Green Lantern’s new power is an ability only Gods are meant to have

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Green Lantern: War Journal #12!The strongest Green Lantern Who has ever lived is showing how powerful he really is by tapping into a genuine, godlike power. The last few years have been good for John Stewart and he has gained more power than any of his comrades.

Unfortunately, he also had to deal with the monstrous Revenant Queen and her zombified horde, the Radiant Dead. After months of being pursued by the queen and the old god Olgrun’s forces, Stewart finally puts their threat to an end, but not without suffering a strong loss himself. But thanks to a new power, Green Lantern has figured out a way he can literally cheat death.

Green Lantern saves his mother’s soul in his power ring

in Green Lantern: War Journal #12 By Philip Kennedy Johnson, Montos, Adriano Lucas, and Dave Sharpe, John is making a last stand against Queen Ajna. The Revenant Queen is determined to get her ring back and turn John into a vessel to revive her father, Olgrun. But Green Lantern taps into the power of the Dark Star Ring and takes control of Olgrun’s remains to dispatch the Revenant Queen, ending the cosmic threat for good. unfortunately, When accessing the Dark Star Ring’s power, Green Lantern saw a vision of his mother in trouble.

On Earth, John’s mother Shirley has fused with the sentient construct Ellie and is fighting the Star Shroud, the twisted evolution of John’s Green Lantern rival Varron. Thankfully, John arrives and destroys what is left of Varron. While John heals Shirley’s physical wounds, she has been through too much and only has the strength to have a final conversation with her son. While Shirley is ready to go, John grabbed his mother’s hand and told her “A Green Lantern can do anything.“ As the family is surrounded by green energy.

Weeks later, John and Ellie are in Botswana as the Green Lantern notices how much his construct is really starting to take on his late sister’s mannerisms. However, the brother and sister are not alone as John hears a familiar voice from his power ring. John generates a construct, revealing that Shirley Stewart’s essence now inhabits his power ring. The Stewart family flies over the African terrain like Green Lantern leads his mother and sister into the future for a new adventure.

How Green Lantern discovered this power and improved it

While John Stewart gained more power than any of his comrades thanks to absorbing the Godstorm, it wasn’t until he met rookie Green Lantern Kaolan Shepherd that he discovered amazing new applications of his powers. After John’s first battle with the Radiant Dead, he became infected and was slowly converted to join their ranks. But Kaolan protected John by taking him to the Space Between Moments, a void outside of time. While inside the space, John discovered the realm is too Home to a deceased variant of Green Lantern’s ally, Kyle Rayner.

The alternate Rayner told John that the Space Between Moments is a realm for fallen Green Lanterns so that they can continue to serve their living allies. Caolán and Rayner were able to help John recover from his infection, but Stewart needed to start fighting back against the Radiant Dead. He did not want to leave his sick mother alone, Green Lantern tapped into his increased powers and created a construct modeled after his deceased sister EllieEndowing her with sentience and the personality of John’s family member.

As Green Lantern fought the Revenant Queen and her monstrous forces, John only grew in power. Not only did he find ways to deal heavy damage to his allies in battle, but he also gained access to the Dark Star Ring. John ventured into the Dark Star of the Fen, a portal to the realm where the old god Olgrun awaited to convert John into his ship. However, John’s willpower was too strong and he emerged from the realm with the Dark Star Ring, Increasing the power of Green Lantern even more.

Green Lantern’s godlike power keeps his inspiration around

One thing that was blatantly clear during Green Lantern: War Journal was that Shirley was up to no good. She was battling dementia that only worsened when the Radiant Dead began targeting her in order to hurt John. The Ali construct did her best to keep Shirley safe, going so far as to fuse with her, temporarily making Shirley younger and capable of fighting. But the sad truth is that Green Lantern’s mother was on borrowed time and nothing could stop that.

But throughout the series, John’s number one priority was always his mother and he was not going to let her die suffering. Thankfully, his experience with Shepherd and the variant Rayner influenced John with The Space Between Moments, allowing Shirley’s spirit to live on as a physical embodiment of Green Light. True, Rayner once said that the site was for fallen lanterns, But even John admits that his mother always deserved to be a Green Lantern over him.

One could argue that there are some ethical concerns with extending a life as John did. Just because he has divine power, does that really give him the right to transform Shirley the way he did? Shirley doesn’t seem to mind and she seems to have finally conquered her dementia. Not to mention, John’s mother now possesses the power of a green lantern, giving the world another noble hero. While there is room for debate, One can hardly blame Green Lantern for using his powers to save someone he cares about.

Green Lantern used his godly power for good

In the hands of a lesser man, someone could use John’s power to do some terrible things. But John is one of the most principled Green Lanterns that has ever served. Is it a bit selfish to use his power like that? Maybe. But John’s greatest source of inspiration is his mother and if he chooses to use his power to save a parent, who can blame him? There’s a lot of responsibility wielding the power John does. But if the worst thing Green Lantern Does with his strength save his mother, it is safe to say that he handles it well.

Green Lantern: War Journal #12 is available now from DC Comics.