Being one of DC Comics’ first African American superheroes, Green Lantern John Stewart is a very important contribution to Black history. When we hear about such figures, they are usually of real people, like Harriet Tubman, George Washington Carver, Martin Luther King Jr., Frederick Douglas, and so on. Why should this comic book superhero be seen as a luminary of Black history?

It’s because John Stewart is one of the earliest inspiring, idealized representations of a Black person in comic books and adventure stories. Black people have the same desire for escapism and wish fulfillment as other types of people, and John Stewart gives them a character they can relate to and aspire to be like without having to forsake their “Blackness.” He is not maimed or emasculated. He doesn’t have a horn coming out of his head. He is nobody’s sidekick. He is not a criminal. He is a strong, fit, competent, smart, independent and steadfast hero.

A problem the Black community has faced is a lack of prominent positive role models. Outside of sports stars and musicians -who are often of dubious character, and sometimes have messages that are either base or easily misconstrued- Black youths don’t have many figures that resemble them to look to for inspiration. When you look into escapist fiction, the number is pathetically low. Yes, you may find Black characters there, but how are they used? What are their roles? What is the caliber of those characters? If you were to look, I think you might find that they are often in the background, being side characters, frequently used for comedic relief, and are rather rarely depicted as idealistic heroes who are front and center protagonists.

An interesting observation I once read was that there aren’t many Black geeks. Being a “geek” is just not a real big part of the culture. Why would that be? It’s not because those people are just those people, and they don’t have much capacity to be interested in such things. It’s because the overall geek entertainment and culture does not speak to those people as well as it could. When people who look like them are only given bit parts in cartoons, comics, and so on, and are often not idealized like the White characters, why would they want to escape to those worlds and partake in that entertainment? John Stewart is one of the few leading Black superheroes that allow Black people a conduit to pure, unadulterated wish fulfillment with a character that looks like them. This is no small feat. What’s more, he’s not your typical Black superhero.

John Stewart is from the ghetto, but is not bound to it. Interestingly, he is one of the leading cosmic superheroes. His adventures usually take him across the universe, and he’s had numerous alien love interests. His stories are not always about race relations. Some have been in the past, but John has since grown out of that pigeonhole. He’s transcended being a “Black superhero,” and is now a highly recognized, respected, regular superhero. This is a good thing, because Black people do not always need hamfisted reminders about how they’re weird, different, or disenfranchised. Again, Black people desire the same type of wish fulfillment as others. Sometimes they just want their heroes to be heroes like the others. Not heroes who are overly urbanized or weighed down with loads of social commentary connected to them wherever they go.

One thing that really hooked me about John Stewart from the Justice League cartoon show was that the creators essentially let him be a superhero. He would do the same types of things Batman and Superman have done countless times before. He fought evil in a colorful costume and had exciting powers. He saved the day. He got the girl. The creators did not make him asexual like so many Black characters in fiction are. They were not afraid to pair him with a woman who had the appearance of a Caucasian. In many instances, his role could have been written for a White character and nothing would change.

Yet, at the same time, John Stewart was not white washed or phony. As we can see from the opening to the famous Justice League episode “In Blackest Night,” he allowed for a perspective that had been largely unexplored by popular cartoons and that no other hero on the League could have legitimately offered.

There is a great balance with John Stewart. There is much more to his character than being a Black person, but his background is not entirely ignored. He is a wonderfully fleshed out character in amazingly well written stories, which is why he has captured the hearts of millions and millions of people, Black, White, and everything in between.

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I hope we see more of John Stewart in key leading roles. As fictional characters go, this Green Lantern has made a large impact on society.

Header image by skyvolt2000.

For more: http://greenlantern.co/celebrating-green-lantern-in-observance-of-black-history-month/#comments

It's great seeing John get so much love. I am pretty sure he is DC's first black superhero, so this seems well deserved, especially given his cultural impact.