Tom King’s Secret CIA Past Is Fueling HBO’s Most Grounded DC Show Yet
DC’s television slate has leaned into charm and spectacle so far, with ‘Superman’ and ‘Supergirl’ delivering the kind of spunky, crowd-pleasing energy fans expect from the genre. That tone is about to shift dramatically. HBO’s upcoming ‘Lanterns’ is positioning itself as something closer to prestige drama than traditional superhero fare, and the person steering that shift has a background nobody saw coming.
The series follows John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre, and Lantern legend Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler, two intergalactic cops drawn into a dark, earth based mystery as they investigate a murder in the American heartland. The show has already been compared to a noir crime procedural more than a typical cape story, with ‘True Detective’ cited as a clear tonal reference point by outlets covering its production. Writer Tom King is the reason that comparison keeps coming up.
According to Variety, King’s ability to infuse ‘Lanterns’ with authentic detective and spycraft knowledge comes from an unlikely place. He worked as a CIA counterterrorism officer from just after 9/11 until 2009, and he addressed the rumors head on in the outlet’s profile. “I’ve seen rumors that I started the Iraq War. I didn’t start the Iraq War. I was 23 years old. I was against al-Qaida and the Taliban. We were trying to stop them from doing horrible things. I was against the Iraq War. I thought it was the stupidest fucking thing. I watched people lie about stuff on TV, but I still had to go. It was my duty. I worked on some cases where people were going to blow up a base, and we stopped them. Should I have let them blow them up? Let those kids die because I didn’t agree with the war?”
King’s path to Hollywood started long before his time in intelligence work. He bought his first comic issue, “Avengers” #300, at seven years old, and that early obsession eventually led to internships at both DC Comics and Marvel while he attended Columbia University. After graduating in 2000, he worked at the Department of Justice before joining the CIA following the September 11 attacks, eventually spending seven years on the ground in countries including Afghanistan and Iraq.
King eventually walked away from intelligence work to return to storytelling full time, and that decision reshaped his career entirely. He became known for stories exploring the emotional side of superheroes, including Marvel’s “The Vision,” which later helped inspire the Disney Plus series “WandaVision,” along with DC’s “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,” the source material behind the new “Supergirl” film.
‘Lanterns’ now carries that same sensibility into live action television. Created by Tom King and Chris Mundy, the series marks the third television installment of the DC Universe’s first chapter, subtitled Gods and Monsters. Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Nathan Fillion, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Jasmine Cephas Jones round out the ensemble. The eight episode first season is set to premiere on HBO and HBO Max on August 16, taking up the Sunday 9 p.m. timeslot previously held by prestige series like “House of the Dragon” and the Emmy winning “The Penguin.”
Given King’s real world résumé, it is worth asking how much of his own history bleeds into the murder investigation John Stewart and Hal Jordan are about to untangle in Nebraska, and whether DC’s boldest tonal swing yet will land with audiences expecting something closer to the last two shows.
