Rushville, the setting of the HBO superhero show ‘Lanterns,’ encouraged to take advantage of sudden attention

Rushville residents: Don’t be surprised if unannounced, out-of-town visitors come calling.

That’s what happens when a Hollywood writer inserts your community into the storyline of a DC Comics superhero – in Rushville’s case, the Green Lantern. “Don’t underestimate the dedication of the superhero comic fan,” said Alex Grand, comic book historian and author of “Understanding Superhero Comic Books.” “People will come.

They want to experience what their superheroes experience.”

Fans of Superman have been tied to Cleveland for nearly a century because the pair of teens who created the Man of Steel lived there. Grand said he visited Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where Steve Ditko, co-creator of Spider-Man, was from – “just to experience the community’s vibe.”

And now Rushville, at least for the moment, sits at center stage in the superhero world, thanks to the Green Lantern, the new HBO hit series “Lanterns” and its executive producer, Tom King, who has family ties to the northwest Nebraska town of 877.

His publicist shared with entertainment writer Matt Webb Mitovich that King’s late paternal grandparents, Lloyd King and Virginia (Swanson) King, were from the Rushville area, with the latter spending time in nearby Gordon.

Rushville Mayor Amanda Haller said she appreciates King’s gesture to place the series in her community. “I’m excited that our small town is being recognized,” she said. “We’ve received several phone calls from people asking, ‘Is it OK if we come to visit.’”

Please come, she told them. Bridgeport’s mayor asked a different question: How was Rushville selected as the center of the series’ storyline.

Although “Lanterns” was filmed on the Warner Bros. lot and in the Ventura County, California, community of Piru, the storyline provides glimpses of Rushville.

Heidi Beguin said Rushville’s water tower is hard to miss in “Lanterns.” “The series is definitely not filmed in Rushville, but it is so much fun to watch for the little pieces that are Rushville. The water tower shows up again and again.”

Beguin, an author, photographer and former English teacher, points to a scene in the second episode. Hal Jordan, aka the Green Lantern, finds himself on a seemingly deserted Rushville Main Street during the middle of the day. He soars above the community – and that’s when Beguin and her husband, Kirk, recognized a familiar building, the former Stockman’s feed store. The red building is situated south of the water tower and near an old grain elevator.

“We had to stop and back it up and watch that again,” she said.

Then, in Episode 5, in which the community took a beating from an alien attack, a version of Rushville’s welcome sign appears, with a major modification: A population figure of 1,001, which online fans speculate is a clue to what’s going on in town, has replaced the motto “Deep Roots in the Land.”

What definitely isn’t Rushville, Beguin said, is series villain William Macon’s compound, which is protected by armed guards. “We have large ranches around here, but nothing like that,” she said.

Another thing viewers didn’t see was Sheridan County Sheriff’s Office vehicles. Jamian Simmons, county attorney and Rushville city attorney, said county residents questioned whether the actual law enforcement vehicles would appear in the series – so she made a point to watch the first episode. “That was not at all the case.”

One moment in the episode, she said, left her wondering whether the Sheriff’s Office building exterior was partly included in a scene in that episode. It had a familiar look, Simmons said.

Haller said she had seen a preview on Facebook that showed the fictional Rushville water tower being blown up. Spoiler: That happened in Episode 5. “I called our insurance agent and asked whether we were covered – she told me she would check.”

Haller, who is finishing her first term as Rushville’s mayor, said Jamie Vesay, an Omaha-based movie location scout, contacted her about a year ago, asking if he could visit. Vesay, who toured the area with some locals and took photos. “He didn’t tell us much,” Haller said. “Just that he was scouting for a possible show.”

The mayor said she and others signed a confidentiality agreement. Rushville received $5,000 in payment from Random Productions, the series producer. The agreement allowed Random Productions to photograph and film public locations, including signage.

Scott Bidroski, managing editor of the Sheridan County Journal Star, said Rushville’s place in “Lanterns” originally was “hush, hush – and there was some grumblings. Now, we’re able to celebrate it.”

Bidroski said he has heard from only one person from outside Sheridan County about the series – his brother in Omaha. “He asked if I had heard about the series. I told him I had.”

Rushville’s chamber president, Jessica Norton, said she would soon gather chamber members to discuss how to approach their community’s newfound attention.

Chad Mardesen, associate professor of practice in UNL’s Marketing Department, has some suggestions for the group. “Steer into it,” he said. “You may never get a better promotion for your community.”

Start by incorporating the color green in T-shirts, magnets and other items that promote Green Lantern’s connection to Rushville, Mardesen said. Create replica water towers. Convert the lights on Main Street to replica green lanterns. Open a coffee shop, diner or motel to mirror the ones in the series. And, he wondered, could welcome signs mention that the Rushville area is where Hal Jordan was chosen to become the next member of the Green Lantern Corps? (You see, a spacecraft carrying the alien Abin Sur crashed outside of Rushville, and, as the alien lay dying, he directed his ring to seek out a replacement Green Lantern to watch over Space Sector 2814. The ring then flew to Hal Jordan. But you probably knew that.)

Better yet, locate a remote area just outside Rushville – not the 20 miles away that Jordan estimates in the series – and promote it as the (mythical) site where the exchange occurred. Create a visitor’s center and, of course, a gift shop.

All this sounds intriguing, Beguin said, but she has a more practical suggestion. “I would love to see someone get excited about Rushville and open a grocery store here.”