This post is from 2012.  A lot has changed since then.  If you’re landing here post-2018, Aquaman is very likely more popular than John Stewart in your current timeline.

John Stewart should be the JLA’s Green Lantern and the iconic alpha Lantern of the DCU.  Put Hal back in the Corps and promote John back to the place of leadership and mainstream iconography he earned in the animated Justice League and Justice League Unlimited series.  In those vehicles, DC built a perfect platform for enfranchising the character with the kind of exposure the New 52 would have brought him.

The overwhelming whiteness of the image above, taken from the new DC home page, is staggering.   And is the Mentalist Aquaman really one of the most popular heroes in the the new 52?  Vic Stone (Cyborg), the lone African-American on the League, isn’t even pictured here.  Vic’s still paying grown-up dues as a recent grad of the Titans, and that’s fine.  But Stewart has immediate traction with readers and across popular media.  He’d be a great mentor to Cyborg, and he could bring gravity and leadership to the rest of the team.

Static Shock just got cancelled.  A Static/Stewart book would be great.  Even better would be a League with Cyborg, Static, and Stewart.

In 2012, can a group with one black character really be called the  Justice League? Please.  Oh, by the way:  in current continuity, John Stewart isn’t only off the League, he’s also on trial for murder.