Green Lantern John Stewart Appreciation Thread

[Desh]

Desh, I hope if DC does do another Crisis, Xanshi can be eliminated from John's history. Perhaps this is why John has not been given a proper origin in the new 52. I posted earlier, they can create another grievance Yrra can have for John. It really shows an utter lack of creativity that Xanshi be the defining moment for John while Hal and other heroes receive a clean slate after bad story arcs.

I wouldn't complain if they did that. The best thing the destruction of Xanshi gave us was Green Lantern: Mosaic. After that series, they should have never mentioned it again, but it seems John Stewart had to "come to terms" with the incident for over twenty years. And Mosaic is so non-relevant to Green Lantern right now that I don't even know if it is in continuity.

John Stewart BADLY needs his history cleared up.

What were the circumstances behind him getting the ring?
What was his relationship to Katma Tui?
Did Green Lantern: Mosaic happen?
Was he ever in a wheelchair? (hopefully not, that was stupid)
Did he ever become a Darkstar?

...

Can he please date Shayera Hawkgirl?

These questions NEED to be answered. It's a long shot hope, but I hope that whatever Van Sciver is working on with Van Jensen is a special project to clarify John Stewart's history. I think he needs it more than anyone else in the DC Universe. Van Jensen just needs to go into John's history, not worry about stepping on people's feet, or honoring some really outdated comic continuity (especially with John's origin) and just clear all this up.

[ParticleFreezer]

My second favorite for John is Katma Tui. I loved their relationship in the 80s comics and she is a great character in the Justice League episode "Hearts and Minds."



.

I can't believe it's been over TEN years since Hearts & Minds aired for the first Time. That was thee Episode! That was the episode the sold me on John as the definitive Green Lantern of that series and not just a PC substitute for Kyle. It was like a Damn Star Wars movie with a top rate villain in Despero, Space Aliens, katma in a Slave Leia outfit, Hawkgirl, Wally..Just a quality hour of television from top to bottom

Miss JL/JLU lots! Last great animated American action show.

[Desh]

I can't believe it's been over TEN years since Hearts & Minds aired for the first Time. That was thee Episode! That was the episode the sold me on John as the definitive Green Lantern of that series and not just a PC substitute for Kyle. It was like a Damn Star Wars movie with a top rate villain in Despero, Space Aliens, katma in a Slave Leia outfit, Hawkgirl, Wally..Just a quality hour of television from top to bottom

Miss JL/JLU lots! Last great animated American action show.

*high five*

Man, that is my favorite Green Lantern thing ever, and it is my favorite JL/JLU episode, without a doubt. And that says a hell of a lot!
Keith David killed it as Despero, and I love the Asian flair they gave Katma with her design and her voice acting by Kim Mai Guest. The episode showed us John's apartment and his love of berry ice cream and Old Yeller. John's fight with Despero was one of the greatest battles of all of JL/JLU. His romance with Hawkgirl was perfection at that point.

Seriously, I can watch that episode ANY time. It doesn't matter how many times I've seen it, or how long ago the last time was. I never get tired of it. It was great right from the start and never let up. This intro is so impressively staged.

[SilverZeal]

I wouldn't complain if they did that. The best thing the destruction of Xanshi gave us was Green Lantern: Mosaic. After that series, they should have never mentioned it again, but it seems John Stewart had to "come to terms" with the incident for over twenty years. And Mosaic is so non-relevant to Green Lantern right now that I don't even know if it is in continuity.

John Stewart BADLY needs his history cleared up.

What were the circumstances behind him getting the ring?
What was his relationship to Katma Tui?
Did Green Lantern: Mosaic happen?
Was he ever in a wheelchair? (hopefully not, that was stupid)
Did he ever become a Darkstar?

...

Can he please date Shayera Hawkgirl?

These questions NEED to be answered. It's a long shot hope, but I hope that whatever Van Sciver is working on with Van Jensen is a special project to clarify John Stewart's history. I think he needs it more than anyone else in the DC Universe. Van Jensen just needs to go into John's history, not worry about stepping on people's feet, or honoring some really outdated comic continuity (especially with John's origin) and just clear all this up.

Dat may still hv happnd but cud b re-written diffrntly in terms of wat actually happnd whn he was in a wheel chair with gr8r emfasis on his willpwr.

It wud b supa-kool if d Darkstars shwd-up again.

[Desh]

It wud b supa-kool if d Darkstars shwd-up again.

I would actually be into that. I don't like the rainbow Corps very much, but the Darkstars and Controllers can be pretty awesome. I'd eventually like to see them reinvented in the New 52. For the time being, I'd like to see John build up a solid rogues gallery with the likes of Kanjar Ro, Evil Star, and Starbreaker.

[SilverZeal]

I would actually be into that.

Combo fist bump buddy!

I don't like the rainbow Corps very much,

Meh, agree 2 disagree.

but the Darkstars and Controllers can be pretty awesome. I'd eventually like to see them reinvented in the New 52.

Agrd!

For the time being, I'd like to see John build up a solid rogues gallery with the likes of Kanjar Ro, Evil Star, and Starbreaker.

Absolutely!!!

We/SZ can already c d seed 4 a very long term rivalry with d Durlan fake-Fatality after wat she/it did 2 him emotionally.

[Crazy Diamond]

Desh,
Just saw your JLA collection. Good stuff except for The Tenth Circle. SMH @ the JLA having trouble with vampires.

