John Stewart: Green Lantern Appreciation 2022

[Sodam Yat]

Was it established she was dead before or was this just to explain why she was never around in John's life?

It was established that she was dead before, but doesn't explain how she died.

[Refrax5]

Doesn't "Eleanor" stand for "Lynn" anyway? Hence I figured this was supposed to be a new version of Lynn Stewart. But I'm not sure giving him a dead sister was necessary. The guy has enough tragedy as it is. Dead wife, dead planet, now a dead sister too? Jeez.

Yeah, he had repressed the memory and thought he had just killed a puppy instead. I think that his sister's name was Rose, if I'm not mistaken. The worst part is that it ripped off an episode of MASH.

This is not a popular opinion, but I actually liked that issue, aside from the MASH cribbing. It dealt with the idea that a lot of John's guilt and anger came from this incident and that he had been self-sabotaging himself for years because he was punishing himself for it. Once he confronted it, there was this dramatic scene where his girlfriend came into his room and he was standing.

I think why I'm forgiving of that story is that it delved pretty deeply into John's psyche. It showed how much he'd been through, but also how brave and strong he was to face down all of that trauma and pain and rise above. His girlfriend has some line like, "You've faced down more demons than most people do in a lifetime. I know no better man." It was one of those stories that made me admire John. Fighting external battles is one thing, but facing your own dark places takes a special kind of courage and will.

[HsssH]

DC has been very cruel to the character to the point where you would never even thought he would have made it this far (featured in video games, lead character in the main GL title, his own solo movie etc). It was coming to the point where he was almost un-repairable. I think it's a testament that DC can really do great things for a character, despite how badly he was written in the past. That says a lot. All it takes is really effort and it's being shown here.

All the things they're doing with John, I feel like I'm in a John Stewart fan's paradise lol.

I think that it is very likely that if not for animated adaptations then John would be either dead or appearing once in 5 years in some big splash page with 50 other characters.

[Sodam Yat]

Yeah, he had repressed the memory and thought he had just killed a puppy instead. I think that his sister's name was Rose, if I'm not mistaken. The worst part is that it ripped off an episode of MASH.

This is not a popular opinion, but I actually liked that issue, aside from the MASH cribbing. It dealt with the idea that a lot of John's guilt and anger came from this incident and that he had been self-sabotaging himself for years because he was punishing himself for it. Once he confronted it, there was this dramatic scene where his girlfriend came into his room and he was standing.

I think why I'm forgiving of that story is that it delved pretty deeply into John's psyche. It showed how much he'd been through, but also how brave and strong he was to face down all of that trauma and pain and rise above. His girlfriend has some line like, "You've faced down more demons than most people do in a lifetime. I know no better man." It was one of those stories that made me admire John. Fighting external battles is one thing, but facing your own dark places takes a special kind of courage and will.

There was nothing good about the issue. The issue itself isn’t about what makes John special and a worthy ring bearer. It’s the opposite of that. You cannot understand why the Guardians specifically chose him as a Green Lantern after reading that issue. That same issue also explains John could’ve been in a gang, because he associated himself with the wrong people. It’s a shame that the writer can’t see beyond John’s skin color. It was a racial stereotype towards the character and an attempt to degrade him. The story is based off on tragedy after tragedy where John has a hard time accepting the tragic events that’s caused by him. John was bound to the wheelchair for that reason. The issue shows he wasn’t fearless and didn’t have the willpower to accept the things he did. He was bound by fear, because he couldn’t accept the mistake that he made. It wasn’t just about him accidentally killing his sister. That was added, to make the story more dramatic than it is. It wasn’t needed. The issue was complete garbage. The other three white guys like Hal, Guy, and Kyle would NEVER have been written that way.

[Sodam Yat]

I think that it is very likely that if not for animated adaptations then John would be either dead or appearing once in 5 years in some big splash page with 50 other characters.

Yeah the Justice League most likely saved him from getting the axe. I really do believe he would've been either dead, in limbo somewhere, or have small miscellaneous cameos if it wasn't for the cartoon.

[Johnny]

Honestly and I hope someone doesn't take this the wrong way, but I think that due to him being DC's first African-American hero, John would've most likely not been treated quite like that, particularly in this day and age. Even if he wasn't in the DCAU, he still has enough cultural significance to the DC brand in general that would've still raised a lot of eyebrows if he was used as some cameo character or he was dead, or still wheelchair bound.

[Refrax5]

There was nothing good about the issue. The issue itself isn’t about what makes John special and a worthy ring bearer. It’s the opposite of that. You cannot understand why the Guardians specifically chose him as a Green Lantern after reading that issue. That same issue also explains John could’ve been in a gang, because he associated himself with the wrong people. It’s a shame that the writer can’t see beyond John’s skin color. It was a racial stereotype towards the character and an attempt to degrade him. The story is based off on tragedy after tragedy where John has a hard time accepting the tragic events that’s caused by him. John was bound to the wheelchair for that reason. The issue shows he wasn’t fearless and didn’t have the willpower to accept the things he did. He was bound by fear, because he couldn’t accept the mistake that he made. It wasn’t just about him accidentally killing his sister. That was added, to make the story more dramatic than it is. It wasn’t needed. The issue was complete garbage. The other three white guys like Hal, Guy, and Kyle would NEVER have been written that way.

