Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for Lanterns episode 1.Lanterns has aired its first episode on HBO, and the new DC Universe has just introduced one of its most powerful heroes, Hal Jordan, which instantly begs the question of whether he could win a fight against Superman. While the first release in the DCU Chapter One was the animated Creature Commandos, James Gunn's Superman was its first movie and major project.
The film showed the world how David Corenswet is one of the best live-action Superman actors, with many putting him at the very top of the list already. In Superman, the Man of Steel's feats of strength were quite impressive. Prior to Lanterns' release, there was no doubt that Corenswet's Superman was the most powerful hero in the DCU, and for good reason.
In Superman, Corenswet's Clark Kent managed to come out of an antiproton river unscathed, use his super breath to save himself, Krypto, and others from the pull of a black hole, defeat a clone who was his equal in power, and more. Corenswet's Superman is incredibly powerful. That said, at some point, he should meet a hero who could give him a run for his money.
Sector 2814 · Ring Active How Well Do You Know Lanterns? “In brightest day, in blackest night…”
💍The RingPowered by will
🔦The Corps3,600 sectors
🌌OaThe Guardians
👮Earth BeatSector 2814
⚠Yellow PerilThe fear entity
01
Lanterns is one of the tentpole TV series launching James Gunn and Peter Safran’s rebooted DC Universe. On which streaming platform does it air?
✓ Correct! HBO Max — Warner Bros. Discovery’s flagship streamer and the natural home for DCU prestige TV alongside Peacemaker and The Penguin. Lanterns is positioned as the DCU’s high-end serialised drama counterpart to Gunn’s theatrical Superman relaunch, sharing canon with the films. Disney+ runs Marvel; Netflix and Apple are rival streamers.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is HBO Max. Netflix has had various superhero shows but not DCU. Disney+ is Marvel’s home. Apple TV+ doesn’t house DC. HBO Max is Warner Bros. Discovery’s streamer and the TV home of the Gunn/Safran DCU — Lanterns joins Peacemaker and upcoming DCU series there.
02
Unlike most Green Lantern adaptations, Lanterns pairs two Earth-based ring-bearers in a buddy-cop framework — a weathered veteran and a newer recruit partnered together on Sector 2814 duty. Which two Lanterns lead the show?
✓ Correct! Hal Jordan and John Stewart — two of the most beloved Earth-assigned Lanterns — are paired as the show’s central duo. Hal is the hot-shot test-pilot veteran, John the disciplined ex-Marine architect with a sharper sense of justice. The pairing draws heavily from the Geoff Johns comics era and lets the show explore two very different philosophies of what a Green Lantern should be.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Hal Jordan and John Stewart. Guy Gardner (played by Nathan Fillion) is a separate DCU character who appears in the 2025 Superman film. Kyle Rayner is a beloved Lantern but not part of this show. The Lanterns duo is the Hal/John pairing — a pointedly contrasting veteran and recruit on Sector 2814 duty together.
03
The role of Hal Jordan — the weathered, test-pilot-turned-space-cop original Earth Lantern — went to a veteran actor best known as Coach Eric Taylor on Friday Night Lights and for leading Bloodline. Who plays Hal?
✓ Correct! Kyle Chandler — Emmy winner for Friday Night Lights, star of Bloodline, and part of the Monsterverse (Godzilla: King of the Monsters) — plays an older, weathered Hal Jordan. James Gunn wanted a seasoned, grounded presence rather than a rookie. Ryan Reynolds played Hal in 2011’s widely-mocked Green Lantern film (a different continuity); Nathan Fillion plays Guy Gardner in the 2025 Superman film.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Kyle Chandler. Ryan Reynolds’ Hal was the 2011 film (a separate, mostly-disowned continuity). Nathan Fillion plays Guy Gardner in the 2025 Superman film — not Hal. Chris Pine isn’t in the DCU. Chandler’s weathered, Friday-Night-Lights gravitas is exactly the mature Hal energy Gunn wanted for the show.
04
John Stewart — ex-Marine sniper, architect, and one of DC’s most iconic Black heroes — is played by a British actor who broke out in Barry Jenkins’ The Underground Railroad and Jeremy Saulnier’s Rebel Ridge. Who is he?
✓ Correct! Aaron Pierre — the British actor who earned raves as Caesar in The Underground Railroad (2021) and carried Netflix’s Rebel Ridge (2024) with a performance frequently compared to early Denzel Washington. Gunn called his casting “a no-brainer.” Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown and John Boyega are all great actors but not in the role.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Aaron Pierre. Winston Duke is M’Baku in the Marvel universe. Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us, American Fiction) is Marvel-adjacent too. John Boyega famously played Finn in Star Wars. Pierre’s Rebel Ridge performance — playing a disciplined ex-Marine — is essentially his audition for John Stewart, and Gunn’s team cast him off it.
05
James Gunn has repeatedly pitched Lanterns as a grounded, small-town murder-mystery thriller — where the space-cop rings are secondary to a detective case on Earth. Which acclaimed HBO series is his go-to tonal comparison?
✓ Correct! Gunn has explicitly called Lanterns his “True Detective in the DCU” — a slow-burn, atmospheric, character-driven case with superhero elements layered over a grounded murder mystery. Showrunner Chris Mundy actually did True Detective: Night Country duties, bringing that DNA directly. Watchmen (Damon Lindelof) was also cited, and Lindelof has consulting writer credits, but True Detective is the primary comp.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is True Detective. Gunn has named it as the explicit tonal blueprint — a slow-burn, character-driven murder mystery with superhero elements layered over it. Chris Mundy, the show’s runner, worked on True Detective: Night Country, bringing the DNA directly. Watchmen was a secondary comp (Damon Lindelof consults), but True Detective is the primary pitch.
