By now we all should know just who is taking over Justice League of America and who the first addition to the team roster will be.
This is one of my favorite characters, and its been too long since I’ve done a post on him. Now, I’m going to take a detour here and fan identification is still very heavy in my mind, but trust me this one ties into the theme of this column.
To be entirely honest, John Stewart didn’t used to be among my favorite characters. I started reading Green Lantern during the Kyle years. My second attachment was to Hal, during the Emerald Knights storyline, and I got to enjoy Guy Gardner through back issues. John however, was such a background character I found him largely forgettable and needed to be reminded who he was when he showed up in the background. He was inactive in the comics. During most of the JLU series I didn’t have access to cable television, and didn’t watch much television of any kind. I grew attached to Katma Tui (a character killed off before I’d even heard of Green Lantern) before I found my reason to like John. I was familiar enough with him, even read an issue or two of Green Lantern: Mosaic but I didn’t like or understand the character until I specifically sought out his first appearance.
I can’t remember exactly what brought my curiosity about, but it had to do with a series of conversations where I discovered that almost no fan thought John had a personality, and most people wrote him off as some 70s Token stunt. Others called him a stereotype of the “angry black man” and said that he didn’t have much substance because they’d stopped emphasizing the anger. Around the time I’d scouring Oklahoma City for Green Lantern back issues, and came across a beaten copy of Green Lantern/Green Arrow #87. I didn’t buy it the first time I saw it. I’d heard that the O’Neil/Adams run was heavy-handed and melodramatic, and I’d had enough lecturing from Winick’s run. I didn’t buy it the second time I saw it either. After watching a particularly bad flamewar on the direction John’s character had taken, and a sudden shift of characterization in the comics (a “return to his roots” is what it was called), I finally picked the issue up.
The first part of the first story was about how Guy was taken out of action by a bus accident, and a new backup Lantern needed to be trained. The second part of the first story (barely a third of the book itself) was John’s first adventure. It started on the streets of what I believe was Detroit, with two cops and two people playing dominos. One of the policemen was trying to get the players to move off the street, even though there was plenty of room to walk around them. We first meet John interrupting the policeman. He makes a mildly sarcastic joke and then puts his hand on the policeman’s shoulder.
I’m not sure if anyone reading will find that as notable as I do. My father is a policeman. You do not approach him like that. You do not talk to him like that. You do not come up behind him and put your hand on his shoulder while he’s carrying a gun.
In two panels here you can get a better sense of courage from John than in the last ten years.
The situation heated up, and the policeman’s partner diffused the situation. Up on a rooftop overlooking the street, Hal was griping to a Guardian about the chip on John’s shoulder.
I reread the page. It reminded me of something.
Its something we always do with superhero comics. We take the little things in our lives, the manageable pieces of our day and relate them to the unreal scale of superhero stories. Most of us struggle through traffic, deal with our bosses, our families, and the little inconveniences of our lives. Some of us may have dangerous jobs, but most of our existences is routine and small scale. We fight little battles every day, and sometimes we do a little good. I won’t be able to prevent two nations from military action, but I can step in and prevent a war between two coworkers. There is nothing in my reality like facing down the Scarecrow, but I can shove my acrophobia aside and climb the rickety temporary maintenance stand that’s the only way to get on the jet. Circling the globe is absurd, but I can run the entire track without giving up. I can say something when an idiot at work makes a racist or sexist joke. The worst they’ll do is ignore me.
What John is doing here, that is possible in my reality. Its also incredibly brave. Standing up to an authority figure is very difficult. In this case, John runs the risk of violence. This is a big thing.
It reminded me of a very little thing. When I read that page I remembered a moment when I was in elementary school and got in front of the entire class at recess and ranted at them. Very loudly and dramatically. Someone had been rude to one of my friends, I don’t remember how or why. I just remember stepping between her and him, and saying something angry without thinking the statement through. I think it ultimately made no sense, and still ranks among one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, but I was a little kid. I also couldn’t stop myself. Everyone in the class got really quiet and stared at me for a while. My cheeks felt warm and they still feel warm when I remember it. I think the teacher was angry at me for making a scene.
Those two panels? They depict a huge amount of courage for a grown person, but I can relate them to a little bit of courage in a little girl.
Yes, that last line is immodest. But come on. We’re superhero fans. We may as well step up and admit we compare our little battles to their big ones and drop the pretend cool.
