HBO Max's "Lanterns" delved into John Stewart's backstory in its third episode, revealing that the character, played by Aaron Pierre, has spent his entire life being deliberately shaped by his parents to become worthy of replacing Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler) as Green Lantern. Speaking to Variety, Pierre and co-star Jasmine Cephas Jones discussed how the episode ties John's fearlessness and drive to the Black American experience, framing his journey as one shaped by having to work harder to be recognised.

Flashbacks show John's father, John Stewart Sr. (J. Alphonse Nicholson), failing his own Green Lantern test after showing fear, prompting him and wife Bernadette (Jones) to relentlessly train their son, including staging dangerous scenarios and lying that the Guardians were always watching him. Jones said she wanted her character's sternness to coexist with visible love and sacrifice, while Pierre described John as carrying "a wealth of life experience" from a childhood built entirely around one goal. Nicholson noted the episode's line "sometimes a Black man has to raise his own hand" reflects a deliberate choice to address real-world themes of fear and recognition within the show's fictional framework.