06
When James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as DC Studios co-CEOs in 2022, they announced a rebooted slate of interconnected films and TV shows — with Lanterns among the launch titles. What is this first DCU phase officially called?
✓ Correct! Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters — announced in January 2023 as the Gunn/Safran DCU’s opening slate. It includes Superman (2025), The Authority, Supergirl, The Brave and the Bold, Paradise Lost, Waller, Creature Commandos, and of course Lanterns. Crisis on Infinite Earths is a comics event; Flashpoint and Dark Knights are other DC storylines, not the chapter branding.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Chapter 1: Gods and Monsters. Crisis on Infinite Earths is a famous DC comics crossover event (and Arrowverse crossover) but not a DCU chapter label. Flashpoint was referenced in The Flash (2023) from the now-defunct DCEU. The Gunn/Safran era officially named its launch phase Gods and Monsters — Superman 2025, Lanterns, and related titles.
07
Green Lanterns serve the Guardians of the Universe, an ancient race who created the Corps’ 3,600-sector peacekeeping force and charge the Lantern rings from a central Power Battery on their home planet. What is the Guardians’ homeworld called?
✓ Correct! Oa — the small blue-skinned Guardians’ home at the centre of the universe. It houses the Central Power Battery from which all Green Lantern rings draw their energy, and serves as the Corps’ academy and operational base. Krypton is Superman’s destroyed homeworld; Themyscira is Wonder Woman’s hidden Amazon island; Apokolips is Darkseid’s hellscape.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is Oa. Krypton is Superman’s homeworld. Themyscira is Paradise Island where Wonder Woman was raised. Apokolips is Darkseid’s grim world in the Fourth World mythos. Oa is specifically the Guardians of the Universe’s planet — home to the Central Power Battery that fuels every Green Lantern ring in all 3,600 sectors.
08
Every Green Lantern recites the same oath when charging their ring — a four-line rhyming incantation that’s become one of the most famous pieces of verse in comic-book history. How does it famously begin?
✓ Correct! “In brightest day, in blackest night / No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil’s might / Beware my power — Green Lantern’s light!” The oath dates back to 1940’s All-American Comics #16, was refined through the Silver Age, and is considered one of DC’s most sacred bits of verse. Every canonical adaptation includes some version of it.
✗ Ring malfunction! The answer is “In brightest day, in blackest night…” The full oath: “No evil shall escape my sight / Let those who worship evil’s might / Beware my power — Green Lantern’s light!” It’s been canon since 1940 and remains one of comics’ most instantly recognisable pieces of verse — recited in every major Green Lantern adaptation.
Ring Depowered · Report to Oa Your Corps Rank
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Honor Guard veteran — or still in Corps training?
One of those possible characters has just debuted in Lanterns. The new live-action DC show stars Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre as John Stewart. While both are powerful heroes in the comics, John is still training in the DCU, whereas Hal is already a Green Lantern Corps legend, and he might rival Superman's might in the franchise.
Lanterns Episode 1 Makes Hal Jordan's Power Level Clear
Hal is not in his prime in the 2016 timeline that most of the Lanterns episode 1 focuses on. That said, he is still quite powerful there, being able to shield John, Sheriff Kerry, and himself from an alien explosion that could have taken out a sizable portion of Rushville. He was also shown to create a sonic boom when he flies, making him extremely fast despite being past his prime. In addition to those feats, Hal Jordan is extremely intelligent and creative, always working an angle to get exactly what he wants. In a fight with Superman, that would be needed.
That said, 2016 is not the only year explored in Lanterns episode 1. The HBO series reveals that Chandler's Hal Jordan started out as a Green Lantern in 1986, when he stopped a meteor from taking out Victoria Falls. As such, by 2026, in present-day in the DCU, when Hal is shown to have died at the end of the Lanterns season 1, the Green Lantern had been active for 40 years. That is a lot of experience, with Hal having been trained by Sinestro, one of the most powerful Green Lanterns ever, before he turned evil.
Is Lanterns' Hal Jordan More Powerful Than David Corenswet's Superman?
Hal Jordan uses his green lantern ring in Lanterns
In terms of raw strength, no, Chandler's Hal Jordan is just a regular human without the Green Lantern ring. As shown by his death at the end of Lanterns episode 1, he is more susceptible to damage than the Man of Steel. That said, Gunn's Superman movie also showed that someone powerful and prepared, like Ultraman with Lex Luthor coaching him, could defeat Superman in a fight. Famously called the most powerful weapon in the universe in DC Comics, the Green Lantern ring gives Hal a chance against Superman, and he has 40 years of experience to pull a Lex Luthor.
Additionally, Superman revealed that Corenswet's Clark Kent had only been Superman for three years, granted he never lost a fight in that time, before the events of the film. Hal is a Green Lantern legend, while Superman is a little more than a rookie. With kryptonite added to the equation, which led to Superman being captured, imprisoned, and nearly killed by Lex in his DCU debut, Hal Jordan could easily take him down. Lanterns' version of Hal is also one that does not seem like he would have a problem with using kryptonite to fight Superman.
Finally, speaking to Howard Stern in September 2025, Gunn claimed that Green Lantern could defeat Superman, saying, "Absolutely, he’s pretty powerful.” While Gunn did not specify which Green Lantern, with 40 years of experience in the DCU, Hal Jordan leads the charge. As such, based on what the DCU's creative chief has said and what Lanterns and 2025's Superman have shown, Kyle Chandler's Hal Jordan could defeat David Corenswet's Superman under the right conditions.
