‘Lanterns’ Officially Explains Why Hal Jordan and John Stewart Were Absent in ‘Superman’

Lanterns’ latest episode brought quite a few reveals and shocking deaths, but it also explained the DC world as we saw it in Superman. In the James Gunn-directed movie, fans saw Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner being the Green Lantern of Earth, with no hints at John Stewart or Hal Jordan’s existence. The latest episode explains why.

Wrapping up the show’s 2016 timeline, the episode reveals a chain of decisions that pushed both men out of the Corps, clearing the path for Gardner to inherit Sector 2814 sometime in the nine-year gap before Superman takes place.

John Stewart Takes the Ring from Hal But Forgoes It in Lanterns

Aaron Pierre in Lanterns | Credits: HBO Max

The central plot of Lanterns is set like a small-town murder mystery, happening across two timelines: 2016 and 2026. At the end of episode 4, fans saw Hal Jordan leaving his protege John Stewart for dead in a burning car, but he is ultimately saved by Zoe Macon.

The episode builds on weeks of tension between Hal Jordan and John Stewart as they hunted a rogue Manhunter hiding in Rushville. The Manhunter’s identity is finally revealed as Zoe, who saves John and heals him with alien tech. As Hal gets to know about Zoe’s secret, he misdirects Antaan by asking him to pursue Zoe’s husband, William.

Zoe tells John to kill Hal and take the ring, something he has been trained for his entire life. John agrees to do so and confronts Hal in a motel. The two men brawl, and John almost kills Hal. When Zoe comes in to finish the job, John double-crosses her and shoots her from a sniper. He takes the ring from a battered Hal stuck in the rubble of the exploded motel.

In the wreckage of Rushville, John meets Lianna, the Guardian of the Universe. She congratulates him, telling him the ring ‘looks good on him.’ But feeling manipulated by her all along, John angrily rejects the power ring and walks away from his supposed destiny, leaving Rushville behind.

John’s Decision in Lanterns Paves the Way for Guy Gardner

Nathan Fillion in Superman | Credits: DC Studios

While Lanterns has a central mystery, i.e., Hal Jordan’s death and John Stewart’s position as the Green Lantern, one of the most important questions it answers is why they are not in Superman. James Gunn’s 2025 movie shows Guy Gardner as Earth’s Green Lantern, which is odd considering there already are two Lanterns.

However, episode five seemingly reveals this with John’s decision to forgo the power ring and Hal’s apparent death. Both are stripped of their rings, and this paves the way for Guy Gardner to enter. With two more episodes to go, we will definitely get more answers on how Gardner actually got the ring for himself.

Co-creator Tom King has mentioned that beyond all the True Detective-esque mysteries, the showrunners started with the central question of how Gardner came to be in Superman. He said (via Inverse),

The central mystery we started with is, ‘Why does Guy Gardner have the ring? There’s these two other Lanterns. Why is he the one you only see in the Superman movie? How do we kind of explain that, where that starts and where Hal is in the picture?’ It was always, from the beginning, John Stewart and Hal Jordan, because those are the quintessential Green Lanterns.

From the show’s title to its intro to its storyline, the series has constantly hammered the point that it is not a story about just one Green Lantern but about the whole spectrum. With the latest episode, fans get a bit closer to solving the mystery and see the world thrive better in Superman: Man of Tomorrow.

Did you like the latest episode of Lanterns? Comment below.

Lanterns is available to stream on HBO Max.