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 #87. 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 #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.
- Occupation
- soldier, superhero, architect, military officer
- Citizenship
- United States
- Website
- https://www.dccomics.com/characters/john-stewart
