Am I the only one who..

[Bolerathon Avant Guardian Find all posts View Profile Close Bolerathon]

thinks that John's marine retcon is holding him back? Chalk it up to personal preference but I had a lot more time for John when he was the mellow GL and being an architect was the main influence on his constructs. I know the entire GLC has been lacking imagination a bit recently since it's all bubbles and laser beams at the moment but it's just as bad when all John can come up with is a gun. You have a plot device that can literally be anything and he keeps going back to conventional earth weapons. It might just be a rule that every black guy in comics has to turn into Sam Jackson to be taken seriously in combat but I don't buy it.

A GL isn't really a soldier so there's no reason that him being a former marine should start taking over his identity. He's better than that.

Apologies to the mods if this topic exists already. I thought it might but didn't find it.

[Michael Heide Heide Finition Find all posts View Profile Close Michael Heide]

I completely agree. The Justice League cartoon did wonders for his popularity at the expense of his characterization and back story.

[Bolerathon Avant Guardian Find all posts View Profile Close Bolerathon]

I completely agree. The Justice League cartoon did wonders for his popularity at the expense of his characterization and back story.

Thing is they only mention him being a marine once (that I can remember). It's when Vandal Savage hijacked WW2 and they all got sent back without their powers so John still had some fighting skills. I remember seeing him when they changed from JL to JLU and he had the goatee and the shaved head and it was very "here we go again".

[Michael Heide Heide Finition Find all posts View Profile Close Michael Heide]

I remember an early episode of Justice League, must have been within the first ten episodes or so, that mentioned his military background.

[Bolerathon Avant Guardian Find all posts View Profile Close Bolerathon]

Don't remember that one. I still thought it was better handled than as is now where he essentially is doomed to repeat the same 4 lines.

"Katma was alive"
"Xianshi NOOOOO"
"Semper Fi"
"ENGLISH MUTHAFUCKA DO YOU SPEAK IT?!"

[Gl Josh Senior Corps Member Find all posts View Profile Close Gl Josh]

Actually I kinda like the Marine part, but again I will state Marine PART. John is still an architect, but that gets pushed back to focus more on the Marine aspect. Now if they really want to push more of the Marine aspect then flesh that part out, what did he do in the Marines, why did he leave, and why did he pursue architecture afterwords? I think a soldier background does help when it comes to being a GL, but so does any team related background.

[Dr. Naysay Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Dr. Naysay]

John as a Marine is ridiculous.

Part of what made the Green Lanterns so appealing to me growing up was that they specifically were not soldiers.

They were fearless... and honest... but not trained in combat or used to regimented military life (with the possible exception of Hal Jordan... but I don't think he was originally conceived as having a military background... I think that may be Johns as well).

The Green Lantern Corps wasn't (and I maintain still isn't) a paramilitary organization with highly organized rank structure and chain of command. They were solitary guardians of gigantic swaths of cosmic real estate and would seldom encounter one another.

Now... two of the four Earth Green Lanterns are former soldiers and the entire mood of the Corps has become completely hostile and aggressive.

It's very "90's". I don't like it... and furthermore I don't like you. That's right. You.
(EDIT : The "you" I'm referring to is not a specific person... no insult was intended)

[MasonACBB Corps Honor Guard Find all posts View Profile Close MasonACBB]

I wouldn't necessarily call it "90's", but I know what you mean. Some of John's best stories are from the 90's, mainly Mosaic, where his architecture skills were put to the ultimate test. We haven't seen his architecture background take much effect on his activities as a Lantern lately, and that sucks because Gerard Jones was able to make him a really compelling character without a single gun construct or war flashback.

[Bolerathon Avant Guardian Find all posts View Profile Close Bolerathon]

It's very "90's". I don't like it... and furthermore I don't like you. That's right. You.

Gomez Adams much?

I never even saw Hal as a soldier. When I think test pilot I never think of combat and always assumed Hal was closer to being an engineer. I agree that GL's should not be soldiers but the way John is written at the moment it's as if he never stopped. He just swapped army.

[Kuhan Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Kuhan]

I remember an early episode of Justice League, must have been within the first ten episodes or so, that mentioned his military background.

It was probably Episode 3, the GL-centric one. "In Blackest Night" I believe.

[myuserid Lantern Hex Find all posts View Profile Close myuserid]

John as a Marine is ridiculous.

Part of what made the Green Lanterns so appealing to me growing up was that they specifically were not soldiers.

They were fearless... and honest... but not trained in combat or used to regimented military life (with the possible exception of Hal Jordan... but I don't think he was originally conceived as having a military background... I think that may be Johns as well).

The Green Lantern Corps wasn't (and I maintain still isn't) a paramilitary organization with highly organized rank structure and chain of command. They were solitary guardians of gigantic swaths of cosmic real estate and would seldom encounter one another.

Now... two of the four Earth Green Lanterns are former soldiers and the entire mood of the Corps has become completely hostile and aggressive.

It's very "90's". I don't like it... and furthermore I don't like you. That's right. You.
(EDIT : The "you" I'm referring to is not a specific person... no insult was intended)

Yeah, I agree.

John has become a very boring and ridiculous place holder type character.

[Tarmode Green Lantern Initiate Find all posts View Profile Close Tarmode]

thinks that John's marine retcon is holding him back? Chalk it up to personal preference but I had a lot more time for John when he was the mellow GL and being an architect was the main influence on his constructs. I know the entire GLC has been lacking imagination a bit recently since it's all bubbles and laser beams at the moment but it's just as bad when all John can come up with is a gun. You have a plot device that can literally be anything and he keeps going back to conventional earth weapons. It might just be a rule that every black guy in comics has to turn into Sam Jackson to be taken seriously in combat but I don't buy it.

A GL isn't really a soldier so there's no reason that him being a former marine should start taking over his identity. He's better than that.

Apologies to the mods if this topic exists already. I thought it might but didn't find it.

It is holding him back, and I would definitely like to see John achieve that next level.Some of these Retcons are ridiculous.

[TEN_RINGS Senior Corps Member Find all posts View Profile Close TEN_RINGS]

John as a Marine is ridiculous.

Part of what made the Green Lanterns so appealing to me growing up was that they specifically were not soldiers.

They were fearless... and honest... but not trained in combat or used to regimented military life (with the possible exception of Hal Jordan... but I don't think he was originally conceived as having a military background... I think that may be Johns as well).

The Green Lantern Corps wasn't (and I maintain still isn't) a paramilitary organization with highly organized rank structure and chain of command. They were solitary guardians of gigantic swaths of cosmic real estate and would seldom encounter one another.

Now... two of the four Earth Green Lanterns are former soldiers and the entire mood of the Corps has become completely hostile and aggressive.

It's very "90's". I don't like it... and furthermore I don't like you. That's right. You.
(EDIT : The "you" I'm referring to is not a specific person... no insult was intended)

I agreewith this. John needed more of a past than just being an architect but to make his whole life based on being a former marine??? I cant accept it.

[Dr. Naysay Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Dr. Naysay]

I agreewith this. John needed more of a past than just being an architect but to make his whole life based on being a former marine??? I cant accept it.

He had more than "just being an architect"... much much more.

But all that was obliterated so that Geoff Johns could keep playing in his space military toybox.

[Sylent_Asassin Black Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Sylent_Asassin]

It's like they don't know what to do with John so they just go with the popular flow. JLU put GL on the map for practically all of the newer fans so Johns probably felt it would be in the character's best interest to incorprate JLU's background with the comics.