Anyway, a week or two ago I asked on my own blog if people would describe John Stewart. I got some wonderful answers that mostly centered on how stable and strong he was. He’s dependable. He’s solid. He’s the intelligent one who actually thinks. The friend you want to have. All of the comments rang true, but none of them described the spark of life captured in his first appearance. The character trait that Geoff Johns tried to capture in Green Lantern: Rebirth when he told Batman off. His reaction to injustice. He perceives the root of the problem and addresses it immediately and decisively. This is a wonderful trait that can push solid, dependable John out of the Hero Support category and into the spotlight when used correctly. But rather than grasp onto this part of John’s personality and use it to make a good story, most writers have relegated him to the background.
I’ve come to believe that writers are just shy to use him because he’s strongest and works best when addressing social injustice, but they don’t want to bring the only black Green Lantern off the shelf to just write a “Very Special Issue” about racism. And they don’t think of using him to address other issues other than racism, or injustice that’s not related to a social issue (the exception being Rebirth, where he went off on Batman for being unfair to his friend Hal). Instead, they put him in a support role for one of the white Lanterns, and the character gets some panel time but never enough panel time to gain a real fanbase, and never the placement needed to showcase the most heroic aspect of the character.
When you add that precise sort of squeamishness to the general squeamishness that a lot of writers treat any character that’s a different race, orientation or gender (“They’ll get offended and I’ll get YELLED at!”), you end up with poor John getting screwed for panel time, again and again and again over the past 35 years.
That’s not fair.
I’m still nervous about John’s fate. John is an extremely admirable character for a politically minded person (I much prefer him to Green Arrow, since John picks his battles and makes them count), but the moments that make him such a wonderful character have been used sparingly over the past few decades. I know Dwayne McDuffie likes John from his interviews and from his using him in JLU. But I’m not familiar with JLU and I don’t know what McDuffie figures is the strongest character trait of John Stewart, so I’m a little worried about if I’ll recognize the character in September.
And beyond McDuffie, I’m worried if the next writer will bother to give John any panel time, or if they’ll trade him in for a Lantern they know better.
June 22nd, 2007 at 12:47 pm
the new member is going to be Firestorm.
June 22nd, 2007 at 1:24 pm
I never noticed John’s hand on the cop’s shoulder before. That does take guts — no wonder the Guardians liked him!
Also, I always read the “square” quote referenced in the Written World comments as an architecture reference –he’s “Square” John because he uses a T-square. I may be the only person on earth who thinks that, though.
I liked Animated-John fine, but he never seemed to have the warmth and personality of Comics-John, especially as written by Steve Englehart and Gerard Jones. The shift in backgrounds from architect to military man also took some getting used to. Since Comics John has taken on the look of his animated counterpart, more recent writers have written him that way too. However, I think McDuffie knows enough about the character to account for the differences.
Even if John doesn’t show up in JLA right away (I agree that Firestorm is a more likely “new hire”), I hope he gets more exposure. He’s a criminally underused character with a great background and unique perspective.
June 22nd, 2007 at 1:30 pm
Tom, Dr. Anon — Check out the Wizard interview. He outright confirms that there will be at least one new character, and that’s John Stewart. He wouldn’t confirm any others. This isn’t an speculation. Its announced.
I linked my own post in the first paragraph because it has that information block-quoted and I figured people would get the reference faster.
I need to stop playing coy with these things, don’t I?
June 22nd, 2007 at 1:43 pm
It takes a lot of courage to wear that pink shirt / green vest / black neckerchief combo too!
June 22nd, 2007 at 1:44 pm
I had read the interview when it came out; but for some reason I thought it was more wishful-thinking. Anyway, it’ll be good to have John in the League again, and I hope more prominent in the GL books as well.
June 22nd, 2007 at 1:52 pm
By contrast, I know JLU John Stewart much better than the comics version. JLU John Stewart is much more of a soldier and a fighter. He does come off as abrasive, but he does have a softer side. He’s a strategist, yes, and hella experienced and a good leader. Very much the type who’d put himself in front of the lines. He definitely doesn’t come off as someone learning the ropes. He doesn’t have the architect side at all. You get the sense that being GL is his life in JLU.
The only thing I didn’t like about MacDuffie was how they handled the whole triangle between John/Shayera/Vixen. They gave him all the decisions and her none of the options. But that’s a whole different issue.
