Who Are the Manhunters in HBO’s ‘Lanterns,’ and Are They Related to Martian Manhunter?

Few names in DC lore carry as much potential for confusion as “Manhunter,” a title that’s been attached to multiple wildly different characters and concepts across decades of comics history. HBO’s newest DC series has leaned directly into that ambiguity, introducing a shapeshifting alien threat whose name alone has sent longtime fans scrambling to figure out exactly what they’re watching.

“Lanterns” follows veteran Green Lantern Hal Jordan and new recruit John Stewart as their investigation into a mysterious incident in Rushville, Nebraska spirals into a much larger cosmic mystery. At the center of that mystery are the Manhunters, a shapeshifting threat introduced as the season’s primary antagonists, and their name has understandably confused viewers who associate the term with an entirely different DC hero.

That confusion centers on J’onn J’onzz, the beloved Justice League character better known as Martian Manhunter. Given the obvious phonetic overlap and the fact that both entities share shapeshifting abilities, plenty of fans assumed the two must be connected, or that J’onn himself might be making his live-action debut through this series.

He isn’t. Despite the shared name and shapeshifting powers, the Manhunters featured in “Lanterns” are an entirely separate concept from Martian Manhunter, and no casting or appearance has been confirmed for the character anywhere in the series.

In the world of “Lanterns,” the Manhunters are described by one alien character as “the most dangerous beings to ever exist in the galaxy,” a robotic police force originally created by the Guardians of the Universe long before the Green Lantern Corps ever existed. According to the show’s mythology, these Manhunters can shapeshift to take the form of any species, allowing them to blend seamlessly into human populations while investigating or eliminating perceived threats.

That backstory tracks closely with the character’s comic book origins. In DC Comics lore, the Manhunters served as the Guardians’ original artificial-intelligence police force, patrolling the universe until they eventually turned against their creators and began wiping out entire planets, an uprising that ultimately led to their replacement by the Green Lantern Corps.

Within the show’s central mystery, the Manhunters’ brutal history includes wiping out an entire civilization, a tragedy severe enough to have originally drawn the attention and intervention of the Green Lanterns. That same history is now tied directly to the show’s founding mythology, with a later reveal confirming that a Manhunter was responsible for killing Abin Sur, the original bearer of Hal Jordan’s ring.

The shapeshifting ability and shared “Manhunter” name aren’t entirely coincidental, either. While the robotic Manhunters and Martian Manhunter are not the same entity, comic book lore has previously revealed that the robotic Manhunters actually took their name, and much of their underlying technology, from an ancient Martian civilization that once protected their homeworld, a lineage closely tied to J’onn J’onzz’s own origins.

That lore connection has made the mix-up almost inevitable for casual viewers encountering the Manhunters for the first time. Between the identical name and the shapeshifting powers both groups share, it’s an easy assumption to make, especially for fans who primarily know Martian Manhunter through his shapeshifting abilities in shows like “Justice League” and “Justice League Unlimited.”

With “Lanterns” already confirmed to connect directly into James Gunn’s broader DC Universe, including John Stewart’s upcoming appearance in “Man of Tomorrow,” some fans have speculated that the Manhunter storyline could eventually open the door for J’onn J’onzz’s own introduction somewhere down the line. For now, that remains speculation rather than confirmed plans, since nothing officially released so far ties the current storyline directly to Martian Manhunter or hints at any casting.

Given how deliberately DC Studios has connected projects across its “Gods and Monsters” chapter, from Guy Gardner’s recurring appearances across multiple projects to Sinestro’s live-action debut within “Lanterns” itself, it wouldn’t be surprising if this lore connection eventually pays off in a future project. Until an official announcement arrives, though, the robotic Manhunters remain their own distinct threat rooted in classic Green Lantern comic history, separate from J’onn J’onzz’s story entirely.

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