James Gunn's rebooted DC Universe introduced the iconic Green Lantern Corps in its first film, Superman, through Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner, and fans got to see the obnoxious Justice Gang member create several eye-pleasing constructs with his Green Lantern ring. A Lantern who wears the cosmic jewelry can generate solid green light that takes the shape of anything their mind imagines. The last time DC fans saw live-action constructs was the infamous Ryan Reynolds-led Green Lantern film in 2011.
The intergalactic peacekeepers are returning in the HBO Max series, Lanterns, which means even more constructs. The show features Aaron Pierre as the rookie Green Lantern, John Stewart, training under Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan. The show premieres on August 16 on HBO Max, and most of the trailers released have shown even more impressive use of the Green Lantern ring than depicted in Superman. Ahead of the premiere, The Direct has compiled all Lantern constructs shown in the DCU so far.
Green Lantern Constructs Featured in the DCU
Megaphone
Superman introduces Metropolis as a city packed with the wildest beasts imaginable. One scene features a flame-throwing kaiju that terrorizes the metropolis, and the Justice Gang, the superhero group funded by billionaire Maxwell Lord, shows up to help Superman deal with the situation. The members who appear include Isabella Merced's Hawkgirl, Edi Gathegi's Mr. Terrific, and, of course, Guy Gardner.
The people of Metropolis are clearly used to seeing monsters; they stand there as onlookers, enjoying the spectacle rather than fleeing. Guy addresses this by building a megaphone and telling the crowd to leave the area.
Muzzle
Taking down the Kaiju is long and gruesome, with the Justice Gang struggling to penetrate its tough hide and avoiding its sharp teeth. Mr. Terrific nearly gets snapped by the monster, but Guy comes to his rescue, clamping the beast with a barred muzzle construct and restraining it. It's one of the most creative manifestations used by the Lantern in this fight scene, although it was far from enough to put the kaiju down.
Oven Gloves
The Justice Gang's resident Lantern gets even more creative when he realizes the kaiju's claws are dangerous. He creates giant-sized quilted oven gloves, fixes them on the beast's claws, preventing it from causing further damage. This was a crucial and smart move since Hawkgirl's knee got stuck in the kaiju's eyelid, and the creature would have clawed at its own face to get her off.
Eye Stabber
The Kaiju's hide wouldn’t budge in Superman, so the team decides to target its only vulnerable spot: the eyeball. Hawkgirl smashes it with her metal mace, and Guy later joins in on the fun. He creates his most ridiculous manifestation yet: a green mechanical rig of sorts with a pointed pole in the middle. The construct forces the kaiju's eye open while the sharp pole in the middle jabs the eyeball several times. Even Superman and the bystanders are disgusted by this move.
Walls
Shortly after Superman and the Justice Gang defeat the kaiju, word spreads that the Kryptonian was brought to Earth to conquer the planet. This rumor was propagated by Lex Luthor, who acquired the intercepted video message that Jor-El and Lara sent to their son. Guy isn’t pleased about this development and decides to have a word with Superman in private. It's almost impossible to do this, with the large crowd swarming Big Blue. Guy improvises by creating a box-shaped green wall to prevent onlookers from eavesdropping on their discussion.
Box
The political tensions in Superman get high when Boravia invades the Eastern European country of Jarhanpur, a ploy devised by Lex Luthor, but the Justice Gang intervenes. While the troops are marching, a young boy waving a Superman flag almost gets caught in the crosshairs, but Guy saves him. The Lantern forms a giant green box around the boy to prevent harm from befalling him.
Middle Fingers
The same battle produces one of Guy's most popular constructs. He takes out the Boravian army with ease by creating giant hands that flip the middle finger, swatting the soldiers and their armored tanks away. Things get worse for the Boravian army when the rest of the Justice Gang joins the action.
Energy Blast
Superman showcased loads of constructs from just one Green Lantern. A series centered on the Corps itself unsurprisingly features even more manifestations. The show's full trailer, first played at New York Comic-Con in July, showed several constructs. One impressive use of the Lantern ring happens at the end of the footage when Hal Jordan fires multiple energy blasts at a red truck charging at him.
Force Field
In the second Lanterns trailer released in May, Hal proves he's not only good at offense, but defense as well. The footage shows mysterious red lasers pointing down from the sky, putting civilians in danger. Hal protects everyone by creating a giant force field that prevents the lasers from causing destruction. The lasers hint at the cosmic threats Hal and John will face when the series premieres.
Dollar Bill
The Green Lantern ring isn’t just for serious business; Hal uses it just like any of us would if we had access to such power. In the trailer, the highly experienced Lantern visits a bar with his successor, John. Hal creates a dollar note with the ring to pop into a Jukebox at the establishment. John is bewildered when he sees his mentor do this and asks if he just made counterfeit money.
Bird
Since John hasn’t fully mastered the ring, the trailers hardly show him making constructs. However, he creates an interesting manifestation when Hal hands him the jewelry and tells him to fly. While attempting to launch himself into the air, John fails and instead manifests a green bird. The most impressive thing about this construct is how detailed the bird's features are. John is an architect, so he's likely to have the most inventive constructs in the series.
Spaceship/Drill
The second manifestation John makes is the most elaborate and impressive in the trailers. In one scene, he visits a barren-looking site with Hal and constructs a massive spaceship-like tunneling drill. It's safe to assume that John had gotten much more experienced by that point in the show.
Tornado
The final trailer shows more of Hal's offensive prowess as he creates a massive tornado that whirls around an unidentifiable object and explodes. The trailers show how well Hal adapts to situations; he creates constructs that perfectly suit the challenge at hand.
Bottle Opener
Hal isn’t afraid to indulge in the most mundane activities with his Lantern ring. In the final shot of the show's full trailer, he manifests a bottle opener, uncorks a beer, and shares it with Kelly Macdonald's Sheriff Kerry. Hal and the sheriff don’t get along in most scenes shown in the trailer, but here, they seem to have put their differences aside.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
