With only the finale of LANTERNS left come this Sunday night, I can say without hesitation that this series is one of the best things DC has ever put on television and it belongs right alongside HBO’s WATCHMEN and THE PENGUIN.
With only the finale of I have absolutely loved every episode, so bravo DC Studios I say!
It’s also up there with DC films like THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY, JOKER, and THE BATMAN not only in quality, but as proof that DC doesn’t need a sprawling shared universe to deliver comic book/superhero-based storytelling. In fact, LANTERNS succeeds precisely because it refuses to behave like a DCU show. Yes, it’s part of James Gunn’s interconnected world, but you’d barely know it — and that’s exactly why it works.
Sure, Superman was mentioned, and so was the “Bat‑Guy from Gotham.” But those nods were subtle, organic, and didn’t beat the audience over the head with an “IT’S ALL CONNECTED!” bat (pun intended). No different than “The circus must be halfway to Metropolis by now” in BATMAN FOREVER or “This is why Superman works alone” in BATMAN & ROBIN.
And of course, Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), previously introduced in SUPERMAN, showed up, but he’s a Green Lantern! That’s not a cameo; he’s part of the Green Lantern world and mythos.
DC’s strength has always been variety, not uniformity. DC doesn’t need every project to serve a master plan involving an interconnected storyline. And DC certainly doesn’t need to chase the MCU model. What DC needs is exactly what LANTERNS delivers: High‑quality, self‑contained stories.
This isn’t an anti‑DCU stance. It’s a pro‑quality stance. If James Gunn wants to build a connected universe, fine — but LANTERNS shows that the DCU doesn’t need to be suffocatingly interconnected to succeed. The universe can exist without demanding that every project behave like a chapter or a commercial for what’s next (I’m looking at you SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY!).
Now, I’ve said for years that I’m not a fan of shared universes. I don’t think DC needs one, and I don’t think audiences want to have to do F’n homework before watching a film or TV series (like, how much prep do you have to do before seeing AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY?!). I believe that DC is at its best when it just makes good stuff — like LANTERNS.
Here’s the thing: If James Gunn’s DCU continues to produce shows and films of this quality, this tone, this level of craft? Then maybe — maybe — a shared universe can work without becoming a burden. If the DCU ends up being a loose framework that allows creators to make great standalone stories that happen to coexist, I can support it.
I stand by everything I’ve said here… unless Superman shows up in the finale just to help sell or set up next year’s MAN OF TOMORROW. If that happens, I reserve the right to walk all of this back and write a very different op-ed. (For the record, I don’t think that’s going to happen… unless it does.)
But assuming LANTERNS sticks the landing the way it’s stuck everything else, the lesson for Warner Bros. and DC Studios is simple: Chase excellence, not connectivity. Prioritize strong creative leadership, not producer/studio-driven “10 Year Plans“. DC doesn’t need an MCU-style, overtly shared universe to be successful. It just needs to make great stuff.
And LANTERNS is great stuff. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
