DC Studios unveiled its latest live-action superhero origin scene, and it came via its newest HBO/HBO Max series. James Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC reboot introduced a world where superheroes have already existed for years, so it avoided traditional origin stories for some of its characters. David Corenswet’s Superman took flight last summer, and his first film didn’t delve too deeply into his origins, introducing him as a hero who had been active for years before the film's events. However, that storytelling approach hasn’t deterred DC Studios from showing audiences where some of its biggest heroes come from.
The latest DCU origin scene came through Lanterns, the HBO series that premiered on August 16, starring Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as rookie-in-training John Stewart. This version of Hal Jordan has already operated for decades and is old, weary, and out of his prime. John Stewart, on the other hand, doesn’t even have his Green Lantern ring yet, making it necessary to delve into his past and why he possesses a will strong enough to wield one.
The first five minutes of the show don’t waste time introducing Stewart’s past. A flashback scene transports viewers to 1996, where a young John watches a televised interview featuring Hal Jordan, who had introduced himself as Green Lantern to the world a decade earlier after stopping a meteor. While watching, John and his siblings hear their father, John Stewart Sr.’s vehicle pull into the driveway, and his presence scares the other boys, who beg John to turn off the TV. Their fear isn’t surprising, given how strict Stewart Sr. is. John, on the other hand, shows no fear and only switches the TV off at the last minute when his dad walks through the door.
Stewart Sr. asks John to step outside with him. There, he makes the young boy stand by a wall with an apple on his head as he shoots a bullet through it from a distance. John doesn’t even flinch as the gun fires, illustrating his fearlessness and why he was selected to be Earth’s next Green Lantern. Fear is central to Green Lantern lore; traditionally, joining the Green Lantern Corps requires members to overcome great fear before receiving a power ring.
Lanterns' opening scene does a masterful job of tying that concept to John’s origins while also revealing the complex father-son dynamic between the hero and his father. The first episode also covers three timelines: the 1996 Stewart origin, a 2016 timeline, and present-day 2026. The episode moves between 2016 and 2026 as it peels back the layers on a sinister mystery in the small town of Rushville, Nebraska. The premiere gives the DCU its latest live-action superhero origin scene, and there are likely more to follow as James Gunn introduces more exciting new heroes into this universe.
Other Live-Action Origin Scenes Introduced in the DCU So Far
Christopher Smith's Childhood Flashback in Peacemaker Season 2
Flashbacks are a storytelling device the DCU has utilized heavily so far. Peacemaker Season 2 used one to unveil Christopher Smith’s tragic backstory and childhood. The fourth episode, "Need I Say Door," opens with a flashback 35 years into the past, following a young Chris, his brother Keith, and their father, Auggie Smith, on a hunting expedition. Combing through the forest with their rifles, they chance upon a strange alien creature. After Auggie wounds it, they find the injured being next to the device that accesses the Quantum Unfolding Chamber.
Auggie quickly blows off the alien’s head despite Keith’s pleas, then backhands Keith for telling him what to do. The scene highlights how toxic Chris’s childhood was while also revealing the origin of the Quantum Unfolding Chamber, the extradimensional pocket universe that serves as a portal to other worlds. Season 1 had already dug into Chris’s past, exploring the trauma he suffered from losing his brother Keith.
Supergirl's Argo City Flashbacks
Superman introduced Supergirl, Clark Kent’s cousin, in its final moments, depicting her as a troubled young woman who hops between red-sun planets because only there can she drink herself into a stupor. This depiction of Kara Zor-El was surprising, given that previous live-action iterations hadn’t portrayed the character that way. This summer’s Supergirl provided more context for why Kara is such a mess. Through flashbacks, we learn how Krypton’s destruction set her tragedy in motion, how Kara lost her loved ones, and why she’s so different from Clark, the cousin who was sent to Earth as a baby and never knew Krypton.
The flashbacks introduced Argo City, a small fragment of Krypton that survived the planet’s destruction thanks to Zor-El’s protective dome. Kara was born there eight years later and grew up believing Argo was simply home. However, when Argo broke away from Krypton, it unearthed the kryptonite buried in Krypton’s bedrock, and the poisoned soil slowly killed its inhabitants, arguably a crueler death than an instant one. After Alura succumbed to the radiation, Zor-El sent Kara and Krypto to Earth to follow Kal-El and make a new home there.
Clayface Trailer Reveals His Origins
The DCU is filled with diverse cinematic tones, and its next film will take the horror route. Clayface arrives in theaters on October 23, telling the origin story of Tom Rhys Harries’ Matt Hagen, an actor who becomes the clay monster Clayface after a vicious attack leaves him disfigured and an experimental procedure alters his physiology. The film’s trailer already gave a glimpse into that transformation, showing a gravely injured Matt Hagen in a hospital bed with his face completely bandaged.
Naomi Ackie’s fringe scientist, Dr. Caitlyn Corr, is the woman behind the experimental treatment. Clayface’s origin story is the most tragic in the DCU so far. The R-rated body-horror film is directed by veteran filmmaker James Watkins, with a script by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini.
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.
