Lanterns Is No Longer Hiding Its Red Lantern Set Up After Major Reveal

The first half or so of Lanterns was about the Manhunter mystery in Rushville. And after its resolution, it spent two episodes on the fallout. In Episode 7, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Kyle Chandler’s Halogram (basically a consciousness of the deceased Hal Jordan that resides within his power ring) find themselves on a ruined world littered with the skeletons of its dead inhabitants. It is the planet of Antaan (Paul Ben-Victor), the leader of the aliens who forced John to find the identity of the Manhunter in Rushville.

Those who are intimately aware of the lore, that is a pretty loaded image. A civilization destroyed by Manhunters (or a single Manhunter)? It instantly brings to mind Ryut, which is the homeworld of Atrocitus. If you didn’t know, Atrocitus is the leader of the Red Lantern Corps, whose rings are powered by rage, and is more dangerous than Sinestro. The series did not name the planet, but there is a clear resemblance. Perhaps Sinestro, who John and Halogram find on the planet, can shed more light.

John and Halogram’s Mystery Planet Looks Like Ryut

John Stewart at Antaan’s homeworld in Lanterns Episode 7 | Credits: DC Studios

John’s journey with the Halogram turns Antaan’s account of his people’s destruction into something he can finally understand. He recognizes the world from the experiences forced into his mind earlier in the season. Seeing the city suspended above the ground explains something that previously baffled him: why its inhabitants were jumping.

These people were driven to their deaths by terror. The fear-inducing gas remains dangerous. John experiences its effects himself during the crossing toward the mysterious structure on the lake and is saved by Halogram. The massacre hinted at in Episode 7 echoes the comics’ Sector 666 massacre, which, incidentally, birthed Atrocitus, for he was the sole survivor.

The adaptation could change the planet’s name or divide Atrocitus’s backstory among several characters. Either way, it has introduced the tragedy that makes a Red Lantern story possible.

There is also room for the Parallax theory. Ryut has a connection to the fear entity in Green Lantern lore, and the episode’s emphasis on terror makes that association tempting. Sinestro’s presence adds another reason to wonder where the show’s interest in fear is heading. None of that confirms Parallax is waiting inside the structure, however.

Antaan’s Possible Return Could Give DCU Its Atrocitus

If that planet is the show’s version of Ryut, Antaan becomes difficult to dismiss as a villain whose role is already over. His people were slaughtered by a Manhunter. His pursuit of revenge brought him to Earth. That gives him much of the history that defines Atrocitus, even if the name and appearance are different.

There is, of course, the small matter of his apparent death in Episode 5. Antaan detonated an explosive while Hal flung him into the air. Bringing him back would require an explanation, and the ruined planet alone does not establish that he survived.

A surviving Antaan would have reason to look beyond Zoe for someone to blame. The Guardians created the Manhunters. Destroying one machine would hardly settle his grievance with those responsible for putting it into the universe. With only one episode left, though, Lanterns may have little time to bring Antaan back and give him a proper villain story while resolving Hal’s death. Perhaps the first season is establishing the loss and anger that could eventually turn him into the DCU’s Atrocitus.

As of October 1, 2026, Lanterns holds a Tomatometer score of 92%.

Could Antaan return as Atrocitus, or is Lanterns setting up something else? Share your theories in the comments.