| John Stewart | |
|---|---|
.png) John Stewart as depicted on the cover ofGreen Lantern John Stewart, Global Guardians #1 (November 2024). Art by Jamal Campbell. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Green Lantern #87 (December 1971/January 1972) |
| Created by | Dennis O'Neil Neal Adams |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | John Marshall Stewart |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Green Lantern Corps Justice League Guardians of the Universe Darkstars U.S. Marine Corps |
| Partnerships | Green Lantern partners: Katma Tui Hal Jordan Guy Gardner Kilowog Kyle Rayner Other Hero partners: Hawkgirl/Shayera Hol The Flash/Wally West Steel/John Henry Irons Vixen/Mari McCabe |
| Notable aliases | Green Lantern The Master Builder Darkstar Emerald Knight |
| Abilities |
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John Stewart is one of the principalsuperheroes known asGreen Lantern appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. The character was created byDennis O'Neil andNeal Adams, and first appeared inGreen Lantern (Volume 2) #87 (December 1971/January 1972). Stewart's original design was based on actorSidney Poitier and he was one of the firstAfrican-American superheroes to appear in DC Comics.[1]
Today John Stewart is one of the most popular and high-profileblack characters in American comic books. Although a starring character inGreen Lantern comics since the 1970s, he had a relatively low profile in mainstream popular culture until his adaptation for the 2000s animated seriesJustice League andJustice League Unlimited, voiced byPhil LaMarr. This led to an increase in the character's profile in comics, including a starring role inJustice League comics, and a massive expansion in the character's availability in DC Comics toys and merchandise.Wayne T. Carr was cast as John Stewart in theDC Extended Universe (DCEU)director's cutZack Snyder's Justice League (2021) but his role was ultimately cut from the film.Aaron Pierre will portray the character in theDC Universe, beginning with the TV seriesLanterns (2026).
John Stewart debuted inGreen Lantern vol. 2 #87 (December 1971/January 1972) when artistNeal Adams came up with the idea of a substitute Green Lantern.[2] The decision to make the character African American-descent resulted from a conversation between Adams and editorJulius Schwartz, in which Adams recounts saying that given the racial makeup of the world's population, "we ought to have a black Green Lantern, not because we're liberals, but because it just makes sense."[1] The character was DC's third superhero of African ancestry.
John Stewart has become a major recurring character in the Green Lantern mythos within theDC Universe.[3] He became the primary character ofGreen Lantern vol. 2 from issues #182 through #200, whenHal Jordan relinquished his place in theGreen Lantern Corps (1984–1986). He continued to star in the book when the title changed toThe Green Lantern Corps from issue #201 to #224 (1986–1988). He would continue to make key appearances inAction Comics Weekly afterThe Green Lantern Corps' cancellation (1988). He starred in the comicGreen Lantern: Mosaic, which DC spun out ofGreen Lantern vol. 3, with a four-part storyline titled "Mosaic" (issues #14–17). DC published 18 issues of the ongoingGreen Lantern: Mosaic title between June 1992 and November 1993.
John Stewart was featured as one of the lead characters on thetelevisioncartoonJustice League from 2001 until 2004. He continued to appear as a major character on the show's 2004–2006 sequel,Justice League Unlimited. In 2011, John Stewart starred in the New 52 relaunch ofGreen Lantern Corps alongsideGuy Gardner, and became the sole lead character of the title from 2013 until the series' conclusion in 2015.Green Lantern Corps was replaced byGreen Lantern: The Lost Army, which also stars John Stewart as the lead.[4] In November 2022, it was announced, as a part of theDawn of DC relaunch, Stewart would star in a new miniseries entitledGreen Lantern: War Journal, written byPhillip Kennedy Johnson and illustrated by Osvaldo Montos.[5][6]
John Stewart is an architect, later "retconned" into a veteranU.S. Marine from Detroit, Michigan, who was selected by theGuardians as a backup Green Lantern to then-current Green Lantern Hal Jordan after the previous backup,Guy Gardner, was seriously injured after getting hit by a car while trying to save a civilian. Although Jordan objected to the decision after seeing that Stewart had a belligerent attitude to authority figures, the Guardians stood by their decision and chided Jordan for his supposed bigoted outlook on the issue. Jordan explained that he just felt that even though Stewart might have the integrity for the task, he "obviously would have a chip on his shoulder bigger than therock of Gibraltar."
