DC Studios officially revealed brand-new merchandise for Lanterns that might have provided fans with the first look at the DCU Green Lantern costume of Aaron Pierre's John Stewart. Lanterns has spent seven episodes showcasing John Stewart's unusual journey to becoming Green Lantern, anchored by his parents' rigorous training after they believed he was destined to wield the ring and become Hal Jordan's (Kyle Chandler) successor. However, the Manhunter investigation in Rushville, Nebraska, in 2016, completely changed John Stewart's trajectory, ultimately leading him to take the ring at a terrible cost before rejecting the responsibility. The penultimate episode of Lanterns pushes John more into the Green Lantern orbit after Hal Jordan's sudden death places him in a dangerous predicament as he comes face-to-face with a newly escaped Sinestro on a dead planet during his investigation.
With one episode left in Lanterns, DC Studios revealed a new official Lanterns hoodie with an aesthetic similar to John Stewart's classic comics and animated Justice League designs, giving fans more reason to think this merchandise might be the first look at the DCU Green Lantern suit for Aaron Pierre's John Stewart.
The Lanterns hoodie has a predominantly black body, green fade across the shoulders and hood, and a glowing lantern emblem on the chest with an added touch of the Green Lantern oath printed down the sleeves.
The timing of this Lanterns hoodie's release is significant because it is close to the finale of the DC Studios series' premiere on HBO Max, which is set for Sunday, October 4 at 9 p.m. ET. Many claimed that the timing is not coincidental, suggesting that John Stewart might finally suit up as the DCU's next Green Lantern in the finale, just in time for his big-screen debut in James Gunn's Man of Tomorrow.
Lanterns' latest merchandise is an obvious tease of what's to come for John Stewart's destiny in James Gunn's DCU. In the Justice League animated series, John Stewart wears a black bodysuit with green on the shoulders and upper chest, green at the wrists and boots, and the Green Lantern symbol on his chest. This design is what the hoodie is emulating.
In comparison, Hal Jordan's suit from the comics and other media has much more green overall, with black relegated to the side panels. John's animated suit flipped that aesthetic, using more black to align with John's grounded and no-nonsense personality.
Moreover, in DC Comics, John Stewart's origin of wearing his own suit is far more unique. In Green Lantern #87, John initially wore Hal Jordan's uniform but refused to wear the mask. Later comic book storylines absorbed what the Justice League cartoon popularized after the animated John Stewart became the version most fans knew.
Based on John Stewart's costume design from the comics and the animated series, the DC hero's aesthetic has a more black-heavy silhouette than Hal Jordan's, and the latest hoodie follows that map almost exactly. There is a strong chance that Stewart will indeed suit up in his comic-accurate superhero suit in the Lanterns finale (unless there's a last-minute Yellow Lantern twist hiding in plain sight).
Why DC Studios' Lanterns Needs to Embrace John Stewart's Classic Design
Hal Jordan's on-screen costume in Lanterns has already been portrayed as the DCU's version of a grounded and weathered physical uniform. It looked worn, practical, and specific to an aging Lantern who has been doing the job for too long. This approach and aesthetic should not be incorporated into John Stewart.
John's suit should not only embrace his classic design of leaning more with black undertones, but DC Studios should make it sharper and more graphic for him to stand out even from Guy Gardner's mostly white costume design. The hoodie should provide a blueprint for what John's DCU costume would look like, with black as the base, green reserved for the shoulders, and the classic emblem incorporated into the suit.
If it happens, it remains to be seen how Lanterns will depict John Stewart's act of finally embracing his Green Lantern destiny in the DCU, but many would agree it should happen sooner rather than later. Given that the final moments of the penultimate episode of Lanterns showed John, the Halogram, and Sinestro all in one place, it's possible that this story thread will need to be resolved first before unleashing the full suit reveal.
Whatever the case, Lanterns should not leave John Stewart's Green Lantern destiny hanging because it would be odd to see him without the ring and the suit if he is recruited by David Corenswet's Superman in the fight against Brainiac in Man of Tomorrow.
