Green Lantern John Stewart Appreciation Thread

[The Darknight Detective]

Isn't Green Lantern/Green Arrow, which was around the time John was created, regarded as Bronze Age?

Definitely, Frontier.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

There's a little disagreement on when exactly the various ages of comics began and ended.

However, the Silver Age of Superhero Comics is generally believed to have ended with the start of more socially conscious, and realistic stories that began with Green Lantern/Green Arrow and the death of Gwen Stacy.

So, it's a stretch to call John Stewart a Silver Age character. He is quite firmly a product of the Bronze Age. Guy Gardner is a little trickier because he was introduced during the Silver Age, but didn't really become fully-formed until the mid-1980s.

[The Darknight Detective]

There's a little disagreement on when exactly the various ages of comics began and ended.

However, the Silver Age of Superhero Comics is generally believed to have ended with the start of more socially conscious, and realistic stories that began with Green Lantern/Green Arrow and the death of Gwen Stacy.

So, it's a stretch to call John Stewart a Silver Age character. He is quite firmly a product of the Bronze Age. Guy Gardner is a little trickier because he was introduced during the Silver Age, but didn't really become fully-formed until the mid-1980s.

I agree Guy is a little trickier, though if I had to classify him, I would say he was a SA creation.

[Anthony Shaw]

The Silver Age is supposed to be from the late 1950s to 1970. John Stewart was created in '71 so technically he can't be Silver Age, but some comic scholars point to Gwen Stacy's death as the "official" end of the Silver Age and that happened in '73. I'd consider him Bronze Age, but I can understand people who think he's SA.

I always considered the death of Gwen the end of the Silver Age. I was wrong.

[Anthony Shaw]

There's a little disagreement on when exactly the various ages of comics began and ended.

However, the Silver Age of Superhero Comics is generally believed to have ended with the start of more socially conscious, and realistic stories that began with Green Lantern/Green Arrow and the death of Gwen Stacy.

So, it's a stretch to call John Stewart a Silver Age character. He is quite firmly a product of the Bronze Age. Guy Gardner is a little trickier because he was introduced during the Silver Age, but didn't really become fully-formed until the mid-1980s.

I will officially consider John a Bronze Age character moving forward.

But I have to ask: is Ollie's revamp of social crusader considered Silver or Bronze?

Does Ollie's revamp make him similar to Guy Gardner's revamp?

[Anthony Shaw]

Funny things to note....

According to Wikipedia, John was originally based on Sidney Poitier.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stewart_(comics)

This is funny as how Spider-Man character Robbie Robertson is often noted as being based on Poitier.

[Anthony Shaw]

Now, with John Stewart being firmly set as a Bronze Age character....that leaves us with Mal Duncan & Vykin.

Vykin is considered the first Black superhero at DC (thanks again, Jack!).

Wow, it is crazy that Vykin is collecting dust. Like Black Panther, Vykin is a Kirby creation.

According to Comic Vine, both are considered Bronze Age characters.

Both Black Panther and Sam Wilson debuted before 1970. Both are Silver Age superheroes.

So...DC had no black superheroes during the Silver Age?

Damn.....DC.

This kinda leaves a bad taste in my mouth the more I think about it.

This also kinda explains the Cyborg League founder & other instances of race-bending. Although the more effective solution would simply be pushing existing, and I dare say historic, black characters (in addition to non-black heroes of color).

Black Panther, Sam Wilson, & Luke Cage team-up ever so often.

Sadly, DC never thought to do the same with John Stewart, Mal Duncan, and Vykin: three of your earliest black characters.

John Stewart meeting Vykin makes an awful lot of sense given both are cosmic characters (plus the recent GL & New Gods stories in recent years), without anyone making it a race issue.

[mace11]

Don't forget Black Racer from New Gods -1971 .

The were black characters in dc before 1971 and are in the superhero lists.

Molo- International Sea Devil -1965
Jackie Johnson Easy Company -1961
Flipper-Dipper-The Newsboy Legion -1970
August Durant-Secret Six -1968
Iron-Metal Men -1962

Marvel
Gabe Jones-Sgt. Fury #1-1963
Edward March (Earth-616) -1970

[Anthony Shaw]

Don't forget Black Racer from New Gods -1971 .

The were black characters in dc before 1971 and are in the superhero lists.

Molo- International Sea Devil -1965
Jackie Johnson Easy Company -1961
Flipper-Dipper-The Newsboy Legion -1970
August Durant-Secret Six -1968
Iron-Metal Men -1962

Marvel
Gabe Jones-Sgt. Fury #1-1963
Edward March (Earth-616) -1970

Crazy that it took Jack Kirby to introduce black super-powered beings to DC first.

I appreciate the information. I just don't consider the DC characters you mentioned as superheroes in the traditional sense.

I am highly amused about Iron, of the Metal Men. I never followed the Metal Men. I never knew he was meant to be....black.

On that note, Iron predates Jazz & Blaster from the Transformers by two decades.

You learn something new everyday.

Marvels gets a pass for creating actual, traditional superheroes of color during the silver age.

[The Darknight Detective]

I am highly amused about Iron, of the Metal Men. I never followed the Metal Men. I never knew he was meant to be....black

That's the first I ever heard of that and I have been a fan of that team since 1976, Anthony. That would actually make him the first African-American superhero I ever read in a comic (I think ).

[Assam]

. I just don't consider the DC characters you mentioned as superheroes in the traditional sense.

DC almost had one back in 1966. Jim Shooter originally intended for Ferro Lad to be black. DC wouldn't let Shooter do this though, thinking they'd lose distribution in the south, which led to Shooter's decision to kill the character quickly after he was introduced.

[Frontier]

I am highly amused about Iron, of the Metal Men. I never followed the Metal Men. I never knew he was meant to be....black.
.

Someone should've told Andrea Romano when she was casting for Brave and the Bold (plus whoever did those DC Nation Shorts) .

[Anthony Shaw]

That's the first I ever heard of that and I have been a fan of that team since 1976, Anthony. That would actually make him the first African-American superhero I ever read in a comic (I think ).

Someone should've told Andrea Romano when she was casting for Brave and the Bold (plus whoever did those DC Nation Shorts) .

Now now...a person has to be born from at least one black parent....lol.

IMO, Iron only beats Jazz & Blaster of the Transformers.

We up here....applying race....to robots.....only in sci-fi.....!

[Anthony Shaw]

DC almost had one back in 1966. Jim Shooter originally intended for Ferro Lad to be black. DC wouldn't let Shooter do this though, thinking they'd lose distribution in the south, which led to Shooter's decision to kill the character quickly after he was introduced.

Now that I was aware of (Ferro Lad originally being conceived as black). That actually would not be the last time Shooter tried to introduce a black character in Legion stories before the unfortunate debut of Tyroc.

[Assam]

That actually would not be the last time Shooter tried to introduce a black character in Legion stories

Really? Do you know when specifically?

before the unfortunate debut of Tyroc.

Oh Tyroc...