John Stewart Appreciation 2019

[Mr HardKnocks]

I'd say the 3 current most popular black DC characters in no particular order are John Stewart, Cyborg and Black Lightning. People know there's an African-American GL regardless of the fact that Cyborg has had more outside media representation

I think John Stewart is really DCs only prominent black character in comics and other media (tv and film). Cyborg, Black Lightning, Steel And Mister Terrific Are popular in other media not the comics. You need the comics to develop the source material and outside of John Stewart none of those characters could really carry themselves solo in both comics and other media.

[Johnny]

I think John Stewart is really DCs only prominent black character in comics and other media (tv and film). Cyborg, Black Lightning, Steel And Mister Terrific Are popular in other media not the comics. You need the comics to develop the source material and outside of John Stewart none of those characters could really carry themselves solo in both comics and other media.

I would argue that John Stewart is also a rather underdeveloped character in the comics. That's why for instance in Snyder's JL, you can see him fighting Hal's arch enemy. That wasn't the case when Kyle was the main Lantern, we didn't see him fighting against Sinestro or Star Sapphire, since he was given the chance to develop as a character and had his own supporting cast and a world that was built around him. John Stewart needs the same thing and I think the fact that he carries a popular mantle does not necessarily mean he can carry himself in both comics in other media unless DC actually starts putting more effort with him.

[nj06]

I would argue that John Stewart is also a rather underdeveloped character in the comics. That's why for instance in Snyder's JL, you can see him fighting Hal's arch enemy. That wasn't the case when Kyle was the main Lantern, we didn't see him fighting against Sinestro or Star Sapphire, since he was given the chance to develop as a character and had his own supporting cast and a world that was built around him. John Stewart needs the same thing and I think the fact that he carries a popular mantle does not necessarily mean he can carry himself in both comics in other media unless DC actually starts putting more effort with him.

I always want more character development for John. It would be cool to see him leading the Justice League for a change.

[Mr HardKnocks]

I would argue that John Stewart is also a rather underdeveloped character in the comics. That's why for instance in Snyder's JL, you can see him fighting Hal's arch enemy. That wasn't the case when Kyle was the main Lantern, we didn't see him fighting against Sinestro or Star Sapphire, since he was given the chance to develop as a character and had his own supporting cast and a world that was built around him. John Stewart needs the same thing and I think the fact that he carries a popular mantle does not necessarily mean he can carry himself in both comics in other media unless DC actually starts putting more effort with him.

I do think if more effort is put into John he would be elevated a lot more because there is a foundation that could be expanded upon. I think if a character is not built with an expansive foundation they’ll never be successful. That’s why I think characters like Cyborg and Steel are real hard to turn into successful solo characters. New 52 Cyborg origins is tied with the Justice League and Steels is tied with Superman and that leaves little room for growth.

[Johnny]

I do think if more effort is put into John he would be elevated a lot more because there is a foundation that could be expanded upon. I think if a character is not built with an expansive foundation they’ll never be successful. That’s why I think characters like Cyborg and Steel are real hard to turn into successful solo characters. New 52 Cyborg origins is tied with the Justice League and Steels is tied with Superman and that leaves little room for growth.

Yeah, I know what you mean. That's why Cyborg is kind of all over the place now, since he's a prominent character but he doesn't have a foundation to build on. You'd never expect to see John Stewart with the Doom Patrol, right? lol It's still good to see a minority character being used so prominently in many different mediums, but out of the aforementioned, John certainly has the type of foundation the others lack.

[nj06]

I agree about Cyborg's origins being tied to the Justice League as being limiting to the character. I would have preferred he still maintained his history with the Titans.

On another note, I would love to see a GL movie based around John. He is my favorite GL period. I'm looking forward to him appearing in the Green Lantern: Legacy graphic novel.

[mace11]

I'd say the 3 current most popular black DC characters in no particular order are John Stewart, Cyborg and Black Lightning. People know there's an African-American GL regardless of the fact that Cyborg has had more outside media representation

I would argue that John Stewart is also a rather underdeveloped character in the comics.

John solo comics were about almost 2 years in 80's and almost 2 years in early 90's.
Every comic after that when he get's the most focus it was still really a team comic,not a true solo.
The ones mention above not john stewart had real solo's and they lasted longer then john's.

