In last night's episode of Lanterns, we finally learned what the deal is with John Stewart's bizarre childhood, how (and why) he was chosen for the Green Lantern Corps, and the truth behind John being Hal Jordan's trainee.
You can read our full recap here, but one moment, in particular, is worth highlighting. When John is a baby, one of the Guardians of the Universe visits his mother and reveals her true form.
The series, which still seems somewhat reluctant to embrace the Green Lantern comics, doesn't fully reveal her appearance, but we do get to see the ancient Guardian from behind. That, at least, seems very comic-accurate, though it's hard to tell whether the alien has its diminutive stature from the comics and is floating or is just impressively tall in the DCU.
Will we get a full reveal in a future episode of Lanterns? We're three episodes in, and in terms of constructs, we've had a bottle opener, a $20 bill, a bird, and a watch, so the full-blown cosmic side of things may have to wait for another project like Man of Tomorrow.
Talking about John's interview with the Guardian (who appears in human form, played by Laura Linney), writer and co-executive producer Vanessa Baden Kelly says, "What we were hoping to come across in that scene was that John was brought up to say and do all the right things and to believe that he belonged in every space because he was that damn excellent."
"And what the Guardians are trying to get out of John is this: 'Okay. One, will you follow instructions? Because f***ing Hal doesn't. And we need somebody to be better than that.' But two, they want to know, without asking, would you be willing to backstab him? And those two things kind of don't match because if he is going to follow the chain of command and he's gonna follow orders, then he wouldn't do that."
"But, ultimately, they are higher than him. So it's a tricky situation," she continued. "So there's a dance that they're doing, the entire episode, where John is trying to show that, 'I am exactly who I said that I am, but I'm also the man for the job.'"
In the comics, the Guardians of the Universe are an ancient race of blue-skinned, diminutive beings who oversee the Green Lantern Corps from their homeworld of Oa. As among the oldest and most powerful beings in the DC Universe, the Guardians are responsible for creating the Green Lantern Corps and wielding the emotional spectrum's green light to maintain order across the cosmos.
Though dedicated to protecting life and enforcing justice, their rigid, often secretive methods have frequently put them at odds with their own Lanterns, making them both revered leaders and controversial figures in the DC Comics mythos.
Check out Lanterns' take on the Guardians of the Universe below.