Lanterns episode 2 is out, and fans think it hides a classic Green Lantern villain in plain sight: Atrocitus, the rage-fuelled founder of the Red Lantern Corps.
Warning! Lanterns Season 1 Episode 2 spoilers follow.
IGN reports that John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) is sent to fetch a green battery and does not make it far. He is ambushed and taken by Antaan (Paul Ben-Victor), leader of an alien group convinced a Manhunter is sheltering in Rushville, Nebraska. Antaan gives John 48 hours to unmask it, or he levels the town, while Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) keeps digging into the town’s odd goings-on.
Why Lanterns Episode 2 points to Atrocitus
Antaan tells John the Manhunters wiped out his people, projecting the atrocities into his mind. Fans have latched onto the backstory. In the comics, the Manhunters — robots built by the Guardians of the Universe — massacred Sector 666, including the world that produced Atrocitus. Mashable runs through the same connections. Where Green Lanterns run on will and Yellow Lanterns on fear, the Red Lantern Corps runs on rage, and Atrocitus is its founder.
The casting set the table. When Deadline announced Ben-Victor’s role, it described Antaan as:
“an extraterrestrial devoted to exposing the truth and exacting vengeance against those who wronged his people.”
That reads closer to the comics’ Atrocitus than to a run-of-the-mill alien cop, and the show has established aliens who can pass as human — so a disguised Atrocitus is not out of the question. The case is not airtight, though: Antaan looks smaller and less monstrous than the rage-beast of the comics, and HBO credits the character as plain Antaan.
Who is Atrocitus in the DC universe?
Atrocitus is the founder and leader of the Red Lantern Corps, a faction powered by rage rather than the will of the Green Lanterns. In the comics, the Manhunters destroyed his world and his family during the massacre of Sector 666 — the same backstory Antaan gives John in Lanterns episode 2.
Lanterns episode 2 is not the theory’s first outing: last week a Reddit user was drawing connections between the show and Sector 666, a reach that now looks sharper. The series airs weekly on HBO, with episode 3 landing this Sunday (30 August), after an episode 1 ending that left fans furious. In the UAE, it streams on OSN+ — see our Where to Watch Lanterns in the UAE guide. And John Stewart’s Aaron Pierre is already confirmed for the Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow, a reminder that the show is feeding the wider DCU.
What are the Manhunters in the DC universe?
The Manhunters are robots built by the Guardians of the Universe as an early law-enforcement force, before the Green Lantern Corps. They went rogue and massacred worlds including Sector 666, where Atrocitus lost his family.
Will Atrocitus appear in Lanterns?
Not confirmed. HBO credits Paul Ben-Victor’s character as Antaan, and the on-screen version is smaller and less monstrous than the comics’ Atrocitus. For now, the theory is fan speculation.
Where can I watch Lanterns in the UAE?
Lanterns streams on OSN+ in the UAE, with new episodes arriving weekly on Sundays.
