HBO's Lanterns Revives John Stewart's Controversial Green Lantern Origin Story

Like any superhero concept that has existed for more than 80 years, Green Lantern has undergone significant changes. The Green Lantern introduced in 1940 wielded a magical ring vulnerable to wood, while today’s Green Lanterns are sci-fi superhero space cops armed with advanced power rings.

Some elements of the Green Lantern mythos have aged poorly, leading to retcons or outright omission over time. While one might expect Chris Mundy, creator of the HBO series Lanterns, to address past controversies—such as Hal Jordan’s use of a racial slur against his Inuk friend Tom Kalmaku, or his relationship with a 13-year-old—Entertainment Weekly (EW) reports that Mundy may instead revisit a different aspect of Hal’s past: his contentious partnership with John Stewart.

The new EW profile reveals that Stewart’s role in the series is central to Hal’s frustration. Unlike Hal (played by Kyle Chandler), who received his ring after his predecessor, Abin Sur, crash-landed on Earth, Stewart (played by Aaron Pierre) was chosen by the Guardians of the Universe—the blue-skinned, big-brained founders of the Green Lantern Corps—“intervened to self-anoint a member of their order” because they “felt they had just cause.”

This origin closely mirrors the original introduction of John Stewart in 1971’s Green Lantern #87, co-written by Dennis O’Neil and illustrated by Neal Adams. The issue established that the Guardians had selected a backup for Hal, should he ever be unable to fulfill his duties.

Green Lantern #87 begins with that backup, Guy Gardner, being injured. This forces the Guardians to seek a second understudy. They bring Hal to Detroit to meet his new backup: a Black man who stands up to white police officers harassing two men playing dominoes. Instead of recognizing a fellow champion of justice, Hal dismisses Stewart as a “disrespectful young hothead.”

Hal acknowledges Stewart’s bravery and strength but complains that he “also has a chip on his shoulder the size of the rock of Gibraltar.” Once Stewart receives his ring, he does little to win Hal over. He discards the traditional mask worn by Corps members, declaring, “I’ve got nothing to hide!” He also allows oil from a runaway tanker truck to spill on corrupt lawmakers. When those same lawmakers fabricate an assassination attempt to blame on Black radicals, Stewart sees through the deception in a way Hal cannot.

While Stewart initially comes across as brash and reckless, his character later evolved into the stoic figure familiar from the 2000s Justice League animated series.