DC Fans Are Still Laughing About Lanterns’ Most Subtle Joke, And It’s Thanks to Kyle Chandler
Hal Jordan is responsible for several standout moments over the course of Lanterns‘ premiere, including his hilarious courtroom appearance and his ability to start a brawl in one of the most creative ways possible. All of those moments and more are highlights, but there’s one particular joke that DC fans can’t stop laughing at, and it’s all thanks to Kyle Chandler’s standout performance.
The joke itself happens after Hal is finally allowed to interrogate the individual John chased down at the football field. After Sheriff Kerry gives Hal 5 minutes with the suspect, Hal proceeds to ask him questions like “Where did Harry Potter go to school?”, and then he mentions Barack Obama. That prompts a rather robotic response that he’s the president, and then Jordan says, “That’s it? As a rural Nebraskan, that’s the breadth of your opinion of Barack Hussein Obama?” The suspect then says that Obama is the 44th President of the United States and that there’s controversy around his birth certificate, which leaves Hal stunned but also now 100% convinced that yes, this person is indeed an alien.
DC Fans Love That Hal’s Obama Joke Solved The Mystery
CJAreYouDeadass highlighted Chandler’s performance as Hal and loved how the alien’s idenity was revealed, writing, “The fact that Barack HUSSEIN Obama was what gave the Alien away 😂 Kyle Chandler made a great Hal. Can’t wait to see where this goes.” NomadPrime wrote, “It was a dead giveaway to every Earthling in that room that some Nebraskan trucker didn’t have anything much to say about Obama besides the most basic facts Lmao.”
Blizzard-op pointed to Hal’s detective instinct, writing, “Getting an alien masquerading as a man from Nebraska to reveal itself by asking it about Barack Obama is hilariously genius detective work lol”. Hemareddit noted that Hal figured out a way to get around the research the alien likely did to fit in, writing, “The general principle is ingenious: they study the particular character they are impersonating, because they need to pass day to day interactions with people. They are lax on the things people would assume about you because no one is going to ask them those in the day to day, because, well, they assume they know the answers.”
ItchyIguana wrote, “The Obama question was hilarious. The alien knew they were snuffed out at that point”, while Hemareddit revealed how Hal won him over in real time, writing, “Me: ‘Nah this line of questioning can’t possibly draw any conclusions other than Hal’s biased af.’ Alien: “Obama is the 44th president of the United States after George W Bush.” Me: ‘…oh my god it worked.’”
Chandler’s performance as Hal has already received immense praise, and moments like this are a perfect example of why. They also balance out the more adversarial relationship he has with John, and Hal is sure to have even more memorable moments as the series continues.
Lanterns episode 1 is now streaming on HBO Max.
