The new DCU series Lanterns seems doomed to follow the same dark vision that made Supergirl flop. Concerns had already risen regarding the HBO Max show in the wake of lackluster teaser trailers. However, those concerns are back in force following a Variety interview with writer Tom King, whose work also inspired the Supergirl movie.
The Supergirl movie was attacked for many reasons. However, most of the complaints regarding the movie’s depiction of Kara Zor-El can be traced directly back to King’s writing. More worrying, however, is that King’s work was reportedly held up as a guide for future DCU projects.
In 2022, James Gunn and Peter Safran assembled a team of writers to help them lay the groundwork for the DCU. Each writer was reportedly given a copy of King’s Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. It was at this same meeting that plans for a Supergirl movie based on the book were approved. So was King’s idea for a show based on Green Lantern.
The resulting show, Lanterns, has been described as “gritty” and a “grounded murder mystery.” This is a far cry from the space opera of the source material. That concerned fans of the comics, even before the show’s first trailers and logo reveal. All the early promotional material seemed to obscure the show’s source material, as if the creators were were ashamed of it.
Another issue was that King had no experience writing Green Lantern. Indeed, apart from one 2015 crossover special, King hadn’t written anything involving the Corps. He did, however, include Guy Gardner in his 2021 Human Target series. It is this point, and King’s track record at DC Comics, that are the chief reasons why superhero fans are worried about Lanterns.
Tom King’s DC track record raises familiar concerns ahead of HBO’s Lanterns
Tom King has a reputation as a hit maker and indeed many of his comics have won awards and been best-sellers. However, he has also been responsible for many comics that were critically assailed. One common complaint from fans and critics is that King frequently bends established characters to fit the story he wants to tell.
In the case of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, showing Kara Zor-El as a wounded warrior was praised for offering a take most had never considered. However, in the case of Heroes in Crisis, King was lambasted for the liberties he took in turning Wally West (aka The Flash) into a multiple murderer. King took similar steps in his Human Target series regarding Guy Gardner.
King’s version of Guy was a crooked cop and an abusive stalker. This ignored Guy’s background as a victim of abuse who held a special hatred for bullies. Guy may be a macho jerk, but is usually portrayed as a jerk with a heart of gold. Fans of Ice were also unimpressed with King transforming her into a femme fatale for the sake of his Neo Noir take on Human Target.
Given that, it is difficult not to see Lanterns as another bomb in the making for the DCU. While King has had success as a writer, it has always been with characters that were ill-defined. His portrayal of popular, well-established characters is much more divisive. Using his deconstruction of Supergirl as the basis for the Girl of Steel was a big mistake. So is letting King set the tone for the new public image of the Green Lantern Corps.
