WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Young Justice #20 by Brian Michael Bendis, David Walker and Scott Godlewski, on sale now. 

Before the current Young Justice run came to the end, John Stewart, the current Green Lantern of the Justice League, had a few choice words for one of the newest members of the superhero youth team, Teen Lantern. Although Keli Quintela calls herself Teen Lantern, Stewart is quick to remind her she is not a member of the intergalactic police force.

In Young Justice #20, the team reclaims their old base of operations, Mount Justice. Inside they find the android Red Tornado. While they are initially glad to see a friendly face, it's revealed that he has been programmed to attack unwelcome visitors, and the team's old mentor takes out all of them except Teen Lantern. She blasts the Justice Leaguer off of the mountain, and he's caught by John Stewart, who is less than happy that she is using the power of a Green Lantern.

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Green Lantern John Stewart Teen Lantern

Keli Quintela received her powers in a similar way to how all Green Lanterns receive their rings; a dying alien told her of a great power and handed them the ability to harness it. The difference here is that the alien she found was not a Green Lantern, Instead, he had instead found a way to hack directly into the power source, using it via a sleeve/backpack. He was shot by a gang member near Keli's home and asked her to do with it as she pleases, implying she should rule the world with it. However, she instead chose to do good and attempted to make her way to the Justice League before joining her current team in Metropolis.

The main reason Stewart seems to want to strip her of this power is that he believes she hasn't earned it. He contradicts himself, however, as he firstly criticizes how she got the sleeve, before quickly realizing that's exactly how he received his ring. More importantly, Keli has proven herself multiple times over through her adventures with Young Justice. Over the course of the series, we've seen her combat warlords on the crystallized planet of Gemworld, thwart an evil doppelganger named "Hack" on Earth-3 and recently help her team defeat Zeus, the lord of the skies.

That being said, Stewart's fears are well-founded. Willpower is said to be one of the most powerful energies in the universe, and the results of someone using a machine that allows anyone to harness it without restrictions could be devastating. He isn't alone in his uncertainty either, for when the young team accidentally traveled to Earth 22, aka the Kingdom Come Earth in Young Justice #7, Green Lantern Alan Scott also initially demanded that Keli to hand over the sleeve, before deciding she was worthy enough to keep it.

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Young Justice Teen Lantern

Before John Stewart escalates the situation, the rest of Young Justice back Keli up, as well as mention they are sanctioned by Superman himself. Stewart relents, but demands that she comes to the Hall of Justice soon, stating "You need answers. You need training", before flying off. While it's not exactly a glowing endorsement, Keli now knows she doesn't have to fear losing her sleeve, and also is now, technically, a Lantern. She has already proved to be more than proficient with the power she wields, and she could easily become one of the world's greatest heroes with training from a Green Lantern as experienced and skilled as Stewart.

With this run of Young Justice at an end, it's unclear when or where we are going to see Teen Lantern again or whether another foe will seek to remove her power. However, Keli Quintela has already proven her worth as a hero and a Lantern many times over.

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