How many issues did the steel comic in 90's go up to compared to john,static,mr.terrific and black lighting for example?
Cyborg appear in more books then john.
Does anybody know how many relaunches each had for thier solo's? by the way.I think black lightning for example had more solo relaunches then john for example and they last longer i think.
Black lightning just had his own mini recently as well and i bet he will get more focus in the new batman and the outsiderS book then john has had in new the justice league comics or the hal jordan and the green lantern corps comics.

I would say cyborg even in comics is still more known and more developed then john.
I would say the others are developed too because they had solo's and many appearances in comics.

Keep mind all these characters has had more development then any g.i.joe and transformer character in comics and i would say some of those had development.
Snakes eyes is getting his own movie and these dc superheroes mention above has had more development in comics then him and i would say snakes eyes has development.

John could use more development for example but i would never say any of theses characters are underdevelop,because they are not underdevelop in my eyes.

[Sodam Yat]

I would argue that John Stewart is also a rather underdeveloped character in the comics. That's why for instance in Snyder's JL, you can see him fighting Hal's arch enemy. That wasn't the case when Kyle was the main Lantern, we didn't see him fighting against Sinestro or Star Sapphire, since he was given the chance to develop as a character and had his own supporting cast and a world that was built around him. John Stewart needs the same thing and I think the fact that he carries a popular mantle does not necessarily mean he can carry himself in both comics in other media unless DC actually starts putting more effort with him.

To be honest, when Legion of Doom featured Sinestro as John's evil villain counterpart, I was very surprised Scott Snyder wanted this to happen, especially considering Sinestro had this big relationship with Hal throughout the years. And it's been very popularized in the Johns' era. It's interesting that the TPTB and Geoff Johns didn't stop this from happening. I think it goes to show how much power Scott Snyder has at DC. I mean, he even retcon some previous history to have Lex Luthor having a relationship with the Martian Manhunter through childhood memories. That's some kind of power that Scott Snyder has right now. Sometimes I wonder is he going to move up higher in power at the DC offices in the future?

I remembered when you said a while back that the Legion of Doom is a missed opportunity to have a lesser know GL villain for John to appear there. That's something I agree with. I think it would've been nice to see Fatality as part of the Legion of Doom. But as I said earlier, I feel Sinestro was put there, because he's the most known GL villain. But even then, I think Scott Snyder should still have Fatality get involved in some kind of way to help orchestrate plans with Sinestro to take down John.

But with that said, I am excited to see a real good showdown with John Stewart vs Sinestro. As a John fan, it feels good to see John with other popular superheroes takin on their arch enemies in this cover:

[Cosmic Emerald 23]

This is exactly what I've been saying. In order for John to grow and have greater importance, like say Hal or Kyle, is for the people at DC to BUILD A WORLD FOR HIM. I know he wasn't originally designed to be a solo character, but neither was Wally, and look how he was able to become THE Flash for like 20 years. On the flip side of this, we can only hope and pray that John gets this because we're not in that office at DC HQ making the decisions. Barry was brought back despite Wally's long-term success, and Hal was brought back because of his "angry mobs" harassing DC, which they eventually gave into despite there being no promise of his resurrected series being good since the whole reason why he was left for dead was because his books weren't selling. What I'm saying is that sometimes, the logical option (capitalizing on John/Wally's success) doesn't matter, because the people making the decisions are gonna do what they wanna do based on their own bias/preferences regardless of whether it makes sense or not.

I agree that the movie is John's best bet at gaining more importance in the broad scope of DC. Just look at Black Panther. Now that Marvel sees how much money he brings in from the movies, they are prioritizing him WAAAAY more than they ever have. I know it's sad that John has to promise those mighty dollar signs for the higher ups to care about him, but it is what it is. As long as they give him the all-star treatment he got in the DCAU then I don't really care what they think (to a certain extent). And hey, maybe the successful movies he stars in will organically generate a new wave of youth in his fanbase that care about the character regardless of how much money he pulls in and may grow up to write for him in the future.

BTW, I'm not talking about John replacing anyone. I'm talking about him getting consistent solo focus books and more outside media appearances.

[Johnny]

I have to disagree, Barry was brought back because they pretty much wrote themselves into a corner with Wally's kids story and Hal was brought back because they had no clue what to do with Kyle anymore. Kyle's entire premise as a character was the coming of age story, the fact that he was the rookie who had to constantly keep proving himself due to the big shoes he had to fill. He was as Grant Morrison put it "The young guy who was given a bass guitar and sent on stage with The Beatles". Once he graduated from that phase, it became clear that DC found it increasingly difficult how to handle him from that point on. Also, anytime Hal would show up as GL in guest appearances, the sales would go op. So I don't think "HEAT" had much to do with his return and given that he was going to be written by a guy who was really starting to fire on all cylinders at the time like Geoff Johns, I'm sure DC expected Hal's return to be a big success and it was.

