There are going to be a whole lot of DC characters introduced to the DCU before Batman, given what we know about the brand’s current and upcoming projects. However, Lanterns has already dropped a connection to the hero and his city as of the first episode.
Part of this was at least somewhat obvious if you caught a brief line of dialogue. In one scene, Sheriff Kerry Kane is on the phone with a police commissioner. She ends the call with “Tell Barb I said hey.” In Gotham City, both Commissioner Jim Gordon’s wife and daughter are named Barbara, the latter of which goes on to be Batgirl.
There is, however, one more thing. How does this small-town sheriff have a connection to a Gotham commissioner anyway? Well, the idea is that her last name, Kane, may have something to do with it.
The Kane family is an old, wealthy dynastic family in Gotham. Not only that, but the Kanes are literally Bruce Wayne’s heritage. Martha Kane, who became Martha Wayne, is Bruce’s mother. Kate Kane is Bruce’s first cousin on his mom’s side, who would go on to become Batwoman. There are at least half a dozen more Kanes in Batman comic history, though none named Kerry, that we know of.
There is at least one more theory that Kerry Kane could be a tribute to Bob Kane, the famed comic legend usually cited as the creator of Batman. Though if we’re talking in-universe, it seems more than a little coincidental that Kerry Kane has both that last name and contacts in Gotham.
I don’t think that anyone is expecting Batman to show up at some point in Lanterns. The role has reportedly not even been cast, and with how leaky comic book productions are, we would likely have information on that front by now. Rather, this seems like universe expansion and connection, though I do wonder if Kane’s ties to Gotham will be further explored in Lanterns (is there a reason she is this hostile to a superhero?).
Lanterns has impressed both critics and audiences, with each group giving it high review scores. Critics have seen almost all of it, fans are going just by the pilot, and the former’s 94% Rotten Tomatoes score is noteworthy across DC or Marvel projects. And much needed in the wake of the enormous miss, Supergirl.
Lanterns will continue to air weekly into October, and James Gunn has said that the last few episodes are his favorite. Big reveals are expected, though not Batman. Well, probably not.
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