Lanterns arrives with early praise: it tackles superhero TV’s women problem

Lanterns, the new Green Lantern series, is off to a strong start. Early reactions to the first episodes have been warm, and one reason keeps coming up: the show puts women at the center of the mystery instead of leaving them in the usual slots, support, love interest, or walking exposition for the male heroes.

Max: Stream HBO, TV, & Movies Download

Zoe Macon and Bernadette Stewart have their own motives, make their own choices, and deal with the fallout right alongside Hal Jordan and John Stewart. That pushes back against the superhero TV blind spot Poorna Jagannathan has described as a binary , where women matter in female-led projects but get pushed aside in male-led ones. Episode 4 makes that clearer than anything so far by revealing Zoe Macon as a Manhunter , shifting her from what looked like a secondary role into one of the story’s major moving parts.

That hits differently in a genre that’s been criticized for years for underrepresenting women, and for too often portraying them as emotional, less capable, or in need of rescue. It also stands out in DC’s screen history, which has too often kept its deeper female arcs for titles led by women. If you’re looking for a character-driven Green Lantern story, this looks worth watching, and you can catch Lanterns as the early episodes roll out. Still, the reaction so far seems to be coming mostly from the US, and the real test is whether can keep this up across a full season.