We’re only two episodes into HBO’s Lanterns, and the Manhunters are shaping up to be the biggest threat of season 1. These synthetic beings are so dangerous they’re very existence has thrown Hal Jordan and John Stewart into a race against the clock to find one hiding in Rushville, Nebraska before a good chunk of the state gets blown to pieces. No pressure, right?
But who are the Manhunters and who do fans think is secretly one of them?
What Are Manhunters?
Before the Green Lantern Corps came into existence, the Guardians of the Universe created the Manhunters. These robots could change their appearance to mimic the form of any species. This ability allowed the Manhunters to invent technology that was far more advanced than anything the planets they inhabited could make.
Unfortunately, the Manhunters grew to believe that free will was the root of every problem living beings faced in the universe. What was their solution? Subjugate all lifeforms to their will, regardless of whether they wanted it or not. Anyone who resisted was destroyed. Then as suddenly as they appeared, the Manhunters just…vanished without a trace.
Except for one Manhunter, who ended up on the home planet of alien criminal Antaan. The lone survivor was able to blend in while secretly planning a massacre that wiped out most of Antaan’s people. The Guardians eventually learned about the massacre and sent a Green Lantern to Antaan’s planet. That Lantern succeeded in capturing the Manhunter and promised it would be executed. Instead, the Manhunter mortally wounded the Lantern, and escaped to Earth.
Hal Jordan theorizes that the unnamed Lantern was actually Abin Sur, whose ship crashed in Nebraska in 1986 about twenty miles away from the small town of Rushville. This would explain some things: why Abin Sur’s ship crashed in the first place and why Rushville has seemingly become a hotbed for alien activity on Earth.
John and Hal’s Mission
Episode 2 “Trust Fall,” follows Hal and John as they investigate the murder of four aliens disguised as humans in 2016. While John heads back to Coast City to grab Hal’s Power Battery, Hal goes back to the scene of the crime, Rushville High School. He finds metal detectors at one entrance, only it doesn’t react to metal objects. He suspects that Will Macon, a wealthy local with his anti-alien militia, is behind it. That leads to a tense run-in with Sheriff Kerry Kane, who isn’t thrilled about Hal poking around.
Back at Hal’s place, John finds a Green Lantern suit and the Power Battery, but is abducted by Antaan and his men. Antaan shares with John what he knows about the Manhunters and the real reason they’re on Earth. They traced the surviving Manhunter to Rushville, but their attempt to identify it got several of their own people killed by Will’s militia.
Antaan gives John 48 hours to find the Manhunter, or his group detonates devices that could wipe out a huge chunk of western Nebraska. Meanwhile, Hal is shot in the shoulder while confronting Will at his ranch. After he recovers, Hal flies off to visit Sinestro, a disgraced former Green Lantern locked up for trying to overthrow the Guardians. Sinestro warns that a surviving Manhunter is a bigger deal than whatever Hal thinks he’s dealing with. Then ignores the subject to ask about John instead.
So yeah, the clock is ticking yet Hal and John are still stuck on square one.
List of Possible Suspects
There’s a few characters in Lanterns that have drawn suspicion from fans and critics, and they’re all just so happened to be a part of the same family:
Will Macon
Will is the one who installed the alien detectors in Rushville High School, and he’s funded by a mysterious “benefactor” he won’t name due to an NDA. His ranch is literally called “Study the Past,” and he keeps describing himself as a student of history. Hell, the dude has his own militia for crying out loud! That said, a shapeshifting android encouraging anti-alien sentiment probably wouldn’t put itself front and center like this. Some fans think that instead of being the Manhunter, Will is actually protecting them.
Billy Macon
Will’s son and Kerry Kane’s husband. A lawyer who defended Hal in episode 1 when he was facing assault charges, Billy comes off as more normal and well-adjusted when you compare him to his old man. Too normal if you ask viewers. For a show that’s a superhero, sci-fi mystery Billy is either so average it feels like a red herring, or he’s too low risk to be a villain.
Zoe Macon
Will’s wife who already established herself as sus by cheating on her husband with John in the pilot episode! John confronts Zoe about this in “Trust Fall,” making it clear that he never would have slept with her if he knew she was married. It leads to an interesting conversation about why Zoe is married to Will…
“White men have the privilege of being eccentric,” Zoe tells John. “White men with money? They can do whatever the fuck they want. Play cowboy, build castles.”
“Do you like that?” John asks.
“Yeah. I like the security. I also like that he could’ve bought some blonde bimbo from Texas to be his arm candy, but he wanted me.”
“I’m sure a lot of people want you.”
“None… that could give me what he has,” Zoe says. “It’s a lot to deal with, I know, but… but it’s worth it, I think. And when I need a break, I just take one.”
“So, you’ll put up with some deeply weird White man with a savior complex just to live the life?” John asks.
“No,” Zoe says. “I’m with my husband because I love him. And I know he loves me.”
For most fans, this sounds like the words from a Native American woman who acknowledges the security that comes with being with a wealthy white man, even if it means putting up with some…non-typical behavior. Or it’s the words from an alien who appreciates the perks of marrying a man who leads his own anti-alien militia.
Sheriff Kerry Kane
Now, I’d say Kerry is the least suspicious character on this list. It may not seem like it at first since she’s confirmed to not be a native to Rushville. She’s originally from Gotham City who moved to the small town “on a whim.” She’s the most antagonistic towards Hal’s investigation into Rushville’s ties to extraterrestrials.
In “Trust Fall,” Kerry explains that whenever Hal doesn’t follow her orders and does whatever he wants, he’s undermining her authority as sheriff. Like she told Hal, the only side she’s on is hers. However, we do know from the pilot episode that she’s alive in 2026 because she’s the one to tell John about Hal’s murder. So it’s unlikely that she’s the Manhunter.
The entire town of Rushville
Some viewers have come to believe that the small town could be infested with Manhunters. The biggest clue that makes this theory feel like a possibility is how the local hospital looks more like a prop filled with rarely used equipment. There are no patients, which is bizarre.
What if the sole survivor was able to use their skills to bring their race back from the edge of extinction? Or maybe there are more survivors than Antaan initially thought? I wouldn’t be surprised if it came out that nearly everyone living in Rushville are aliens in some capacity that are caught in the middle of the Manhunter’s scheme with Kerry being one of the few humans in on the conspiracy.
Remember this is all just speculation. As the mystery of the Manhunters unfolds, it’s bound to have twists and turns viewers (hopefully) never saw coming.
New episodes of Lanterns air every Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT.
