John Marshall Stewart is one of the superheroes known as Green Lantern that appear in American comic books published by DC Comics. One of the first African-American superheroes to appear in DC Comics, the character was created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams, and first appeared in Green Lantern (Volume 2) #87 (January 1972). The concept for the character came from Adams' idea of a substitute Green Lantern that better reflected the racial makeup of the world's population. John Stewart, a college graduate and architect, was conceived by Adams to portray a better representation of Black People in America, with Adams also diverging from the usual lighter coloring of black characters to depict him as dark-skinned, basing Stewart's design on actor Sidney Poitier. Stewart was introduced in his debut issue and origin story as an anti-authority figure symbolizing Black Power politics. He notably refused to wear a mask, breaking superhero tradition. The early 1980s saw Stewart become the main Green Lantern. In 2007, Geoff Johns changed the character to be a former U.S. Marine in Green Lantern (Volume 4) #26 following his 2001 Justice League cartoon depiction, with which Bruce Timm removed Stewart's original "militant", "Black Panther Party"-esque characterization in favor of a military background.
Today, John Stewart is one of the most popular and high-profile black characters in American comic books. Although a starring character in Green Lantern comics since the 1970s, he had a relatively low profile in mainstream popular culture until his adaptation for the 2000s animated series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, voiced by Phil LaMarr. This led to an increase in the character's profile in comics, including a starring role in Justice League comics, and a massive expansion in the character's availability in DC Comics toys and merchandise. Aaron Pierre portrays the character in the DC Universe, beginning with the television series Lanterns (2026).
Publication history Creation and development
John Stewart debuted in Green Lantern vol. 2 #87 (December 1971/January 1972) when artist Neal Adams came up with the idea of a substitute Green Lantern. The decision to make the character African American-descent resulted from a conversation between Adams and editor Julius Schwartz, in which Adams recounts saying that given the racial makeup of the world's population, "we ought to have a black Green Lantern, not because we're liberals, but because it just makes sense." Adams created John Stewart as "a college graduate who has a profession", wanting to avoid the prevailing depictions of black people at the time who he stated "don't represent the aspirations of every Black person in America", such as gangbangers. Dennis O'Neil wrote the script for Stewart's debut issue in line with Adams' intention for the character, making him a college graduate and an architect, unemployed because of the significant percentage of unemployment for black people in America in the time period. In the original script, the character's name was Lincoln Washington, which was chosen by Schwartz. Adams confronted Schwartz about the name being a slave name, after which Schwartz told Adams to choose the character's new name, and Adams chose "John Stewart". Adams intentionally colored the character a darker brown, rather than the usual lighter, khaki-like coloring done on black characters at the time. DC production manager Sol Harrison asked Adams about his divergence from the usual colors for black characters, to which he replied, "Most Black people I know are pretty dark. There are some very light-skinned people, but not John Stewart." Schwartz and Harrison initially expressed reluctance on the coloring for fear of offending black people, but went through with it after Adams stated that he does not think they would be offended by dark-skinned black characters. Stewart's original design was based on actor Sidney Poitier and he was one of the first African-American superheroes to appear in DC Comics. The character was DC's third superhero of African ancestry.
Stewart's debut issue and origin story, titled "Beware My Power!", introduced Stewart as headstrong, anti-authority, and race-conscious, a symbolism of Black Power politics, with Stewart initially conflicting with the primary, white Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. When one of the Guardians of the Universe tell Jordan that he is appointing Stewart as his substitute, Jordan sees Stewart standing up to two white policemen hassling black men and is displeased, viewing Stewart as disrespectful and having a chip on his shoulder, to which the Guardian responds, "He has all due qualifications! And we are not interested in your petty bigotries!" Feeling it was unnecessary to hide his identity, Stewart refuses to wear a mask, breaking superhero tradition. The story featured Stewart's first mission, wherein he unwillingly accepts Hal Jordan's assignment of protecting a racist politician, whose scheme of instigating a race riot Stewart later exposed.
After the issue, Stewart made scarce appearances until he became the main, full-time Green Lantern in the early 1980s.
Legacy
John Stewart has become a major recurring character in the Green Lantern mythos within the DC Universe. He became the primary character of Green Lantern vol. 2 from issues #182 through #200, when Hal Jordan relinquished his place in the Green Lantern Corps (1984–1986). He continued to star in the book when the title changed to The Green Lantern Corps from issue #201 to #224 (1986–1988). He would continue to make key appearances in Action Comics Weekly after The Green Lantern Corps cancellation (1988). He starred in the comic Green Lantern: Mosaic, which DC spun out of Green Lantern vol. 3, with a four-part storyline titled "Mosaic" (issues #14–17). DC published 18 issues of the ongoing Green Lantern: Mosaic title between June 1992 and November 1993.
