Lanterns Episode 3 Turns John Stewart's Origin Into a Story of Fear, Family and Hal Jordan

Episode 3 of Lanterns gives us a classic DC secret origin for John Stewart, and I actually think it's one of the best hours in the DCU so far. I thought episode 1 was a bit meh and episode 2 was slightly better, but this one really got me hooked on the show.

We see how John was chosen to be Hal's successor and what he's had to do to become fearless. I do think the episode is very much about John Stewart Senior's failure. His mother tries to support his feelings of inadequacy, and ultimately they put their son on a path to make up for those failings. Rather than trying to make him happy, they decide to make him fearless, and we have seen through Hal that this leaves you alone and isolated.

A Janus Cosmetics sign hints that nobody in Lanterns is who they seem

We begin in 2016 with John free falling into an empty mall and landing on a stack of mattresses. He had to take a leap of faith to get here, jumping into the void for a moment of transformation, and he takes another leap on his mission. These leaps happen at transitional points in his life where things aren't exactly as they seem.

As John walks into the store, there's a sign for Janus Cosmetics. In the comics, this was a business owned by the Batman villain Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask, who inherited it after killing his father and turned to crime when the company was bought out by the Wayne Foundation. The ad next to it shows a woman whose face is half covered with something black, which plays further into the Black Mask reference. I feel like it's also meant to symbolize how not everyone in the show may be who they say they are, since Janus is a two faced god. It calls back to last episode's idea that the Manhunters could be anyone, including Noah. The sheriff always seems to know more than she's letting on, the alien refugees have their own plans, even Hal is hiding things, and the Guardians could be hiding the Manhunter on Earth while recruiting John to keep an eye on his partner. So there's lots of duplicity.

Laura Linney's Guardian and a guess about the man leaving her office

In the manager's office, John meets a woman played by Laura Linney, who you might recognize from The Truman Show, Ozark, Mystic River and Primal Fear. She always seems to play duplicitous characters with a sweet smile, and she perfectly fits what's going on here. She's a Guardian recruiting the next Lantern of Earth. The Guardians in the comics don't really have individual names, so I'm just calling her Laura Linney or the Guardian.

Before John goes in, a man leaves. We have no idea who this is, but I'm going out on a limb to say it could be Charlie Vicker. In the comics, he was an actor who played Green Lantern on TV until space villains mistook him for the real hero, which caused his brother's death. Hal gave him a ring, he was made a temporary Lantern, and he impressed the Guardians enough to become a full member of the Corps. I came to him because we know it's not Guy Gardner, and I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be Kyle Rayner. To cover our bases, it could also be the character who became a Green Lantern for maybe five minutes after Abin Sur crashed on Earth in 1873, using the ring to protect a local kid from outlaws. If this is all the screen time he gets, that would tie in. I know it's not 1873.

John is then told to take a seat, and he sits there all night, barely moving, with a bird at the window keeping him company. You can see right away why he was chosen. I would have left like two minutes in. I love how John's entire life has basically been a test of whether he's worthy, and he's just used to being told what to do. A whiteboard reading Neal Adams is an homage to Neal Adams, who co created John Stewart with Denny O'Neil in Green Lantern issue 87. The top line is harder to make out, but my best guess is Len Wein, who wrote Green Lantern issue 182, where John officially became a Green Lantern after being interviewed by the Guardians. Yes, we are reaching.

Only 12 Guardians, and one of them is dead

John explains there were originally 12 Guardians, but one recently died, which plays off Sinestro being jailed for the crime. In the comics, the Guardians came from a planet called Maltus and were possibly the first intelligent life in the universe. They became altruistic scientists, until one named Krona warped time to observe the beginning of the universe, flooding it with entropy. Blaming themselves, most relocated to Oa, became the Guardians of the Universe, discovered the collective willpower of the universe and created the central power battery. Krona was also behind the Manhunter malfunction that murdered all sentient life in Sector 666, which ties to our theory last week about the refugee leader possibly being a survivor of that massacre.

