Legacy Showdown: Green Lantern

[lemonpeace]

I have never wanted to read the adventures of a Guardian of the Universe. John is a Green Lantern. Don't think that just because a character gets some boost in power or status that it's a good thing for them as a character. Another example would be John as leader of the Corps. What did that ever do for him as a character but often restrict him to command centers?

That said, John reaching that status was an interesting way to end the Mosaic storyline. But that was an ending. Not an ongoing adventure.

Sucks you feel that way, however the Guardian "ending" was not supposed to be a bookend ending, the book got pulled. However, that's neither here nor there, if they actually followed through with something interesting when they appointed him leader of the green lantern corps, i feel something akin to him operating closer to Guardian level problems would've been the logical next step. It's a promotion, a vehicle of developement; remember when Kyle was a Guardian? The problem with the Green Lantern corp is that they all serve the same purpose, and the lantern mythos is most interesting when it's approached from different angles. I don't see why we need 6+ lanterns doing the same thing. Why not follow up on existing ideas out there for this character? It's not like characters don't get promotions and status developments all the time. I lack the cynicism to see why John shouldn't get the same shot, and I think following up on existing ideas for the character like him being the leader of the Lanterns, like his relationship to the Guardians, like him BEING a Guardian at one point, would be the most compelling way. It's all in the execution.

[j9ac9k]

... It's not like characters don't get promotions and status developments all the time. I lack the cynicism to see why John shouldn't get the same shot, and I think following up on existing ideas for the character like him being the leader of the Lanterns, like his relationship to the Guardians, like him BEING a Guardian at one point, would be the most compelling way. It's all in the execution.

I agree about execution, but it would really take someone with a compelling vision to make it happen, and OP characters tend to not get a whole lot of panel time because they're challenging to write. Kyle has gone the OP route several times, yet he keeps getting bumped back down to GL. I don't know about John somehow getting singled out for non-promotion is a thing - who are you thinking of where that's become a lasting thing? (aside from sidekicks, where advancement is baked into the premise) Not Kyle as Ion or White Lantern, not Hal as Parallax or Spectre. Characters tend to expand then get knocked back to something closer to their original incarnation. That's happened a thousand times more than someone getting "promoted" and having it stick.

[Frontier]

I agree about execution, but it would really take someone with a compelling vision to make it happen, and OP characters tend to not get a whole lot of panel time because they're challenging to write. Kyle has gone the OP route several times, yet he keeps getting bumped back down to GL. I don't know about John somehow getting singled out for non-promotion is a thing - who are you thinking of where that's become a lasting thing? (aside from sidekicks, where advancement is baked into the premise) Not Kyle as Ion or White Lantern, not Hal as Parallax or Spectre. Characters tend to expand then get knocked back to something closer to their original incarnation. That's happened a thousand times more than someone getting "promoted" and having it stick.

Don't forget Guy as the Warrior or leader of the Red Lanterns.

[lemonpeace]

I agree about execution, but it would really take someone with a compelling vision to make it happen, and OP characters tend to not get a whole lot of panel time because they're challenging to write. Kyle has gone the OP route several times, yet he keeps getting bumped back down to GL. I don't know about John somehow getting singled out for non-promotion is a thing - who are you thinking of where that's become a lasting thing? (aside from sidekicks, where advancement is baked into the premise) Not Kyle as Ion or White Lantern, not Hal as Parallax or Spectre. Characters tend to expand then get knocked back to something closer to their original incarnation. That's happened a thousand times more than someone getting "promoted" and having it stick.

I'm not taking about it lasting forever, or the meta reading of it all, I'm just talking about an idea. I personally would rather they actually DO something at least approaching development, even if it doesn't last for long, than continuing to to nothing, that's my stance; but we're getting beside the point. whether DC does it or not, or keeps it or not, isn't really important to me because this ain't DC HQ, ya know? I'm just proposing an idea that I thought was cool and wanted to discuss it with the wider Green Lantern community.

[lemonpeace]

Don't forget Guy as the Warrior or leader of the Red Lanterns.

I actually really liked Guy as leader of a faction of the Reds. I'm not the biggest Guy Gardner fan, I don't really dislike or anything he's just not at the top of my list, but that was one of the times I found him really interesting. Has one of my favorite John/Guy bromance moments.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I'm curious about the wider Green Lantern fanbase' thoughts on this; how would you feel about making John a Guardian again?

Uber-powerful characters are tough to write for, and a Green Lantern as experienced and clever as John is already a pretty powerful character. Short-term, sure, but I think they'd run out of stories for Guardian John pretty quickly, as they did with similarly super-powerful GLs like Ion Kyle and Parallax Hal.

That said, since absolutely nothing was ever done with John's way too brief time as a Guardian, I would like to see it revisited at some point

[Vampire Savior]

Sucks you feel that way, however the Guardian "ending" was not supposed to be the and ending, the book got pulled. However, that's neither here nor there, if they actually followed through with something interesting when they appointed him leader of the green lantern corps i feel something akin to him operating closer to Guardian level problems would've been the logical next stYep. It's a promotion, a vehicle of developement; remember when Kyle was a Guardian? The problem of the Green Lantern corp they all serve the same purpose and the lantern mythos is most interesting when it's approached from different angles and I don't see why we need 6 lanterns doing the same thing. Why not follow up on existing ideas out there for this character? It's not like characters don't get promotions and status developments all the time. I lack the cynicism to see why John shouldn't get the same shot, and I think following up on existing ideas for the character like him being the leader of the Lanterns, like his relationship to the Guardians, like him BEING a Guardian at one point, would be the most compelling way. It's all in the execution.