June 22nd, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Read the Wizard quote again. There will be at least one new member. ALSO he likes John Stewart and would not be opposed to putting him in there. Firestorm is joining a team and McDuffie has unfinished business with him.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:05 pm
The only thing I didn’t like about MacDuffie was how they handled the whole triangle between John/Shayera/Vixen. They gave him all the decisions and her none of the options. But that’s a whole different issue.
Didn’t they end up telling Shayera about the future? Or she found out somehow? I remember her going up to Batman and saying something like, “Tell me about my son.”
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Dr. Anonymous — You want to make a bet? Come October if the Green Lantern in the JLA is someone other than John Stewart, Parkin-willing I will let you write this column for me.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:27 pm
Shayera didn’t have many options because of her recent history. She’d spent years helping an invading army of aliens prepare to take over Earth, so even with her changing sides, there were issues. Thus, John moved on while Shayera didn’t have many people willing to talk to her, romanticaly or otherwise.
However, she had options once they introduced Hawkman. John even had issues with that and had to abide by her decisions.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Lisa: Consider it a bet
June 22nd, 2007 at 6:42 pm
I don’t know, when I first heard Dwayne McDuffie was the new writer it was kinda underwhelming. Also, you knew if he was going to bring in another character it was going to be an African American. You could compare it to the movies Spike Lee has made. You wonder whether the politics will overwhelm the art.
Of course, I could be wrong.
June 22nd, 2007 at 7:14 pm
You’re right. Inside Man and 25th Hour were just like you’re saying.
What happened to appreciating a writer on skill and not preconceived notions?
June 22nd, 2007 at 7:22 pm
I was never clear about if John yelling at Batman was John’s doing or Parallax’s.
That moment also rung false to me because, to the best of my knowledge, John hadn’t had a moment to forgive Hal for destroying the Corps and taking Katma Tui away. Did John forgive Hal at the funeral? I don’t remember that. Did it happen sometime during Winick’s run? (Which I didn’t read, except for the issues where John took a ring from Kyle and started doing the Green Lantern thing again.) Or was that moment of John yelling at Batman the moment of forgivness?
As for McDuffie, I hope he brings John into the League and he keeps the charaterization from the comics rather than the JLU John. I’ll always prefer the architect to the Marine.
June 22nd, 2007 at 11:53 pm
Ticknart — Actually, no one’s ever established whether John remembers the Mosaic and Katma’s return or not.
On thing about most “Remembering Hal” moments during the third series (there were a LOT of these, little peace offerings to the angry Hal fans, like Final Night, Emerald Knights, the funeral, a few issues after Hal became the Spectre, probably a few issues of Hal’s series, some reminiscing) is that most of the Earth Lanterns, Alan, Kyle, Guy, and John were established as having some pretty fond memories of Hal. I’d say John seemed to have forgiven Hal by Rebirth.
June 24th, 2007 at 11:12 am
I’m a logical man. In that regard a fighting force(GL) made up of artists seems like pandering to the artist (in everyone) or some such similarly insulting childish characterisation. Having John as a soldier (a la JLU) then a GL and apart of two fighting forces GLC & JLA. Is a direction I can enjoy his growth and perspective as part of the Justice League Of America.
The architect to GL angle seems completely useless besides his aptitude in the arts. It seems like the old everyday man trying to become a hero dynamic that has been played out since the seventies. I say just give him a pre-war occupation of an architect. It’ll change the character dynamic to architect-soldier-Green Lantern intergalactic warrior.
June 24th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
Toneloak — I can tell you haven’t read much GLC, because Kyle and Arisia are the only artistic professionals (Arisia was a fashion designer). Of the major alien Lanterns, Kilowog, Salakk and Soranik (and Katma before she died) were scientists. People like Isamot Kol, Vath Sorn, Boodika and Kreon were soldiers.
An architect is certainly not the same as an artist. One’s considerably more practical than the other. That’s a well-respected job that requires someone to be extremely grounded and practical. He is trained to create structures that will hold against gravity, the weather, and supervillain attacks. All of this takes precedence over beauty and emotion, which is the artist’s primary worry.
I’ve never seen an architect described as a childish characterization before.
And being a soldier makes him redundant in light of Hal’s military background. Being an architect makes him special. H e gets a knowledge of engineering that is absent in the other 3 concepts (Kyle’s the artist, Hal is the soldier/pilot, Guy is the teacher/bartender/person who understands how people work and how to press their buttons), John actually knows something about how structures work. None of the others have that knowledge.
