Who is the Manhunter in Lanterns? Well, we definitely know now.
So, who is the Manhunter? Below, we identify the prime suspect (who was indeed revealed in episode 5) and some other potential Manhunters (who says there's only one? There's definitely more than one in the comics!)
Now that this mystery is solved, we can get back to the biggest Lanterns question of all: Who killed Hal Jordan? For more, check out our guide to DCU Chapter One, as well as our deep dive into the DCU timeline.
What are Manhunters in the comics?
In the DC comics, Manhunters are an alien race created by the Guardians of the Universe.
First introduced in the pages of Justice League of America in the 1970s, the group were initially envisioned by the Guardians as a proto-Green Lantern Corps, designed to keep the peace in the galaxy. Their plans soon spiral out of control, however, when Manhunters wipe out an entire sector.
The Manhunters are not to be confused with Justice League hero Martian Manhunter, though – in a puzzling change – the DCU's take on the Manhunters are shapeshifting aliens, which bears a striking similarity to J'onn J'onzz.
Who is the Manhunter in Lanterns?
Zoe Macon
Lanterns episode 5 confirms that Zoe Macon was the Manhunter all along. There's no inferring here, either: John says, "You're the Manhunter," and Zoe says yes. She survived being blown up by laser satellite, and then she used her freaky alien technology to cure John of the full-body third-degree burns that almost killed him.
Manhunters also don't have true beating hearts, as we found out after John physically ripped it out of Zoe's chest (which was pretty metal, if you ask me).
Who else could still be a Manhunter?
Hal Jordan
Evidence is mounting that all is not what it seems in the 2026 timeline, where John finds Hal dead on the football field bleachers. The fact Hal's ring is missing, for one. Couple that with several out-of-character outbursts and the fact that the 2006-era "Halogram" is far more chill than his later-in-life counterpart, and there's plenty of evidence to suggest that Hal may have been swapped out for a Manhunter at some point in-universe in the past decade.
The second episode, though, sees Hal fly off to see Sinestro in a Guardians prison. Would a fake Hal even know about that? Or does the Manhunter take on its latest face post-2016 Lanterns' timeline? Right now, this seems to be the most obvious bet. Paradoxically, that means it's likely the biggest red herring as we inch closer to the truth.
Sheriff Kane
Kelly Macdonald's hard-nosed sheriff was handling the scene around Rushville's mass shooting a little too well, if you ask us. She was also quickly in pursuit of a separate alien species when it fled the scene. Good police work? Or something more? It's to Lanterns' credit that we're not sure what to believe anymore.
While it's undoubtedly true that Kane is keeping a close eye on Hal Jordan and John Stewart, we now know she's a Gothamite, with the family name "Kane" holding some serious sway in that iconic DC city. Could this Gotham outsider have been replaced? Her position as a community leader, as well as her odd marriage to Billy, raises just enough suspicions on our Manhunter-o-meter. One to watch, for sure.
William Macon
The evidence John and Hal follows in episode 4 eventutally points to the patriarch of Rushville, but is it too obvious? The fact he's isolated, penning himself back in his ranch and making sure no one comes in – or out – of his property without his say-so and a small army's worth of rifles aimed at their heads is certainly suspicious.
We know that William has access to alien tech as well. Perhaps the simplest answer is that William is the Manhunter and has built that tech himself. Right now, we suspect William Macon is a little too straightforward of an answer – almost certainly, he's covering for Zoe. Regardless, actor Garret Dillahunt's age (early 60s) is a little out of step between those who play his son and daughter-in-law (mid-40s and early 50s respectively). Unless he's been horribly miscast, there's just enough evidence that he is not who he says he is.
Dillahunt hasn't exactly doused the flames of speculation, either, with his recent interviews. "It might be a front for some other kind of character that's very familiar to you all," Dillahunt not-so-cryptically told SyFy. "I don't want to rule out the possibility that maybe 'William Macon' is just a secret identity that had to be created. It was fun to be able to create him from scratch – at least that facet of the character."
Billy Macon
What about ol' Billy? The folksy small-town lawyer has done enough to put us off the scent. For now. Out of all the key suspects, he feels the least likely to be an alien in disguise, but we wouldn't put it past the Lanterns team to hide a Manhunter in plain sight through one of the more low-key Rushville residents. Let's hope we find out one way or the other very soon.
Lanterns is airing weekly on HBO Max in the US and UK, and on NOW in the UK. Never miss an episode with our Lanterns release schedule. For more, here are the upcoming DC movies in the works.
