“Lanterns” gets properly into its Green Lantern mystery in Episode 4, “The Weenie,” while making the relationship between Hal Jordan and John Stewart even more complicated. The two are still hunting the Manhunter, but they are no longer working toward the same thing. Hal wants to protect his place as a Green Lantern, while John is being quietly prepared to replace him.
The episode begins with John watching Will Macon’s property and noticing a strange pattern. A helicopter keeps landing at exactly the same spot and at exactly the same time every day. John explains that the location is a “weenie,” an architectural term for a feature that naturally attracts attention and helps guide people through a space. To John, that makes it worth investigating. If Macon is hiding something on his enormous property, this could be the place he wants people to notice.
John and Hal sneak onto the compound to find out what is really there. John uses his ring to create a digging machine based on a sketch he makes himself, showing once again how useful his artistic background can be in the field their search doesn't lead them to the Manhunter, but it does uncover a highly advanced armoury. There is clearly something unusual going on at Macon's property, even if they still can't prove exactly what it is.
Macon himself only makes things stranger. During their encounter, he strips naked and asks John to draw him, creating one of the episode's most bizarre moments. It doesn't give them the answer they want, but it certainly doesn't make Macon look any less suspicious.
At the same time, Hal is dealing with a meeting with Sinestro has once again put him in trouble with the Guardians. They have apparently had enough of Hal's repeated violations and now see John as a possible replacement. Lianna tells John that he could become the new Green Lantern. When Hal next gives him the ring, John simply has to recite the oath.
John isn't exactly thrilled by the idea of taking Hal's place this way. He believes he could handle the responsibility, but replacing his mentor against Hal's wishes isn't something he wants to do. Hal, meanwhile, has been given a different plan by Sinestro, he is encouraged to capture the Manhunter and use the discovery to make John look unfit for the job. If Hal can discredit John, he may be able to keep his ring.
It puts the two men in an awkward position. They need each other to solve the mystery, but they are also quietly working against one another.
The investigation into Macon continues when his wife, Zoe, comes to see John, and after their encounter, Zoe leaves the property in her car. She doesn't get far before a satellite laser destroys the vehicle. Hal and John trace the attack back to technology connected to Macon, making their suspicions about him even stronger.
They return to Macon's operation and find themselves moving through an extremely high-tech slaughterhouse. Eventually, they come face-to-face with the mysterious benefactor they believe is behind everything. Instead of giving them answers, the man threatens John's family and claims that one of his satellites could target their home.
Sinestro had told him that when a Manhunter copies a carbon-based lifeform, its heart crystallizes when it dies. Hal uses that information to call the man's bluff, convinced that killing him will reveal whether he is actually a Manhunter. John is furious at Hal for putting his family in danger, and the argument reveals something Hal hasn't fully understood about him. John may seem calm and fearless, but there is one thing that can shake him - the safety of his family.
Hal turns out to be right about the man's bluff, but the man isn't the Manhunter. Instead, he claims that Will Macon is the real target they should be investigating.
By now, however, John has started forming a theory of his own. He suspects Zoe could actually be the Manhunter. He doesn't tell Hal, and that secret becomes another problem between them. Zoe's survival after the satellite attack only makes John's theory more interesting. If she really is the Manhunter, surviving the attack would make perfect sense.
The episode ends with Hal deciding to take matters into his own hands. He tricks John into arranging a meeting with Antaan, then deliberately leaves their rental car and allows it to crash into a lamppost. His intention is clear: he wants to meet Antaan without John knowing what he is doing.
Once again, Hal chooses suspicion over trust. John isn't being completely honest with him, either, so it is becoming harder to say which one of them is making the bigger mistake. With Antaan getting closer, the Manhunter still hiding somewhere nearby, and Zoe now looking increasingly suspicious, Hal and John's partnership is heading into dangerous territory.
Read more: Lanterns 2026
