HBO Rewrites DC Villain Hector Hammond Canon for Lanterns Series

While the HBO DC Universe series Lanterns functions primarily as a grounded buddy cop mystery, showrunner Chris Mundy explores the unusual elements of Green Lantern mythology. The show centers on the threat of the Manhunters, the synthetic shapeshifting peacekeepers created by the Guardians of the Universe who turned rogue and prompted the formation of the Green Lanterns. The series also introduces fallen Lantern Sinestro, played by Ulrich Thomsen, and a Guardian played by Laura Linney. In episode four, co-creator Damon Lindelof and writer Justin Britt-Gibson introduce another classic Green Lantern villain to challenge John Stewart, played by Aaron Pierre, and Hal Jordan, played by Kyle Chandler. Viewers unfamiliar with the comics might miss the full significance of this character.

Spoilers follow for Lanterns episode 4.

Who is Hector Hammond in the Green Lantern comics?

John Broome and Gil Kane introduced Hector Hammond in a 1961 issue of Green Lantern. The character’s origin connects to the meteor that provided Gorilla Grodd and the other apes of Gorilla City with superintelligence. Hammond utilized the radiation from the meteor to boost his own intellect and acquire psionic abilities. He also employed the meteor to mind control multiple scientists, forcing them to build high-tech inventions for him. The origin of the meteor was later revised in the 2008 storyline Green Lantern: Secret Origin to form part of the crashed spacecraft belonging to the former Green Lantern Abin Sur.

The villain’s backstory underwent another revision for the 2011 Green Lantern film starring Ryan Reynolds, where Peter Sarsgaard portrayed Hector Hammond. In that film, Hector is a friend of Hal Jordan who works for Amanda Waller at the Department of Extranormal Operations. During an autopsy of Abin Sur, Hector becomes infected by Parallax, a corrupted former Guardian who attempted to harness the power of fear. Parallax grants Hector telekinesis and telepathy, though these abilities render him mentally unstable and cause physical deterioration.

What is Hector Hammond’s role in Lanterns?

Following an awkward scene where Zoe Macon, played by Poorna Jagannathan, watches John complete a nude sketch of her husband William, played by Garret Dillahunt, Zoe visits John at his hotel room to demand that he leave town. As John watches her depart, lasers fired from a satellite destroy her truck, and Hal subsequently pulls the satellite down from the sky. Rushville Sheriff Kerry Kane, played by Kelly Macdonald, traces the satellite to Atlas Inc., a company owned by Hector Hammond. Because no records of Hector exist prior to 1986, the characters suspect he might be the Manhunter.

The Lanterns drive to a slaughterhouse operated by Hector and discover a strange facility where workers ignore them entirely, even when spoken to directly. The facility uses an extradimensional portal to transport a cow into a room where lasers cut the animal into meat, which workers then collect and process. When the Lanterns confront Hector, played by Jason Manuel Olazabal, he threatens to destroy John’s childhood home with his satellites and kill his parents. Hector also reveals that he eavesdropped on their hotel rooms in Rushville, attempting to turn Hal against John by replaying a conversation between Hal and a Guardian regarding Hal’s replacement.

Hal ignores these tactics and asks Hector what color Abin Sur was. The red-skinned Green Lantern died after crashing on Earth while transporting the Manhunter. When Hector claims he cannot remember the alien’s color, Hal threatens to remove his heart to determine whether it is human or the crystalline core of a Manhunter. Hector capitulates, admitting he is actually Hector Gutierrez, an engineering student who accepted advanced technology from the Manhunter to support his family and community. He then reveals that the Manhunter is actually William Macon, directing the heroes back to Rushville. The Manhunter used Hector Hammond as a decoy to divert the Green Lanterns, serving as a misdirection that deceives viewers and comic book fans alike.

Source: Polygon