Warning! Spoilers ahead for Green Lantern: War Journal #12!The strongestGreen Lanternwho has ever lived is showing just how powerful he really is by tapping into a genuine, godlike power. The last several years have been good for John Stewart and he’s gained more power than any of his comrades.
Unfortunately, he’s also had to deal with the monstrous Revenant Queen and her zombified horde, the Radiant Dead. After months of being pursued by the Queen andthe Old God Olgrun’s forces, Stewart finally puts their threat to an end, but not without suffering a powerful loss himself. But thanks to a new power,Green Lantern has figured outa way he can literally cheat death.
Green Lantern Saves His Mother’s Soul in His Power Ring
InGreen Lantern: War Journal #12by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Montos, Adriano Lucas, and Dave Sharpe, John is making a last stand against Queen Ajna. The Revenant Queen is determined to get her ring back and turn John into a vessel to revive her father, Olgrun. But Green Lantern taps into the power of the Dark Star Ring and takes control of Olgrun’s remains to dispatch the Revenant Queen, ending the cosmic threat for good. Unfortunately,when accessing the Dark Star Ring’s power, Green Lantern saw a vision of his mother in trouble.
John generates a construct, revealing that Shirley Stewart’s essence now inhabits his Power Ring.
On Earth, John’s mother Shirley has fused with the sentient construct Ellie and is fighting the Star Shroud, the twisted evolution of John’s Green Lantern rival Varron. Thankfully, John arrives and destroys what’s left of Varron. While John heals Shirley’s physical wounds, she’s been through too much and only has the strength to have a final conversation with her son. While Shirley is prepared to go,John grabs his mother’s hand and tells her “A Green Lantern can do anything.”as the family is surrounded by green energy.
Weeks later, John and Ellie are in Botswana as the Green Lantern notes how much his construct really is beginning to take on his deceased sister’s mannerisms. However, the brother and sister aren’t alone as John hears a familiar voice from his Power Ring. John generates a construct, revealing that Shirley Stewart’s essence now inhabits his Power Ring. The Stewart family flies over the African terrain asGreen Lantern leads his mother and his sister into the future for a new adventure.
How Green Lantern Discovered This Power and Improved It
While John Stewart gained more power than any of his comrades thanks to absorbing the Godstorm, it wasn’t until he met rookie Green Lantern Caolán Shepherd that he discovered amazing new applications of his powers. After John’s first battle with the Radiant Dead, he became infected and was slowly being converted to join their ranks. But Caolán protected John by taking him to the Space Between Moments, a void outside of time. While inside the Space, John discovered the realm was alsohome to a deceased variant of Green Lantern’s ally, Kyle Rayner.
John Stewart discovers the Space Between Moments inGreen Lantern: War Journal #3 (2023)!
This alternate Rayner told John that the Space Between Moments is a realm for fallen Green Lanterns so that they may keep serving their alive allies. Caolán and Rayner were able to help John recover from his infection, but Stewart needed to begin fighting back against the Radiant Dead. Unwilling to leave his ailing mother alone,Green Lantern tapped into his increased powers and created a construct modeled after his deceased sister Ellie, endowing her with sentience and the personality of John’s family member.
As Green Lantern fought the Revenant Queen and her monstrous forces, John only grew in power. Not only did he find ways to undo grievous damage to his allies in battle, but he also gained access to the Dark Star Ring. John ventured into the Dark Star of the Fenn, a portal to the realm where the Old God Olgrun awaited to convert John into his vessel. However, John’s willpower was too strong and he emerged from the realm with the Dark Star Ring,increasing Green Lantern’s power even more.
Green Lantern’s Godlike Power Keeps His Inspiration Around
One thing that’s been blatantly clear during Green Lantern: War Journal is that Shirley was not doing well. She was battling dementia that only worsened when the Radiant Dead began targeting her in order to hurt John. The Ellie construct did her best to keep Shirley safe, going so far as to fuse with her, temporarily making Shirley younger and capable of fighting. But the sad truth is thatGreen Lantern’s mother was on borrowed time and nothing could stop that.
Shirley doesn’t seem to mind and she appears to finally have conquered her dementia.
But throughout this series, John’s number one priority has always been his mother and he wasn’t going to let her die suffering. Thankfully, his experience with Shepherd and the variant Rayner influenced John with the Space Between Moments, allowing Shirley’s spirit to live on as a physical embodiment of Green Light. Granted, Rayner once said the Space was for fallen Lanterns,but even John admits that his mother has always deserved to be a Green Lantern over him.
One could argue that there are some ethical concerns with extending a life the way that John has. Just because he has godlike power, does that actually give him the right to transform Shirley the way he has? Shirley doesn’t seem to mind and she appears to finally have conquered her dementia. Not to mention, John’s mother now possesses the power of a Green Lantern, giving the world another noble hero. While there’s room for debate,one can hardly fault Green Lantern for using his powers to save someone he cares about.
Green Lantern Used His Godlike Power for Good
In the hands of a lesser person, someone could use John’s power to do some horrible things. But John is one of the most principled Green Lanterns who has ever served. Is it a little selfish to use his power this way? Maybe. But John’s greatest source of inspiration is his mother and if he chooses to use his power to save a parent, who could fault him? It’s a lot of responsibility wielding the might John does. But if the worst thingGreen Lanterndoes with his power is saving his mother, it’s safe to say he’s handling it fine.
Green Lantern: War Journal #12is available now from DC Comics.
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name given to multiple enforcers of intergalactic justice in the DC Universe. Green Lanterns can harness the cosmic energy of willpower, and create unique spectral objects to face off against their enemies. Though some Green Lanterns have assisted with the Justice League, they primarily belong to the Green Lantern Corps.
