One reference to a Batman villain in Lanterns seems to be far more than a common Easter egg. The hit HBO Max series has made a number of nods to the larger DCU and the comics that inspired it. However, this tease seems to be symbolic in regard to the episode’s larger themes.
The Easter egg shows up in the opening scene of Lanterns’ third episode, “OutKast.” Mostly set within the show’s 2016 storyline, the episode opens with John Stewart falling onto a pile of mattresses. He is soon shown to be inside an abandoned mall.
It is subsequently revealed that John Stewart is in this mall to meet with the Guardians of the Universe for a job interview. However, as he follows a series of signs to the interview office, one closed-down shop takes special prominence in the background. The shop is Janus Cosmetics, which is a name that will be familiar to many fans of the Batman comics.
Janus Cosmetics was once the pride and joy of the Sionis family of Gotham City. However, the heir apparent to the company, Roman Sionis, loathed his family for their shallowness and obsession with appearances. This gave him a life-long obsession with masks, culminating in him becoming the villain Black Mask after bankrupting Janus Cosmetics with his poor business decisions.
The use of Janus Cosmetics is a nice nod to the larger DCU. However, the framing of the half-masked model’s picture in subsequent shots seems far too staged to be accidental. Indeed, once the episode is watched, it becomes apparent that these shots foreshadow the events of the episode and the overarching plot of Lanterns.
How Batman villain’s Easter egg foreshadows Lanterns’ story
The idea of people being “two-faced” repeats throughout “OutKast.” So does the theme of duality. This is fitting, given that Janus was the two-faced Roman god of change and balance. The episode expresses both ideas visually, with John’s path to his interview taking him from light into the dark. At the same time, the two-faced model of Janus Cosmetics is centered in the background.
Beyond the interview scene, “OutKast” details John Stewart’s young life. John’s parents told him at a young age that the Guardians were watching him through birds. However, when John was older, his mother revealed to him that they lied about this.
The young John Stewart dreams of being an artist, but conceals this from his parents so as to focus on their training. Later, as a Marine sniper, John is recruited to assassinate a Russian money launderer. He finds out later that his CO lied to him about the mission being sanctioned. This results in Stewart officially being dishonorably discharged as a scapegoat, to prevent an international incident.
The theme of deception comes to a head in the final scenes, as John Stewart is recruited into the Lanterns. Stewart’s Guardian contact informs him they think Hal Jordan is keeping secrets regarding his former mentor, Sinestro. They, in turn, ask Stewart to conceal that he has been recruited as Jordan’s replacement rather than his backup.
Even Hal is exposed as a liar, despite his reported honesty and fearlessness. In the episode’s final scene, Hal makes a show of being kind to John’s parents and says he’s happy to be training their son. However, once they are alone, Hal tells John that “the only way you’re gonna get this ring is over my dead f-ing body.”
