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Who is Hector Hammond? ‘Lanterns’ Episode 4 introduces a major Green Lantern villain

A Green Lantern comics legend shows up on ‘Lanterns,’ but not exactly the way fans remember him

Villains with big heads and even bigger grudges have always been a part of the ‘Green Lantern’ comic world. Hector Hammond, however, is the original. He is the one who has haunted Hal Jordan since 1961 and has followed him through prison cells, telepathic mind games, and one very maligned Ryan Reynolds movie. Long-time fans were therefore shocked when that name was thrown into the middle of Hal and John Stewart’s Manhunter pursuit in Episode 4 of ‘Lanterns.’ It was the guy who once fought Superman, teamed up with Gorilla Grodd, and spent years stuck in his own oversized skull. HBO couldn’t have been burning him off in one episode, could they? Except that’s exactly what appears to have happened.

In ‘Lanterns’ Episode 4, Hal (Kyle Chandler) and John (Aaron Pierre) track down the satellite’s serial number and learn that it belongs to Atlas Inc., a high-tech slaughterhouse owned by a man named Hector Hammond. Sheriff Kerry Kane (Kelly Macdonald) reveals that there is no record of Hammond’s existence before 1986, precisely the year that Abin Sur crash-landed on Earth and gave Hal his ring. This provides enough evidence for Hal and John to confront Hammond at his office, where they watch his company using lasers to slaughter cattle before finally meeting the man himself. Hammond, played by ‘Dexter’ alum Jason Manuel Olazábal, initially claims to be the Manhunter himself. But Hal is not buying it.

With intel from Sinestro on how a Manhunter’s heart operates differently, Hal forces him to confess. He is not Hector Hammond at all. He is Hector Gutiérrez, an engineering student recruited by Will Macon (Garret Dillahunt) to serve as a decoy by offering him tech to help his family and community in exchange for playing the front. So why a fake-out using the Hammond name? The original Hector Hammond comic debuts on ‘Green Lantern’ #5 in 1961, written by John Broome and Gil Kane. He began his journey as a private consultant obsessed with Carol Ferris and ends up discovering the alien meteorite powering Abin Sur’s downed ship.

That exposure reshaped his brain, allowing him to develop the power of telepathy, telekinesis, and a skull that would grow grotesquely larger as his powers increased, at the expense of his own ability to walk or talk. Peter Sarsgaard portrayed the character in a 2011 movie in the ‘Green Lantern’ franchise, with the same Abin Sur connection as in the comics. Now, ‘Lanterns’ strips almost everything from the mythology, which means the Hammond does not have any powers, a giant head, or a connection to Ferris or the meteorite. The criticism is fair, since the character only appears briefly and disappears as quickly as he appeared. As far as the show is concerned, maybe it will return to the real Hector Hammond in the future, but for the time being, it is only Will Macon’s smokescreen, and the Manhunter’s mystery is pointed elsewhere. Watch ‘Lanterns’ Episode 5 on September 13 at 9:00 p.m. on HBO Max to learn more about the mystery.