WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story "Walls Closing In" from Crime Syndicate #4 by Andy Schmidt, Bryan Hitch, Alex Sinclair, & Rob Leigh, on sale now
On the world of Earth-3, the histories and moralities of the greatest DC heroes are warped, creating dark new incarnations of classic members of the Justice League. The origins of the current Crime Syndicate add a surprising amount of melancholy to these stories, with the likes of Owlman and Superwoman becoming crueler in light of the way the world transformed them and shattered their family lives. This now extends to John Stewart, who is given a revamped and genuinely tragic origin on Earth-3.
The John Stewart of Earth-3 was formerly a police officer, who ended up becoming one of the new wielders of a Power Ring. An intergalactic weapon forged by the Overlords of Oa, their Emerald Knights largely fell to the might of Starro before it came to Earth. One of these rings found Stewart five months before the present day when John Stewart was a police officer in Coast City. He was a surprisingly dedicated father to his daughter Liza, who as a teenager used crutches for her legs.
To afford surgery for her, Stewart made a deal with criminals and completed some unknown task -- compromising his morals for the sake of his daughter. Stewart tried to move past this, but the son of the criminal tried to force Stewart to aid him on the streets -- prompting an enraged Stewart to beat the man with his club. To his horror though, John had done so in front of his daughter, shattering her faith in him.
This was the moment the Power Ring of the Emerald Knights chose him, giving him the chance to bring law and order to the world. The criminal, enraged at Stewart's actions, lets it slip that he can try to have them killed -- including Liza. Sensing his desire to protect his daughter, the Power Ring connected with John and lit the criminal aflame with its power. Fearing the chaos that could from his death, John fully accepts the Power Ring and becomes an Emerald Knight -- taking long enough to create a strong new cast construct for his daughter before leaving her behind to become a "hero" in this twisted world.
The additional element of John's daughter Liza is an interesting deviation for the character, especially given her age. This paints John as a far older figure in this universe than many of the other members of the team he's been working with. It adds a genuine reason why he'd want to use the Power Ring and provides a tragic element to the Emerald Knight, with the Power Ring genuinely helping him try to change his life and the life of his daughter. Unfortunately, it's also apparent that the Power Ring will continue to corrupt John.
Even if there were good impulses at his core, this version of John never learned how to control his emotions and rise above the limits the world tried to place on him. Instead, he seemed to be someone trying to help his loved ones in a difficult world -- and ended up becoming a far more threatening figure for it. While it can be argued that John is therefore dedicated to protecting his daughter -- and by extension, his world -- it also means he's far more ruthless than most versions of John Stewart.