John Stewart’s Cracked Lantern Has a Beautiful Real-World Meaning
One of the most important items introduced in the Lanterns season finale is the lantern forged by Sinestro, which John later takes possession of to charge his ring as an “independent contractor” Green Lantern (whatever that means).
The thing about this particular lantern is that it is covered in yellow cracks. This is significant for two reasons. Firstly, it confirms that Sinestro forged this lantern using the high levels of fear that were present in the atmosphere and water of Antaan’s massacred planet. Fans theorise that he did this on purpose, and that the presence of fear and a potential Yellow Lantern paves the way for evil entity Parallax (which is the manifestation of fear) to show up in Season 2.
The second reason why the cracks in the lantern matter is that it clearly pays homage to Kintsugi. This is a Japanese art style which involves repairing broken items with gold so that the cracks are illuminated. In essence, this philosophy argues that imperfections should be embraced rather than hidden and that, actually, the thing that makes you broken can actually make you more beautiful.
In terms of how this relates to Lanterns, the yellow cracks appear to represent how fear will always be a part of those who serve as Green Lanterns and that instead of being hidden or purged, it should be welcomed and accepted. Which, sure, is great for power development, but not so great if it ends up bringing Parallax into the DCU. More on that to come.
What’s The Context?
When Hal Jordan first met John Stewart in Lanterns, he said to him, “The only way you’re getting this ring is over my dead body.” Sadly, he was right. In the sixth episode of Lanterns, after Hal was laid to rest in a coffin, John dug him straight back up again and robbed his ring off his corpse.
One of the few useful things Hal taught John was a way to hit the ring to help it regain 5% of power, which he did in order to then manifest the Halogram. The problem is, he didn’t have a lantern to charge the ring with.
Still, by the end of the season, John had a change of heart about being a Green (or Yellow, according to some) Lantern. All he needed was a lantern, and conveniently enough, in true Art Attack-style, he had one that Sinestro had made earlier for mini-Manhunter Noah.
How Does This Align With The Comics?
Because of how it was forged, the lantern is ‘infected’ with fear. In terms of how this relates to the comics, it harkens back to Hal Jordan being possessed by Parallax. After Cyborg Superman destroys Coast City, Hal’s home town, Sinestro manages to secretly manipulate Hal and cause him to become infected by Parallax, the parasitic embodiment of fear. It should be noted that, per comic book lore, the Guardians imprisoned Parallax inside the Green Lantern Corps’ central battery. This explains Green Lanterns’ famous weakness to… the colour yellow.
Essentially, Sinestro uses Hal’s trauma and the Parallax to break him down enough that the monster is able to possess him, and for a while Hal becomes a fully-fledged supervillain. So, the way the lantern in the show has physical cracks filled in by fear can be likened to how, in the comics, Hal’s emotional cracks were filled with that same parasitic fear, which led to his possession.
In a previous piece about Sinestro's motives, I mentioned how some have argued that, in the show, Sinestro actually wanted Hal to have the forged lantern. After all, his generational trauma, which he describes as "The Jordan Boys’ Legacy," will definitely have left a few psychological cracks that fear could’ve seeped into.
What About Kintsugi?
Central to the idea of Kintsugi is the idea that these flaws aren’t just tolerated. By filling them in with gold, they are wholly embraced and made into something more beautiful and remarkable. Kintsugi pottery isn’t loved in spite of its flaws, it is loved because of its flaws.
Kintsugi as a whole is a perfect metaphor for John’s character development. After his father demonstrated fear in the presence of a Guardian, John spent the rest of his life trying to atone for that mistake: a mistake that was never actually his to carry. At one Guardian’s assertion, John was raised to be fearless — so much so that he was frequently dumped in dodgy streets and had his dad shoot apples off his head.
While John and his parents were chasing perfection, John still ended up like every other human being: flawed. It took John a long time to eventually be at peace with that. At the same time, John also learned and accepted that the Green Lantern Corps were, on a fundamental level, also flawed. There are a lot of reasons the Corps and Guardians are kind of messed up, but one of the biggest things they’re wrong about is fear. Accepting fear can actually make you more powerful, as Sinestro mentions. The Halogram puts it best when he tells John, “don’t be afraid to be afraid.”
Everything ends quite neatly when John decides to embrace his fear and other flaws, becoming a new kind of Green/Yellow Lantern that isn’t under the thumb of the Guardians. Perhaps John’s potential to become this person all along is why his willpower was so strong that he didn’t need a ring to manifest. Fearful or not, he’s definitely strong, and while the Guardians might disagree, you can both feel fear and be strong at the same time.
The Star Wars Connection
Kintsugi philosophy has slipped through the cracks (pun intended) in other popular IPs, too. In Ahsoka, for example, Grand Admiral Thrawn’s soldiers wear armour that has visible cracks and areas that are golden: the armour’s appearance makes it clear that it has been repaired. Compared to Lanterns, the Kintsugi link is less about personhood and more about wearing your battle scars as a badge of honour.
The armour tells a story of survival. The fact it has been repaired so many times proudly communicates these soldiers’ resilience in battle. It suggests that nothing and no one will stop them from reaching their goal. Kylo Ren repairing his own helmet with the cracks still visible (albeit red, because of course) communicates a similar sense of perseverance: there is nothing that can’t be overcome by these forces of evil to reach their goal.
Lanterns’ incorporation of Kintsugi philosophy is, evidently, a lot more wholesome and inspiring. John Stewart’s story taught us that embracing all parts of ourselves: the good, the bad and the ugly, is what will make us strongest. By facing these hard truths about himself, John is a better version of the Green Lantern than he ever would’ve been if he had continued to avoid fear.
