Lanterns Premiere's Ending Infuriated Some DC Comics Fans Online

The "Lanterns" premiere on HBO takes a big green swing by the end of the episode, and some DC Comics fans are categorically not happy with the direction the comic book series is going in. The show mainly follows the uneasy dynamic between seasoned superhero Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and Green Lantern Corps rookie John Stewart (Aaron Pierre), as the pair investigate a mass shooting in Rushville, Nebraska where aliens might be involved.

The episode's closing moments pull the rug out from under the audience in a scene set ten years later, as Stewart is called back to the rural U.S. setting of "Lanterns" to find his mentor dead — and his ring missing. Yes, HBO just killed off one of the main Green Lanterns in the first episode. Several DC fans are infuriated by the shock twist, with one person writing on X, "If it turns out to be permanent, it's just another fumble by Gunn's DCU and a great disservice and waste of Hal Jordan."

Another user added, "This universe is an insult to every DC fan in existence. F*** the DCU." A third wrote, "Bruh why is Hal Jordan dead episode 1 WTF." The anger is understandable since audiences have only just met the DCU's Jordan, who was the primary version of Green Lantern for many years in the comics before Stewart and Guy Gardner were introduced. However, it's all part of the plan.

Killing off a major character like Hal Jordan is not something DC Studios would do if there wasn't another twist waiting in the wings. It's entirely possible that he's going to be resurrected à la "Green Lantern: Rebirth." It could be a fake-out using the hologram of his consciousness. Or, he really is dead and any future appearance from Kyle Chandler will be set in the past. Regardless, co-creator and writer Tom King told GQ that killing Jordan "made the stakes of the show high," before explaining the real reason behind the shocking "Lanterns" premiere ending.

"The central thing we were solving was the mystery of the 'Superman' movie. The 'Superman' movie takes place today, contemporary to us, and Guy Gardner is the Green Lantern," King explained. "Where are Hal and John? Why does Guy have the ring? We were figuring out other sorts of mysteries: Okay, where do we end? Why did this happen?" For now, it seems like Jordan actually is dead — and Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) is the main Green Lantern of Earth. However, Aaron Pierre has already been cast in the next "Superman" movie, "Man of Tomorrow," so it surely won't be long before John Stewart wields the ring.