Green Lantern Jo Mullein

Context

Jo Mullein debuted in the 2019 12-issues DC Comics LS Far Sector.

It was written by N.K. Jemisin  and drawn by Jamal Campbell  . It also was part of the Young Animal imprint curated by Gerard Way  .

Ms. Jemisin is one of the major contemporary US science fiction writers. She’s won just about every award there is, sometimes twice. Or more. She cannot be stopped.

This character profile doesn’t have spoilers, as it doesn’t genuinely discuss the setting or plot.

The header illustration is an alternate cover by Yasmine Putri  , with artificially-generated negative space added on the sides.

Background

Powers & Abilities

Ms. Mulein is trained both as US Army infantry and as a NYPD patrol officer. She seems to have about 15 years of combined experience.

She also was a brilliant student, with unspecified qualifications from Princeton University. My blind guess would be polsci  .

She ain’t exactly tall, but she’s unusually muscular and in solid shape – with good reflexes. She has both hand-to-hand combat training and experience.

Yet her primary assets are mental. She’s highly intelligent, particularly adaptable, and exceptionally collected and courageous. Jo can adapt to alien circumstances in little time and with minimal disorientation.

Grab the broom of anger and drive off the beast of fear

However, she has a fear of heights. If she looks down, the phobic reaction likely will overtake her.

She has gradually become more capable of flying with her ring, overcoming the vertigo. But that’s reserved for emergencies.

This acrophobia is the clearest sign that Ms. Mullein isn’t “fearless”, as mainstream Green Lanterns are. And she does get reasonably scared in tense situations. But her experience, courage, and training allow her to act unhindered.

Sojourner has what seems to be a particularly high level of, in Lantern terms, green-compatible willpower. However, it’s not the exact same kind as, say, Hal Jordan’s.

Gimme the ring

Sojourner’s ring is an experimental project of the Guardians. It isn’t based on the kind of willpower needed to overcome frightening circumstances.

Instead, it is based on the will to struggle for years against daunting odds. It is more the willpower of the social change activist than that of the warrior or crisis responder.

Therefore, this specific ring :

Otherwise, it does all the green power ring things.

Early on, Ms. Mullein lacks experience with her ring. When she creates an object, her subconscious may overly influence its form. She quickly gets the hang of that, but her constructs still tend to have little subconscious-idea-association details.

She often manifests her green energy as a telescoping baton. This is in part to save power by keeping the manifestation small.

Recharge

One *major* fight, where the ring maintains several effects and keeps being used at a high output level, will likely require the majority of the ring’s charge.

We’re talking about deploying a power level that’s unattainable by a sci-fi super-tech infantry squad, in an hostile environment.

The ring recharges itself by about 16 percentage points a day. So that’s six days from nearly empty to full. Which can be a big problem, especially if the ring-wielder cannot pick their battles.

City Enduring communicator

During the Limited Series, Jo also uses an alien communication device. It’s basically a micro-smartphone implanted in your skull, projecting an holographic interface from the right temple or the weaker forearm.

You use it to place calls, text, e-mails, browse online resources, dock with a personal computer, etc..

The service also includes real-time translation of all local languages. These manifest as a sort of neural subtitles.

She also used it as binoculars — more accurately, a smart magnification visor — but here again it’s not unlike a smartphone’s optical zoom.

Technically, the communicator is a biocybernetic virus. It rewrites DNA, presumably to grow the hardware.

Soundtrack

Jo would presumably pick 2Pac. So here’s a post-mortem, 2011 classic that samples/covers Bruce Hornsby and co-features Talent.

History

Sojourner Mullein is from New York City’s Brooklyn Heights  . She was presumably born circa 1980.

Her parents divorced whilst she was in her late teens. She remained with her dad.

(Jo’s given name presumably refers to Sojourner Truth  (1797ish-1883). Formerly enslaved, Ms. Truth was a particularly charismatic and determined anti-slavery and women’s rights activist. She’s on the Smithsonian’s list of 100 most significant Americans  ).

A brilliant student, Ms. Mullein appears to have been a valedictorian at her high school. She was therefore accepted at Princeton  .

