3 min read It’s been a minute since we’ve seen a live-action Batman. I’m not talking about Robert Pattinson, although it has been four years since we last saw the Pat-Man do his thing. ( The sequel shooting now? Not out until 2028.) But James Gunn, the steward of the DC Universe, has been saving his own Batman for a rainy day. It will be a long time until his movie The Brave and the Bold will see any forward movement, with a new actor donning the cowl. But Lanterns just laid another brick in the foundation for Gunn’s Batman.
I’ll also acknowledge this isn’t the first Batman Easter egg for James Gunn’s DC. Peacemaker made a few passing references, while the animated series Creature Commandos shrouded Batman in darkness for a quick cameo. But still, even in a show like Lanterns , Batman still casts quite a large shadow.
In “Bad Optics,” the sixth episode of the thus-far stellar freshman season of Lanterns , the action picks up ten years after Rushville endured destruction over the Manhunter. Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) has just spent a decade in federal prison and is now trying (and failing) to make it up to the locals. But Green Lanterns are not welcome anymore. Half-hearted olive br...