Timm and Co.,You picked the *right* GL!

[TerryMcGuiness]

I read recently that Bruce Timm had been observing internet opinions of JL, and felt that the fans seem to think he's chosen to wrong GL.

I'm writing to let the world know that there are fans who think he is right on taget!! Hal and Kyle fans need to just sit down and relax. Guy Gardner fans need to get a haircut. ;p

John Stewart has always been a character with alot of untapped potential, and the JL series take on his personality is something that truly allows that potential to come forth.

I like Kyle. I like him alot. But the sheer virtue of having a black Green Lantern cannot be denied. White guys shouldnt be the only ones to save the universe or get the cool costumes and gimmicks.

I also dont view to choice of John Stewart as gratuitous use of ethnicity for the sake of PC in the way that Marvel Ultimates turning Nick Fury black is. John is a character from the GL comics who was black in the GL comics.

I'm hoping that John Stewarts portrayl on this show makes the character asscend to the greatness he deserves. John Stewart is one of the most underated gems in the whole of superhero comics and I thank Timm and Co. for bringing him to life.

and at the risk of sounding overly PC (which is not something I usually concern myself with) now black children have one of the big guns to cheer for. Not a character who's cool because he's black and thats it, (Power Man for instance) but a character whos cool because he's black and he's the Green Lantern.

Sector 2814 is in good hands.

[Karkull]

Hey, I never said that the creators didn't pick the right Green Lantern. Actually, I was looking forward to their interpretation of the lesser known (and under developed) character. Bruce Timm and the other writers have had a great track record with redesigning older characters and making them interesting (after all, they recreated Superman's old lame rogues gallery and made them cool). I had faith that they would make John Stewart an interesting, well-rounded character.

I'd just like them to acknowledge that the Superman episode In Brightest Day happened. I have a feeling that they will at some point in the future (contrary to popular belief, series bibles are not written in stone) so I'm just going to sit back and enjoy the series.

(As of right now I think that it would be cool for Kyle to show up just so we can play up the differences in how the two GLs work--whereas one would just shoot a laser beam the other would create the giant boxing glove, etc.)

Oh, and by the way, I'm pretty positive that Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner won't be showing up (Alan Scott either)--and I'm glad for that fact. If we can make due without Barry Allen we can do without these three as well.

[BoskoBoy]

The first episode of Justice League that focuses exclusively on the John Stewart GL is called "In Darkest Night."

The earlier Superman episode with Kyle is called "In Brightest Day."

Don't you think that's enough acknowledgement from the production team?

These are clearly two *different* takes on two *different* Green Lanterns, and the titles prove that they are aware that they're dealing with two variations of the same Green Lantern mythos. They're making some connection between the two, if only that JS and KR are opposite sides of the Green Lantern spectrum. Again, they're aware of the differences, and the titles prove that they're exploring those differences.

These characters do have ties to each other, at least in terms of how the fans respond to them. They're not ignoring what the fans want. Merely giving us alternate situations to keep things interesting.

-S

[kid_flash]

I agree with Karkull. I can't remember who said it around here, but Kyle would make an awesome Parallax. Seemed he was kinda reluctant to take the GL job as it is. Anyway, that's a story I'd love to see.

But I'm really enjoying the John Stewart character on JL. The only comics I've read with him in it are the new ones with him in a wheelchair. I think he's an awesome GL, and you really can see why he was selected.

[Karkull]

Originally posted by kid_flash
I can't remember who said it around here, but Kyle would make an awesome Parallax.

I don't know about the Parallax storyline--that would involve the destruction of the Green Lantern Corps (plus making Kyle a bad guy!). I just figure that he's been given a different sector of space to patrol (it might be mandatory for new recruits--the only way to get "accustomed" to alien life is to be thrown hip deep into it).

Now, Sinestro returning to attack the heart of the Corps (or Fatality, :D )...

[kid_flash]

Well, they'd have to do some tweaking to the Parallax story (like not blowing up the Corps), but otherwise it'd work. And Parallax ended up saving the world, anyway.

And was anyone else disappointed that they changed the look of the Guardians' room on Oa in "In Blackest Night"?

[TerryMcGuiness]

I actually like both versions of the planet Oa. The only thing I found myself missing was last time they actually showed a couple of female Guardian. This to me makes alot more sense than the stupid Zamirons or whatever.

Maybe they're still there and just not in the shots we saw.


Getting back to topic. I wanted to add that on a purely artistic and astetic level, doesn't the GL suit just look 100 times cooler on a black guy?

[dc-marvelite]

Originally posted by TerryMcGuiness
Getting back to topic. I wanted to add that on a purely artistic and astetic level, doesn't the GL suit just look 100 times cooler on a black guy?


Personally, I was MUCH more jazzed seeing ALIEN Green Lanterns in the official uniform..

