Lanterns experienced several criticisms ahead of its premiere, but with two episodes now released, most of the discussion around the series is immensely positive. Many have praised the show for several reasons, including the story’s compelling mysteries and strong performances from its cast. Now a DC Comics legend has weighed in on the series, and while there’s mostly praise, there are two specific things they have issues with.
Writer Grant Morrison previously spoke about the series after Damon Lindelof’s comments on the show’s title caused some backlash, but most of the comments Morrison makes about the show on his most recent Substack are quite positive. Morrison highlighted Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler’s performances, but also said that the True Detective approach ended up working against the show, while also calling out Hal’s lack of costume and his reasoning for not wearing it.
Morrison first addresses the performance of the two leads, and they have positive things to say about both, albeit with one caveat when it comes to Hal Jordan. Morrison writes, “I felt obliged to watch the first episode of Lanterns after criticizing the glib dismissal of the colour green by writer and producer Damon Lindelof. I liked Aaron Pierre’s quiet and uptight performance as John Stewart, and thought Kyle Chandler anchored the show with a great turn as Doctor McCoy, but he wasn’t any Hal Jordan I recognised. Willpower and booze don’t mix for a start.”
While Morrison doesn’t exactly see Hal in Chandler’s character, Chandler’s character is one of the main reasons Morrison is sticking with the series, but they are also curious about how the show will bring in more of the franchise’s trademark science fiction elements and how those elements will pair with the True Detective vibe.
“I’ll stick with it for the engaging Chandler. I’m keen to see how they introduce the more sci-fi elements of the concept. Otherwise on this outing, way too much tell, not enough show, and those comparisons to True Detective, invoking season 1 of that, show, only worked against Lanterns,” Morrison wrote.
The other major critique Morrison has for the show is the lack of powers and costumes, with Morrison writing, “The lack of costumes and ring effects was glaring but easily explained by budgetary constraints and a desire to create some distance between this and the unsuccessful Ryan Reynolds Green Lantern film (I found it odd, however, when Jordan compared not wearing his Green Lantern uniform to the decision not to wear a tie when you get older – the Lantern uniform is not a superhero suit or personal fashion choice, it’s the uniform of the organisation Jordan works for, and as with a policeman’s blues, it signals his affiliation and authority. Working cops don’t get to leave their uniforms and badges at home because they regard them as stuffy and boring, no matter how long they’ve pounded the beat..). Which only begs the question of why try to make a Green Lantern show on a budget at all?”
“DC has a ton of ‘ground level’ heroes, or characters with low level gimmick powers to choose from, so why take this low-fi route with a franchise that should be competing with Star Trek or Star Wars?”, Morrison wrote. They then revealed that in this case, the method did work quite well, at least so far. “Having said that, the approach seems to have worked, and mainstream reviews of the show are pretty positive, so fair dos,” Morrison wrote.
Lanterns will release its third episode this Sunday, and the series can be streamed on HBO Max.
