John Stewart (comics)

John Stewart
Textless cover for Green Lantern #156. Art by Ariel Olivetti.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Green Lantern #87 (December 1971)
Created by	Dennis O'Neil Neal Adams
In-story information
Full name	John Stewart
Species	Human
Place of origin	Earth, Detroit, Michigan
Team affiliations	Green Lantern Corps Justice League Guardians of the Universe Darkstars U.S. Marine Corps Indigo Tribe
Partnerships	Katma Tui Hal Jordan Guy Gardner Kilowog Kyle Rayner Hawkgirl Wally West
Notable aliases	Green Lantern, The Master Builder, Darkstar
Abilities	Wields Oan power ring

John Stewart, known as Green Lantern, is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics and was the first African-American superhero to appear in DC Comics. The character was created by Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams, and first appeared in Green Lantern #87 (December 1971).

John Stewart debuted in Green Lantern vol. 2 #87 (December 1971) when artist Neal Adams came up with the idea of a substitute Green Lantern. The decision to make the character black resulted from a conversation between Adams and editor Julius Schwartz, in which Adams recounts saying that given the racial makeup of the world's population, "we ought to have a black Green Lantern, not because we’re liberals, but because it just makes sense." The character was DC's first black superhero.

John Stewart has become a major recurring character in the Green Lantern mythos within the DC Universe. He became the primary character of Green Lantern vol. 2 from issues #182 through #200, when Hal Jordan relinquished his place in the Green Lantern Corps (1984–1986). He continued to star in the book when the title changed to The Green Lantern Corps from issue #201 to #224 (1986-1988). He would continue to make key appearances in Action Comics Weekly after The Green Lantern Corps' cancellation (1988). He starred in the comic Green Lantern: Mosaic, which DC spun out of Green Lantern vol. 3, with a four-part storyline titled "Mosaic" (issues #14-17). DC published 18 issues of the ongoing Green Lantern: Mosaic title between June 1992 and November 1993.

John Stewart was featured as one of the lead characters on the television cartoon Justice League from 2001 until 2004. He continued to appear as a major character on the show's 2004–2006 sequel, Justice League Unlimited. In 2011, John Stewart starred in the New 52 relaunch of Green Lantern Corps alongside Guy Gardner, and became the sole lead character of the title from 2013 until the series' conclusion in 2015. Green Lantern Corps was replaced by Green Lantern: The Lost Army, which also stars John Stewart as the lead.