WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story "Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark Multiverse" from Dark Nights Death Metal: The Multiverse That Laughs by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Joshua Williamson, Juan Gedeon, Mike Spicer, & ALW's Troy Peter, on sale now
The heroes of the DC Universe can sometimes see their missions and crusades for good turned against them and the rest of the universe. This prospect has even been at the core of the popular Injustice imprint, where Superman does just that. Death Metal quietly teased another similar reality, and it deserves further exploration.
One of the worlds set up by The Multiverse That Laughs -- a reality where it was John Stewart who was broken by Parallax instead of Hal Jordan -- is more than deserving of its own story.
RELATED: John Ridley Talks Black Lightning's Relationships in the Other History of the DC Universe
During the events of Cosmic Odyssey, John Stewart accompanied the Martian Manhunter to the planet Xanshi. Hunting down an aspect of the Anti-Life Virus, Green Lantern decided that Martian Manhunter would just slow him down and went after the element on his own. But to his horror, a bomb was set off that -- having been painted yellow -- was immune to Green Lantern's powers. This meant that there was nothing John could do to stop the bomb from going off. After devastating most of the inhabited world, it sent the remains careening into a nearby star, destroying the planet and killing every single living thing on the world. Martian Manhunter and Green Lantern were the only survivors, with the experience leaving John a shaken and changed man.
In the core DC Universe, John grew from this tragedy. Although he was initially even suicidal over his failure, he overcame these doubts to become an even more powerful and impressive hero in a bid to be better prepared for the future. But the Robin King teases a reality where that wasn't the case. Instead, this version of John Stewart instead could never escape his fear that he would make such a mistake again, or that Earth would be the next world to be wiped out. Consumed by this doubt and fear, John unknowingly opened himself up to the influence of Parallax.
The living embodiment of the Yellow Light of Fear, Parallax infected Hal Jordan in the Post-Crisis DC Universe, turning the esteemed hero into a brash, brutal, and ambitious villain. However, Hal was eventually able to overcome this weakness. But in this dark reality, John never shakes the fear that Parallax spreads through his body. John vowed to never fail another world and tried to make himself into the greatest defender of the Earth -- even f that meant installing himself as the lord of the world. By the time he appears in Robin King's tale, John has fully embraced the power of Fear, even seemingly donning the mantle of the Sinestro Corps. At his feet is an army of Green Lantern-construct riot cops, prepared to carry out his ideals of justice and security.
Despite receiving a single panel, the concept of a corrupted John Stewart is an engaging idea that deserves fuller exploration. If it was John who was corrupted, how would the other Green Lanterns respond to their most collected hero becoming a threat instead of achieving the mantle of Guardian? Would Hal Jordan and Guy Gardner fight against him and his ideals for a harsher control of the world? Or could one -- or even both of them -- be swayed to his line of thinking, especially if Coast City was destroyed as it was in the core-DC Universe? It's a fascinating concept that puts John Stewart at the center of a dark new DC Universe. If there are any of the worlds of the Darkest Knight's Last 52 worlds can survive into a post-Death Metal DC Universe, this should be one of them.