Lanterns will introduce an interesting villain-versus-hero dynamic when it debuts in August this year. The upcoming HBO Max show is a new installment in DC Studios' DCU, a fresh start for the superhero cinematic universe. The Green Lanterns were omitted from the DCEU and haven't led a major release since 2011's Green Lantern, but audiences will become well acquainted with the intergalactic heroes in Lanterns.
While the two leads, Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) and John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) will have a tenuous relationship in Lanterns, the series' true villain is someone more sinister. The evil Lantern Sinestro is confirmed to appear in Lanterns, played by Ulrich Thomsen. Sinestro's villain arc shouldn't be that surprising, given he is a common foe to the Green Lanterns in DC comics, but in the mainstream DC moviemaking and TV landscape, his role in Lanterns will break a 12-year-old rule.
Lanterns showrunner Chris Mundy confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that Sinestro is tied deeply to the plot of the show due to his relationship with Hal Jordan. "The thing that interests us is this idea [that] Hal was trained by Sinestro," Mundy said, adding, "What did Hal take away from Sinestro that was good or bad?"
"Obviously in the canon, Sinestro's the big bad. The thing that interests us is this idea [that] Hal was trained by Sinestro, Hal is training John. In the coaching tree, we're very interested in what gets passed on, what doesn't, how much is human nature. We talked a lot about programming and parenting and training...What did Hal take away from Sinestro that was good or bad? It brings up a lot of interesting worries."
What's interesting about this tidbit is that the mentor-to-villain character arc hasn't been explored on-screen in 12 years' worth of DC live-action movies and TV releases. Typically, the rule has been that the hero/villain pairing in a DC movie has had a more traditional good-versus-evil, protagonist-versus-antagonist relationship, rather than their relationship stemming from the pair's past history (the exception being when the hero and villain are blood relatives).
Superman and Zod, Batman and the Joker, Aquaman and Black Manta, the Justice League and Darkseid. All of these hero-villain pairings followed a tradition in which neither character had a preexisting history in which one was the mentor to the other, and it's a tradition that's been present throughout the modern DCEU. After 12 years, that will change in 2026, when Lanterns and the new DCU introduce Sinestro as the major villain, who also served as Hal Jordan's former mentor.
While not as common, the mentor-to-villain pipeline is an intriguing dynamic to explore. It adds richness to the relationship between hero and villain, and in an HBO series such as Lanterns, it's sure to provide an interesting character study, particularly as Hal now mentors his own protege, John.
While Lanterns is breaking a longstanding hero/villain rule for DC Studios, it's not the first to do so, and several DC superhero projects in the past have taken advantage of a similar dynamic.
DC Live-Action Projects With Villain Mentors
Batman Begins (2005)
Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins was one of the first DC films to use the mentor-versus-hero dynamic. Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne traveled to train with the League of Shadows under the stewardship of Ra's Al Ghul (Liam Neeson). Ra's gave Bruce the training and guidance necessary to become Batman, but when his true villainous intentions were revealed, it drove a wedge between the two.
Ra's then re-emerged years later as the mastermind behind Scarecrow's fear toxin scheme, which he planned to use to poison Gotham City and allow it to devour itself. This pitted him directly against Batman, the movie's villain, intent on saving the city, and their past history led to an even more satisfying rivalry.
Green Lantern (2011)
Lanterns isn't the only one to have used Hal and Sinestro's mentor/trainee dynamic; the original Green Lantern film in 2011 also used the same approach. In Green Lantern, Ryan Reynolds' Hal Jordan is trained by Sinestro (Mark Strong) on Oa.
Sinestro is not yet an outright villain in Green Lantern, although he does act as an antagonist to Hal, challenging him with his lack of belief, and stealing the yellow ring for future use at the end of the movie.
Sinestro would likely have been a bigger villain in a sequel, but nevertheless, he is established as Hal's mentor in Green Lantern, and his path toward evil is set in the film.
Arrow (2012)
Arrow, the first of the Arrowverse lineup of The CW shows, had many villains throughout its eight-season run, but one of the earliest was Oliver Queen's relationship with Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, in Season 2.
Oliver and Slade were trapped on the island, Lian Yu, together, and the latter took the former under his wing, teaching Oliver various martial arts to help him survive, which became a big part of his journey to become Green Arrow. Slade and Oliver's relationship disintegrated on the island after Slade learned Oliver had chosen to save Sara Lance over Shado, the woman he loved. He returns in the present timeline to get vengeance on Oliver and launches an assault on Star City, forcing his protege to become his enemy.
The Flash (2014)
CW's The Flash series followed a similar mentor-turned-villain trajectory with the Reverse Flash. After Barry Allen spent time under the tutelage of Dr. Harrison Wells at Star Labs, it was later revealed he was actually the Reverse Flash in disguise, and Barry's beloved mentor suddenly became his arch nemesis. The Reverse Flash is one of The Flash's biggest adversaries in the comics, but Harrison Wells' betrayal made the pair's dynamic even more dramatic in the show.
BONUS: Peacemaker (2022)
Peacemaker almost broke DC's mentor/villain rule before Lanterns, although the dynamic between Peacemaker and his rival, The White Dragon, was that they shared an existing familial bond, with Auggie being Christopher Smith's father. That backstory has only served to make Peacemaker richer, as the trauma Peacemaker suffered as a result of his father during his younger years further fuelled their difficult dynamic in the present.
Auggie trained Peacemaker to be a killer, but in the end, it comes back to be his undoing as Peacemaker is the one who ends his life.