Jordan's opinion was that Stewart's first mission began badly. His assignment was to protect a racist politician, and Stewart, while averting an accident, took advantage of the situation to embarrass Jordan in the process. When an assassin shoots at the politician, Stewart does not intervene with Jordan in response to the attack, which initially makes Stewart seem suspect. However, it turns out Stewart had good reasons for this apparent dereliction of duty because he was stopping a gunman from killing apolice officer in the outside parking lot at the event while Jordan was pursuing a decoy. When Jordan confronts Stewart about his actions, Stewart explains that the politician had staged the attack for political advantage. Jordan then concludes that Stewart was an excellent recruit and has proven his worth.
For some time, Stewart occasionally filled in asGreen Lantern when Jordan was unavailable, including for some missions of theJustice League.[7]
After Jordan gave up being Green Lantern in the 1980s, the Guardians selected Stewart for full-time duty. Stewart filled that role for some years. During that period he worked as an architect at Ferris Aircraft Company, battled many Green Lantern villains, and fought against theAnti-Monitor's forces during theCrisis on Infinite Earths. John was trained in usage of his power ring byKatma Tui, the Green Lantern of the planetKorugar. The duo went on many adventures together and eventually fell in love. Katma and John went on to serve within the Green Lantern Corps of Earth alongside Hal Jordan,Arisia Rrab,Kilowog,Salaak, and other alien Green Lanterns, during which time they were married.[8]
After John's ring was rendered powerless through the schemes ofSinestro, and Katma Tui was murdered byStar Sapphire,[9] Stewart's life began to unravel.[7] First, he was falsely accused of killingCarol Ferris, Star Sapphire's alter ego, and then falsely accused of theft by South Nambia (a fictional nation within the DC universe similar to apartheid-era South Africa). Jailed and tortured in South Nambia for weeks, John freed himself with his old ring, now re-powered thanks to the efforts of Hal Jordan. In his escape, John inadvertently frees both a serial killer and a terrorist. When Jordan confronts John over his actions, the two friends come to blows until John realizes the "revolutionaries" he had been aiding intended to murder innocent civilians.
Afterwards, John left Earth for space, where he participated in the Cosmic Odysseyminiseries event, and failed to prevent the destruction of the planet Xanshi by an avatar of theAnti-Life Equation.[7] The incident earned him the ire ofMartian Manhunter, who was with him at the time. This series of tragedies left John a shattered man on the brink of suicide and created the villainess known asFatality, the sole survivor of Xanshi. Martian Manhunter has since, at least civilly, forgiven him.
John finally forgave himself for his past mistakes and grew into a stronger, more complex hero when he became the caretaker of the "Mosaic World", a patchwork of communities from multiple planets that had been brought toOa by an insane Guardian who had invaded John's mind.[7] Although bitter and sullen at his assignment at first, he overcame this and, using his formidable intellect and talent for unconventional thinking, Stewart forged the Mosaic into a new society and eventually became the first mortal Guardian of the Universe, known as theMaster Builder. As his reward for this new level of awareness, John was reunited with his late wife, Katma Tui.[10] However, tragedy struck once again and Hal Jordan, possessed byParallax, destroyed both the Guardians and the Central Power Battery, robbing John of his newfound powers and his resurrected wife.[11]
