This article contains spoilers for “Lanterns” Season 1, Episode 8, “Dirt and Stars.”
“Lanterns” didn’t become a success by following Green Lantern comic book lore to a tee. The show changed much about both John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Hal Jordan’s (Kyle Chandler) backstories, stoking some controversy in the process. The Season 1 finale continues this tradition by hinting at a new origin story for the Sinestro Corps, aka the Yellow Lantern Corps — one which doesn’t have any direct analogue in the Green Lantern comic books.
Created by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver, the Sinestro Corps first appeared in “Green Lantern” Vol. 4 #10. It was founded by Thaal Sinestro, who, after being banished to the planet Qward, returned with a yellow power ring that runs on fear rather than willpower. In the comics, Sinestro was then captured and held within the Central Power Battery. There, he used his ring to awaken Parallax, an entity that represents the embodiment of fear. Together, Sinestro and Parallax defeated the Green Lantern Corps before the former officially founded the Sinestro Corps. The group, made up of individuals who are capable of instilling fear in others, were given Yellow Lantern Rings and assigned sectors of the universe, just like the Green Lanterns. After the Sinestro Corps’ founding, its members became direct rivals to the Green Lantern Corps.
Thus far in “Lanterns,” Sinestro hasn’t been given much to do beyond languishing in prison and on the barren home world of Paul Ben Victor’s Antaan. The “Lanterns” finale does hint at the impending establishment of the Sinestro Corps, but as with most other things in this show, there are some major differences between the comic book version and its DC Universe counterpart.
Thaal Sinestro sets up the Sinestro corps in the Lanterns finale
The “Lanterns” finale not only revealed who killed Hal Jordan, it also confirmed that Shea Pritchard’s Noah Macon was in fact a Manhunter. Of course, both these revelations came with a twist, continuing the “Lanterns” trend of subverting established lore. That seems to be exactly what’s happening with the Sinestro Corps, too.
While the comic book origin story is fairly straightforward (Thaal Sinestro forms the corps using the power of fear), “Lanterns” has just complicated matters in that regard. In the finale, John Stewart and the Halogram interrogate Thaal Sinestro, who reveals that he forged a lantern for Noah Macon, aka the only surviving Manhunter. This lantern was made on a planet that’s infested with fear gas. As such, the lantern has yellow streaks in its casing, which suggests this particular lantern could very well serve as the source of the Yellow Lantern Corps.
After Sinestro reveals the existence of this unofficial lantern, he goes on to extoll the virtues of fear. “The Lantern Corps thinks that fear makes you weak,” he tells John. “They couldn’t be more wrong. If harnessed correctly, fear can be the most powerful force in the universe.” This is all seemingly designed to foreshadow the arrival of the Sinestro Corps. But as the episode goes on, Sinestro doesn’t ever use the lantern. Instead, John uses it to charge his power ring, which raises some interesting questions about what the Yellow Lantern Corps will come to represent in the DC Universe.
Is John Stewart the DC Universe’s first Yellow Lantern?
The “Lanterns” finale sets up John Stewart’s DC Universe return by having him charge his power ring using Thaal Sinestro’s dodgy lantern before proclaiming himself to be Earth’s new Lantern. Rather than belonging to a corps, John says he plans to work as an “independent contractor.” He also puts a more positive spin on the use of fear. Instead of embracing it as a weapon, à la Sinestro in the comics, John recites an oath that re-contextualizes fear as something that needs to be confronted and overcome. “In brightest day, in darkest night, I’ll embrace my fear. I’ll do what’s right,” he says. “I choose this ring. I choose this fight, in service to this lantern’s light.”
It remains to be seen whether John will be a fully fledged Yellow Lantern in future DCU installments, but we know the lantern he used to charge his ring is infused with fear toxin. It could be that Sinestro has tricked John into using the Lantern so as to recruit his first Yellow Lantern, but it doesn’t seem that way. The whole point of John’s arc in “Lanterns” is that he takes back his own destiny and overcomes his programming to gain real agency before taking on the mantle of Lantern.
Now, then, the question becomes: will we even see a Sinestro Corps in the DCU? It seems as though John might become the first Yellow Lantern, leaving little room for the classic Sinestro Corps of Yellow Lanterns — or at least leaving little room for the classic origin story. For now, we’ll have to wait and see how things play out, but it will be interesting to see how the DCU incorporates the Sinestro Corps, if at all, moving forward.
