SDCC 2022: ‘Green Lantern: Beware My Power’ Lets John Stewart Shine

Green Lantern: Beware My Power, directed by Jeff Wamester and written by John Semper & Ernie Altbacker,  is the latest DC Universe Animated Movie. Former Marine John Stewart (Aldis Hodge) is struggling to fit back into society after a tour of duty in Afghanistan, and the lingering scars of war don’t help. But his life is turned upside down when a dying Guardian of the Universe grants him a Green Lantern power ring – making him the last living Green Lantern. John, with the help of Green Arrow (Jimmi Simpson), investigates the mystery behind the death of the Green Lantern Corps, and also has to prevent a war between the planets of Thanagar and Rann.

There’s no doubt that John Stewart is the name people think of when they think “Green Lantern.” Thanks to Phil LaMarr’s stellar performance in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, many DC fans tend to prefer Stewart over his predecessor Hal Jordan. Beware My Power leans into that, as the film explores what makes John a great Green Lantern. At first, wanting nothing to do with the Corps, he grows to embrace his new cosmic role. He also works tirelessly to avert the Rann-Thanagar War as he knows how war can escalate and claim innocent lives. Semper & Altbacker have plenty of superhero animation experience thanks to their work on shows like Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Static Shock, and they apply that same ethos to Beware My Power by blending together multiple Green Lantern comics to form the base of their story.

The film also benefits from a strong lead performance in Hodge. He gives John plenty of dimension, from dealing with his PTSD to his hero’s journey. My favorite line in the movie has to be when John is asked about how he manages to wield the ring and he says, “I’ve been up against that kind of barrier my entire life. It hasn’t stopped me.” He isn’t just referring to a super-powerful space ring, but his life as a Black man, and Hodge’s delivery of the line rings with immense conviction. Simpson plays Green Arrow as a snarky foil to John, and Jamie Gray Hyder is an excellent Hawkgirl. However, I feel like Adam Strange (Brian Bloom) somewhat struggles to fit in with the dynamic and more or less acts as a deus ex machina.

When it comes to the animation, Beware My Power uses the same style as Superman: Man of Tomorrow and Justice Society: World War II: a smooth, polished look that feels like literal comic panels come to life. It makes for some great battles – including a moment where John runs afoul of the Justice League – and lends itself extremely well to John’s constructs, which actually feel like solid light. Wamester leans especially hard into the cosmic side of the DC Universe, presenting strange planets and space battles that would feel at home in any space saga. DC’s thrived in animation from Batman Beyond to Young Justice, and this movie is a great example of that.

Green Lantern: Beware My Power gives John Stewart his well-deserved limelight, thanks to a stellar performance from Aldis Hodge as well as a sharp script and gorgeous animation. This is the Green Lantern movie we should have gotten a decade ago, and I hope Warner Bros. Discovery looks to this as an example if it wants to try putting the Green Lantern back on the silver screen.

Green Lantern: Beware My Power had its world premiere at San Diego Comic-Con. It’ll be available to watch digitally on July 25 and on DVD/Blu-Ray on July 26, 2022.