I am aware that Jones planned to continue Mosaic with John Stewart as a Guardian, but that doesn't change my opinion. I also remember Kyle as Ion two times, and that doesn't change my opinion, either (because neither was really good). It kind of sounds to me that you would want John to become a Guardian again so he can have a little feather in his cap, and people will be able to say that he was a super powerful character, and while that might be handy for a playground debate, I don't think that's what really matters. Good stories are what really make a difference for a character, and John having adventures as a Guardian isn't a premise that outright hooks me. Sure, you can say that it's all in the execution, but since it's just an idea and there isn't anything tangible to show for it, I'm going to go with, "Doesn't sound interesting to me."

I also don't agree with the thinking that for something to be done with John, he will need to be fundamentally changed. I don't think (well I actually I know) that isn't necessary. That line of thinking has led to many bad decisions, like Guy as Warrior, Hal Jordan as Spectre, and so on. There's plenty John can do as Green Lantern. Someone just has to have good stories for the character and there needs to be someone willing to publish them. Those are the hurdles he faces.

[J. D. Guy]

if you could vote for 2 I would have voted for Alan he might be everyone's 2nd favorite GL.

Jessica would have taken my second place vote.

Yeah, I can relate to some extent. While I would list Jessica as my favorite GL and she can stand alone as a character, I do agree her and Simon as a team is what works best for them.



I sure hope not. I really, really, really don't want to see him die.

Nice! Also definitely agree with the latter. I've mentioned this before in another thread, but it would look really bad if they dumped on Simon, the one Lebanese-American superhero DC has, like that. And in general it would be all-around tacky.

[El_Gato]

Anybody else want to add in their two cents and place a vote?

[Gaius]

Hal Jordan for me, with Alan Scott and Jessica Cruz tied for second.

I'm fond of all of them though.

[Vampire Savior]

I am aware that Jones planned to continue Mosaic with John Stewart as a Guardian, but that doesn't change my opinion. I also remember Kyle as Ion two times, and that doesn't change my opinion, either (because neither was really good). It kind of sounds to me that you would want John to become a Guardian again so he can have a little feather in his cap, and people will be able to say that he was a super powerful character, and while that might be handy for a playground debate, I don't think that's what really matters. Good stories are what really make a difference for a character, and John having adventures as a Guardian isn't a premise that outright hooks me. Sure, you can say that it's all in the execution, but since it's just an idea and there isn't anything tangible to show for it, I'm going to go with, "Doesn't sound interesting to me."

I also don't agree with the thinking that for something to be done with John, he will need to be fundamentally changed. I don't think (well I actually I know) that isn't necessary. That line of thinking has led to many bad decisions, like Guy as Warrior, Hal Jordan as Spectre, and so on. There's plenty John can do as Green Lantern. Someone just has to have good stories for the character and there needs to be someone willing to publish them. Those are the hurdles he faces.

Huh. I wrote this a year ago. I don't remember writing it, but it's pretty funny to read. I feel a bit differently a year later.

Yeah, you can tell John Stewart stories as a Green Lantern and they could be good (or not), but nowadays, I actually feel it might be better for him to get his own identity. Well, I don't know if it would necessarily be better (it depends on a lot of stuff), but I'd at least be open to seeing it. Being an also-ran Green Lantern hasn't really done a lot for him, and I think he can ultimately only go so far in that role, because he'll likely always be beneath Hal in some fashion. Even if he manages to grow beyond him and get more sunlight (sort of), like during the years of the JL show, someone will probably come along and pull him back down in some fashion. There's an extremely strong chance of that happening to the point of being a likelihood.

All that is if someone actually wants him to be his own independent leading character. There is a place for support characters. Someone has to fill those roles. Thing is, John hasn't even been interesting as a support character. He just hasn't really been in interesting character in a LONG time. That's another reason why I'd be open to seeing him do something else.

[Ascended]

Responded more than 2 years ago, way back on page 3. And nothing has changed. I'd still vote for John. I still think Kyle was the best GL during the Marz era. I still think Guy just gets better and better with age, I still have damn little opinion on Baz or Cruz.

And I still adore Allan as part of the JSA but have little interest in him as a solo act.

[Samm]

Interesting to compare the results of this thread to the new one. Somewhere along the way the demographics of the site changed to gear more towards the older, more nostalgic crowd. At least that’s what recent polls seem to indicate

[Vampire Savior]

Interesting to compare the results of this thread to the new one. Somewhere along the way the demographics of the site changed to gear more towards the older, more nostalgic crowd. At least that’s what recent polls seem to indicate

The results seem mostly the same to me. Hal Jordan wins by a landslide and the others pretty much cannibalize each other.

[Samm]

The results seem mostly the same to me. Hal Jordan wins by a landslide and the others pretty much cannibalize each other.

And Simon actually got some votes on this poll lol. I’m surprised Kyle beat Jessica though, but to be fair he’s been around much longer and didn’t beat her by much.