Lanterns: Does John Become the Yellow Lantern? Will He Become Evil?

At the end of ‘Lanterns’ season 1, John achieves his dream of donning the ring at long last, but it isn’t exactly as per the script that his parents, and later, the guardians, set out for him. While he is still wearing Hal’s ring, John isn’t technically his successor. On the contrary, he seems to have bade the corps and the Guardians goodbye, as he is now more than self-sufficient. This sudden evolution is brought forth by his acquiring a new lantern, built by none other than Sinestro himself, as it is one that boasts power unlike any other lantern the world has ever seen. Though John’s will doesn’t appear to have wavered even an inch, there are a few details that hint at his future path being at least a few shades darker than grey. SPOILERS AHEAD.

John’s Ring Isn’t Guaranteed to Stay Green For Long

While the final episode of ‘Lanterns’ season 1 doesn’t outright confirm that John turns into a Yellow Lantern, there are simply too many references to that idea for it to be coincidental. To begin with, John’s vow is different from the typical Green Lantern vow and seems eerily similar to the vow of its yellow counterpart. The central theme is that of channeling fear as power, and when it comes to John, that is as perfect a pairing as any. Secondly, John very clearly announces himself as a rogue lantern standing in direct opposition to the Guardians at large, which also lines up with how the Yellow Lanterns are typically depicted as the foes in comics. Perhaps the biggest clue, though, is that John’s new lantern is handcrafted by none other than the poster boy of the Yellow Lanterns, Sinestro.

In the penultimate episode of the season, John and Halogram make an eventful trip to a planet that is, poetically enough, a sharp yellow in color. That’s not the only reference in here, however, as the entire planet also seems to be saturated with what is called fear gas, capable of filling people’s minds with fear, paranoia, and suicidal ideation. It is this very pool of negative energy that Sinestro seemingly uses to craft his lantern, which means that any ring being powered by it will create a similarly fear-fueled ring between its user and the powers of imagination.

What’s troublesome about John’s future, though, is that across the comic canon, Yellow Lanterns have a history of being villainous in their goals and actions, which is a curious direction to choose for the protagonist of the story. The story also makes some noteworthy nods to the entity known as Parallax, the yellow-colored embodiment of fear known to latch onto lanterns experiencing a crisis of will. In the comics, Hal Jordan famously turns into a supervillain for a brief period of time under the influence of Parallax, and there is a decent chance that we might see John go on a similar path, seeing that he has already gone rogue.

John’s Interpretation of Yellow Lanterns Might Differ From His Comic Counterparts

Despite the overt nods to Yellow Lanterns and the darker side of the power of the ring, the show never actually confirms that Sinestro’s lantern is any different from a regular lantern. While we see a tiny speck of yellow in it, for the most part, the lantern is still green and seems to function as a regular one would. To add to the ambiguity, we don’t see John make any constructs out of the ring either, and flight is our only way of knowing that the ring works. In the comics, Yellow Lanterns typically do not construct objects like their green counterparts do. Instead, they are known to make hard-light constructs on the basis of their opponents’ deepest fears and phobias. That doesn’t exactly seem to be the case with John, though, as in his case, the ring itself is reimagined in a different light.

When characters like Sinestro don the yellow ring in the comics, it is typically their way of spreading terror and wielding untold amounts of power. In a way, they pledge their allegiance to fear and substitute it for will. John’s relationship with the ring, however, is entirely different, and the main thing he seeks is not fear itself, but the ability to not fear fear itself. Instead of letting a malicious device capitalize on his deepest insecurities, John seemingly makes a pact with it, and in return is transformed into a lantern that Hal would be proud of.

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