Lanterns' third episode, "OutKast," finally pulls back the curtain on John Stewart's origin story. We quickly learn that the Green Lantern ring appeared before his father, John Stewart Sr., who, when pulled into a bubble and asked if he was afraid, replied, "Yes."
As a result, he isn't chosen, and Hal Jordan is, though it doesn't sound like he was close to being the ring's first choice. John's father spirals after realising his fear cost him the chance to become Earth's protector, and one of the Guardians of the Universe visits his wife, Bernadette, and presents her with a large diamond as an apology.
Furious at the Guardians for what they've done to her husband and their lack of understanding about how fear is part of being a Black person in America, Bernadette convinces the cosmic being to give their infant son, John Jr., a chance. The Guardian promises to watch over the boy and see how he progresses, leaving his parents to raise him to be fearless.
John's childhood is borderline abusive; he's not allowed to pursue his love of art, frequently has an apple shot off the top of his head, and is left in a rough part of town to find his way home (his brothers grow distant from him, and even his parents keep him at arm's length to instil fearlessness).
Eventually, he becomes a Marine and is tasked with assassinating a Russian war criminal. John spends nine months camped out waiting to take the shot, only for Hal Jordan to rocket in—he overheard a member of the military talking about the target in a strip club—and drop the guy off at Guantánamo Bay.
Someone has to take the fall, and John is dishonourably discharged, but on the plus side, he finally gets to go to art school...until a Guardian tells him that they're ready to interview him.
It turns out that ever since Sinestro went rogue and killed one of the Guardians, they now choose who gets to wield the rings. They're concerned about how much affection Hal still has for his former mentor—even though he was the one who took him down—and plan to take his ring from him and give it to John.
Yes, John is being sent to Hal to train, but he's no backup; as soon as he's ready, Hal's ring will be his. Understandably, John isn't too bothered about this, seeing as it's the hero's fault he had a terrible childhood and that his military career was ruined.
In the episode's closing moment, John returns home, only to find that Hal is already there. He makes nice with his replacement's parents, but outside, tells John that he doesn't need a sidekick or a backup, and that he'll only get his ring over his dead body. That seems ominous.
Lanterns has cleared a few things up with this latest instalment, though we've yet to understand why John doesn't have the ring in 2026 and why Guy Gardner does. Perhaps he ultimately refuses to take it from Hal in 2016, prompting the Guardians to go with another backup? Whatever the case, the series is taking some big swings with the comics and redefining much of what we thought we knew about the Corps.