Who Is The Guardian In ‘Lanterns’? Every Theory, Explained
Lanterns (2026) is halfway through Season 1, and the mystery at the center of the detective superhero show is only expanding. Viewers have received few answers since John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) rolled into Rushville, Nebraska, to investigate a local shooting. With dead aliens, alien technology, and whispers of The Manhunters, something big is happening in Rushville.
However, the mystery isn’t just about Rushville but also about what’s happening to the Green Lanterns. Fans have no clear answers about why there are multiple Green Lanterns on Earth or why the Guardians are so intent on breaking protocol to instate Stewart in Jordan’s place. All we really know is that The Guardian, Lianna (Laura Linney), is pulling the strings from the shadows, influencing Stewart, his family, and Jordan. If you’re wondering who this meddling Guardian is, use our guide to find the top five theories on her true identity.
The Manhunter
The most popular fan theory about Lianna is that she is the real big bad of Lanterns: The Manhunter. In Episode 2, “Trust Fall,” Stewart is abducted by the alien Antaan (Paul Ben-Victor), who warns that a Manhunter may be in Rushville. In the comics, the Manhunters are shapeshifting robots created by the Guardians as the first intergalactic police force. However, the Manhunters' programming was corrupted, leading them to believe wiping out all organic life was essential to obtain peace.
Since the Manhunters are shapeshifters, nearly everyone in Lanterns is a suspect, including Lianna. Once the Guardians realized the Manhunters’ defects, they sought to defeat them. The remaining Manhunters took up sophisticated disguises and remain in deep hiding to avoid detection. It’s possible that one Manhunter took up the identity of a Guardian, which would explain why she seems so intent on manipulating the Lanterns in secret. She has the shapeshifting abilities, influence, and manipulation of a Manhunter seeking to destroy the Green Lantern Corps from within.
Weaponer of Qward
In Episode 3 of Lanterns, “OutKast,” Lianna actually reveals her true form to Stewart’s mother. Viewers only see her from behind at an obscure angle, but you can vaguely make out a very tall humanoid figure with white hair, pale blue skin, and a red uniform with a white X. Comic book fans may have realized her true form doesn’t closely resemble the Guardians, who are depicted as shorter with larger heads and no X on their garments.
Her true form seems to more closely align with the uniform and proportions of the Weaponers of Qward in DC Comics. The Weaponers have long been embroiled in conflict with the Guardians, using their engineering skills to create the first Yellow Lantern Ring, which became Sinestro’s weapon of choice. Traditionally, Weaponers don’t shapeshift, but they likely could develop the technology to do so. Attempting to undermine the Guardians and sow seeds of conflict in the Green Lantern Corps is very on-brand for Weaponers, making it possible that Lianna is one of them and Sinestro’s (Ulrich Thomsen) man on the inside.
Parallax
There’s also the possibility that Lianna is, indeed, a Guardian in Lanterns but is under the influence of Parallax. Parallax is a demonic entity, the embodiment of fear. While the Guardians keep it contained in the Central Power Battery on Oa, it has at times escaped, possessing and corrupting Green Lanterns like Hal Jordan. When it latches onto a host, it takes complete control of their mind and actions.
In the comics, Parallax has possessed a Guardian before, so it’s not far outside the realm of possibility for Lianna to be possessed in Lanterns. The theory is especially plausible given that she seems to have a connection to fear. She appeared to Stewart’s parents after learning that his father was afraid and seemed to manipulate their fear to groom Stewart as a Green Lantern. Drawn to fear and using that fear to manipulate the Guardians and Green Lanterns seems to tease Parallax.
The Mad Guardian
If Lanterns were to get very creative, Lianna may be the gender-swapped Mad Guardian. In the comics, Krona, dubbed “The Mad Guardian,” was an Oan scientist whose ambition and dreams got out of hand, leading him to shatter the universe, inadvertently creating the multiverse and turning the Oans into the Guardians. As a punishment, the Guardians banished him, leading him to seek revenge.
Krona has been known to wield control over Parallax and Ion to fight the Guardians and Green Lanterns. He is most well-known, though, for corrupting the Manhunters’ programming. If Lianna is Lanterns’ version of Krona, she may be responsible for the Manhunter lurking in Rushville. Additionally, Krona’s control over Parallax and Ion, as well as his insatiable desire for curiosity, would explain Lianna’s adeptness at manipulating emotions.
Hector Hammond
Lanterns Episode 4, “The Weenie,” tricks fans into thinking the show is introducing the DC supervillain Hector Hammond (Jason Manuel Olazabal). In the comics, Hammond is a metahuman with an incredibly enhanced intellect, which grants him immense psionic powers but also renders him immobile. He has long sought the power of the Green Lantern ring and clashed with Hal Jordan many times. In Lanterns, Jordan and Stewart’s investigation leads them to Hammond, the CEO of Atlas Inc. who has been operating high-tech slaughterhouses.
However, Hammond is just a decoy planted by the Manhunter. His real identity is Hector Gutierrez. While Lanterns seems to be teasing viewers with the reference to a comic book supervillain, one can’t help but wonder if the real Hector Hammond is hiding in the show. If Lianna is secretly Hector Hammond, it would explain why she seems to be an intellectually gifted mastermind, so meticulously pulling the strings behind the scenes.
