HBO's *Lanterns* has drawn criticism for how it handled the reveal of alien villain Antaan (Paul Ben-Victor) in Episode 5, "Lights Out." The character shares almost identical origins with Atrocitus, a well-known Green Lantern comics villain, leading many fans to speculate he might actually be that character in disguise. Instead, the show killed Antaan off in an underwhelming fashion without ever revealing the aliens' true physical forms, a choice critics say squandered a stronger storytelling opportunity.

In the comics, Atrocitus is an alien warlord whose entire world was destroyed by the Manhunters, driving him to seek revenge against the Guardians of Oa and eventually found the Red Lantern Corps; he is also responsible for killing Abin Sur, the predecessor to Hal Jordan. Antaan's backstory mirrors this almost exactly, having lost his people after being betrayed by the Manhunter posing as Zoe (Poorna Jagannathan), yet the show never confirms any direct link between the two characters. The episode also confirms Zoe as the Manhunter, but Antaan's death is described as anticlimactic, prompting comparisons to the more faithful and satisfying use of Atrocitus in *Green Lantern: The Animated Series*.