Popverse's coverage of Comic-Con International: San Diego 2026 is brought to you by Dark Horse Comics.

What will I remember most about San Diego Comic Con 2026? That's hard to say. Deciphering the Latverian runes on Robert Downey Jr.'s Avengers: Doomsday jacket was a highlight for sure, as was investigating whether Simon Pegg's Balrog on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was canon. But I gotta tell you - as someone who grew up reading his fair share of Green Lantern comics, one of my favorite bits was during the HBO Lanterns panel, when myself, two bonafide Green Lanterns, and literally thousands of took part in a sacred Oan ritual.

That is, the reciting of the Green Lantern oath.

In case you've missed our coverage before this, the Lanterns panel was one of the biggest events at this year's Hall H. Not only were Kyle Chandler (Hal Jordan) and Aaron Pierre (John Stewart) on stage with the showrunners, but we got a ton of sneak peeks and, about halfway through, the panel received a surprise guest in Guy Gardner actor Nathan Fillion. Then, as the panel was wrapping up, the assembled cast and crew decided to end on a high note, cueing up the Green Lantern oath on the titanic screens Hall H comes equipped with and leading the packed room in reciting:

In Brightest Day

In Blackest Night

No Evil Shall Escape My Sight

Let Those Who Worship Evil's Might

Beware My Power:

Green Lantern's Light!

Now, hearing a room full of Green Lantern fans recite that as a one is already inspiring enough, but here's what really takes the cake for me. As the oath was being recited, I happened to glance around at friends, family, and complete strangers smiling and even holding their fists in the air as they took part in declaring what the Green Lanterns stood for. And even though the words were on screen, I could tell that, for many of those gathered, they were already memorized, writ large on their hearts as much as they were the screens of Hall H.

Lanterns will stream on HBO Max starting August 16. 

Enjoy our guides to how to watch the recent DCEU, the Arrowverse, and James Gunn's upcoming DCU. Oh, and don't forget our guide to what's coming up for DC projects on the big and small screens.