Following "Emerald Twilight" and the collapse of the Green Lantern Corps, Stewart was recruited by theControllers to command theDarkstars, another interstellar peacekeeping force.[7] Using the new resources at his command, Stewart evacuated the Mosaic cities from Oa prior to its destruction and served the Darkstars with distinction until he was crippled in battle withGrayven on the planetRann. Stewart eventually regained the use of his legs as a parting gift from Jordan before Jordan sacrificed himself to destroy theSun-Eater during the 1996 "The Final Night" storyline. As a result of Jordan healing him, he began to exhibit random bursts of energy from his hands that he was able to discharge on three different occasions. Though he had initially refused a new Green Lantern ring months prior, he eventually accepted a new one entrusted toKyle Rayner by a time-lost Hal Jordan, and joined theJustice League to fill in for Rayner as he took an extended leave of absence from Earth.[12]
With the return of Hal Jordan and the Guardians, the Corps has been reorganized. Each sector of space now has two Green Lanterns assigned to it, and Stewart and Jordan now share regular duty for Earth's sector, 2814. After the dissolution of the Justice League in the aftermath of the 2004 miniseriesIdentity Crisis, and the destruction of theirWatchtower headquarters on themoon, Stewart has begun playing a larger role inmetahuman affairs, working with many former Justice Leaguers.[7]
During the "52" storyline, John Stewart alongside Hal Jordan are involved in one of the first post-Freedom of Power Treaty confrontations. After a battle with theGreat Ten andBlack Adam, John and Hal are escorted to Russian airspace by theRocket Red Brigade.[13]
During the openingOne Year Later storyline ofGreen Lantern, Hal Jordan tellsGreen Arrow that John Stewart is on an off-world undercover mission. The details John Stewart disguised himself as the bounty hunter "Hunger Dog" to undercover inEurope. When John hears that Hal Jordan is being held captive byAmon Sur and Loragg, he goes off to rescue him. This led to a confrontation with Amon Sur, who turns out to be the son of their predecessor,Abin Sur. During the fight, Amon receives a ring from theSinestro Corps and vanishes.[14]
InJustice League of America vol. 2, #7, he andWonder Woman designed one of the League's new headquarters,The Hall. John later resumes his role as the League's resident Green Lantern upon Hal Jordan's request.
In theGreen Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special, theGreen Lantern Corps are attacked byBedovian, the sniper of the Sinestro Corps, who is capable of taking out a target from three sectors away, all from the inside of a red Sun-Eater. After Bedovian takes out several Green Lanterns, John Stewart uses his power ring as a scoped sniper rifle to track the nearby sectors. He eventually discovers Bedovian's hiding spot and shoots him. As Green Lantern Corps member were forbidden from killing sentient beings at that time, Bedovian survived the attack, as recently seen in theBlackest Night crossover. John andGuy Gardner are captured byLyssa Drak and taken back toQward, where the two Lanterns are held captive.[15][16] Hal manages to defeat Lyssa and free John and Guy from their nightmares, while the Lost Lanterns recoverIon. The earth-based Lanterns then return home, only to find that New Earth, as the center of the Multiverse, is the Sinestro Corps' next target.[17]
The Sinestro Corps and theManhunters invade Earth.Cyborg Superman andSuperboy-Prime attack Superman, while Hal confronts Parallax, who has possessed Kyle Rayner, just before the latter is about to kill Hal's family. John orders Guy to retrieve a painting by Kyle Rayner's mother. When Parallax absorbs Hal inside himself, John looks on with sudden shock. Guy returns and shoves the painting into Parallax's eyesight, allowing Hal to use it to help Kyle overcome his fears and expel Parallax. Now in its original form, Parallax is then contained byGanthet andSayd within the Power Batteries of Hal, John, Guy, and Kyle. Ganthet and Sayd then reveal that they are no longer Guardians. Ganthet gives Kyle a new power ring and asks Kyle to become a Green Lantern again, to which he agrees. The four then race off to finish the fight.[18] At Guy Gardner's suggestion, John and the other Lanterns useWarworld as a gigantic grenade, badly wounding theAnti-Monitor, who is then thrown into space by Superboy-Prime.