I don't think the dead Guardian is Krona. It could also reference the unnamed Guardian who blew himself up to destroy Superboy-Prime during the Sinestro Corps War, which ended with Hal taking Sinestro into custody. Twelve is also a lot fewer than the comics, where the Guardians went from 36 to 22 during Infinite Crisis and were completely wiped out after Parallax possessed Hal, then reborn after the central power battery was recharged in Green Lantern issue 150. The show may have just reduced the number to make them more like a council, but it could also mean one of these tragic events already happened.

As for why they interview John when rings choose Lanterns, it comes down to emotions, which are everything in this world. The Guardians chose sentient beings after the Manhunters failed specifically because they have emotions. Given Sinestro killed a Guardian, I feel like this shows they're expanding their parameters to find someone with empathy as well as fearlessness, because they see their system is flawed. And instead of the usual superhero question of why me, John knows exactly why he was chosen.

John Stewart Senior was in the running for the ring

We cut to baby John in his crib as a green light covers everything and asks, "Are you afraid?" His father has absolutely no idea what's going on, and to be fair, I think everyone would be the same. This is a theory time confirmed, well, sort of. In episode one we theorized the show could split John's comic origins between him and his father, with Senior echoing his first appearance in Green Lantern issue 87 and Junior his return in issue 182. Senior was indeed in the running, and Hal claimed the ring instead because he answered no.

Senior then shoots the TV as a reporter reads Hal's statement about being fearless, and the bullet hole is directly on Hal, showing his resentment. It explains why John's brothers were terrified of being caught with the TV on. We also see a picture of Kyle Chandler in the classic costume and domino mask, which I think represents a more idealistic time when Hal was more honest. One theory debunked: we thought John's mother might be dead, potentially at John's hands, but she's very much alive and highly involved in his journey. I'm also pretty sure the green bubble in Hal's ring story is based on the green glob from the comics, a cohesive plasma creation of the Guardians that alters reality around chosen people to teach them lessons.

Mrs. Stewart confronts the Guardian about race

Linney approaches Mrs. Stewart, apologizes and reveals her true form, which saves on budget while giving us a performance of a kindly old woman who seems a bit sinister. I like how she gets offended at being called an alien and clarifies, "I am an intergalactic species non-native to your Earth." She's big and blue, and I realized Hal meant big literally when he called them the big blue bosses. I think Linney could be playing Ganthet, who took a name after developing emotions from interfering in Lanterns' lives, a bit like Marvel's Watchers. Her offering a diamond makes me think she may be on a solo mission, which is kind of Ganthet's whole thing, because if Guardians are as emotionally distant as they are in the comics, I don't think they would be sending their condolences to a galactic backwater.

Mrs. Stewart explains that it's pretty much impossible for a Black man in America not to be afraid, and the green light could almost be seen as a police spotlight. Lindelof tackled race a lot in Watchmen, and it's clear they're pointing out flaws even beings like the Guardians have. "Even in space, y'all don't consider us." I think it's a great adaptation of John's comics, where he's nearly always a civil rights activist. In his first appearance he refuses a mask, saying he has nothing to hide, and he joins the military because protesting without action isn't enough. Some origins show his parents as activists too, and his most recent one has his mother not wanting him in the military.

The Guardian notes that humans have short lifespans and that whatever the ring saw in Senior is genetic, so John Jr. could get a fair shot if he learns not to be afraid. Back in the interview, John says the diamond got his mother in trouble with police who didn't believe it was hers, which shows how little the Guardians know about humans.

The Grey Wolf mission shows what John sacrificed

As a Sergeant Major, John is praised for his kill record and tasked with assassinating a target called the Grey Wolf. He asks how many were sent before him, since they have detailed maps. Three never returned. Offered a panic button, he replies, "I don't do panic, sir." He's all business, and I feel like he only sees the military as his path to becoming a Lantern, which shows he's sacrificed some of his morals on the way. The general also mentions Senior's struggles, a reminder of what could happen if John fails.

Grey Wolf could nod to a Bat family character who joined Batman Incorporated after helping save a small town in Chechnya, though I don't think that's the case. The target's name in the file could also echo several DC characters, including Ra's al Ghul's son Arkady Duvall, plus the antagonist Arkady Ivanovich in Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, whose protagonist is haunted by moral dilemmas, paralleling John's own.

