Lanterns Episode 2 Ending, Explained: Who Are the Manhunters?
Lanterns might only be two episodes in, but, like Hal’s pet plant Earl, there's already plenty to get your teeth into.
The DC Studios series, which forms part of Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters in the overarching cinematic universe, introduces us to Hal Jordan, a sardonic member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps, and his Guardians-approved protege, John Stewart.
While the first episode of Lanterns involved a couple of time jumps, the bulk of the story seems to take place in 2016, with Hal and John investigating a shooting that has more intergalactic implications than anyone could have ever imagined.
If you were hoping for some answers regarding Episode 1’s shocking cliffhanger, you’ll be disappointed. For Episode 2, we’re back in 2016, and our dynamic duo are separated. While Hal stays in Rushville, he has John head back to Coast City to grab his Power Battery, feed Earl, and, as John quickly identifies, essentially stay out of the way as he continues to investigate the shooting.
If you haven’t seen Lanterns Episode 2 yet, be warned that there are spoilers ahead, but if you have, get ready to dive in.
Who Kidnaps John In Lanterns Episode 2?
While Hal is busy dragging alien corpses through ‘metal detectors’ and getting shot, John completes his errands. He collects the Power Battery, feeds Earl, and even spots Hal’s Green Lantern suits. Everything seems to be going smoothly until he’s kidnapped. Initially, John manages to escape from the van, keeping the Power Battery safe, all the while keeping an eye on the bird he conjured up at the start of the episode with the ring. But then another van hits him.
When he regains consciousness, he is spoken to by Antaan, whose men kidnapped him. Antaan is an alien with an axe to grind against Manhunters. These are synthetic shapeshifters who, across the galaxy, embedded themselves in various societies and then brutalised them, with Antaan noting that whole species died as a result.
When the Manhunters supposedly left, one stayed behind on Antaan’s planet and engineered a holocaust. With a strange device, Antaan is able to seemingly make John feel the pain of this massacre. While a Green Lantern took the Manhunter into his custody following this slaughter and promised execution, Antaan and others rightfully assumed he was still alive. Some of his men (including Waylon Sanders, the alien from Episode 1) tracked the Manhunter to Rushville. They then were killed.
Antaan gives John 48 hours to locate the Manhunter.
Lanterns Episode 2 Ending, Explained
When Hal and John finally reunite outside the motel, John tells him about the Manhunter and how Antaan thinks the Guardians hid it here on Earth. Hal then seems to work it all out: Abin Sur must have brought the Manhunter to Earth and then subsequently been mortally wounded by it, which led to him giving Hal the ring.
John then relays how Antaan told him that both conjuring the bird and keeping it alive without wearing the ring is an extremely advanced, near-impossible feat.
After John leaves, Hal suits up (turns out John couldn’t resist bringing a suit back with him) and flies to an off-planet facility. He then comes face to face with Thaal Sinestro, who is being held prisoner there.
Hal demands that Sinestro tell him what he knows about Manhunters. “If one still existed, it’d be the second greatest threat you’re currently facing,” the supervillain says. “So why don’t you tell me about John Stewart?”