June 24th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
“Dr. Anonymous — You want to make a bet? Come October if the Green Lantern in the JLA is someone other than John Stewart, Parkin-willing I will let you write this column for me.”
Parkin is willing.
June 25th, 2007 at 9:45 am
It cracks me up to think that the Guy Gardner I’ve been reading about for the last 20 years used to be a teacher.
June 26th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Lisa, it would suck if John doesn’t remember Mosaic. That series is a defining moment for him.
As for the fond memories of Hal, he was dead. It’s easy to remember the good things about people who have died. (I remember watching Nixon’s funeral and reading the many articles written about him after he died.) Still, if John remembers losing his wife for a second time, I’d like to see him deal with that with Hal. Did he immediately forgive Carol Ferris after the first time Katma died? Or did it take time?
I’d like to see a story that deals with the abrupt destruction of the Mosaic World and the removal of John’s powers and how he sorted out his feelings toward Hal’s involvement in all of that. (I guess all of that could have happened in Darkstars, but I wouldn’t know. I don’t have any issues of that book.) John’s a good guy, so he knows that his relationship with Hal has a good foundation, but there’s always upkeep that needs to be done to keep the whole thing strong.
June 26th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Lisa Fortuner- My comment about childishness in regard to John’s profession is not about his architectural experience or architecture in general. But, the very old-school comic character design of another everyday hero on the JLA seems redundant. When the character is in a tight spot and has to find some greater motivation to fight his way to victory reminiscing on a lesson learned as a soldier is compelling.
A soldier with John’s personality is a story that would resonate with the modern reader on a much deeper level. I know all my friends and family felt John’s strength after that WWII two-parter in the Justice League series. Leaving those concepts out of the character would be a shame.
If B:TAS can add Harley Quinn to the Batman Mythos. Why shouldn’t JL add being a soldier with the already architectural history in the comic John’s background integrated into new John Stewart’s design? It’ll make him a more compelling character and make him a bigger player in the DCU as a whole. If he’s written properly.
June 26th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
Toneloak — But doesn’t inserting a military background as John’s primary trait risk making him redundant since Hal’s military background is being played so heavily right now?
Green Lantern is one of those books where you have to be able to have each of them present, and each of them filling their own social role in a team-up.
June 27th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Toneloak — If the John in the comics is a soldier, doesn’t that sort of negate his ability to question authority since the US military really only wants people who follow orders without asking questions? This applies especially to members Marine Corp, who pride themselves on following orders to get the job done.
June 27th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
Lisa — Redundant? No. People in the military train to fight as one. So, the link between Hal and John as soldiers would be greater and heighten their connections as Green Lanterns. Benefiting both characters. And, multiply the types and depths of the stories they can tell.
ticknart — is Hal like that? Does John’s personality resemble anything as two dimensional as that? Soldiers are taught to be a unit but aspire to be leaders. They’re any number of examples that people can connect to of soldiers whom disagree with a war but still fight. That mold can be easily exemplified by John character.
June 27th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
Toneloak — No, Hal is not like that, but he’s a maverick and a prima donna. He got away with his showboating and narcissistic behavior by being the better than everyone else. The average soldier is not like that. The average soldier gets in there and does what needs to be done.
No, John’s personality doesn’t resemble what I described at all, but the John that I know (since my experience with the cartoon is limited to the episode where Roulette starts up a girl fight club, and the one with the Legion of Super Heroes) has never been a Marine. And I’m sure that in the hands of a competent writer/editor team he never would. A lazier team would probably fall back on an angry, black soldier screwed over by the government story. If the powers in charge at DC decide that he should be a Marine, I hope they at least give us a year one mini showing us how John came to be the man he is and the Marine Corps help to shape who he is and not just how it helped him to be a good cosmic cop.
As for soldiers aspiring to be leaders, wouldn’t more want into officer training or want to stay in their branch of the service longer to gain rank as an non-com? I don’t really think either is happening, or has ever really happened.
And you know what; maybe I’m taking this whole John Stewart thing too seriously. I shouldn’t be judging a story about him that hasn’t been written. It’s just that he’s been gone so long and the longer he’s gone the more I build up who and what I want him to be based off the things that I’ve read. Still, I’d rather have him be an architect, a man who likes to build things, than a man who went from one military to another.
January 17th, 2011 at 6:24 pm
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