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Spoilers ahead for “Lanterns” Season 1, Episode 4 — “The Weenie”
For a DC series built around extraterrestrial threats, interstellar lawmen, and power rings that can create almost anything, “Lanterns” has remained notably earthbound in tone. Still, the HBO-style superhero mystery has not been shy about reaching into the weirder corners of Green Lantern mythology. The series has already referenced Mogo, the famously bizarre sentient planet Green Lantern, and introduced a compelling take on Hal Jordan’s (Kyle Chandler) complicated mentor-turned-enemy Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen). It has also pulled from deeper comic lore by positioning a version of the Manhunters — one of the Green Lantern Corps’ lesser-known adversaries — as its apparent central threat. Even so, Episode 4 makes room for a character whose arrival is especially unexpected.
That character is Hector Hammond (Jason Manuel Olazábal), a longtime Green Lantern villain many viewers likely did not expect “Lanterns” to touch. In this version, Hammond is presented as the CEO of Atlas, the advanced slaughterhouse technology company responsible for building the deadly satellite at the center of “Lanterns” Season 1, Episode 4. The reveal soon takes another turn: he is actually Hector Gutierrez, serving as a front for the real Manhunter pulling the strings.
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The decision to use any form of Hector Hammond is notable because the character still carries baggage from his most infamous live-action appearance. Peter Sarsgaard played Hammond as one of the main villains in 2011’s “Green Lantern,” the Ryan Reynolds-led film widely regarded as one of the weakest superhero movies ever released. With Hal Jordan already central to “Lanterns” and Sinestro — another major figure from that movie — also appearing, the choice to bring in yet another name associated with the poorly received film is a bold one. That is especially true because the series has otherwise been careful to sidestep many of the creative pitfalls that hurt the 2011 “Green Lantern” movie.
Hector Hammond has a long history in Green Lantern comics
DC Comics
In the comics, Hector Hammond is far stranger than the grounded figure introduced in “Lanterns.” Traditionally, he is one of Green Lantern’s most significant enemies, a psychic powerhouse whose abilities come with a grotesque physical transformation. Hammond is known for his oversized head and a body left unable to move on its own, though mobility hardly limits him. His telekinetic strength, telepathic reach, illusion-casting talents, and other mental abilities make him a dangerous opponent without needing to lift a finger. The 2011 film nodded to that comic-book design by showing Hector’s head expanding as his powers grew, but “Lanterns” appears to be taking the character in a very different direction.
While seeing Hector on “Lanterns” is surprising, the way the show actually handles him is clever. Making him a mere patsy for the real Manhunter — who the episode all but confirms is actually Zoe Macon (Poorna Jagannathan) — is highly entertaining, and the fact that he’s not actually even called Hector Hammond seems like the DC Universe’s way to bury the memory of the unfortunate movie villain incarnation of the character.
“Lanterns” Season 1 is available on HBO and HBO Max.