John Stewart: Green Lantern Appreciation 2023

[John Venus]

Has John and Krona ever interacted? Feels like the two would have an interesting conversation.

[j9ac9k]

That's a painful reminder. That mini was not even concluded - it was cancelled halfway through right in the middle of the story and replaced with the inferior "GL: Edge of Oblivion" where the plot from Lost Army was simply ignored. (including what happened to Krona)

[Sodam Yat]

I can see a Sinestro project being about how he came to rule Korguar like a dictator and how he did it without the Guardians knowing. It ends with him being exposed and Katma helping to overthrow him and taking his place in the GLC.

The sequel can be about him becoming a Yellow Lantern and attacking other Green Lanterns. Then forming the Sinestro Corps.

The third one can be about him achieving quasi redemption.

I would definitely watch something like that if it was going to happen. I'm sure if the show is a HUGE success, there may be some kind of possible spin off from the series.

[Mantis-Ray]

I can see a Sinestro project being about how he came to rule Korguar like a dictator and how he did it without the Guardians knowing. It ends with him being exposed and Katma helping to overthrow him and taking his place in the GLC.

The sequel can be about him becoming a Yellow Lantern and attacking other Green Lanterns. Then forming the Sinestro Corps.

The third one can be about him achieving quasi redemption.

If Sinestro were in this, it would make more sense to have him start as a GL or lone rogue and then build up the Sinestro Corps

If the story features a bit of early days Hal and John, then Sinestro prolly wouldn't already have his own Corps

[Sodam Yat]

I just hope they acknowledge his architect profession.

Same. I really hope they do.

That's a painful reminder. That mini was not even concluded - it was cancelled halfway through right in the middle of the story and replaced with the inferior "GL: Edge of Oblivion" where the plot from Lost Army was simply ignored. (including what happened to Krona)

Cullen Bunn didn't even know that his series was getting replaced by GL: Edge of Oblivion. And it was said that Lost Army is a separate story and not related to GL: Edge Of Oblivion. The management was terrible. I'm sure that EVS coming back and wanting to do anything GL related, they thought that the sales was going to boost when he was part of the new creative team.

[Vordan]

I’ll throw out a hot take here: I think John would have benefitted from getting a hard reboot during the New 52 like Aquaman did.

[Frontier]

I’ll throw out a hot take here: I think John would have benefitted from getting a hard reboot during the New 52 like Aquaman did.

How would you implement it though? Like completely ditch Hal and the GL franchise basically more or less continuing on like they weren't rebooted to start from scratch with just a young John with no Xanshi, Katma is still alive, and he's the only Earth GL?

[Vordan]

How would you implement it though? Like completely ditch Hal and the GL franchise basically more or less continuing on like they weren't rebooted to start from scratch with just a young John with no Xanshi, Katma is still alive, and he's the only Earth GL?

Retell the origin. You could reboot John without affecting the Johns run since Johns’ run barely used him. My reasoning is that so much of John’s stories are caught up in decades old continuity, continuity that seriously conflicts with his usage outside of comics, that I don’t think it benefits him to keep all that baggage. Take Katma for instance since you brought her up: she’s his dead wife but the average casual has no goddamn clue who she is, and would be surprised to learn he has a major LI who isn’t Hawkgirl. To learn what her deal is, you have to go back and read comics that are really old, and bound up in continuity shenanigans.

Arthur and Mera benefitted from the reboot providing Johns a clean slate to reinvent the two and elevate Mera to Arthur’s level. I think John would likewise benefit from a clean slate where you can retell his origin and reintroduce Katma to a new audience, where you can tell their love story for a new generation.

[Mantis-Ray]

Retell the origin. You could reboot John without affecting the Johns run since Johns’ run barely used him. My reasoning is that so much of John’s stories are caught up in decades old continuity, continuity that seriously conflicts with his usage outside of comics, that I don’t think it benefits him to keep all that baggage. Take Katma for instance since you brought her up: she’s his dead wife but the average casual has no goddamn clue who she is, and would be surprised to learn he has a major LI who isn’t Hawkgirl. To learn what her deal is, you have to go back and read comics that are really old, and bound up in continuity shenanigans.

Arthur and Mera benefitted from the reboot providing Johns a clean slate to reinvent the two and elevate Mera to Arthur’s level. I think John would likewise benefit from a clean slate where you can retell his origin and reintroduce Katma to a new audience, where you can tell their love story for a new generation.

Reminds of this idea I had of characters regularly getting new flashback stories that sorta retell/update old parts of their history.

