Green Lantern is joining fellow DC Comics icons Batman and Wonder Woman in getting a bronze statue all his own in Burbank, California. But it’s probably not the Green Lantern you were expecting. While pilot Hal Jordan is arguably the most famous (and most continuously published) member of the Green Lantern Corps, it’s his replacement Lantern, John Stewart, who receives this honor. While John might not have as many comics to his name as Hal, he’s important for more real-world reasons. He’s the first Black American superpowered hero in DC Comics. You can check out images of the Green Lantern John Stewart statue right here:
John Stewart first appeared in 1971’s Green Lantern/Green Arrow #87. A headstrong young architect, the Guardians of the Universe chose him as Hal Jordan’s backup Green Lantern for Earth. Although there were already Black heroes at DC, John was the first with powers. He made a handful of appearances in the ’70s. However, in the ’80s, he took over for Hal full-time as G.L. of Sector 2814. In the ’90s he would receive his own spin-off, Green Lantern: Mosaic. But it was in the early 2000s, when the animated Justice League series hit Cartoon Network. Millions of kids watched that show, and it featured Stewart as the League’s resident Lantern. This truly made John Stewart a superstar. His upcoming live-action role in the upcoming Lanterns series, where Aaron Pierre will play him, will only serve to make John even more popular.
The new Green Lantern statue is located at Hanger 18, 1775 North Victory Place, in Burbank, CA. Artist and DC President Jim Lee was on hand for the unveiling, along with several other DC Comics creators. The statue design was inspired by artist Jamal Campbell. To honor the city’s newest statue, DC also commissioned an exclusive comic, Green Lantern John Stewart: Global Guardian, written by John Ridley and Charlotte Fullerton McDuffie with art by Amancay Nahuelpan, CHRISCROSS, and Jordi Tarragona, with cover art by Jamal Campbell.
With both Batman and Wonder Woman receiving statues, and now Green Lantern, we have to wonder when the Man of Steel is receiving his? We imagine with a new Superman movie hitting theaters in 2025, it won’t be long. Also deserving of the bronze statue treatment is the Flash, since together with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern, he’s been in publication in some form since 1940. It is time for all the “Core 5” members of the DC Comics pantheon to get their flowers.
