Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Lanterns episode 4After four episodes, the DCU’s new Lanterns series is definitely shifting into high gear with some major reveals and new dangers. Additionally, the latest episode released on HBO Max features a pretty cool collection of Easter eggs, references, and ties to the comics, pop culture, and the greater DCU at large.
Continuing their investigation into a series of alien murders in Nebraska and the presence of a hidden Manhunter in 2016, Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan and Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart seemingly discover the identity of the shapeshifting killer by Lanterns episode 4’s ending. However, that reveal doesn’t come without brand-new tensions between the veteran and trainee chosen by the Guardians to become Hal Jordan’s replacement.
Featuring plenty to unpack, here are over 15 major Easter eggs, references, parallels, and key connections we found in Lanterns episode 4.
“You Don’t Really Believe He’s Your Backup, Do You?”
During his meeting with an incarcerated Sinestro, Hal Jordan’s former mentor gets Hal to admit the truth he’d been avoiding: The Guardians chose John Stewart not to serve as his backup, but as his replacement. Not only do we get this great sequence with Sinestro manipulating Hal through fear, but it also connects to the original comics where John really was chosen to serve as a reserve Green Lantern before he eventually became a full-fledged Lantern in his own right.
Manhunter Imperfections
Sinestro reveals that the Manhunters are unable to perfectly replicate carbon-based lifeforms, with Hal confirming later on in the episode that the stopped heart of a Manhunter posing as a human will crystallize. Similarly, Manhunters in the original DC comics also struggle to perfectly replicate humans.
Disneyland & Weenies
Theorizing that Will Macon’s entire ranch is built around a central compound protecting the Manhunter and more secrets, John Stewart calls this central building a “weenie”, a real-life architectural term coined by Walt Disney when constructing Disneyland, with the iconic castles serving as the weenies for the parks. Beyond being a fun bit of trivia, it also speaks to John Stewart’s comic origins as an architect.
“I’ll Fly Us Over”
In Lanterns episode 4, John refuses to let Hal Jordan fly him over by carrying him like a baby or ride on his back like a horse. It’s not a direct reference or anything, but I couldn’t help but laugh at the parallel to Robot Chicken’s hilarious bit where Batman complains about being flown into battle by Green Lantern via an emasculating “giant green safety bubble”. Coincidentally, Nathan Fillion served as the voice of Hal Jordan’s Green Lantern for Robot Chicken’s various DC Specials, proving he was destined to one day wear the ring in live-action as the DCU’s Guy Gardner (who is set to appear in future episodes of Lanterns).
Sector 2814
Lanterns episode 4 further confirms that Earth is part of Sector 2814, its canonical designation from the comics as one of thousands of sectors across the universe, with each one serving as a single Lantern’s assigned jurisdiction. However, the greater cosmic significance and dangers coming out of 2814 ultimately result in multiple active Green Lanterns hailing from Earth in the comics. Perhaps the same will happen for the DCU?
Big Green Fist
John mentions Hal’s penchant for the brute-force approach and using a “big green fist.” As seen in the comics and even in 2011’s Green Lantern movie starring Ryan Reynolds (and its video game tie-in), a big green fist is a definite go-to construct for Jordan, who often relies on his own confidence and impressive amount of willpower to get the job done, even as other Lanterns like John Stewart or Kyle Rayner might be more creative with their constructs.
Giant Green Drill
Case in point, John Stewart creates a complex giant drill to dig underground and get them to the compound undetected. Without a doubt, this latest construct is one of the show’s biggest and most impressive yet, again speaking to John’s canonical creativity, impressive will, and eye for architecture/design.
Hal Jordan’s Mother
As they walk underground, Hal mentions that his mother died of cancer shortly after losing his father. This mirrors the comics, as Hal’s mother also died of pancreatic cancer on the page.
“Set it Off”
Entering the compound on Macon’s Ranch, Hal inadvertently steps on and triggers a pressure plate. Warning him not to move, or he’ll “set it off”, John and Hal both agree that 1996’s Set It Off heist film is a great movie, starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah.
Kettlebell Construct (185-ish)
After Hal tells him his approximate weight, John creates Lanterns episode 4’s second construct to try and counteract the pressure plate: a kettlebell weighing 185 pounds. Although it doesn’t work, the wrong weight is still likely a nod to 1984’s Green Lantern #185, which details the origins of John Stewart in the story “In Blackest Day.”
PakarPBN
A Private Blog Network (PBN) is a collection of websites that are controlled by a single individual or organization and used primarily to build backlinks to a “money site” in order to influence its ranking in search engines such as Google. The core idea behind a PBN is based on the importance of backlinks in Google’s ranking algorithm. Since Google views backlinks as signals of authority and trust, some website owners attempt to artificially create these signals through a controlled network of sites.
In a typical PBN setup, the owner acquires expired or aged domains that already have existing authority, backlinks, and history. These domains are rebuilt with new content and hosted separately, often using different IP addresses, hosting providers, themes, and ownership details to make them appear unrelated. Within the content published on these sites, links are strategically placed that point to the main website the owner wants to rank higher. By doing this, the owner attempts to pass link equity (also known as “link juice”) from the PBN sites to the target website.
The purpose of a PBN is to give the impression that the target website is naturally earning links from multiple independent sources. If done effectively, this can temporarily improve keyword rankings, increase organic visibility, and drive more traffic from search results.