Like say for the Teen Titans something that adds a modern portrayal of the original Fab Five team or a Jason Todd comic centering on his time as Robin

[Frontier]

Retell the origin. You could reboot John without affecting the Johns run since Johns’ run barely used him. My reasoning is that so much of John’s stories are caught up in decades old continuity, continuity that seriously conflicts with his usage outside of comics, that I don’t think it benefits him to keep all that baggage. Take Katma for instance since you brought her up: she’s his dead wife but the average casual has no goddamn clue who she is, and would be surprised to learn he has a major LI who isn’t Hawkgirl. To learn what her deal is, you have to go back and read comics that are really old, and bound up in continuity shenanigans.

Arthur and Mera benefitted from the reboot providing Johns a clean slate to reinvent the two and elevate Mera to Arthur’s level. I think John would likewise benefit from a clean slate where you can retell his origin and reintroduce Katma to a new audience, where you can tell their love story for a new generation.

Well, he did have some origin stuff in Secret Origin and Zero Year, but I guess they weren't as comprehensive as you were expecting, but I feel like to achieve that you need a solo which he didn't really get until he was the de-facto lead character of GLC post-Johns.

[Redjack]

Retell the origin. You could reboot John without affecting the Johns run since Johns’ run barely used him. My reasoning is that so much of John’s stories are caught up in decades old continuity, continuity that seriously conflicts with his usage outside of comics, that I don’t think it benefits him to keep all that baggage. Take Katma for instance since you brought her up: she’s his dead wife but the average casual has no goddamn clue who she is, and would be surprised to learn he has a major LI who isn’t Hawkgirl. To learn what her deal is, you have to go back and read comics that are really old, and bound up in continuity shenanigans.

Arthur and Mera benefitted from the reboot providing Johns a clean slate to reinvent the two and elevate Mera to Arthur’s level. I think John would likewise benefit from a clean slate where you can retell his origin and reintroduce Katma to a new audience, where you can tell their love story for a new generation.

John has gotten short shrift, at absolute best, since MOSAIC. Including our run, the best iteration of the character, BY FAR, remains the one from the JL/JLU series.

I'm hoping PKJ does him proud.

[Redjack]

How would you implement it though? Like completely ditch Hal and the GL franchise basically more or less continuing on like they weren't rebooted to start from scratch with just a young John with no Xanshi, Katma is still alive, and he's the only Earth GL?

I almost wrote out the fix for all this here but, instead, I think I'm going to file off the DC aspects and make it a creator-owned thing.

[StarSpangledMan]

I almost wrote out the fix for all this here but, instead, I think I'm going to file off the DC aspects and make it a creator-owned thing.

Oh, you tease

[j9ac9k]

John has gotten short shrift, at absolute best, since MOSAIC. Including our run, the best iteration of the character, BY FAR, remains the one from the JL/JLU series.

I'm hoping PKJ does him proud.

Thinking about it, from my experience it seems like "Mosaic" ended up being a believable bridge between the more easy-going John from the "GLC" comic with Katma and the "military man" persona we got in the cartoon, which eventually seeped into the comics version. John in "Mosaic" was more serious (no Kat around) because he had a long-term assignment that required a lot more in-depth understanding of a situation. (as opposed to the response team situations they're usually in) As weird as it is to praise that series because of the writer, he and Cully Hamner gave us a great run. That series also gave us the best John v Hal scenario that really showed us the difference between the two on a fundamental level, (while also respecting both so they can still remain friends and colleagues) rather than some plot device to create tension.

[Sodam Yat]

Retell the origin. You could reboot John without affecting the Johns run since Johns’ run barely used him. My reasoning is that so much of John’s stories are caught up in decades old continuity, continuity that seriously conflicts with his usage outside of comics, that I don’t think it benefits him to keep all that baggage. Take Katma for instance since you brought her up: she’s his dead wife but the average casual has no goddamn clue who she is, and would be surprised to learn he has a major LI who isn’t Hawkgirl. To learn what her deal is, you have to go back and read comics that are really old, and bound up in continuity shenanigans.

Arthur and Mera benefitted from the reboot providing Johns a clean slate to reinvent the two and elevate Mera to Arthur’s level. I think John would likewise benefit from a clean slate where you can retell his origin and reintroduce Katma to a new audience, where you can tell their love story for a new generation.

I think if his origin story gets retold, I'm sure there's going to be a retcon where John would be the second human to wield the power ring, rather than the third. This makes sense, considering the show stars John and Hal. I would be down to see Katma on the show. I also wonder whether we'll see her in PKJ's run.