The Stewarts decide to condition John from day one

Mrs. Stewart apologizes to Senior and suggests conditioning baby John to not be afraid by traumatizing him from day one, since his brothers are too old. Senior knows it will make him hate them, but she brushes that aside, and I was actually kind of surprised at how much she was the one pushing it. Lightning flashes a yellowish light between them, and since yellow represents fear, it suggests they're still afraid of where this path might lead.

I feel like this represents how generational trauma is passed down, and how parents doing what they think is best can be selfish, forcing a child to become what they wanted. It explains John's resentment of Hal, who basically ruined his life the moment he got the ring. On the mission jump, John calls the bad weather perfect, which feels kind of like Captain America in The Winter Soldier, and he stays calm even while drowning.

The Sinestro Corps War may already have happened

John says he failed the mission without disobedience, then says he learned about Sinestro from the news. Linney reveals Sinestro was Hal's mentor and father figure, and John replies that it's only human to love people who raised you, even if they're crazy. Because the world saw it, this seems to line up with the Sinestro Corps War, so I think at least a version of it already happened, though the Guardian's sacrifice seems changed to murder. In the comics Sinestro turned bad long before, and it all feeds into Blackest Night, which the show seems to be adapting.

A bird cake, a rifle and an apple

At John's fifth birthday he gets a bird cake and a homemade Green Lantern costume, though he asked for crayons. He's told the Guardians picked him and birds report on him, which explains his bird construct, and I think he subconsciously views the bird as the Guardians guiding him while Hal leaves him out to dry. His older brother is upset, and then John gets a rifle. I don't think I was allowed keys at age five. His parents heavily paraphrase the Guardian to make it sound like a done deal, and the yellow frosting symbolizes him turning away from childhood.

John then asks his dad to shoot an apple off his head like William Tell. His mom coldly says do it, and he isn't fazed, just asking for ice cream, while she looks close to tears. Someone on Twitter pointed out that Hal, Guy and John have no kids. They've shut themselves off from having a family because that's potentially something that could make you afraid. This might even be why Senior had an extra layer of fear, because he was worried about what could happen to his son. John later tells the Guardian family is rigorous and that he owes them everything.

ATLiens, a long walk and a mother's confession

John's brothers get him rapping ATLiens by OutKast, and the episode shares the group's name, spelled the same way. The song plays on Atlanta and feeling like aliens in their community, mirroring John's childhood. His parents make him walk home through a rough area, and his brother teases that he sounds like a white boy named Henry, a subtle nod to his dad's comic name, Henry Stewart. His mom leaves him to cry, then pauses under a yellowish light, if we're reaching.

She later admits the birds were made up, kind of like Santa Claus, and claims Hal only has the ring because he was privileged enough to grow up without fear. I don't care how much privilege you have, you still feel fear, and she has no idea what Hal's gone through. When she offers him a choice, he says, "No, not dad. You." She cries as he shoots the apple off her head, and then says he never has to eat cheeseburgers again. This is John taking charge of his own destiny.

Hal ends John's military career, and a Guardian finds him at art school

After nine months in position, John is about to shoot when Hal bubbles the Grey Wolf, exposing an assassination program he learned of from a deputy defense secretary at a strip club. John is dishonorably discharged, a victim of Hal's antics long before training. His mom enrolls him in art school, and I like how they soften her here.

A professor reveals himself as a Guardian and gives John a ring, and John builds his father's watch piece by piece. In the comics, nothing he creates is hollow, and it reminds me of Watchmen's Dr. Manhattan, whose father was a watchmaker. Then John leaps into a black hole, bringing us full circle.

John is secretly there to replace Hal

John admits blaming Hal, and Linney reveals Hal was told not to interfere in human disputes, which will probably just be another test to see if John loses his cool. Then he is asked to replace Hal while Hal thinks he's backup. At home, Hal calls the family the Midwest Huxtables, which is infuriating after he ruined their lives. Outside, he tells John "the only way you're going to get this ring is over my dead body."

I'm in between on the birds but lean toward them being secret spies. This one really won me round, and I think John's resentment toward Hal will ultimately be the final test he has to overcome, especially if the refugee leader is a Red Lantern who wants to recruit him.

Do you think the birds really are the Guardians' spies, or just a comfort for John?