Lanterns Episode 5's ending recreated a memorable Arrowverse scene by improving it with a much more compelling sequence that has lasting ramifications for the DCU. DC Studios' Lanterns spent the first half of the show's opening chapter wrestling with the storyline of Aaron Pierre's John Stewart being chosen by the Guardians as Hal Jordan's replacement. From childhood, Stewart was shaped by a Guardian and by parents who willingly accepted their assignment of raising a boy without fear so that he could one day fulfill his destiny to become the next Green Lantern. The problem is that "destiny" is a job description, forcing Stewart to believe that the ring is the only proof that the life his parents built for him meant something.
This premise ultimately received an unexpected resolution in Episode 5. Driven by the reminder of the Guardians that he can take the Green Lantern ring by force if necessary, John believed Hal Jordan was more concerned with his own pride than actually doing the right thing, and he used this as a justification to do exactly what the Guardian Lianna had asked.
John beat Hal in a brutal fight in a motel before killing Zoe (the hidden Manhunter) to complete their mission in Rushville. Following Zoe's death, he pulled the ring from Hal's hand and put it on, seemingly cementing himself as Earth's new Green Lantern, but it was just for a moment. For John, this moment should be a celebration. However, wearing it didn't feel like it; instead, he told Lianna he "just felt empty."
"You know, I spent a lot of my life imagining what it would feel like to wear this. Pride, gratitude, power? But then when I put it on… I just felt empty."
The Arrowverse Already Did the Green Lantern Rejection Storyline
Arrow's series finale began John Diggle's Green Lantern storyline after a small box emanating a green light crashed from the sky, making it obvious that Diggle is the Arrowverse's version of John Stewart. For the next two years, the object followed Diggle across the remaining shows, with him wrestling with the weight of the responsibility if he chooses to accept his destiny. Diggle experienced headaches, and at one point, even heard a voice from inside the box saying, "Worlds await." ARGUS tried to open the box, but failed. Even Luke Fox from Batwoman, who had a vast amount of resources tied to Batman, couldn't crack it. The mystery gradually became a burden for Diggle rather than a much-earned destiny.
Diggle's Green Lantern story ended in The Flash Season 8, Episode 18, when Diggle took the box to an imprisoned Eobard Thawne on Lian Yu, hoping that a man from the future would give him answers about its true purpose. Thawne told him these boxes only appear at crossroads and offer immense power capable of changing lives. Thawne's declaration and Diggle's realization finally reopened the box, prompting Diggle to see countless cosmic lives he could lead as a Green Lantern.
Diggle, however, rejected the Green Lantern mantle, mainly due to his family, because none of those cosmic lives led back to his wife, Lyla Michaels, and their children. Diggle threw the box, and it vanished, ending the Arrowverse's push and pull for his character to become DC's ring-wielding hero on the small screen.
In May 2021, David Ramsey told TV Line that Diggle's rejection of the Green Lantern mantle has "consequences" for his character, but it never came into fruition due to the cancellation of his spinoff:
"To your other point, which is exploring what has happened to Diggle since encountering that green box, that will be explored in the other episodes – on 'Batwoman,' 'Flash,' 'Superman & Lois,' and 'Supergirl.' Whatever was in the box, he refused the invitation of. Let’s put it like that. But there are consequences to that."
It's clear that Diggle rejected his Green Lantern destiny because the box was trying to make him someone else, and there was no power in the universe greater than the love he had for his family. Diggle stayed as a husband, father, and member of ARGUS instead of becoming the Arrowverse's Green Lantern.
Why Lanterns' Green Lantern Rejection Story Beat Is Better Than the Arrowverse
John Stewart's rejection of the Green Lantern mantle closely resembled what happened to John Diggle's own destiny in the Arrowverse. The Flash wrapped John Diggle's Green Lantern story in the cleanest way possible because it was never allowed to finish, considering the timing wasn't right due to the Arrowverse's imminent ending (combined with the cancellation of the Justice U spinoff that was supposed to be led by Diggle).
Lanterns improved on it by making the refusal earned and thematically richer rather than an abrupt wrap-up. Diggle only rejected a vision of what is bound to happen, while Stewart rejected something he had built his life toward before recognizing the person he had become to finally claim it. That difference is why the emptiness lands far better on Lanterns.
Lanterns conveyed the idea that the institution itself is the problem, not just the hero's heart. The Arrowverse's version of the Green Lantern story framed the conflict as family versus destiny, whereas Stewart's refusal conveyed that he is also rejecting the idea of becoming an instrument for the Guardians.
John Stewart's refusal also left a better door open for the DCU to enrich his character, while Diggle's rejection on Earth-Prime feels final. With Stewart bound to return in Man of Tomorrow, it is all but confirmed that he will wield the ring later. Lanterns spent a good chunk of the season proving that Stewart can refuse a destiny written by other people. If he puts the ring back on, it will be because he decided the power is worth the person it requires, now on his own terms, after he learned (the hard way) what it costs to take it for someone else.
