Justice League Unlimited was a show that introduced whole generations of viewers to some iconic versions of characters like Batman, Superman, and of course, Green Lantern. The latter of the three was allegedly added to the group instead of Hal Jordan to add some diversity to it. John Stewart remains one of most quintessential members of the Justice League, almost making it into the DCEU as well
However, as is the case with a lot of things in the DCAU, a slew of things made it into the comics, especially when it comes to the history of the character. The animated series was where John Stewart actually got his background as a marine, which became one of the most significant aspects of the character, even in the comics.
John Stewart was originally made to be a substitute Green Lantern
John Stewart was originally put into the comics as a substitute Green Lantern, and the rationale behind making him African-American was simple: given the makeup of the population at the time, it just made sense to have a Black Green Lantern. The DCAU, while airing the Justice League, decided to adopt John Stewart as the mainline founding member of the League, rather than Hal Jordan.
This change in particular was made for a few reasons. Initially, when the character debuted, Stewart was considered to be one of the more abrasive characters, and he was inserted into the team to solve some turmoil.
However, the show ended up doing such a tremendous job with the character that a lot of what originated in the show made its way into the comics. His background with the Marines was further fleshed out in the comics, making Stewart the resident sniper of the Green Lanterns.
Will James Gunn even bring Justice League Unlimited out of the vault?
Marvel had some great success with X-Men ’97, picking up exactly where X-Men: The Animated Series left off. Following the success of the show, there was a call to revive a slew of old animated shows, such as Batman: The Animated Series, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and Justice League Unlimited.
People even tagged James Gunn directly with these questions, to which the Superman director had one answer (via Threads):
X-Men ‘97 is fun because it’s unique and not desperately trying to follow the trends of everything around it. So I’d rather just keep doing that.
While X-Men ’97 might have been a great success, it seems that James Gunn would rather make something new over at DC than try to follow the trend that Marvel has set. Even the Spider-Man publishers themselves only decided to revive the X-Men, instead of going about bringing back every old IP worth its salt.
Justice League Unlimited might not get a revival anytime soon, but James Gunn assures fans that he might have something better instead.
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