John Stewart witnessed Guy being infected by the Sinestro Corps member who is a living virus, namedDespotellis, and askedSoranik Natu to help Guy. Soranik used the Green Lantern Corps smallpox virus namedLeezle Pon, who stops Despotellis.[19] John Stewart was later approached by the Guardians to become one of theAlpha Lanterns, a new division of the Corps devoted to the internal affairs of the Corps. Stewart, desiring more information about the secrecy of the Alpha Lantern program, declined the offer, to the extreme disappointment of the Guardians.[20]
It has also been revealed that John served in the Marine Corps as a sniper prior to becoming an architect.[21] While the idea of John being a Marine veteran was taken fromJustice League, him being a sniper is a new addition to the character's background. During his time in the Marines, John met a young Hal Jordan when he was in the Air Force before they both join the Green Lantern Corps.[22]
During theRage of the Red Lanterns story arc, John Stewart is one of the guards assigned to escort Sinestro to Korugar to face execution. However, the Green Lanterns are ambushed by the Sinestro Corps and then theRed Lantern Corps underAtrocitus. The Green Lanterns are left to die in space after Atrocitus captures Sinestro, but they are saved bySaint Walker.[23] John, however, is infected with the Red Lanterns' rage. Saint Walker conjures up a blue energy construct of Katma Tui, who heals John and calms him by showing him a vision of flying with Katma. John later tells Kilowog that he is going to see Katma again, saying that "the universe said so". In that same issue, Fatality is converted into aStar Sapphire, and orders her ring to locate John Stewart.[24] When she tracks down John, she tells him she forgives him, and kisses him. Before departing, she encourages John to forgive himself for what happened to Xanshi.[25]
Stewart appears in theTrinity series. He is the one to first attack the alien creature Konvikt, but when he's on the verge of defeating him, his concentration suddenly snaps, and starts muttering incoherently in binary code. A moment later, he spontaneously generates complex weapons from his body, by means unrelated to his ring. Later, he attempts to overexert himself to know how he generated those weapons by running a brutal training session against holographic Qwardian Thunderers, which does not work. He later showsFirestorm the machinery used to monitor the Cosmic Egg imprisoningKrona, but as he leaves again, he suffers from a relapse and start generating knives from his uniform, and it is revealed the entire system is broken.
Later, on board the Antimatter Earth Crime Syndicate satellite, he again loses control and nearly brings down the satellite with his blasts. It is revealed these discharges are brought about due to John's absorption of a Qwardian superweapon, the Void Hound, which has been trying to escape its containment, or at least seize control of Stewart. After the sweeping, devastating effects of the spell engineered byMorgaine le Fey andEnigma, he is seen in an Earth under the control of a totalitarian Justice Society, where all Green Lanterns are forbidden to be. He eventually starts breaking down, and with the Void Hound gaining enough hold on him to force him to create a black hole which forces him back to Earth, he has no choice but to comply. The Void Hound is later revealed to be a servant of Krona, and its hold over John is broken when Krona is defeated.
After a massive battle between the JLA and theShadow Cabinet, John chooses to stay with the League despite many of its members choosing to leave.[26] AfterKimiyo Hoshi goes missing while tracking downShadow Thief, John blackmails the armored vigilanteHardware into helping the team track her down. The League arrives in theHimalayas, discovering Kimiyo and Superman's friendIcon engaged in a fierce battle withStarbreaker.[27] The JLA defeats Starbreaker, and John takes a leave of absence to go to Xanshi.[28]
When John visits the grave of planet Xanshi, thousands ofblack rings fly into the planetary debris, and reconstitute the entire planet.[29][30] Xanshi itself then speaks to John, telling him "I can help you save them." Against his better judgment, John descends to the planet's surface.[31] Once reaching the surface, John finds himself confronted by Katma Tui and the entire population of Xanshi as Black Lanterns. While battling them all, Katma tries to weaken John by claiming that he caused the planet's destruction. However, John, spurred on by Fatality's words, says that he was not the cause of it all and successfully fights off the Black Lanterns.[32] After escaping Xanshi's atmosphere, John realises that the planet is headed for Earth, along with every Black Lantern in the universe, and contacts Hal, warning him of the impending threat.[33] Later, John is saved by combined efforts of the various Lanterns corps, who had just arrived to battle the Black Lanterns.[34]
