John Stewart’s Evergreen Black Power
Green Lantern #87 (1972) is the first appearance of John Stewart, one of DC Comics’ earliest Black superheroes, who would become a globally popular character. Stewart’s debut is both powerful & problematic, simultaneously challenging & indulging racist stereotypes. 1/12
Allan W. Austin and Patrick L. Hamilton argue that the cover of Green Lantern #87 underscores this comic’s exploitation of the “buck” stereotype of Black masculinity, which “twinned black savagery with menacing sexuality, codified in ‘blaxploitation’ protagonists.” 2/12
As Austin and Hamilton observe, Stewart “thrusts his ring hand (and thus weapon) at the reader with a savage look on his face.” In addition, the fact Stewart is roughly holding the unconscious body of Hal Jordan suggests he might be a threat to both villains and white heroes. 3/12
The highlighted phrase from the Green Lantern oath–”Beware My Power!”–also suggests a link between Stewart and the contemporary Black Power movement. This could redirect Stewart’s threat: maybe he’s angry at racists & racist institutions, and if that scares you, you’re part of the problem. 4/12
Yet the interior story & art continue to present Black power as an excessive spectacle. Case in point, the white backup Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, is introduced saving children, a picture of stoic heroism. While Stewart is introduced amid refuse, confronting police with exaggerated sneers. 5/12
The comic challenges the reader’s initial perception of Stewart, with the Guardian even accusing Hal (and implicitly the reader) of bigotry for assuming he’s unworthy. Yet the comic arguably achieves this subversion by first encouraging bigotry through its stereotyped introduction of Stewart. 6/12
Stewart is additionally stereotyped through Blaxploitation-informed dialect (including the sexual innuendo of “letting it all hang out”) and repeated reminders of his “ghetto” milieu. The comic also continues to tease Stewart as a potential threat, through his apparent lust for power. 7/12
Throughout, the story continues to mix stereotypes with subversion. Stewart is powerfully sympathetic when he humiliates a racist presidential candidate. Yet the exaggerated, clownish visualization of Stewart arguably devolves back into spectacle, potentially undercutting the message. 8/12
And while many readers likely disagreed with Jordan when he proposes to teach Stewart a lesson about free speech & responsibility by protecting the racist Senator, Jordan’s assertion that “whitey” is hypocritical slang goes unchallenged, suggesting sympathy for the myth of “reverse racism.” 9/12
In a more positive vein, the comic’s central conflict is a deliberate act of subversion. Initially, it appears as though Stewart has refused his duty to protect the racist Senator from an assassination attempt. But it turns out that Stewart was one step ahead of Jordan the whole time. 10/12
Stewart catches the real would-be killer after deducing the Senator planned the carnage at his own rally to promote fears of Black violence & stoke a race war. Implicitly, Stewart’s deeper knowledge of racial politics saves the day, while Jordan’s ignorance would have proved disastrous. 11/12
Yet after asserting the value of Black experience, the comic contradicts itself, as Stewart concludes color doesn’t matter–a worthy sentiment, but inconsistent with the preceding story or the reality of racism. Thankfully, Stewart would return–and eventually become the hero he was meant to be. 12/12