Lanterns has flipped the script on Green Lantern stories in a major way. Though decades of DC Comics have prepared fans for intergalactic war and fan theories about the Blackest Night storyline and the incorporation of the Red Lanterns, the DCU TV series has gone another way. Inspired more by True Detective, Lanterns has proven itself to be a gritty, largely Earth-bound mystery for the titular superheroes. That said, the mystery may be confined to a small town in the middle of nowhere, but it still has galactic implications as Kyl Chandler’s Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart attempt to identify the mysterious Manhunter that apparently has taken root in Rushville, Nebraska.
The mystery of who the Manhunter is has been one of many questions lingering over the series with each new episode, with fans pondering who it might be and the show itself seemingly pointing another way. To that end, this week’s episode of the series appeared to remove the mystery entirely and point to one character fully. That said, all the indicators that the episode uses to point at the Manhunter’s identity arrive alongside a major twist. Even more intriguing, though, is that the potential reveal of the Manhunter doesn’t mean the mysteries of Rushville are any clearer. Spoilers follow.
One thing is clear across most of this episode of Lanterns, and it’s that the show wants us to believe that Garret Dillahunt’s William Macon is the Manhunter. He’s clearly a man about town who is respected by everyone and wields immense power, but things take a turn with the character. In Macon’s bizarre nude scene, the signs largely seem to point elsewhere, as Macon himself admits that the Manhunter was a savior to him, curing him of cancer and putting him in their debt.
That awkward scene gives way to another, as Macon’s Zoe comes to John Stewart’s hotel room where they have sex again, but afterwards she makes a claim that really stands out, telling John that she hopes he’ll listen to Macon’s threat and leave town so he doesn’t get killed. This sparks a confession from John that he’s not leaving, in part because he thinks everyone around him is lying to him. The tantalizing confessions keep coming, though, as Zoe remarks: “When I tell you what I know, everything changes…I can’t do that.” She goes on to reveal that she doesn’t owe Macon; in fact, Macon owes her, adding: “He was dying when I met him, and I saved his life, and now I’m trying to save yours.”
All that sure sounds like something the Manhunter might say, especially after Macon himself revealed that his life was saved by the entity. Even as all signs point toward Zoe now, the big twist happens, as a laser beam flies out of the sky and blows up her car, seemingly with her in it. The explosion and apparent death of Zoe leads Hal and John to the Atlas Inc slaughterhouse, where someone posing as “Hector Hammond” (a name every comic reader should recognize) reveals that his name is actually Hector Gutierrez, and he works for the manhunter, going on to reveal that their identity is Will Macon.
By the next scene, we’re not entirely sure what to think; the signs keep being switched around, and the clues aren’t totally coming together. Jordan reveals what Sinestro told him about Manhunters, which aligns with what John previously heard from the aliens in Episode 2, that they assimilate into commuities by attaching to weak spots, going on to find a path to power and manipulate threats into believing anything they want.
“Sound like anyone we know?” Hal asks, and John’s expression makes it clear that the answer is yes, but the name that comes out of his mouth is clearly not the one he was thinking of. That said, Jordan clearly picks up on it and then makes a pointed observation: John wasn’t sad about Zoe being blown up by the laser, but the threat of his parents being impacted the same way was the first time he seemed remotely afraid.
“You’re not upset because you know Zoe isn’t dead, and I don’t know how she managed to get out of that car alive unless she’s a manhunter,” Jordan says before asking John how long he’s known it was her. Stewart confesses he hasn’t, and he “just had a feeling.” Hal uses it as a chance to offer up an actual lesson for his protege, telling him that was his guy talking to him and he should listen.
All that in mind, it sure seems like Lanterns has unmasked the Manhunter, with all signs pointing to Zoe Macon despite her truck blowing up from a space laser. That said, the old adage about a character death in fiction (did you see a body?) rings loudly by the episode’s end. Both Hal and John believe it, but the trouble, of course, is that Jordan has officially taken things into his own hands, leaping from the car once again and leaving John inside to crash into a pole.
Even with the Manhunter seemingly unmasked, though, there are still major plot developments around Rushville that should have fans pondering what comes next in Lanterns. Namely, did the Guardians have the Manhunter placed there? Or was Abin Sur going somewhat rogue? Furthermore, what is the Manhunter planning for this hit squad that’s on the way to get their own revenge?
Furthermore, all of those questions don’t even scratch the other side of the equation, which is, what is Hal Jordan planning to do? Based on the callback to Episode 1 and his epic roll out from the car, this time sporting the ring himself and not leaving it behind for John, he’s clearly taking matters into his own hands as to what to do next, and that means cutting John out of the question.
It also sets up yet another mystery: What happens to the Green Lantern ring? We know that in 2026 neither John nor Hal has it, and Guy Gardner does. So even though it seems like we know who the Manhunter really is, the mystery just got even more intriguing.
