Lanterns Rewrites John Stewart’s DC Comics Origin Story

The first episode of Lanterns featured short scenes dating back to 1996, showing young John Stewart watching Hal Jordan on television and having a rather strained relationship with his father. However, the third episode delves deeper into the story behind these scenes, directly linking John’s childhood to the Guardians of the Universe. This significantly distinguishes the John Stewart in the series from the various origin narratives in the comics.

Lanterns Adds a New Guardians Connection to John Stewart’s Past

The biggest change in the series is that John Stewart’s father, John Sr., was considered by the Guardians for Green Lantern candidacy in the past. John Sr. is asked if he is afraid, and because he answers “yes,” he fails the test. Furthermore, young John witnesses this event from his cradle. Hal Jordan’s recounting of the same selection process on television years later re-triggers the trauma his father experienced.

Later, a representative from the Guardians contacted the Stewart family, offering some form of compensation for the impact of the events. During this meeting, it was noted that John possessed some traits found in his father, and the possibility of John becoming a Green Lantern was explicitly mentioned. The family was told that if raised in the right conditions, John would be considered a true candidate in the future.

This approach is quite different from the classic John Stewart origin story in the comics. When the character was first introduced in 1971, he was an architect chosen as Hal Jordan’s understudy. Later versions added details such as his troubled family background, activist side, and Marine past. However, his family’s involvement in the Guardians’ selection process was not previously part of the character’s core story.

Thus, instead of completely erasing John Stewart’s well-known traits, Lanterns reframes them with a new childhood story. While his Marine past and his tense relationship with Hal Jordan are preserved, the foundations of his journey to becoming a Green Lantern are traced back to his childhood. This shift in the third episode shows that the series is now treating John not just as a new Green Lantern, but as a character whose destiny began to take shape years earlier.

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