

Sheriff Kane is not at all pleased about how Hal and John’s foray to the Macon Ranch went, and lets them know in no uncertain terms. She’s going to try and find out a few things about Macon’s mysterious benefactor, who Hal is incerasingly sure is the Manhunter so many people seem to be looking for. The attempt at a dramatic parting for the scene is foiled by the way certain types of door locks work, which is entertaining in a sort of low comedy/reality intruding kind of way.

John has had a busy night, and he’s not done yet. He has a talk with his mom, in which Bernadette continues to act like Lady MacBeth. After his exchange, John gets a visit from Zoe, which leads to probably the best part of the night. Afterward, they talk and Zoe drops more vague hints about what’s going on. John continues to be stubborn, but at least in a way that makes a kind of sense. Zoe eventually leaves, and there’s another big dramatic surprise that finally spurs Hal into doing some actual Green Lantern type stuff, running a specialized errand and coming back with an intriguing clue. Hal and John’s exchange just before this does show that Hal trusts John, as he takes his word about something with no questions at all.

Later, Hal has a very stereotypical kind of GL defense set up for the motel, and the Sheriff arrives with more questions. She is in a tough spot as far her son goes, and tries to figure out how to break some bad news. She also shares some information, and we get a namedrop of another classic Green Lantern foe. Hector Hammond, in the comics, has telepathic and telekinetic powers, and a version of that character was even in the deservedly mocked movie starring Ryan Reynolds. Following up on the Sheriff’s intel, they go on a road trip and Hal finally asks a few questions. We get a vague mention of at least one other Green Lantern from the comics, and they arrive at their next destination.

This place, like the Macon Ranch, is eerie and not what it seems at first glance. They do finally see that it does what its alleged purpose is, but in a very strange way. Finally, they find the man in charge, and have another conversation full of threats, innuendos, and a few secrets get revealed. The leverage the bad guy has doesn’t really make an impression on Hal, but does manage to get John ticked off at both of them. Hal trips up the man’s story with a good question and talks about one of the ways to reveal a Manhunter, although it’s rather extreme and has no margin for error.

On the drive back to Rushville (for a show with a character that can fly, they spend a lot of time in the car), Hal and John have what might be their first actual talk of the series. John reassures Hal on a few fronts, and Hal at least gives the impression that he understands John’s reasoning. Hal also cautions John not to believe everything the Guardians tell him, which I would agree with at this point. Everyone is doing their best to manipulate everyone else on this show so far. I think they need Wonder Woman’s lasso more than they need a power ring. Hal does show that he is good at picking up on details, and suggests a course of action for their next few steps. After John agrees, Hal points out something else he’s figured out and then repeats something he did earlier in the series. I’m still not sure why he apparently likes this move so much.

What I Liked: While this is a very different version of Green Lanterns Hal and John from the comics, it’s well written and acted. They have some great concepts here and are good with surprise twists. While Hal isn’t the easiest guy to like, they do show he’s good at his job. At least sometimes. I was very intrigued by whatever the Macon Ranch security guys were using, and I hope that gets explained at some point. John’s construct was impressive.

What I Didn’t: Even being able to understand her motives, I really do not care for Bernadette, and feel bad for John growing up with her. I get that not everything needs to be a direct adaptation of the comics, but this version of both Hal and John are not really clicking with me. I’m also not sure why they made so many changes to what a Manhunter is.

While I’m not sure about all the changes, I am overall enjoying the series. I’ll give this a 3.5 out of 5, and am curious to see how this saga plays out.

The Weenie, by the way, refers to a term Walt Disney used to use for certain buildings at Disneyland.