Lanterns Episode 2 is here, and fans believe it's hiding a vicious Green Lantern villain in plain sight.
Warning! Lanterns Season 1 Episode 2 spoilers follow.
There's some extraterrestrial activity in Rushville, Nebraska, and Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) is determined to get to the bottom of it. While he's off constructing a plan to get dead bodies out of the morgue and through town, John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) is sent on a fetch quest to bring back a big green battery and keep his little bird safe. The Green Lantern-in-training doesn't make it too far before he's ambushed and kidnapped for a quick chat about what is said to be a new threat to Earth: Manhunters.
It's here viewers run into Paul Ben-Victor's Antaan, the leader of a group of aliens looking to root out a Manhunter who's believed to be taking shelter in Rushville. He's threatened to level the town if John isn't able to unmask the Manhunter within 48 hours, but some fans suspect we've already encountered one of the most infamous supervillains the Green Lantern Corps has ever known.
During his meeting with John, Antaan says the Manhunters are responsible for wiping out his people, going as far as to forcibly project their supposed atrocities into John's mind. It just so happens that backstory shares a few things in common with the Red Lanterns and their angry alien bad guy, Atrocitus.
Past incarnations of the Red Lantern are also known to have suffered at the hands of the Manhunters, and with fans looking for Antaan's other connections to the DC universe, Atrocitus is who is making the most sense. Where Green Lanterns use will to build their Constructs and Yellow Lanterns use fear, Red Lanterns are driven by their rage, potentially presenting a vengeful entity for Hal and John to deal with as Lanterns progresses.
Considering Atrocitus typically looks bigger and meaner than Ben-Victor's character, these loosely connected dots might not have you convinced another classic DC villain will be joining Sinestro in this latest jump to the live-action DCU. However, fans aren't letting up.
(@CharliePengMoji) SE PREPAREM PQ O VILÃO MAIS FODA DO LANTERNA VERDE VULGO ATROCITUS ESTÁ CHEGANDO #Lanterns pic.twitter.com/NKQCuq4Cli
— O Gui! dcnauta orgulhoso (@Birdsofpera) August 24, 2026
When Deadline first reported that Ben-Victor would be joining the Green Lantern show, it described his character as "an extraterrestrial devoted to exposing the truth and exacting vengeance against those who wronged his people. Consumed by a deep and unrelenting hatred for the law, he is determined to deliver justice on his own terms."
That certainly sounds a bit more like the Atrocitus we know from the comics. When you consider that Lanterns has already established its world as one populated by aliens who can conceal their identities, it's not outside of the realm of possibility that the Red Lantern leader might have a mask of his own.
Meanwhile, Episode 2 isn't the first time Atrocitus theories have popped up online. Last week, user 'I_warisha,' for example, took to Reddit to draw connections between major events happening in years ending with the number six and Sector 666. It seemed like more of a reach at the time, but as the pieces come together, it wind up being a sneaky Easter Egg for what's to come.
"Probably Atrocitus and the massacre he referred to was probably the Massacre of Sector 666," another fan online suggested.
"There's just no way Paul Ben-Victor's character isn't Atrocitus," another theorized. "In the comics the manhunters are the ones who wiped out Atrocitus' planet including his family. The way he's speaking about it here perfectly lines up with that, and like he was there to see it, too."
As Lanterns is just taking off, it's hard to say just how many fan-favorite characters it will pull into the DC in its first season. For now, all we know about the rest of the story is that it certainly seems like Hal Jordan will meet an untimely demise at some point before all eight episodes are up. John Stewart, at least, seems headed for a bright future in the DCU, as Pierre is already confirmed to show up in Superman sequel Man of Tomorrow.
While we wait for Episode 3 to arrive this Sunday, you can check out IGN's review and recap for Episode 2, and you can see what showrunner Chris Mundy had to say about it, too. For more, be sure to see how DC Studios co-CEO defended the evolving tone of the DCU.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
Continue reading...