But before she could join, Manhattan was struck by the 9/11 attack. Jo and her father happened to be on site, and did what they could to help people evacuate the towers.

You’re in the Army now

Reacting to 9/11, Jo enlisted with the Army and was deployed in Afghanistan. I’d assume she served for two five-year contracts.

However, she came to realise that it made her more part of the problem than the solution.

After mustering out, she did join Princeton, with an unrevealed major. But this didn’t align closely enough with her wish to make the world better.

So she joined the NYPD.

As can be expected, that one was a disaster. Several years in, her partner assaulted a citizen, and Jo froze. She did report the beating, and that the person wasn’t resisting arrest.

Obviously, she was the one who got fired.

Day of the Smurf

On the day when she was let go of the PD, Ms. Mullein was approached by a disguised Guardian of the Universe.

She was recruited as a Green Lantern, but not along normal lines :

What the Guardian didn’t mention was that :

Off-duty, R&R appearance. Note the improbable John Stewart figure, the Gurren Lagann T-shirt and the Switch  . The display she’s reading seems to be titled “Black Lightning fanfic”.

Description

Ms. Mullein has a robust workout routine. She’s visibly muscular and athletic.

Jo apparently uses the most powerful weapon in the universe for a suitably critical application – doing her hair. It can flawlessly alter the cut and texture with no fuss.

Most of the time, she sports a 10″ (25 cm) beehive pompadour with a texture in the 4s. It’s presumably a Janelle Monáe  homage.

But when not working, she’ll sometimes have straighter hair (in the 2s), either held as a bun or worn as a curly bob. Sometimes, she has the pompadour but also a pair of relaxed spitcurls.

And when on a vacation, she’ll usually sport locs.

Uniform

Ms. Mullein also uses the ring to augment her uniform with green, solid energy details.

The most recurrent bit is her oversized butterfly glasses. But she’ll often add stuff, such as a US Army-style poncho if it’s raining, or an oversized NYPD-style eight-point cap if she’s representing the GL Corp at an official event.

Her small green earrings may also be ring-generated.

Her uniform vest has a sort of frontal flap that evokes the classic Guy Gardner variant uniform. And her gloves have big angular caps over her knuckles, that look like solid steel.

When angry, she’ll often have her eyes burn with green-white energy. But even when calm she often makes her eyes green – with a subtle glow.

Personality

Jo cannot abide structural injustice. She’s also well placed to see how the world runs on it. And how much of society is bullshit reinforcing and obscuring domination and exploitation.

Her life therefore is largely a quest to find some way, somehow, to personally put a dent in it.

She never mentions collective action per se, though. Possibly because she seems terrible at compromising. Instead, she tries to join institutions that give her some modicum of power.

Which doesn’t work great.

Her awareness of how the world works might make her seem cynical at first glance. But it’s obvious she has a burning need to make it all better. Which may, when confronted with blatant injustice and lack of altruism, result in violent outbursts.

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced

Ms. Mullein has an impressive arsenal of mental capabilities :

She also has a good amount of diversified life experience. I assume she’s 40-ish, and she ain’t exactly a dainty sheltered thing.

Her understanding of politics and power structures is pretty sharp. Perhaps thanks to Princeton, since one remark of hers implies that she didn’t seek a commission while with the Army.

And justice for all

Ms. Mullein is a nerd. She makes a fair few references to sci-fi, genre movies, real-in-her-world super-heroes, etc..

However, these are free-flowing mentions of her tastes. Rather than in-your-face affirmations of identity.

And she’s not much of a tech person. Even though she seems to spend a fair bit of time on the Internet (particularly Tales Of Our Own  fanfic).

Her shelves also have a mess of animé toys (Sailor Moon, Gundam, Street Fighter…) and, somehow, a John Stewart Funko-ish figure.

Having spent years in the military, she retains slight Army mannerisms and attitudes. This is visible in her goals-focused demeanour, and in how she manages stressful and confusing situations with a tactical, OODA  mind. As well as her liberal use of expletives.

She also frequently uses Black Brooklynite slang and turns of phrases.

