HBO's *Lanterns*, a decade-hopping murder mystery blending James Gunn's DC Universe with a noir sensibility, centres on identifying a shapeshifting Manhunter secretly embedded in the town of Rushville. As the series draws on Green Lantern comic lore while reworking the Manhunters into synthetic infiltrators, fan speculation has intensified around several key characters ahead of the next episode, with the show's mystery-box structure meaning almost anyone could be the culprit.

Among the leading theories, Zoe Macon is seen as the most obvious suspect due to her calculated closeness to both Hal Jordan and John Stewart, though some fans believe she may instead be Sinestro's daughter Soranik Natu acting as a spy rather than the Manhunter itself. William Macon, leader of an armed anti-alien militia with advanced detection technology, is another strong candidate, though his overt, loud behaviour contradicts the Manhunters' typically stealthy comic-book portrayal—leading to theories he could be a front for the true villain, possibly tied to the DC character Black Hand, or simply a pawn manipulated by an unseen benefactor.