LANTERNS Reveals Hal Jordan’s Killer and the Shocking Reason Behind His Murder

The murder of Hal Jordan has been hanging over Lanterns since its first episode, and the Season 1 finale finally gives us the answer. There were a lot of interesting theories, but the big reveal was actually a big surprise.

The series has spent much of its season juggling two major mysteries. One involved the Manhunter hiding in Rushville, Nebraska, which eventually revealed the truth about Noah and explained why John Stewart wasn’t operating as Green Lantern during the events of Superman. The other was the question fans have been trying to solve since the premiere: Who killed Hal Jordan?

That mystery began when the first episode revealed that Kyle Chandler’s Hal Jordan was dead, which came as a shock considering how long fans had waited to see another live-action Hal.

Naturally, the theories started flying. Some fans suspected Noah Macon. Others thought his father might have done it. The Guardians were another possibility, while one theory suggested Hal wasn’t actually dead and that the body belonged to a clone or alien impersonator. Nope.

Lanterns confirms that Kelly Macdonald’s Sheriff Kerry Kane killed Hal Jordan. She shoots him in the head after Hal discovers the truth about Noah, the young man Kerry has raised and loves as her son is actually a Manhunter.

What makes the murder so tragic and hit harder is that Kerry doesn’t walk into the confrontation intending to kill Hal. Her decision comes when the life she has fought to protect suddenly starts collapsing around her.

Hal realizes what Noah really is and believes they need to get out of there. Whether it’s about protecting Noah, protecting everyone from him, or some combination of the two, Hal understands that things can’t simply continue as they have. Kerry can’t accept that.

Faced with the possibility of Noah’s secret being exposed and losing the family and life she has built, Kerry reaches for her gun and fires a single shot into Hal’s head. It’s a horrible, impulsive act driven by fear, anger, and a mother desperately trying to hold onto her son.

The scene gets even more brutal when the gunshot drowns out Hal’s final words: “I love you.”

That also explains one of the stranger pieces of Kerry’s behavior following Hal’s death. Why would she contact John Stewart when he was exactly the kind of person capable of uncovering the truth?

Kerry wasn’t hoping John would solve Hal’s murder. She wanted him to discover what Noah was. More importantly, she needed John to determine whether there was still something inside Noah worth saving.

Kerry had already made an unforgivable choice to protect her son, but she still needed an answer about whether the person she loved was truly gone or whether some piece of him remained.

It gives Kerry’s actions more emotional weight than simply making her the surprise murderer. She killed Hal to protect the life she couldn’t bring herself to lose, then turned to John because she needed someone capable of finding the truth she couldn’t face herself.

I really liked how Lanterns handled all of this. The series gave its mysteries enough room to breathe without dragging them out forever, and I appreciated how the finale brought the major pieces together. Hal’s death, Noah’s identity, Kerry’s choices, and John’s place in the larger DCU all end up connected rather than feeling like separate mysteries fighting for attention.

Of course, this is a comic book series, so we probably shouldn’t carve Hal Jordan’s tombstone in granite just yet. Sinestro provides one interesting possibility earlier in the finale when he tells John that Hal can be brought back to life. There’s a catch… Hal’s ring is required.

Sinestro also warns John that if he charges Hal’s ring and claims it for himself, that opportunity disappears. John ultimately does exactly that by the end of the episode, seemingly closing the door on Hal’s resurrection. Seemingly.

James Gunn has talked about wanting death to have consequences in the DCU, and bringing Hal back immediately could undermine what Lanterns accomplished. Still, this is Green Lantern mythology we’re talking about.

Death, resurrection, cosmic forces, alternate realities, and other comic book insanity come with the territory. Sinestro introducing the possibility at all feels worth remembering.

For now, Hal Jordan is dead, Kerry Kane killed him, and she did it because Hal discovered Noah was a Manhunter and threatened the life she had built around the son she loved.

It’s a rough ending for Hal, but it worked for me. I enjoyed Lanterns quite a bit, and I appreciated the way the series brought its story to a close. The finale answered the questions that mattered while leaving just enough on the table for the DCU to pick up later.

Now the big question is whether Hal Jordan stays dead.

What did you think of the reveal that Kerry killed Hal? Did the ending of Lanterns work for you?