Who Are the Manhunters in HBO’s ‘Lanterns,’ and Are They Actually Connected to Martian Manhunter?

DC fans tuning into HBO’s ‘Lanterns’ have run into a naming problem that has nothing to do with the show itself and everything to do with decades of tangled comic book history. The series has built its central mystery around a group called the Manhunters, and the name alone has been enough to send longtime readers searching for answers about a very different, very beloved character.

That character is J’onn J’onzz, better known as Martian Manhunter, and the overlap in naming is not a coincidence, even if the two are far from the same thing. Untangling who the show’s Manhunters actually are, and how their history intersects with Martian Manhunter’s own comic book origins, requires a look at some of DC’s messiest continuity.

Who Are the Manhunters Introduced in Lanterns

In the world of ‘Lanterns,’ the Manhunters are described by one alien character as the most dangerous beings to ever exist in the galaxy, a robotic police force originally created by the Guardians of the Universe long before the Green Lantern Corps existed. a robotic police force originally created by the Guardians of the Universe long before the Green.

The Green Lanterns receive their power rings from the Guardians, an immortal race of blue skinned aliens from the planet Oa, and before founding the Corps, those same Guardians built the Manhunters as an earlier peacekeeping force. The Green Lanterns receive their power rings from the Guardians of the Universe, an immortal race of blue-skinned aliens from planet Oa. Before they founded the Green Lanterns, the Guardians created a peacekeeping force of androids, the Manhunters.

The problem was that the Manhunters lacked emotion, which made them too rigid in how they applied justice, and that rigidity eventually led to a rebellion the Guardians had to put down. But without emotions, the Manhunters were too inflexible in serving justice. Once they rebelled, the Guardians defeated them and decided they needed to rethink their peacekeeping corps. The surviving Manhunters never let go of their grudge, and their vow of vengeance against both the Guardians and the Green Lantern Corps that replaced them is central to the show’s plot. The Manhunters endured and swore vengeance upon their creators and their replacements.

In the series itself, that history plays out through Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler, and John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre, as the two investigate a murder in the small Nebraska town of Rushville rather than on some distant alien world. The show depicts Green Lanterns John Stewart and Hal Jordan investigating a murder not on some alien world, but in small-town Nebraska.

The show’s second episode, titled ‘Trust Fall,’ pushes the mystery further by introducing a Manhunter that survived among the human population of Rushville after apparently orchestrating a massacre on its own world. Episode 2, titled Trust Fall, moves beyond the small-town investigation surrounding Hal Jordan and John Stewart and introduces a threat with deep ties to Green Lantern history, the Manhunters.

The Comic Book History Behind the Manhunters in Lanterns

The Manhunters have a surprisingly deep comic book pedigree that predates their role as Green Lantern villains. The robotic Manhunters most closely tied to the Green Lantern mythos first go back to a 1977 storyline in ‘Justice League of America’ #140 and #141, written by Steve Englehart with art by Dick Dillin. The Green Lantern-related Manhunter robots go back to a 1977 story in Justice League of America #140-141 by Steve Englehart and Dick Dillin.

In that story, the androids manipulate Hal Jordan into believing he had wiped out an inhabited world, part of a broader scheme aimed at their former creators. In this story, the Manhunters deceive Hal Jordan into believing he accidentally destroyed an inhabited planet, all as part of a scheme of revenge against the Guardians.

The name Manhunter has been recycled and reworked so many times in DC’s publishing history that even longtime fans can lose track of which version is being referenced at any given moment. Behind the scenes, the Manhunters are some of the most convoluted characters in DC Comics history, the result of multiple retcons and revisions. That confusion later produced the 1988 ‘Millennium’ crossover event, in which Manhunter agents infiltrated the lives of superheroes by posing as trusted friends and family members.

The results of that first failure gave rise to the Millennium crossover event, in which Manhunter operatives pretended to be friends and family members of superheroes while infiltrating their lives. One of those infiltrators, Mark Shaw, eventually turned away from the group and became a hero using the same Manhunter name, further muddying the waters for readers trying to keep the various Manhunters straight. One of these Manhunter operatives, Mark Shaw, would eventually reform and become a superhero called the same name.

Are the Manhunters Related to Martian Manhunter

The most direct answer is that the robotic Manhunters seen in ‘Lanterns’ and the hero known as Martian Manhunter are not the same entity, despite sharing a name and a signature power. The robotic Manhunters and Martian Manhunter are not the same entity, comic book lore has previously revealed that the robotic Manhunters actually took their name, and much of their underlying technology, from an ancient Martian civilization,

A 2003 ‘Justice League’ storyline titled ‘Trial By Fire,’ written by Joe Kelly, is where DC formally connected the two concepts, revealing that the Guardians modeled their android police force on an actual Martian police force that J’onn J’onzz would later join himself. The 2003 Justice League storyline Trial By Fire reveals that when the Guardians were designing the Manhunters, they took inspiration from Martian police, the same police force that J’onn J’onzz would eventually join, thus linking Martian Manhunter to the Manhunters.

That shared shapeshifting ability is a large part of why the confusion feels so natural to casual viewers, since many fans first encountered Martian Manhunter’s powers through animated series like ‘Justice League’ and ‘Justice League Unlimited.’ Between the identical name and the shapeshifting powers both groups share, it is an easy assumption to make, especially for fans who know Martian Manhunter primarily through his shapeshifting abilities in shows like Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

It does not help that the mystery in ‘Lanterns’ leans hard into a shapeshifting Manhunter hiding among Rushville’s residents, reinforcing the visual link between the two concepts even though their origins are distinct. Despite them vanishing without a trace, a Manhunter survived on whatever planet Stewart’s captors are from and, in their leader’s words, lived among us as they quietly engineered a holocaust.

What the Manhunters Could Mean for the Future of Lanterns

James Gunn has previously teased that the Manhunters would play a significant role in the DC Universe’s broader storytelling going forward, though nothing officially confirmed so far ties that plotline directly to J’onn J’onzz or to any casting for Martian Manhunter. James Gunn has previously teased that the Manhunters would play a vital role in the DCU’s broader storytelling, but nothing officially released so far ties that plotline directly to J’onn J’onzz or hints at his casting.

Given how deliberately Gunn and Peter Safran have linked projects across the Gods and Monsters chapter of DC Studios, it would not be surprising if the Manhunters’ arc in ‘Lanterns’ eventually laid groundwork for Martian Manhunter’s proper live action debut. Given how deliberately James Gunn and Peter Safran have connected projects across DC Studios’ Gods and Monsters chapter, it would not be surprising if the Manhunters’ storyline in Lanterns eventually laid groundwork for Martian Manhunter’s proper introduction in a future project.

That connective tissue is already visible elsewhere in the DCU rollout, including John Stewart’s confirmed appearance in the upcoming ‘Man of Tomorrow’ and Guy Gardner’s presence across ‘Superman,’ ‘Peacemaker’ and now ‘Lanterns’ itself. John Stewart’s confirmed appearance in the upcoming Man of Tomorrow, that kind of connective tissue has already defined much of the DCU’s rollout strategy, from Guy Gardner’s appearances spanning Superman, Peacemaker and now Lanterns. Whether the show eventually reveals a more direct tie to J’onn J’onzz remains an open question, but the foundation for that kind of crossover is clearly being built into the mythology as the season unfolds.

Considering how deep the Manhunters’ comic book roots run and how carefully ‘Lanterns’ seems to be laying groundwork for future DCU stories, do you think J’onn J’onzz and Martian Manhunter will eventually cross paths with this shapeshifting threat from Rushville.