Sorry you feel that way.

[Sodam Yat]

Honestly and I hope someone doesn't take this the wrong way, but I think that due to him being DC's first African-American hero, John would've most likely not been treated quite like that, particularly in this day and age. Even if he wasn't in the DCAU, he still has enough cultural significance to the DC brand in general that would've still raised a lot of eyebrows if he was used as some cameo character or he was dead, or still wheelchair bound.

If John wasn't never on the cartoon, you think DC would still use him in some way significantly? I think the creations of Simon, Jess, Jo, etc. would make John even more redundant, since they would be pushed more (if John wasn't on the cartoon hypothetically).

Not taking it the wrong way, btw

[Johnny]

If John wasn't never on the cartoon, you think DC would still use him in some way significantly? I think the creations of Simon, Jess, Jo, etc. would make John even more redundant, since they would be pushed more (if John wasn't on the cartoon hypothetically).

Not taking it the wrong way, btw

I can't tell if they would've pushed him the way they do now, but I don't really see them treating him like a Z-list character with no value to the GL franchise or the overall DCU. I don't see them treating him like Mal Duncan for instance, and Mal has technically been around longer than John.

[Shockingjustice]

I can't tell if they would've pushed him the way they do now, but I don't really see them treating him like a Z-list character with no value to the GL franchise or the overall DCU. I don't see them treating him like Mal Duncan for instance, and Mal has technically been around longer than John.

Probably less like Mal and more like Victor. 1 minute hall of fame with the Justice League, the next back to DC's premier Jobbing team (Teen Titans.)

[sifighter]

Saw the cover for Dark Crisis #6, made me think which was better: The Guardian suit from World without a justice league or that green god suit he had in Death of Justice League. Leaving out the sleeveless Emerald Knight suit, not because I hate it (in fact I think the sleeveless warrior look is a great one on him) but because I’m focusing solely on the two current crisis costumes.

[skyvolt2000]

Honestly and I hope someone doesn't take this the wrong way, but I think that due to him being DC's first African-American hero, John would've most likely not been treated quite like that, particularly in this day and age. Even if he wasn't in the DCAU, he still has enough cultural significance to the DC brand in general that would've still raised a lot of eyebrows if he was used as some cameo character or he was dead, or still wheelchair bound.

Black Panther wants a WORD...

Look at what they are doing to him in his own comic book. Leave the movie out of the equation.
We are heading to year 7 of Panther bashing with new writers that don't like him getting hired.

[skyvolt2000]

Yeah, he had repressed the memory and thought he had just killed a puppy instead. I think that his sister's name was Rose, if I'm not mistaken. The worst part is that it ripped off an episode of MASH.

Green Lantern 147.

Judd Winick-writer

One of the LAST times we saw John's family mention beyond MOM.

We saw his Dad, Mom, brother and sister Rose. We did not see Granny.

Doesn't "Eleanor" stand for "Lynn" anyway?

Not exactly...

If it was more Lyanna-then yes.

Damn, so the dead sister aspect was already there before? And he was responsible for her death too?? For god's sake, DC has been more cruel to this character than I thought.

That is what happens when your editors don't research.

[Vordan]

I really liked this analysis of John’s relationship with the ring:



Tying the ring’s ability to create anything you can imagine to John’s interest in architecture as an attempt to push back against limitations imposed on him was neat!

[Vordan]

The issue was great!

But it kinds of worries me when he says I hope other writers pick up in the future... threads. So he may not be the next Green Lantern writer. I also 100% agree what he says about that. There's been too many problems when new writers taking over, they don't pick up any developments that was left with the previous writer.

Well we know there’s a John Stewart series coming but I’d be shocked if anyone other than Thorne was writing it since it seems to clearly be carrying on from where he left things. PKJ has said he wants to write GL, and that he has big plans for it, but he’s also happy on Action and would like to write that for five years. I selfishly don’t want to give him up since I’m enjoying his current run a lot and like what’s he’s doing for Supes.

I did feel that having Jason Todd in this issue was so random, though.

Ha yeah that’s one thing I’ll ding him for, he really likes Batman and the Bat characters and is eager to use them where he can. He’s been mostly good about restraining himself but he very obviously wants to tackle that corner at some point. Alas that’s pretty much to be expected when “C-List” Batman rogues get their own animated shows while we can’t even get a GL cartoon, video game, or movie. I expect the next crop of writers to join DC will be very heavy on Batman love and less interested in the rest of the DCU. That’s what happens when you neglect the rest of your universe in favor of one IP.