1970's Flashback: John Stewart

John Stewart originally debuted in the pages of Green Lantern vol. 2 #87 (Dec. 1971) when artist Neal Adams came up with the idea of a substitute Green Lantern as the first African-American hero in the pages of DC Comics. John Stewart has become a major recurring character in the Green Lantern mythos and he became the primary Green Lantern between issues #182 through #200, when Hal Jordan relinquished his role within the Green Lantern Corps (1984–1986). Stewart has continued to star in various iterations of the title such as The Green Lantern Corps, Action Comics Weekly, and Green Lantern: Mosaic.

John Stewart was featured as one of the lead characters on the televised cartoon Justice League from 2001 until 2004 and its sequel, Justice League Unlimited. Going from "semi-obscurity in the mainstream to absolute name recognition" thanks to his starring role in the acclaimed Justice League cartoons in 2011, John Stewart starred in the “New 52” relaunched Green Lantern Corps alongside Guy Gardner, and eventually became the sole lead character (until the series' cancellation in 2015). That series was soon replaced by Green Lantern: The Lost Army, which again stars John Stewart as the lead hero.

Green Lantern #87 (Dec.1971)