Is John Diggle a Green Lantern? In 2012, a little show called Arrow debuted. It was a different time for comic book adaptations, we had just come off the very grounded Dark Knight Trilogy and it seemed that the creators of Arrow were ready to follow suit and make a grounded TV show about the Emerald Archer. We were introduced to Diggle in the Pilot episode as Oliver Queen’s bodyguard, soon to be much much more. Arrow evolved over the years and spawned more “fantastical” superhero series, ultimately constructing the Arrowverse.
Let’s take a look at the seeds that have been planted. During the 2018 crossover, Elseworlds, the 90’s TV show Flash (played by John Wesley Shipp) says to Diggle, “Where’s your ring?”. I really wish we could have seen more from that Barry’s Earth! In season 7 when we meet Ernie Hudson’s character, General Stewart, we find out that he is Diggle’s step-father which makes the connection of the last name ‘Stewart’. I kind of felt that this year’s Crisis on Infinite Earth’s crossover could have done more to usher in the John Stewart character but at the same time there was a lot going on and I think that there’s more to come from our favorite bodyguard. With Diggle heading to Metropolis, the opportunity is there for him to show up on the upcoming Superman and Lois show OR what if the next crossover is more Green Lantern centric? There’s also the opportunity for the new HBO Max Green Lantern series to have David Ramsey be a part of it but I don’t see that happening. We have had shared characters (i.e. Deathstroke and Ravager), something that DC was squeamish about at the start but finally embraced their multiverse ways eventually, which have been played by different actors. I bet you Colton Haynes is not going to be Roy Harper when Titans introduces the character.
I am a big fan of the John Stewart character and I always feel that Hal Jordan, boring as he is, ends up getting the spotlight. If you’ve never watched the Justice League animated series I suggest you do that immediately as I love that they chose Stewart to be the Lantern on it. I have high hopes for more Green Lantern stuff in the Arrowverse and I am very much looking forward to the Green Lantern series headed to HBO Max. I believe that it will work better as a series than another movie would. Whatever happens, it is great to know that my favorite Green Lantern, John Stewart, is getting the spotlight!
