WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Green Lantern #12, available now from DC Comics.

The Green Lantern Corps has always been comprised of the best of the best in terms of galactic heroes. Only those with the will strong enough to stand up to adversity could even be considered for the ring. No sector has known this more than Sector-2814, which is home to Earth and a collection of some of the bravest Lanterns ever. While some have experience like Hal Jordan, others have creativity, like Kyle Rayner. But none have been as impactful or game-changing as John Stewart. In fact, since he has started saving lives as a Green Lantern, Stewart has consistently proven that he was always the best Lantern of them all.

In his first appearance, John Stewart was chosen as a backup Lantern after Guy Gardner was seriously injured. Off the bat, John proved to move against the grain as he had serious issues with authority and was against wearing the default Lantern domino mask. Hal Jordan had some misgivings due to his behavior, but it took no time at all for him to realize that John was more than just a confrontational individual. In fact, his story showed that his actions spoke louder than his words. A Marine and architect, Stewart always strived for order and for things to be "right." As a result, Stewart let a senator get shot when he learned that the politician he was sent to protect planned to stage an assassination attempt to boost his numbers. While Hal was dismayed, Stewart proved that it was all a plan to expose the politician, who revealed he was never in any real danger.

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As a Lantern, Stewart's feats continued as he put himself in countless dangerous situations, such as taking the brunt of an exploding planet. He's also had to restrain Superman and fend off a mental attack from Sinestro, who bared the color yellow, a Lantern's weakness. However, his mental fortitude has kept John in the fight for all these years. That same fortitude also aided in his constructs, as he will often use his architect's mind to create some of the toughest constructs imaginable. He's also used his mind to make the Justice League Watchtower, bringing the team to a more galactic level.

John has also shouldered feats that transcended into the real world. One of the most important has been how he is still one of the most visible African-American heroes in comic books. From his first appearance, he chose not to hide behind any masks and instead wanted the world to see who was on the frontline protecting them. It's both a noble and dangerous position that has shown just how strong John is as a person. He was also a founding member of the Justice League in the animated series and was the constant moral center, even more so than Batman. But what has made John such an enduring and impactful hero is more than just what he's succeeded in doing.

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The Green and Yellow Lanterns team up

For all the good John Stewart has done, he's also had failures in his life that have haunted him into the present. For example, there was once a time when John had the power of the Guardians but was unable to stop Hal Jordan, as Parallax, from destroying Coast City and its Lantern power battery. However, even in his defeat, he could pick himself back up and continue the fight as a Green Lantern. He would later be tested after he absorbed a Godstorm in Green Lantern #12 (by Geoffrey Thorne, Tom Raney, Marco Santucci, Mike Atiyeh, and Rob Leigh) and used the last of his energy to rebuild the Green Lantern Corps. But rather than die, he was reborn as an Emerald Knight after accepting that he must ascend and that the power he was given before would not corrupt him a second time.

More than any other Lantern, John Stewart has shown that power can easily corrupt, and humans will always make mistakes. Nevertheless, how he has learned from and overcame his mistakes has only made him stronger as a person and a Green Lantern. As a result, he's the best not because of his ability as a Green Lantern but because of what he has done with the power and how he's been willing to accept his failures and try to improve. By having never given up, he's shown the true power of will and why it has fueled the Green Lanterns for so long.