[Desh]

We/SZ can already c d seed 4 a very long term rivalry with d Durlan fake-Fatality after wat she/it did 2 him emotionally.

Yeah, I can see her being a huge rogue for him. What I'm curious about is how John's relationship with the real Fatality will be going forward. Will she be an uneasy ally or an enemy? Will she ever naturally come to forgive John? Even though Van Jensen broke them up, John and Fatality's relationship is now deeper and more complex and interesting than ever, in my opinion.

[Desh]

Desh,
Just saw your JLA collection. Good stuff except for The Tenth Circle. SMH @ the JLA having trouble with vampires.

Thanks. The Tenth Circle actually has my favorite art of all of them. I really like Byrne's work there. The next best artist is probably Doug Mahnke, though I'm not a huge fan of his. But the writing of The Tenth Circle could have used some work, definitely.

What do you think of McDuffie's Justice League of America? I've been considering going over that once I'm done with this.

[Starchild]

I don't mean to mention Hal on this thread but I like how when Dwayne McDuffie took over the title, he took out Hal in a heartbeat and added John. The exchanges between him and Black Lightning were funny. He was trying to turn it into the black Justice League on the DL, lol I wasn't complaining.

[Anthony Shaw]

Yeah, I can see her being a huge rogue for him. What I'm curious about is how John's relationship with the real Fatality will be going forward. Will she be an uneasy ally or an enemy? Will she ever naturally come to forgive John? Even though Van Jensen broke them up, John and Fatality's relationship is now deeper and more complex and interesting than ever, in my opinion.

I am hoping Yrra will be an uneasy ally.

[Anthony Shaw]

I don't mean to mention Hal on this thread but I like how when Dwayne McDuffie took over the title, he took out Hal in a heartbeat and added John. The exchanges between him and Black Lightning were funny. He was trying to turn it into the black Justice League on the DL, lol I wasn't complaining.

I believe those were the characters he had to work with as the editors kept removing the ones he initially thought he would be writing.

I enjoyed the exchange between Jeff & John.

[Desh]

I don't mean to mention Hal on this thread but I like how when Dwayne McDuffie took over the title, he took out Hal in a heartbeat and added John.

I was definitely into that decision. Prior to that, John wasn't doing ANYTHING ANYWHERE. Geoff Johns wasn't using the character, and he wasn't appearing in Green Lantern Corps. For all the people who were fans of John from the Justice League cartoons (like me), the comics were a very unwelcoming place around that time. The management definitely had it in for him, and likely still does, since they tried to kill him a little over a year ago. But now WB is looking directly over their shoulders, which is nice, in my opinion, because I don't trust DC management.

What I didn't like is that John kinda' had to share his position with Hal Jordan. It made it seem like a consolation prize. Another one of those, "Oh we'll let him be around, but Hal Jordan has to be there, too" things. I would like John to just be the Green Lantern again, like he was in JL/JLU.

I'm sure a lot of that sort of thing from editorial is due to John being the Green Lantern on television for years and years and Hal Jordan pretty much not being featured at all on JL/JLU. But there's a real difference between those two scenarios that I think comes across. What Bruce Timm and co. did wasn't done out of spite. It was done because they wanted to reach a different demographic, portray a more inclusive image, because they naturally liked the character, and Hal Jordan was dead in comics anyway, and that was not Timm's doing. What DiDio and Johns does actually seems to carry a strong tinge of spite and sour grapes. There were legitimate reasons for not having Hal Jordan in the cartoon that weren't at all personal or unfairly biased. There weren't any real legitimate reasons for not having John in the comics and trying to kill him, especially after his success in animation.

I think one of the reasons Hal Jordan's push hasn't succeeded as well as WB would have hoped is because it hasn't really seemed like a natural thing to me. It often comes across as some old fanboys trying to prove a point (which is that "Hal Jordan IS Green Lantern"). And things often aren't going to play out well and naturally in scenarios like this if there is some kind of vindictive motive behind an effort. With John Stewart, circumstances allowed things to naturally fall into place for him. With Hal Jordan, it seems like some guys trying to force stuff, hence we get confused people wondering why he's White, and so forth.

[Starchild]

They tried to kill him? I don't think I've heard about this one.

[Desh]

They tried to kill him? I don't think I've heard about this one.

Someone (or someones) up in DC Editorial did. If it wasn't Johns and DiDio, I'm sure something like that would at least reach them, and they apparently did not oppose it or stop it.

The writer who was hired to do it confirmed it, and it literally made him physically ill:
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2014/05/...-john-stewart/
^ more info.

EDIT:
Here's the relevant part.

"RJ: So, exactly who was it who told you to kill off John Stewart? You don’t get these questions at CBR, I know.

JHF: Editorial felt that the story we were telling wasn’t ‘compelling enough’ and suggested that the murder of John Stewart would be. I disagreed.

It was all so long ago, but it still bums me out. I love those characters, and wanted to be a part of the launch so badly.

RJ: I notice he is now alive in the Futures End comic set thirty years in the future.

JHF: I know that those plans all got scuttled after I left, but, that wasn’t enough for them to ask me back.

RJ: Is there any way you could ever see yourself going back?

JHF: It was a toxic environment working there when I did. I was walking with a cane and suffering from migraines two or three times a week from all the stress. After I quit, that all went away.

I’ve lost probably 50 pounds, and, am training for a marathon.

RJ: They should probably bottle that as medication.

JHF: Just being out from under the negative energy contributed a lot of that change."