In the events of Brightest Day, John is seen on Oa, supervising the demolition of the buildings left in ruins after the Black Lanterns attack, and planning the reconstruction. Suddenly, he is called to the Guardians' chamber, where they order him to join Alpha LanternBoodikka in a mission to Grenda,Stel's homeworld, where communications ceased abruptly without explanation, and Lantern Stel and the population are missing. John agrees and departs with Boodikka.[35]
After arriving on the planet, the two confirmed the Guardians report: the entire population has mysteriously disappeared. John asks Boodikka if something of her older self remains despite being turned into an Alpha Lantern, after she asks him why he refused to join the Alpha Lanterns. Boodikka responds that her changes are only physical, and she still has her former personality; John doubts this affirmation. The two discover what seems to be a Green Lantern House Sector, that, according to Boodikka, is not registered. After entering inside, they discovered Green Lanterns Horoq Nnot and Stel; the last one tells John he must flee from the planet immediately. Suddenly, Boodikka turns against John and attacks him; John fights back, but he's surrounded by more rogue Alpha Lanterns and is defeated. It is revealed that the Alpha Lanterns have begun a revolt against the rest of the Corps, and have allied themselves with theCyborg Superman (now with an Alpha Lantern battery), taking control of Grenda to use the planet as their hidden base to turn Green Lanterns into Alpha Lanterns. John Stewart is last seen wounded and bleeding, being taken to Henshaw by Boodikka. Cyborg Superman then begins the cosmetic surgery to turn John into another Alpha Lantern.[36]
Before starting the operation, however, Henshaw connects Stewart's brain to his memories to see why he was turned into a cyborg. He also reveals to John, that, after being resurrected by the Manhunters after the Sinestro Corps War, he returned to Earth in the middle of theBlackest Night, and pleaded to the Black Lanterns (among them are the former crew of his space shuttle) and Nekron to kill him, only to discover that because he did not have a physical heart, he was invisible to them. Angered for being ignored by death itself, the Cyborg Superman encountered the mysterious hooded stranger who abducted the entities of the Emotional Spectrum. He convinced him that Ganthet has the power and knowledge to turn Alpha Lanterns into normal beings again. John realizes that Henshaw organized the revolt of the Alpha Lanterns with the sole purpose to attract Ganthet to the planet Grenda and forced him to turn Henshaw into a mortal being again. Kyle and Soranik burst into the lab and manage to rescue John, but Ganthet is captured.[37] They hide in a cave, where John informs them about the Cyborg Superman's true plan. They also discover the missing robot inhabitants of the planet, trapped in the depths of the cave by Henshaw.[38] Mounting a defense, they battle against Henshaw and his forces, destroying the cyborg's body. Henshaw leaps into Boodikka's body, but her consciousness manages to defeat his, seemingly destroying him.[39] John later joins Kyle Rayner and Ganthet in a mission to the anti-matter universe to save Soranik Natu.
On their return to the matter universe, John and the others are affected by the return of Parallax to the Central Power Battery by Krona. Their previous experience with Parallax allows John, Kyle and Ganthet to escape its control, but they are forced to fight their fellow Green Lanterns. Affected by Parallax's fear powers, John and Kyle are forced to remove their rings and escape through Oa's underground.[40] They then meet up with Guy and Hal, who has the rings of the other corps' leaders. John initially choosesLarfleeze's orange ring, but is convinced by Hal to use Indigo-1's ring instead due to the debilitating effects of the orange ring on the wearer's psyche.[41] When the corrupted Green Lanterns attack, John has difficulty channeling the various corps powers through his ring. Things are made worse whenMogo joins the attack.[42] While Hal and Guy go to remove Parallax from the Central Power Battery, John and Kyle attempt to free Mogo from Krona's control. On the way, John attempts to stop the flow of tainted rings sent by Mogo, but fails. As he and Kyle head for Mogo's core instead, they discover residual Black Lantern energy around it. John absorbs the Black Lantern energy, along with all the Green Lantern energy, and regretfully uses it to destroy Mogo, knowing that they lack the time to heal Mogo before Krona uses it to 'recruit' a wave of reinforcement Green Lanterns.[43] In the fallout, the two regroup with Hal, Guy and Ganthet, using the full power of the emotional spectrum to crack open the Battery and release Parallax. Their job done, the Lanterns regain their original green rings, in preparation for the final confrontation with Krona.[44]
