DC Studios unveils the best look yet at the DCU's Guardian, Laura Linney's Lianna, in Lanterns' latest episode. The Guardians of the Universe (also known as the Guardians of Oa) are a race of immortal beings in DC Comics who possess godlike, reality-warping abilities and appear as short, blue-skinned, white-haired humanoids. In DC Comics, the Guardians created the Manhunters as their first robotic attempt at a cosmic peacekeeping force before forming the Green Lantern Corps and forging the will-fueled Power Rings.
In a blink and you'll miss it moment during Lanterns Episode 1, "The Weenie," Laura Linney's Lianna revealed a new look at her real Guardian form. After telling Aaron Pierre's John Stewart that it is time for him to "go and get [the ring]" and replace Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan as Sector 2814's Green Lantern, Lianna teleports away, leaving behind a brief mirage of her real Guardian body.
While Lianna is a character in DC Comics' Green Lantern lore, she isn't actually a Guardian, but rather a Maltusian born as a descendant of the Guardians. That only fuels the theories that Laura Linney's Lanterns' legend Lianna isn't a real Guardian, but rather somebody else, possibly a Manhunter, who is toying with John.
Fans caught a non-silhouetted glimpse of the DCU's Guardians in Lanterns Episode 3 during the flashbacks to John Stewart's upbringing. After John Stewart Sr. was passed up for the Green Lantern mantle, Lianna approached his wife, Bernadette Stewart, as she held her baby and future Justice League superhero.
Unfortunately, Lianna only briefly transformed into her true form to prove to Bernadette that she was legitimately a Guardian. Even after Episode 4, audiences are still waiting to see Lianna or any Guardian's appearance from the front, and it's unclear whether it will be shown in Lanterns' first season at all.
The latest look, now expanded to reveal their entire torso and upper body, shuts down the theory that Lianna was floating when she revealed herself, indicating that the DCU's Guardians aren't the four-foot-nothing aliens they are in the comics.
What Are Lianna & The Guardians Doing in Lanterns?
Lanterns star Kyle Chandler confirmed that the Guardians are worried about what Hal Jordan learned from Ulrich Thomsen's Sinestro, but those concerns are yet to truly manifest themselves in the story. Of course, Lianna has been clear that she wants Hal retired and for John to take his place, although she has yet to make her motivations clear and voice her concerns to either of the leading superheroes.
Many have theorized that the Guardians' worst fears will be realized in Lanterns as the aging Hal takes an evil turn to become Parallax, a villainous fear-fueled version of the character from DC Comics. The latest teaser for Lanterns Episode 5 added to those theories when it appeared to show Hal and John fighting as chaos and explosions erupt in Rushville, causing widespread conflict and destruction.
But it all seems a little too convenient that Lianna has a grudge against Hal, who mysteriously ends up dead in present-day, all while there is a shape-shifting Manhunter on the loose in Rushville. It's easy to imagine that Lianna and those she is working with (Guardians or not) were behind Hal's death, but perhaps DC Studios may be teeing up a fake-out that reveal it was only a Manhunter who died.
Unfortunately, there is a real chance that the Guardians' faces are never shown in Lanterns this season, both due to budgetary constraints and a desire to keep the action somewhat grounded in the American heartland town. That said, due to Lanterns' success, a Season 2 renewal appears increasingly inevitable, and the follow-up could elevate the budget to allow for more aliens and cosmic action.