But yes, the movie is obviously an integral part of John Stewart's status for the future. All I'm hoping for is they don't screw up again. Because if they do, GL is done. Hal was somehow able to survive the 2011 debacle, but I'm not sure if either him or John would survive another catastrophe like that.

[Vampire Savior]

Hal was brought back because DiDio became editor in chief and he wanted to bring Hal back.

Barry was brought back because Van Sciver and Johns wanted to bring him back, and DC allowed them to do that based on their success with bringing back Hal Jordan.

So yeah, I would say that personal preferences of the people behind the scenes played a big part in those decisions. Had Jenette Kahn, Mike Carlin, Paul Levitz and Denny O'Neill been making the big decisions at the time, Hal probably would have stayed dead and they would have found something more compelling for Kyle to do. Wally likely would have stayed Flash, too. People sometimes bring up reasons like, "Well, they wrote themselves into a corner." This is comics. There's always a way out if you care to make one. Look at all the gymnastics Geoff Johns did for Hal Jordan. That happened because the people behind the scenes specifically cared to give that character an out, no matter how much the people prior to them tried to block that from ever happening with their damning stories.

[Vampire Savior]

Well, why do you think that Hal is slated to be older and John to be younger? They're purposely making it that way to ensure that John is the focus character and also to get rid of Hal as soon as possible. They need Hal in the movie just because John Stewart needs Hal Jordan to take his place as the next GL of Earth, much like the Ant-Man movie needed Hank Pym to introduce Scott Lang, so Lang could inherit the Ant-Man mantle from Pym.

Usually in the type of "buddy cop" scenarios we're told to expect from GLC, one of the characters is made to be the "veteran" so the "rookie" could get most of the focus since the story is told through his perspective. That's how it was with Will Smith in Men In Black, that's how it was with Ethan Hawke in Training Day, that's how I expect it to be here too. In this day and age WB would not put out a superhero movie with a white guy and a black guy and have the latter play the sidekick to the former. Even if Johns were to write a script like that, the studio would either tell him to change it or hire someone else to rewrite it. I'm not worried about John Stewart's role at all, I'm just not sure whether it's ever going to get made. Maybe with Aquaman's success and if Shazam ends up doing well, it could have a better chance of becoming a reality.

I don't know if Hal Jordan is slated to be anything, because I don't know if that movie will be made, or if it will resemble anything like that if it does. My point is that, I wouldn't hang my hat on this old/young buddy cop thing, because the GLC movie may not even resemble that if it ever gets made. If it does end up happening, it will be quite a ways off, and a lot can change between whenever that buddy cop angle came out, and whenever the film actually gets released. John Stewart may not even be in an upcoming Green Lantern film, for all I know. I mean, Green Lantern was supposed to be Jack Black, and John Stewart was supposed to be in Justice League Mortal or whatever it was called. That didn't mean anything, though.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

I have to disagree, Barry was brought back because they pretty much wrote themselves into a corner with Wally's kids story and Hal was brought back because they had no clue what to do with Kyle anymore. Kyle's entire premise as a character was the coming of age story, the fact that he was the rookie who had to constantly keep proving himself due to the big shoes he had to fill. He was as Grant Morrison put it "The young guy who was given a bass guitar and sent on stage with The Beatles". Once he graduated from that phase, it became clear that DC found it increasingly difficult how to handle him from that point on. Also, anytime Hal would show up as GL in guest appearances, the sales would go op. So I don't think "HEAT" had much to do with his return and given that he was going to be written by a guy who was really starting to fire on all cylinders at the time like Geoff Johns, I'm sure DC expected Hal's return to be a big success and it was.

But yes, the movie is obviously an integral part of John Stewart's status for the future. All I'm hoping for is they don't screw up again. Because if they do, GL is done. Hal was somehow able to survive the 2011 debacle, but I'm not sure if either him or John would survive another catastrophe like that.

Both Wally and Kyle's stories were about a young guy a bit over their depth inheriting a mantle and having to live up to the shadow of a great predecessor and proving their worth. Wally was the really tough one because he had a really strong character of being this sort of easy going fun character. Then his series progressed and he developed and became more serious. He just reached a point where he became the hero he wanted to be and it was just impossible to continue the narrative that had been driving him for years. That's why they tried Bart out and it failed. Then it just made sense to go with the original because the hook of Wally was no longer working and it had baggage being so tied to Barry and nothing else was really working.

