WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Are You Afraid of Darkseid? #1, now on sale from DC Comics.
One of the most steadfast superheroes on the Green Lantern Corps and a veteran member of the Justice League is John Stewart. He was one of the first four modern Green Lanterns of Earth who helped carry the torch in the Corps' darkest days after the arrival of Parallax. And while John already had a bit of a contentious dynamic with Silver Age Green Lantern Hal Jordan and butted heads with Guy Gardner, he has formed a tight friendship and working relationship with the two men and fellow human Green Lantern Kyle Rayner. But on a terrifying mission in the far reaches of space, John's subconscious reveals some latent resentments he possesses towards his fellow Lanterns and what he really thinks of them.
Deep within the haunted region of the DC Universe, designated as Space Sector 666, lies the Dark Fortress, a sinister station built by the Empire of Tears ostensibly to serve as a safe haven for interstellar refugees. In actuality, the aptly named locale has developed a troubling reputation for causing those that enter its domain to completely vanish without a trace, prompting an investigation by the Green Lantern Corps, with John taking point. And the entity inside of the Dark Fortress initially takes on the form of the Guardians of the Universe, it quickly shifts to the three other Green Lanterns that came up with John from Earth, with the confrontation unfolding in the Are You Afraid of Darkside? #1's short story "Escape the Dark Fortress" by Dave Wielgosz, Pablo M. Collar, Wil Quintana and Dave Sharpe.
Battling the spectral visions of Kyle, Guy and Hal, the entity taunts John with different aspects about each of the Green Lanterns that it believes frustrates John in his private moments. The entity implies that John is jealous of Kyle being celebrated among the Green Lantern Corps, despite being relatively immature. It makes a similar observation about Guy, who is allowed to brusquely speak his mind with minimal consequences in comparison to the more mature and reserved John. And then, there's the matter of Hal Jordan, who nearly destroyed the Corps while possessed by Parallax yet remains widely regarded as the greatest Green Lantern of them all.
While John acknowledges he does have differences with his fellow Lanterns, he also regards them as his surrogate brothers keeping the DCU safe. John praises Kyle as the single most creative man he has met in his entire life while observing that Guy and Hal have both laid their lives on the line more times than he can count. John admits that Guy is an unapologetic figure, as much as Hal is unrepentantly arrogant, but that both are dear friends and always fight for the greater good, sometimes at their own expense.
While the Dark Fortress certainly has some more tricks for John Stewart, including some that strike even closer to home, the incident is a reminder that the various Earth-based Green Lanterns are all ultimately playing for the same team and deeply respect one another. And in keeping a cooler head than some of his counterparts, John is relatively unfazed as he delves deeper into the Dark Fortress, showing his collected, unflappable qualities that have both set him apart from the other Lanterns and made him so endearing to millions of fans for decades.