Lanterns isn’t Afraid to Push the Boundaries of Modern Superhero Media
Film & TVFilm & TV9 November 2026
AuthorIsabella Pettitt
PhotosIMDb
“
Are you afraid?”
This is the question which lies at the centre of the latest addition to James Gunn’s budding DC cinematic universe, Lanterns. The new HBO-produced show is based on DC Comics’ Green Lantern characters, who make up an intergalactic police force with powers bestowed upon them by the omnipotent Guardians. These are manifested in a ring fuelled by its wearer’s willpower, or ability to overcome fear (hence the central question). The show follows two human Lanterns, the veteran Hal Jordan (played by Kyle Chandler's), and his trainee John Stewart (played by Aaron Pierre) as they uncover an earth-based mystery. Given the show finished just a month a go, I’ll warn you all in advance that this article does contain spoilers.
Lanterns has been extremely popular, pulling in an average viewership of 19.3 million viewers globally. This is for good reason; the show is superbly put together. The writing is great, the casting and acting are phenomenal, and its cinematography has some genuinely breathtaking moments of aesthetic intelligence. Chris Mundy (showrunner), Damon Lindelof, and comic writer Tom King made clear the homage that their show was paying to another HBO show, True Detective. Its influence can be felt, and the decision neatly summarises why I find this show refreshing for the genre: rather than being a part of a rushed, mass-produced universe, time is invested into developing strong characters in a piece of media which maintains its own individuality from other instalments in the DCU. This fearlessness, particularly in the character writing, is what I believe makes Lanterns so outstanding. Using this bold writing, the show tackles cultural issues with a conviction which has previously been missing from the genre.
The show’s most obvious strength is its two leads. Chandler and Pierre’s chemistry is a joy to watch, and the begrudgingly complex relationship which unfurls between the two is the true meat of the show’s writing. What develops is a reflection on systemic racism in America, as well as an interrogation of the types of superheroes we have become used to seeing on our screens. This criticism becomes most notable in episode 3, entitled ‘OutKast’. Hitherto this point, we are aware of tensions between the two characters. From the beginning of the show, we are shown their differences in relation to the job. The first scene depicts a young John in 1996 watching Hal’s debut interview as Earth’s first (and only) Green Lantern. In this we learn Hal was ‘chosen’ by the ring for his willpower: a shining green light appeared before him, asking the all-important question: “Are you afraid?”. Of course, he was not, and now he has taken on the responsibility of protecting the universe. This is their dynamic laid out before us: Hal is the glorious knight in emerald armour, and John must watch on. Once the two meet, Hal’s cockiness and John’s methodical nature clash constantly. Besides the elephant in the room of the ring and its representation of the power they both want, their bickering points to ideological differences about the job as well as the sense of an undercurrent of deeper tensions.
In ‘OutKast’ we are given John’s backstory, which adds some troubling context to the deep-rooted mistrust between the two. The episode takes place within John’s job interview for the position of being Hal’s trainee, a strong use of the non-linear storytelling which Lanterns employs for the duration of the season. Throughout, we cut between scenes of John’s interview with the face of the Guardians (played by Laura Linney) and his journey to the spot he’s sat in.
In a crucial change from the source material, we learn that John’s father was asked to be a Green Lantern before Hal was. This scene plays out entirely differently to what we know of Hal’s bold assent. We watch from John’s crib in the corner of the room as the same light appears, and the same question is asked. His father falls to floor and admits his fear to the ring, which swiftly disappears.
John Sr. is wracked by the potential of this moment. Despite the attempts of his wife, Bernadette, to bring him back to reality, he slowly starts to lose his grip on himself. This changes when Laura Linney appears to Bernadette and offers ‘compensation’ for John Sr.’s rejection from the role. Her excuse is to blame the ‘imperfect system’ of the ring’s selection process, loaded language which enrages Jasmine Cephas Jones’ Bernadette. Her response, delivered while holding baby John in her arms, is cutting: “Do you know how unfair it is to ask a black man in America if he is afraid?”. This conversation forms the basis of John’s resentment towards his mentor: Hal was only chosen over his father due to his white privilege. It also points to obvious social commentary on real-world America, systemic racism, and white privilege; the Stewart family become representative of countless families whose opportunities in America are hindered as a direct result of their racial experience of the country.
What then unfolds is a plot between the two. The Guardians are not fond of Hal’s insubordinate nature, so Linney makes a promise to Bernadette that she will give baby John a fair shot at the job when he comes of age. So, John is raised to earn the role. Bernadette’s desperation to combat the system by making him ‘fearless’ provides some truly uncomfortable viewing and ends up creating a uniquely fragmented experience for John. His parents shoot apples off his head, abandon him in the worst parts of their town, and constantly remind him that his purpose is higher than those around him. As a result of this treatment, John’s childhood is destroyed and he becomes cut off from essential cultural and familial experiences. His damaged relationship with his older brothers underlines this: they constantly mock him, he dresses differently to them, and does not know the same (OutKast) music as them. The episode title becomes an ironic double entendre to both the racially charged content and to John’s own outcasted nature from his culture.
As a result, an extra element of depth is granted to Hal and John’s conflict: Hal believes he was born for the role, John knows he’s earned it. At the end of the episode and after the interview’s conclusion, John finds Hal in his family home, charming his new trainee’s parents. However, the veneer quickly drops in a private conversation between the two, as Hal warns him the only way he’ll be getting the ring is “over my dead body”. Hal draws attention to the ring as the centrepiece of this argument, but now we are aware it is about much more than that for John.
I must stress, however, that Hal’s defensiveness is not symptomatic of a racist nature towards John. What Hal instead personifies is the aging nature of the stereotypical hero we have become used to seeing: a cocksure, charismatic white man who throws the book to the wind and does what he thinks is right rather than what he is told. Despite his arrogance, he is still a good hero: he always puts others before himself, largely does the right thing, and most importantly is fearless. Once again, I must highlight Kyle Chandler’s performance, which toes the line between arrogance and empathy brilliantly. Without him, the show would not work. His insecurity about being replaced by John is entirely valid, and we come to understand his rejection of his trainee.
There are no two better characters to embody this tussle than Hal and John: Hal Jordan was first drawn by Gil Kane to resemble Paul Newman, representing an Old Hollywood style of hero; John Stewart was DC Comics’ first Black superhero, acting as a means of developing a progressive culture in the industry. Lanterns’ central conflict mimics this development and catapults it into the modern day. In a genre populated by white superheroes, and without much mainstream Black representation beyond the Black Panther duology and the critically panned Captain America: Brave New World, the show seeks to create a strong, leading character who provides something different to what we have grown so used to. The resolution of the show is incredibly satisfying from both this perspective and a character-driven one. Once John eventually chooses to take on the mantle, and Hal relinquishes his control, it is a triumphant moment which signifies him escaping the systems which his family attempted to place him in as he rejects the Guardians’ methods and accepts his own terms for the role.
Seeing this complexity and political awareness in modern superhero media is incredibly refreshing. Lanterns has faced some criticism for being too heavy-handed in this commentary, but I think this something the genre has sorely lacked. It feels like the days are gone in which we sit and are forced to digest the same movie repeatedly, with little individual style or substance. Instead, James Gunn's DCU is proving that superhero films and television shows should not be afraid to push deeper into the cultural nerve and assess things which audiences might not want to acknowledge, a sentiment which comics have always been privy to.