Kyle could have worked, but part of the issue with him always was that the way Hal went out left a bad taste in a lot of fans mouths and it created a larger apetite for him to be redeemed and to have the classic Green Lantern back. So they were able to bring back a popular character and also had an instant redemption story arc that could be compelling. Then obviously Johns struck gold with how popular SCW and BN were and it just took off and defined the mythology for awhile.

John Stewart thankfully didn't have the baggage of being a Hal replacement. John's biggest issue is that writers have tried to redefine what John's character should be and there really hasn't been anything conistent beyond the miliatry style no nonsense character from the JL cartoon. I really think it would do John a service to allow him to build his own mythology. Space is big and you can do anything with it. You can give John his own unique set of threats and villains to fight that are strictly his the way Sinestro and Star Sapphire are more tied to Hal.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

Well, why do you think that Hal is slated to be older and John to be younger? They're purposely making it that way to ensure that John is the focus character and also to get rid of Hal as soon as possible. They need Hal in the movie just because John Stewart needs Hal Jordan to take his place as the next GL of Earth, much like the Ant-Man movie needed Hank Pym to introduce Scott Lang, so Lang could inherit the Ant-Man mantle from Pym.

Usually in the type of "buddy cop" scenarios we're told to expect from GLC, one of the characters is made to be the "veteran" so the "rookie" could get most of the focus since the story is told through his perspective. That's how it was with Will Smith in Men In Black, that's how it was with Ethan Hawke in Training Day, that's how I expect it to be here too. In this day and age WB would not put out a superhero movie with a white guy and a black guy and have the latter play the sidekick to the former. Even if Johns were to write a script like that, the studio would either tell him to change it or hire someone else to rewrite it. I'm not worried about John Stewart's role at all, I'm just not sure whether it's ever going to get made. Maybe with Aquaman's success and if Shazam ends up doing well, it could have a better chance of becoming a reality.

I don't know if that's really all that true. Pym while popular also is a controversial character that has baggage that I can see Marvel really wanting to shy away from. Also Ant Man isn't one of the major players in Marvel the way Green Lantern is an iconic part of the Justice League and represents the flagship of DC's cosmic branch. Prior to the first Ant Man film, they already took away the most impactful thing he ever did by creating Ultron. Also I really don't see them introducing Hal just for sake of passing the torch. We've seen this song and dance and it causes a huge fan split and resentment and is just setting up failure. That's always been a problem with the Green Lantern franchise. Also too much of the mythology is directly tied to Hal in a way that it's just not great business to take those stories off the table.

I think the smart play with a Green Lantern line of films is to do an ensemble piece. If I was them I'd do the classic stories with Hal/John and then introduce Guy into the mix as a bit of a trie of contesting personalities. Then once that gets old you can do an Emerald Twilight storyline and sort of sideline everyone for a bit to do Kyle. Then you can go back to Rebirth and do all the popular stories if you ever get there only don't let Hal hog all the spotlight. I think that's the smart way to go.

[Sodam Yat]

Hal was brought back because DiDio became editor in chief and he wanted to bring Hal back.

Barry was brought back because Van Sciver and Johns wanted to bring him back, and DC allowed them to do that based on their success with bringing back Hal Jordan.

So yeah, I would say that personal preferences of the people behind the scenes played a big part in those decisions. Had Jenette Kahn, Mike Carlin, Paul Levitz and Denny O'Neill been making the big decisions at the time, Hal probably would have stayed dead and they would have found something more compelling for Kyle to do. Wally likely would have stayed Flash, too. People sometimes bring up reasons like, "Well, they wrote themselves into a corner." This is comics. There's always a way out if you care to make one. Look at all the gymnastics Geoff Johns did for Hal Jordan. That happened because the people behind the scenes specifically cared to give that character an out, no matter how much the people prior to them tried to block that from ever happening with their damning stories.

True, these so-called writers (and artist) are as much fans we are. So you have fans writing these stories. It's one of the main reasons John Stewart has been sidelined for Guy, Kyle, and Hal during the Johns era. Those (white) writers preferred those characters at the time, so they had mini's and had a bigger presence whenever John shared the Corps book with Kyle and Guy. Even EVS said Hal is his favorite and believe he should be the main Green Lantern. With that said, media adaptions are complete different thing. If those same guys were a part of it, John Stewart wouldn't appear as the lantern in Teen Titans Go! and other media. DC doesn't control WB.