Who Is The Manhunter In ‘Lanterns’? Here’s The Best Theory So Far

Lanterns

Photograph by John Johnson/HBO Max

Lanterns aired its 2nd section past night, and now group are mostly past the realization that the show is really bully and are diving into its mysteries. Things are getting very absorbing very quickly.

In section 2 of Lanterns, we study that a Manhunter is hiding among the group of Rushville, Nebraska. Right away, I deliberation it’s important to clear up thing that whitethorn abstracted normal and harder-core DC fans (I americium successful the erstwhile campy and only learned this past night). Manhunters are not the aforesaid race arsenic Martian Manhunter, the Justice League personnel who is besides capable to shapeshift. This is understandably a spot confusing, but these robots were based connected those Manhunters from Mars. As the first effort astatine forming a galactic constabulary force, they yet rebelled against the Guardians and are now the villainous title we spot successful Lanterns. Or astatine slightest that we perceive about.

The thought Lanterns presents is that a Manhunter is location successful town, and John Stewart is tasked pinch hunting them down by Antaan, who fans judge will go comic characteristic Atrocitus, fixed that they person the aforesaid root communicative (that’s a full different thing).

The problem is that location are really only 4 existent characters successful Rushville, each members of the aforesaid family. Macon, his woman Zoe, his boy Billy and of course, Billy’s woman Sheriff Kane. A guessing crippled pinch specified a mini excavation of characters seems a spot strange.

The caller mentation fans person concocted aft this week, however, is that it’s not 1 of these 4 who is the Manhunter, but the full town. A fewer points here:

• The biggest oddity of the nighttime is that Hal Jordan wakes up successful an quiet hospital, 1 pinch nary different patients and instrumentality that hasn’t been utilized astatine all. Even if Kane dismisses it arsenic being a mini town, it is efficaciously intolerable to judge that an full municipality has zero patients successful a infirmary (and towns this mini are hardly known for their stellar wellness care). If they were robotic Manhunters, of people nary 1 would request aesculapian care.
• There is the matter of Macon’s ranch and his benefactor. Jordan suspects location is immoderate portion of exertion connected the ranch that is much important than the alien detectors Macon has put astir town. A mentation present is that Macon and his service are astatine the forefront of each this and that exertion is creating much Manhunters alternatively than the 1 that allegedly arrived and is being sought after.
• The benefactor? Potentially Lex Luthor. There is thing Luthor hates much than aliens, truthful recruiting/building a robotic title that specializes successful hunting down and exterminating aliens seems for illustration precisely the benignant of point he’d do. This is the DCU, and it is difficult to ideate excessively galore different ultra-rich, alien-despising characters astatine the moment.
• I besides wonderment if the hush that fell complete the crowd erstwhile Hal Jordan walked into the gathering has thing to do pinch this. Again, 100% of the municipality was astatine that meeting, which is why the full metropolis was empty. They could person been readying their adjacent moves there.

The modification to this mentation is that everyone is Manhunter except Sheriff Kane herself, precocious transplanted from Gotham and arriving astatine the tail extremity of this takeover alternatively than being portion of it. But to her, everything seems to beryllium operating for illustration a normal mini town, short of the caller alien murders. I’m not judge what I judge astir this portion of it. Of course, immoderate judge she’s the Manhunter herself

I tin bargain the municipality theory. It’s much absorbing than, say, Zoe being the Manhunter, which the show seems to beryllium pushing already, pinch her trying to disagreement John and Hal. There is plentifulness much to fig retired present (it seems beautiful clear pinch each the shapeshifting that’s astir apt not Hal himself dormant astatine the end), but we person galore much weeks to dive into each this further.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.