Lanterns Episode 1: Pilot

A young John Stewart first sees **Hal Jordan** on television in 1996, then the episode jumps to 2016 to show John training under Hal, and finally moves to 2026, where John returns to Rushville and discovers a shocking scene in the football stadium.

In 1996, John is a kid watching a televised interview with Hal Jordan, who publicly reveals himself as Earth’s Green Lantern while presented as an Air Force test pilot with a personal history tied to his father’s death. The interview establishes Hal as a famous public figure and a longtime protector of Earth, and it clearly leaves an impression on John.

The story then jumps ahead twenty years to 2016, where adult John is training under Hal and is frustrated that he still has not fully become a Lantern. Hal arrives late, acts cocky and provocative, and pushes John to react to his absence instead of staying calm. Hal explains he had been off-planet dealing with a dispute, then turns the lesson into a practical exercise by suddenly jumping out of the car and forcing John to use the ring to save him. John successfully responds, showing progress in his training.

After that, Hal sends John off with a message, and John ends up making his way to a meeting point and then toward Nebraska after Hal receives an alarming update about hail in Rushville. The episode presents this as the start of a larger local mystery, with a mass-casualty event at a high school football game in Rushville and local sheriff Kerry Kane trying to control the situation. Hal and John arrive on the scene, see the aftermath, and begin dealing with the fallout while tensions rise around a suspect and the sheriff’s refusal to let them fully take over.

The episode then jumps to 2026, where John returns to Rushville and reunites with Kerry. They head to the football stadium and find Hal Jordan sitting frozen in the stands, apparently dead.