This article contains spoilers for Lanterns Episode 5.
Lanterns exists in its own corner of the DCU, with a grounded, more serious tone that stands apart from the lighter, more irreverent style seen in the likes of Superman and Supergirl. It would be quite the surprise, for example, if John Cena's Peacemaker ever made a cameo on a show as dark as this one. Having said that, Lanterns still has connections to the wider DCU, and Episode 5 appears to answer a major question fans have been asking since, well, essentially since the franchise began.
From the off, Lanterns has been built around the battle of wills between Hal Jordan and John Stewart for possession of the Power Ring, as Hal has been Earth's Green Lantern for decades, but John is being groomed as his replacement. And yet, in Superman, Guy Gardner was the Green Lantern of Sector 2814. As the show is set in 2016, Lanterns has so far avoided the bowl-cut-sporting elephant in the room, but heading into the second half of its first season, the series seems set to fill this apparent plot hole.
Lanterns Episode 5, "Lights Out," is easily the most action-packed instalment of the season so far. Following on immediately from Episode 4, it explores the explosive ramifications of both the revelation that Zoe Macon is the Manhunter hiding in Rushville and Hal and John are now at each other's throats. After Hal abandons John in a car wreck, the threatened Zoe rains down space laser fire on Rushville to force Hal to protect the town with his powers and deplete his ring's battery.
Zoe then heals John and appears to successfully manipulate his feelings for her to recruit him to her side. Ultimately, however, John takes Zoe out with a bullet to the head, even cutting the crystalline heart from her chest to present to the Guardians as a trophy. With his mission complete, John proceeds to tussle with Hal to claim the ring. Younger, fitter, and a former Marine, John easily outclasses Hal physically, and yet Jordan refuses to give up until he's prone on the floor. Then, John snatches the ring from his finger, slipping it onto his own blood-stained hand.
John convenes with Liana, his liaison with the Guardians of Oa, and makes a shocking admission: he's dreamed of being a Green Lantern his whole life, but now that he's finally got the ring, the moment feels hollow. Seeing what he and Hal have been driven to by their mutual obsession with the ring, breaking their personal codes and losing their self-respect in the process, John is now totally disillusioned with his life's mission. He hands the ring back to Liana, leaving Earth without a Green Lantern. At least, for now.
"Lights Out" is a remarkable episode; it hits all the beats you might expect from a season finale, and yet there are still three episodes of Lanterns to go. Many things are yet to be tied up, but one of the biggest repercussions of Episode 5 is that it seemingly explains how Guy Gardner became a Green Lantern. The Guardians rejected Hal, and John rejected them, so a third candidate needs to be found, and apparently that is Guy.
In Superman, Gardner was much more bullish about adhering to the Green Lantern code, and therefore following the orders of the Guardians, than either Hal or John, so it's easy to see why they chose him as their substitute Lantern. Guy may lack Hal's charisma and courage or John's creativity and focus, but his massive ego means he will always believe he's on the side of good and incapable of error. Therefore, he wouldn't think to question the Guardians as his predecessors did.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://gamerant.com/lanterns-officially-solves-major-superman-mystery/
