The Only John Stewart Explainer You Need Before Lanterns

"Lanterns" is finally bringing prominent Green Lantern John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) into glorious live action, but the DC Universe show isn't giving us a John who's at the height of his powers just yet. Instead, promotional material such as the "Lanterns" Comic-Con trailer reveal that John is an understudy of Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), who isn't entirely happy about taking on the younger man. Watch Looper's video above to learn who John Stewart is in the comics, and how he'll grow over the course of "Lanterns" and any potential follow-up projects in the DCU.

John Stewart is an interesting choice to accompany Hal — the most prominent Green Lantern in the DC Comics. John is far from the first Lantern, but he is easily one of the most fascinating, changing the comics with his very skin color. But more importantly, John's intensity makes him a far cry from some of the Lanterns that came before.

Green Lanterns have had a fairly bumpy ride when it comes to adaptations. The 2011 Green Lantern movie starring Ryan Reynolds as Hal Jordan is famously not great. Meanwhile, the DCU has had far more success with Nathan Fillion and his portrayal of Guy Gardner that began in "Superman." However, while Guy makes a good effort at showing what the Green Lantern power ring can do, his characterization is very firmly on the comedic side.

As such, it's high time for the DCU to introduce a more serious side of the Green Lanterns, given their power and importance within DC Comics. The history of the Green Lantern Corps is full of toil, turmoil, and extreme threats, which is easy for a casual fan to forget thanks to their colorful alien designs and the inherent space opera nature of many Green Lantern adventures. 

Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King set out to present them in a far more serious light with HBO's "Lanterns," and honestly? John Stewart, who you can learn more about in Looper's video above, is the perfect Lantern for that.