Is There a Secret Villain in Lanterns?

The following story contains spoilers for HBO’s Lanterns through episode 4, “The Weenie.”

WHEN WE START to think about how the first season of Lanterns is going, it’s important to think about how some of the shows it’s been inspired by have gone.

At the end of Lanterns’s fourth episode, “The Weenie,” we are starting to feel like we maybe, kind of, sort of have an idea of what’s going on. Zoe Macon (Poorna Jagannathan) seems to be (have been?) the Manhunter, disguised as a human. We don’t know quite what her plan was, is, or will be, but it seems like that has been revealed. We’ve also met Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen), who is almost certainly working some puppet strings behind the scenes, along with Will Macon (Garret Dillahunt), who’s certainly up to no good. And that’s not even to mention the fact that there’s absolutely a major power struggle brewing between our heroes Hal Jordan and John Stewart (Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre).

But let’s think back to True Detective, the show that most clearly serves as the roadmap and primary inspiration for Lanterns. Each season of that HBO show almost always holds back on telling viewers who the villain really is until the very last episode. In particular, you might remember the iconic first season’s final reveal that the villain was actually somebody we only briefly met very early on—before slamming us over the head with it at the very end. Could Lanterns be taking the same road?

It feels quite likely. Now, granted that this is a superhero show, there’s always the chance that the final villain could be someone whose primary presence is not necessarily to serve this story, but to set something else up. That could mean the villain being someone who’s out of sight and out of mind (like, say, a Lex Luthor). It could also mean the introduction of someone we’ve not met before, like Brainiac (who will be the villain in next summer’s Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow). But for now, let’s try to think about what direction things could go, and keep things (relatively) on the guardrails.

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Who is the real villain in Lanterns?

Below, let’s look at some options for who could really be the villain in Lanterns so far, considering what we know, who we’ve met, and what could possibly be on the horizon.

Zoe Macon

HBO

Zoe Macon very well might be the villain of Lanterns, but at this point that wouldn’t be much of a surprise. In “The Weenie,” she kind of revealed herself as the Manhunter, then apparently died, and then Hal and John both kind of realized at the same time that she was (or, perhaps, is) the Manhunter. So, is she going to secretly still be alive, still be the Manhunter, and be the villain? Considering she’s been portrayed as a kind-hearted and sympathetic character to this point, it feels most likely that she will be the Manhunter, but will ultimately be turned around to not be much of a villain in the grand story. She’ll probably wind up allying with John and Hal to defeat whoever the true evil turns out to be.

Will Macon

HBO

Will clearly has something to hide, between his militia, his “benefactor,” and the fac that Hector “Hammond” (aka Hector Guttierez) said that he himself was the Manhunter. We don’t particularly believe that, and we also don’t think there’s much of a secret evil plan with Will—he kind of feels like a “what you see is what you get” kind of guy. Definitely not a good guy, and probably ultimately a secondary antagonist in the series… but not any kind of “secret” villain.

Sinestro

HBO

Now we’re getting somewhere. Sinestro has clearly already made his power play and is locked up. But we also see that he’s got his teeth deep in Hal, and Hal just can’t quit this tomato-colored baddie. Is he somehow pulling the strings behind the scenes? Feels very possible, and worth thinking about and theorizing.

Hector Hammond

HBO

So, the first Hector Hammond—again, real name Hector Guttierez—doesn’t seem to be much of a threat to the world or our Green Lanterns. But that name isn’t one that should be brushed off: “Hector Hammond” historically is one of the Hal Jordan Green Lantern’s primary villains, and is typically known for his genius-level brain and ability to be several steps ahead of everything going on (and, well, a deformed giant head). In the much-maligned 2011 Green Lantern movie, Hector Hammond was the main villain, played by Peter Sarsgaard. It feels unlikely that the character would be resigned to just a fake-out in the middle of a TV series. So does that mean we could have a Hector Hammond in plain sight?

Billy Macon

HBO

Maybe that’s where Billy Macon comes in. So far, Jason Ritter’s character (Will’s son and Zoe’s stepson) is mainly played for comic relief, but Ritter is no slouch, and could certainly handle a darker and more vital role to the series. If Hector Hammond is either himself a/the Manhunter, or perhaps pulling the strings from somewhere else, maybe it’s actually Billy’s true identity? Or maybe Billy in general has more going on than we realize? He could also just be, you know, a regular old sleazy lawyer and funny guy, and that would be OK too.

Someone else entirely

HBO

There aren’t a ton of signs that Kelly Macdonald’s Sheriff Kerry Kane could be either the Manhunter or a villain, considering that along with John Stewart and a (seemingly) dead Hal Jordan, she’s the only one we’ve seen in the 2026 timeline (to date), and seems to still be a good guy. She also passed the test of “having evidence of existing prior to 1986,” which we know is pretty vital with the Manhunter test. But isn’t that what they’d want us to think? If Sheriff Kane is either villainous or involved with the villains that would really catch everyone off guard—and isn’t that what they’re ultimately going for? As long as the explanation isn’t total nonsense, it could play.

Guy Gardner

HBO

We know that Guy Gardner, the egotistical Green Lantern currently patrolling Earth who we met in Man of Tomorrow and season 2 of Peacemaker, will eventually make his way into Lanterns. And we know that somehow he’s gotten a ring that we can only presume should have been with either Hal or John. So what’s going on here? It’s hard to imagine Guy Gardner—who is certainly a dick but definitely not evil—being played as an out-and-out villain. But we do suspect that we’ll see some kind of conflict unfold where he winds up on the Guardians’ right side, and Hal and John are left on the outside looking in.

Evan is the culture editor for Men's Health, with bylines in The New York Times, MTV News, Brooklyn Magazine, and VICE. He loves weird movies, watches too much TV, and listens to music more often than he doesn't.

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