Following the War's conclusion, John assists a new Green Lantern from Sector 282 'selected' during the period when Mogo was under Krona's control in adjusting to the power of her ring despite the possibility that she will not be allowed to keep it by assisting her in halting a war taking place in her sector, the original Lantern for that sector having died during the war. When John is able to help the two sides find a peaceful resolution to their conflict, his new student reflects that, despite John's reputation after destroying two worlds, she now knows that nobody could regret that action more than John himself.[45]
After Hal's expulsion and Kyle's departure inThe New 52, John joins Guy Gardner and others in investigating recent attacks in a distant sector of space, which are revealed to be the result of an old Guardian experiment. At one point, John is forced to kill Kirrt Kallak, another Lantern who was about to give in to torture and reveal the access codes to the Oan defence network.[46] John is approached by the Alpha Lantern to arrest him for that murder.[47] He is found guilty for this crime and sentenced to death.[48] However,Guy Gardner and other fellow Lanterns free him before the execution, resulting in the destruction of the Alpha Lanterns when the Green Lanterns refuse to allow John to be executed.[49] During the fights, the Alpha Lanterns (revealing to the reader that the Guardians set up these events as part of their plans to destroy the Corps) realize that all the Alpha Lanterns had become dangerously mentally unstable. Alpha Lantern Varix caused a reaction which killed all the Alpha Lanterns, including himself.[50]
During the "Rise of the Third Army" storyline, the Guardians contact John and state that Mogo's remains appear to be moving, The Guardians have come to the conclusion that Mogo is trying to reform and assign John to track it.[51] While tracking the Mogo fragment's destination, he is discovered by Fatality, who is seeking a sundered love in danger.[52] After they find Mogo's pieces – realizing that the endangered love is the male and female elements of Mogo's personality trying to come back together- John figures out that the Guardians want to use Mogo.[53] After the villainous First Lantern is destroyed and the unemotional Guardians are killed off by Sinestro, John begins a relationship with Fatality in-between on Mogo.[54]
After the invasion ofDurlans, John discovered that a Durlan impersonated Fatality delectably throughout the months. John defeats the imposter and vows to search for the real Fatality.[55] When John locates and reunites with her on the Durlan prison planet, Fatality attacks him. She revealed to him that the Zamarons had influenced her into becoming a Star Sapphire, forcing her to love him when she actually hated him. After John refuses to fight, Fatality leaves, telling John that he and the Star Sapphires are her enemies leaving John in sorrow.[56]
Following the events of "Lost Army" and "Edge of Oblivion" leading toDC Rebirth, John and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps return to their universe and are about to attack Warworld when it is destroyed by Hal Jordan. After meeting up with a previously captured Guy Gardner and newly turned Sinestro Corp leader Soranik Natu and saving theXudarian homeworld from a joint invasion fromBrainiac and Larfleeze, the remains of both corps join forces.
During an intergalactic summit between the Guardians of the Universe and theUnited Planets, the Green Lantern Corps is recalled to Oa. After terrorists disrupt the event, killing one of the Guardians, John Stewart along with one thousand Green Lanterns, is dispatched to investigate the Dark Sectors where he comes into conflict with the apocalyptic schemes of the New God, Esak.
When the United Planets take control of the Green Lantern Corps and quarantine Sector 2814, reassigning all of its Lanterns to elsewhere in the galaxy, John retires and chooses to remain on Earth with his mother, who is suffering from dementia. To protect her from grief, he creates a hard light construct of his deceased younger sister Ellie. When John is attacked and infected by the Radiant Dead, a necropathic group of corrupted Lanterns and constructs serving the Revenant Queen, he is forced to leave Earth to cure himself and stop the zombie-like horde from destroying the galaxy, teaming up with Caolán Shepherd, a Green Lantern from an alternate universe.[57]
As a Green Lantern, John Stewart is semi-invulnerable, capable of projecting hard-light constructions, flight, and utilizing various other abilities which are only limited by his imagination and willpower. Unlike other Green Lanterns, Stewart does not wear a physical ring, with his body acting as a ring and his heart being a battery.[58][59]
John Stewart was considered to receive anaction figure in the proposed fourth wave ofKenner Products' "Super Powers Collection".[94] Despite this, he has received figures in other toy lines.
IGN ranked John Stewart as the 55th greatest comic book hero of all time describing him as one of the first dominant African-American heroes in the pages of DC Comics; IGN also stated that John Stewart has gone from "semi-obscurity in the mainstream to absolute recognition" thanks to his starring role in the DCAU.[99]
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