Of all the superheroes to give the gritty realism treatment, the Green Lantern is an odd choice. Tasked with enforcing intergalactic order with a magic ring bestowed by a group of blue aliens (before the Na’avi, there were the Guardians), the character occupies the opposite end of the tonal spectrum from Bruce Wayne stalking the streets of Gotham City sans powers. The larger DC Universe, as creatively overseen by the filmmaker James Gunn, already skews in a goofier, more cartoonish direction that embraces the inherent silliness of classic comics; last year’s “Superman” featured an appearance by a Green Lantern, Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner, as de facto comic relief, with an atrocious bowl cut to match.
But the HBO drama “Lanterns” is just that: an HBO drama. And while the prestigious network has made some concessions to our current era of IP, airing multiple “Game of Thrones” spinoffs and prior DC productions like “The Penguin,” there are still limits in place. “Peacemaker,” a Gunn-led series that fits squarely within the producer’s established style, remains a product of online-only service HBO Max — a branding distinction that’s illegible to the average streaming subscriber but significant nonetheless.
