John Johnson/HBO Max
Contains spoilers for “Lanterns” Season 1, Episode 2
Hal Jordan’s mentor-turned-nemesis Thaal Sinestro is an important figure in the history of the Green Lantern Corps, both as its greatest member and as its ultimate foe. From a live action production’s perspective, he’s also a problem. While there’s far more to the guy than meets the eye, his character design and generally villainous, condescending attitude make for a very Snidely Whiplash-y figure, which doesn’t seem like it’d mesh with the comparatively realistic “True Detective” vibe of HBO’s “Lanterns” at all. Despite this, Sinestro is a part of the show, played by Danish veteran actor Ulrich Thomsen. So, the big question going in was how does “Lanterns” intend to introduce Thomsen’s DC Universe version of Sinestro without the show’s tone veering into garish space opera territory?
“Lanterns” Season 1, Episode 2 finds a perfect way. After Hal (Kyle Chandler) get shot and is taken to hospital for treatment, he talks in his sleep. When he wakes up and Sheriff Kerry (Kelly Macdonald) asks about Sinestro — who Hal has been talking about — the Green Lantern refuses to elaborate. However, Kerry has been sitting by Hal’s bedside for some time, and simply reads aloud the bullet point notes about Sinestro’s very comic book-y backstory that she’s typed on her phone. It’s a perfect introduction to the character’s history and current status as a defeated and imprisoned supervillain, delivered in mere seconds.
Sinestro has a long and storied comic book history
DC Comics
In the comics, Thaal Sinestro is originally a highly respected and powerful Green Lantern who mentored Hal Jordan. He’s never a particularly nice guy, though. He lets the former host of his ring die of his injuries, and while he establishes himself as the greatest Lantern in terms of power and efficiency, he quite happily enslaves his own planet, which Hal isn’t happy to find out about. After a brief banishment to Antimatter Universe, Sinestro returns with a yellow, fear-themed power ring and starts waging war against the Green Lanterns.
The character has been through a few phases since then, sometimes hosting the fear entity Parallax and other times being imprisoned. He’s even made occasional comebacks as a Green Lantern, thanks to one shenanigan or another. But, no matter where he is or what he’s doing, Sinestro remains one of the most dangerous DC villains out there — an iron-willed individual who specializes in fear and intimidation and whose powers dwarf that of regular Green Lanterns.
“Lanterns” simplifies Sinestro’s backstory a bit, largely painting him as a rogue who killed a Guardian of the Universe and caused great trouble before eventually being subdued. Still, the basic building blocks of the character’s history are there, and the show delivers them with a storytelling economy that leaves plenty to build on. The “Lanterns” version of Sinestro could cause trouble to any live-action version of Green Lantern, should the show (or other corners of the DC Universe) so desire.