Who Is Hector Hammond? Lanterns’ DC Villain Powers Explained

Contains spoilers for “Lanterns” Season 1, Episode 4 — “The Weenie”

For a series built around alien lawmen, cosmic mythology and power rings capable of almost anything, “Lanterns” has remained strikingly earthbound. Still, the HBO drama has not shied away from embracing some of the Green Lantern comics’ weirder corners. The show has already referenced Mogo, arguably the strangest Green Lantern of them all, and introduced its own take on Hal Jordan’s (Kyle Chandler) complicated mentor-turned-enemy Sinestro (Ulrich Thomsen). It has also folded in a member of the relatively deep-cut villain group the Manhunters, seemingly positioning that threat at the center of the season. Even so, Episode 4 makes room for a character many viewers likely assumed the series would avoid.

That unexpected DC Comics figure is Hector Hammond, played here by Jason Manuel Olazábal. In “Lanterns,” the character is reworked as the CEO of Atlas, a high-tech slaughterhouse company responsible for constructing the deadly satellite featured in Season 1, Episode 4. The twist, however, is that this version is not truly Hector Hammond at all. He is revealed to be Hector Gutierrez, essentially a decoy operating in front of the real Manhunter.

The decision to bring any version of Hector Hammond into “Lanterns” is a bold one. Peter Sarsgaard previously played the villain in 2011’s “Green Lantern,” the Ryan Reynolds-led movie centered on Hal Jordan and widely regarded as one of the weakest superhero films of its era. With Hal already serving as a major figure in the new series and Sinestro also entering the story, another connection to that poorly received film could have felt risky. That is especially true because “Lanterns” has otherwise been careful to sidestep many of the mistakes that made the 2011 movie such a notorious misfire.

In the comics, Hector Hammond is far more than a corporate front or disposable pawn. He is one of Green Lantern’s most recognizable adversaries, defined by immense psychic abilities and a grotesque physical transformation. Traditionally, Hector’s powers come with a severe cost: his head becomes massively enlarged, leaving him unable to move under his own power. Movement, however, is hardly necessary when a villain can rely on telekinesis, telepathy, illusion projection and other formidable mental abilities. The 2011 film nodded to that classic design by showing Hector’s head expanding as his powers intensified.

That history makes his appearance in “Lanterns” surprising, but the execution is sharper than expected. By turning “Hector Hammond” into a patsy for the true Manhunter — an identity Episode 4 strongly suggests belongs to Zoe Macon (Poorna Jagannathan) — the series uses the character without becoming trapped by his baggage. The fact that he is not even really named Hector Hammond feels almost like the DC Universe quietly distancing itself from the character’s infamous big-screen version while still rewarding longtime Green Lantern fans with a clever reference.

“Lanterns” Season 1 is available on HBO and HBO Max.