Hoping that someday we might see an anthology (a la Tales of the Green Lantern corps).

While I can understand the "politically correct" bow to add Stewart (and Hawkgirl for that matter, as has been quoted in a few articles), I do think that we will still have a perpetual split of folks who favor one particular GL over another .. and in a way that's not a bad thing.. since it left handedly emphasizes the DIVERSITY of the GL core and (perhaps) the possibility or opportunity to explore stories profiling GL's from an even wider range of backgrounds if one can hope for an anthology based series.

(Yeah, being a boomer, I will always prefer Hal Jordon as my all around favorite but that's to be expected!)

[kid_flash]

I really like the animated GL costume, no matter who's wearing it. It's much better than any of the GL costumes in the comics.

[Supermon]

I have no problem with John Stewart, I just wish he had an imagination. When someone hands you the most powerful weapon in the universe you better do more then shoot laser beams and make walls.

Thats always been what the ring was about. It choose the one with the strongest will and the imagination to use it.

[Lodoss War Fan]

John stewart as the GL is just fine . I couldn't care less who they pick just as long as there's a GL on the show! :)

[dc-marvelite]

Originally posted by nothing


I think that's the whole point behind John Stewart. He's not using the ring to make giant baseball gloves to catch people or crazy mecha beasts to defeat a foe. He's a strategist (sp) and uses the ring in a no nonsense way. That's his style... simple and to the point.

You are 100% correct that it IS his style... unfortunately it reduces the "individuality" of the character so that the GL becomes a generic superhero shooting force beams/lasers/quantum energy etc... Visually, there's no difference between his battles and a dozen other heroes. The creativity was the uniqueness of the character.

Some can argue that Kyle might go too far with this and others (aging Silver Age purists) might want the "middle ground" of someone like Hal Jordan... not quite so varied constructs as Kyle, but certainly not just generic force beams...

Perhaps it's possible to be a strategist AND creative?? They aren't totally mutually exclusive.

Whoever the earth GL is doesn't have to be creating giant mecha bunnies but he could get a tad creative ....

[Batman 80]

I like the John Stewart GL. His no-nonsense personality adds variety to the JL. Mr. Timm don't change GL and keep John Stewart. As you can see from this board alot of us do like him.

[Karkull]

They need to make a crack on the Daily Show about that.

About the new costume, why doesn't DC Comics adapt something like that for Kyle Rayner? His costume is a bit of an eyesore.

One more thing about John Stewart--he looks good as a Green Lantern, but don't they draw his head to look a bit too much like a square block sometimes?

[Kal-el]

I can't see the GL Jon Stewart ending a JL ep with his "moment of zen."
Kyle was a dreamer, and that was shown in the way he used the ring. Jon is a doer, a tactician. His use of the ring comes out more forcefully, more directly, more practically. I think his character will develop nicely.

[kid_flash]

By the way, the ring was never about strongest will and imagination. If you look up the history, there are two requirements for the ring: You must be totally honest and completely fearless. If ya got that, your name goes in the hat.

And that's an aspect I really wanna see played up to in the animated series. John's never gonna lie, and he's not gonna be afraid of anything that comes the League's way. Awesome.

Of course, the honesty/fearless thing got thrown out the window when the Corps died. But the Corps is alive and well in JL.

[The Guard]

The ring has ALWAYS been about will. It's what powers it. When Hal Jordan fought the entire Corps, he won because his will was stronger at first. Later on he won because he had like...18 power rings. Actually, Kilowog almost beat him even WITH his 18 power rings because he had a strong will. Kyle Rayner knows better than anyone that the ring is will-driven. In WW3, he willed it to work after it stopped. And have you ever read the MOSAIC series? Will came into play a lot when John Stewart fought Sinestro.

[kid_flash]

Well, okay, yeah, willpower is what gets the ring in gear, but you ask any DC editor and they'll tell ya that you only need honesty and fearlessness for the ring. Willpower sorta comes with that.

[LastSonofKrypton]

Actually, even in the comics, John Stewart was my favorite Green Lantern, especially in the comic Green Lantern: Mosaic. The idea behind the comic was the Guardians were P.O.'ed at John for some reason or other that escapes me, so they put him in charge of this hodge-podge world constructed of pieces of different worlds (including Earth) and he had to make sure everyone got along. It was an intelligent, insightful series that DC never really gave a fair chance. It also showed John as maybe not as powerful as Hal or Kyle, but certainly more intelligent and introspective. You can probably get back issues in quarter bins nowadays. If you get the chance to read some of the issues, I highly recommend it.

[BeastBoyWonder]

I haven't seen In Blackest Night Part II yet, but I'm liking John Stewart's character. He adds some personality variation to the team, along with his honesty (as we saw in In Blackest Night Part I).