Lanterns Should Be The Blueprint

The latest chapter of the DCU has finished. Lanterns fought against early criticism and landed with a huge boom. Now that it’s over, fans are praising the overall quality of the show. Some bold claims are going so far as saying it is the best superhero show overall. Needless to say, the show was able to capture the attention, the anticipation, and the approval of the fanbase. That slump feeling after watching a quality show is hitting them. Which is proof to how great Lanterns was in the eyes of many. It was able to satisfy on many levels and it might be a blueprint for superhero shows and movies going forward.

One of the best things that fans will walk way from this show is the genuine chemistry that Hal Jordan and John Stewart had. It was a move that was praised in the beginning to have both of the more famous Green Lanterns be the main characters. And the decision paid off. The relationship between them was layered. Of course there was respect, mostly coming from John Stewart. A lot of tough love, mostly coming from Hal Jordan. There were attempts to understand each other. And, even with Jordan serving as the mentor for Stewart to be a Green Lantern, there was mutual teaching. Jordan was trying to teach Stewart to break from molds while Stewart was teaching Jordan to have structure. And something that was implied, both of these men were perhaps the closet things they had to a friend over the years. But because they were never taught that, or had to abandon that, they didn’t know how to embrace the other in that fashion. So, even though they found genuine comradery with each other, they had no other choice to be stand offish with each other, which eliminated any chance of having a friend in their corner. But all that was a part of their relationship. And it turned out to be the center of the show. It was the chemistry of the two men, who resented but still respected each other and had the same exact goal, that was everything for Lanterns. It was not the chemistry of the hero and his lover. Or even the hero or villain, which many superheroes shows and movies are. It was the relationship between two heroes that was the center of the story. A part of the reason why Lanterns did as well as it did was the relationship between both those heroes, which again was layered, that felt fresh. It had tension and conflict. But respect and love. Two heroes, same goal, different views, but same ring.

What helped made the show stand out too, was this grounded approach. That was a big criticism when the first trailers started to come out. There was lack of color and spectacle which has become the norm in this genre. Some course correction was made with the second trailer which showed a little bit more but the majority of the show took out most of that, which heavily benefitted Lanterns. The show may have diverted from huge spectacle either by choice or necessity but regardless, the quality of Lanterns was possible because of it. It kept the writing tight and relied on substantial elements. Instead of explosions and space battles, fans were able to feel consequences, humanity, deception, resentment, expectations, legacy, and motivation. Pure story elements that an audience could latch onto easier due to their relatability. In an era where superhero movies and shows rely heavily on that huge visual explosion, Lanterns committed to something a lot more real. The show went against that trend which made it their path feel fresh to the superhero genre. Other movies and shows, but especially movies, obviously include those elements but have to share time with those huge spectacle scenes. That results in the real stuff being surface level. It rarely gets to the level that Lanterns was able to bring it to. Lanterns was able to give the fanbase something that is rarely seen in these types of stories outside of the source material. And it was applauded. Lanterns was a genuine example of substance over spectacle that could be used by others.

What could also be adopted, is how Lanterns found a near perfect balance of sticking to its self-contained story and giving glimpses to the larger world. The story in Lanterns did not use what came before to tell its story nor did it give any set up for any future projects. Arguably, it did set up season two and a path for John Stewart to go forward but the show did end in a way that could suggest one season is justified and enough. Fans have come accustomed to see current projects set up the next ones. It’s a formula that has sort of worked and has been useful. Lanterns could have easily used that as a tool. Yet, chose not to. There is another criticism that the DCU lacks connectivity and set up. But it has done its fair share of that! Creature Commandoes had a quick cameo of Superman and Supergirl through a vision. Peacemaker brought in Lex Luthor. Lanterns referenced Superman and some events from The Suicide Squad. So there has been strings connecting this universe. And Lanterns did have more than initially presumed. Superman, Guy Gardner, Batman, and the Suicide Squad all had acknowledgments in the show. What made it better, was the briefness of that. Only Garnder had a long stay but it was still reduced to cameos. But the amount of time he was in was perfect. He didn’t overtake the story, still had an impact on it, and stood around long enough to satisfy fans and avoid them questioning why he isn’t in a Green Lanterns show. Lanterns did give fan service. Did give insight to the larger, connected world. But remained dedicated to its own corner. There were flashes to something larger but the story Lanterns wanted to tell was still in its own lines. A lot of projects tend to stuff a lot of material in something so there is a basis for future projects. That could lead into overly stuffed projects that could possibly take away from the main character and the main story. Again, Lanterns found a balance but still tipped that needle heavily toward itself. And nothing felt lost. Felt more organic and natural than anything.

As the season went on, Lanterns gained the praise of fans and critics. It was quickly assumed something special was at a hand. Lanterns challenged the superhero genre, and fans’ assumptions of what it is, and took it to fresh territory. The show was even unapologetic in how it used the superhero genre to tell its story. Lanterns greatly stepped away from that and told something a lot more real, given that these characters have ties to cosmic story elements. Lanterns did not buckle and try to do what came before. Perhaps that played a large part to why the show is as successful as it came out to be. And that is a formula that needs to respected and perhaps replicated.