John Stewart Is Already A Yellow Lantern - And Guy Gardner Proved It
Lanterns (2026) has been a surprise hit for the DCU as it introduces us to our first dedicated series surrounding the intergalactic peacekeepers. But rather than making this an intergalactic story, the show is instead a detective mystery where its leads can't stand each other.
By the end of Lanterns Season 1, John Stewart finally reconciles with Hal Jordan and takes his ring as a rogue Lantern operating in Sector 2814, even if Guy Gardner is the protector. However, one rumor hints that John Stewart is becoming a Yellow Lantern, and while that's not true yet, John's time with Guy proved he's already there.
John Stewart Uses Fear on Guy Gardner in 'Lanterns'
At the end of Lanterns Season 1, John has Hal's ring and power battery and uses the Lantern signal to call over Guy Gardner. While Guy is annoyed, John lays out that Guy can have all of Sector 2814 to protect, but Earth will be his. Guy realizes he inadvertently helped John discover who killed Hal and also got him his ring and battery.
Guy initially puts up a fight, saying that he will tell Oa and an army will bring him down, but John stands firm, calling himself a free agent and drawing his line in the sand when he tells Guy to try and take Hal's power battery from him. The entire time, John's emotions stay exactly the same. Guy doesn't agree with John's choices in the least, but when facing him, you can tell he's intimidated by the conviction in John's voice and how he's carrying himself. In the end, John reminds Guy that he's an errand boy for the Guardians and that isn't a bad thing because he was chosen to be a hero all the same. Yet, it can't be overstated that John isn't trying to be a friend, and he will stop Guy no matter what.
It's not the cruelest we've seen John, but it shows a dangerous consistency in his behavior, as fear and intimidation aren't something he's against using. So long as he can be the hero he needs to be, John will do what he must and scare who he must.
Fear Has Played a Major Role in 'Lanterns'
Even before John Stewart was born, the Guardians had plans for the child. He was meant to be trained as the next Green Lantern, and his parents, especially his mother, raised him to be fearless in a world that was still very much terrifying. His father shot apples off his head to ensure he never felt fear, and John would then shoot apples off his parents' heads. He was treated differently from his brothers and groomed for his fate, even if it left him emotionally isolated.
As John became a Marine and later an architect, we learn that fear is something John still feels. But unlike Hal, who challenges fear due to his dark past in hopes it may be his end, John struggles to embrace the full range of his emotions. This makes it even more interesting when John is so adept at embracing and instilling fear in others, like while conversing with Sinestro and intimidating Guy.
By taking the "Green" out of the show's title, we can understand that this is a series all about choices. Embrace fear or have the will to challenge and overcome it. In John's case, even in his new oath, he chooses to embrace fear and use his skills to help those in need. It's a shift from the lore we know, but it's important to his character all the same. But that also means that a Yellow Lantern fate may not be far behind.
John Stewart Isn't Free From Being a Yellow Lantern Just Yet
Lanterns Season 1 ends with the tease that Sinestro has his own plans with the concept of fear and will harness it for his own use. This already sets up the Yellow Lantern Corps, or, at the very least, Sinestro's yellow lantern. As a result, there's still a chance this could impact John Stewart in a big way.
When Lanterns were first introduced, it teased Hal as a Green Lantern and John as a Yellow Lantern. As far as Lanterns Season 1 is concerned, that never happened. But that doesn't mean it couldn't. John Stewart has shown his capacity to embrace fear and turn it into will to help others. But he also shows that fear is a powerful tool he's not afraid to harness, and that alone makes him an incredible threat. He may not be a Yellow Lantern officially, but he checks all the boxes.