In 2011, John Stewart starred in the New 52 relaunch of Green Lantern Corps alongside Guy Gardner, and became the sole lead character of the title from 2013 until the series' conclusion in 2015. Green Lantern Corps was replaced by Green Lantern: The Lost Army, which also stars John Stewart as the lead. In November 2022, it was announced, as a part of the Dawn of DC relaunch, Stewart would star in a new miniseries entitled Green Lantern: War Journal, written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and illustrated by Osvaldo Montos.
Marine retcon
John Stewart was chosen by Bruce Timm as the Green Lantern in the 2001 television cartoon Justice League. As the series creator, Timm changed the character into a "no-nonsense" former U.S. Marine member. Timm gave him a military background because of his disinterest of portraying him "to the militant Black Panther Party from the early '70s" because he viewed it as currently being irrelevant, and also because he wanted his ring to only produce beams instead of constructs. Geoff Johns incorporated the marine background into the comic version of the character in 2007's Green Lantern vol. 4 #26.
Character biography Early years John Stewart is an architect, later "retconned" into a veteran U.S. Marine from Detroit, Michigan, who was selected by the Guardians as a backup Green Lantern to then-current Green Lantern Hal Jordan after the previous backup, Guy Gardner, was seriously injured after getting hit by a car while trying to save a civilian. Although Jordan objected to the decision after seeing that Stewart had a belligerent attitude to authority figures, the Guardians stood by their decision and chided Jordan for his supposed bigoted outlook on the issue. Jordan explained that he just felt that even though Stewart might have the integrity for the task, he "obviously would have a chip on his shoulder bigger than the rock of Gibraltar."
Jordan's opinion was that Stewart's first mission began badly. His assignment was to protect a racist politician, and Stewart, while averting an accident, took advantage of the situation to embarrass Jordan in the process. When an assassin shoots at the politician, Stewart does not intervene with Jordan in response to the attack, which initially makes Stewart seem suspect. However, it turns out Stewart had good reasons for this apparent dereliction of duty because he was stopping a gunman from killing a police officer in the outside parking lot at the event while Jordan was pursuing a decoy. When Jordan confronts Stewart about his actions, Stewart explains that the politician had staged the attack for political advantage. Jordan then concludes that Stewart was an excellent recruit and has proven his worth.
For some time, Stewart occasionally filled in as Green Lantern when Jordan was unavailable, including for some missions of the Justice League.
After Jordan gave up being Green Lantern in the 1980s, the Guardians selected Stewart for full-time duty. Stewart filled that role for some years. During that period he worked as an architect at Ferris Aircraft Company, battled many Green Lantern villains, and fought against the Anti-Monitor's forces during the Crisis on Infinite Earths. John was trained in usage of his power ring by Katma Tui, the Green Lantern of the planet Korugar. The duo went on many adventures together and eventually fell in love. Katma and John went on to serve within the Green Lantern Corps of Earth alongside Hal Jordan, Arisia Rrab, Kilowog, Salaak, and other alien Green Lanterns, during which time they were married.Green Lantern Corps #212
After John's ring was rendered powerless through the schemes of Sinestro, and Katma Tui was murdered by Star Sapphire,Action Comics Weekly #601-602 (May 1988) Stewart's life began to unravel. First, he was falsely accused of killing Carol Ferris, Star Sapphire's alter ego, and then falsely accused of theft by South Nambia (a fictional nation within the DC universe similar to apartheid-era South Africa). Jailed and tortured in South Nambia for weeks, John freed himself with his old ring, now re-powered thanks to the efforts of Hal Jordan. In his escape, John inadvertently frees both a serial killer and a terrorist. When Jordan confronts John over his actions, the two friends come to blows until John realizes the "revolutionaries" he had been aiding intended to murder innocent civilians.
Cosmic Odyssey
Afterwards, John left Earth for space, where he participated in the Cosmic Odyssey miniseries event, and failed to prevent the destruction of the planet Xanshi by an avatar of the Anti-Life Equation. The incident earned him the ire of Martian Manhunter, who was with him at the time. This series of tragedies left John a shattered man on the brink of suicide and created the villainess known as Fatality, the sole survivor of Xanshi. Martian Manhunter has since, at least civilly, forgiven him.
Green Lantern: Mosaic
John finally forgave himself for his past mistakes and grew into a stronger, more complex hero when he became the caretaker of the "Mosaic World", a patchwork of communities from multiple planets that had been brought to Oa by an insane Guardian who had invaded John's mind. Although bitter and sullen at his assignment at first, he overcame this and, using his formidable intellect and talent for unconventional thinking, Stewart forged the Mosaic into a new society and eventually became the first mortal Guardian of the Universe, known as the Master Builder. As his reward for this new level of awareness, John was reunited with his late wife, Katma Tui.Green Lantern: Mosaic #15 However, tragedy struck once again and Hal Jordan, possessed by Parallax, destroyed both the Guardians and the Central Power Battery, robbing John of his newfound powers and his resurrected wife.Green Lantern: Mosaic #17-18 (October–November 1993)
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