Sell the shadow to support the substance

Jo is pansexual. If she’s sexually/romantically interested in somebody she doesn’t care much whether they’re a man, a woman, or a space alien. She also seems to chain relatively brief relationships and random encounters.

More generally, she’s gregarioussociable, fond of company. and forms bonds easily. All that she asks is that people not be cocksplats.

One caption implies that her models for heroism might be the Lone Ranger (and similar old Western characters) and Kwai Chang Caine.

Quotes

“I’m the one causing the trouble. Just by existing. But then, what else is new ?”

“SiddityConceited, stuck-up. ass.”

“You motherfuckers have officially pissed me off.”

“Nobody ever goes to jail for this shit. It never gets better. It has to get better. I have to make it better. Somehow.”

“In my vast experience, anybody who says they’ve got everything under control is full of it.”

“These things are built for combat. Armoured, maneuverable, and *fast*. Damn, if we’d have even one of these in Kandahar, then… then… even more innocent bystanders would have died.”

“Don’t tell me what I can’t do. I’m a Green Lantern.”

“All those years of reading cyberpunk better pay off.”

“I *hate* these word games. ‘Eradication’ instead of ‘execution’. ‘Keeping the peace’ when you mean ‘murdering peaceful protestors’. God. Different planet, same bullshit.”

“Is it too much to hope you folks have assault-specialised forensics ? Wait. Of course you don’t. You don’t *have* assaults.”

“Can’t get over this place. It’s mad wild. Everything’s complicated here.”

“Oh, you done fucked up now. That’s my friend you’ve taken hostage. But even worse ? You just started a nerd fight.” (uses her ring to generate a Gundam-ish mecha around her to fight alien power armourStrength-enhancing body armour, like Iron Man’s.).

(Discussing with an A.I. friend) “I’m not made of meat. I’m made of will.”

(Looking at her ring, thinking to herself) “Welp, gotta say it *sometime*. Or what the hell kind of nerd am I ?” (projecting a GL symbol in the sky and intoning aloud) “Heh. In brightest day, in blackest night…”

With her best Summer dress, and locs.

DC Heroes RPG

Tell me more about the game stats

Green Lantern Sojourner Mullein

Dex: 04	Str: 03	Bod: 04
Int: 08	Wil: 12	Min: 12
Inf: 06	Aur: 06	Spi: 12
Init: 018		HP: 075

Skills:

Accuracy (Power Ring): 06, Charisma (Persuasion, Interrogation): 07, Detective (Legwork, police procedure): 03, Evasion (Ranged Only): 06, Military science (Camouflage, cartography): 04, Medicine (First aid): 02, Power Ring (Green): 09, Vehicles (Land): 04, Weaponry (US infantry weapons, NYPD weapons): 05

Advantages:

Familiarity (Military equipment and protocols).

Connections:

Suspended due to distance. In the City Enduring, a High Connection with :

• Her assistant @IcanhazEarthstuff01, an A.I. person.
• Peace Captain Syzn of the Cliffs, by the Streaking Ice. Kinda like a police chief, but not really.

Drawbacks:

Exile (Voluntary), MIA toward Social Justice.

Motivation:

Social Justice.

Occupation:

Green Lantern.

Wealth:

004

Equipment:

The City Enduring communication implant can be abstracted out as a smartphone. A sci-fi one, yeah, but still a smartphone.

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Green green supergreen

Like our other Lantern writeups, this article uses our technical Power Rings framework. So you should read that if you haven’t already.

Technically, Jo’s Power Ring (Green) Skill isn’t the standard one, since her type of willpower is a bit different. I suppose we could call that Power Ring (Green-β).

And hypothesise that it can be used with standard green rings with a -2 APs penalty, and vice versa. But there just isn’t enough data.

A mecha/power armour Jo once created with the ring, though the energy budget for this is normally too high.

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Der Ring des Jomullein

Attributes:
INT 06 ; /BODY/ (Hardened) 12 ; BODY 30.

Powers:

Acuity: 11, Comprehend Languages: 20, Data storage: 40, Detect (Superior candidate for GLC recruitment): 16, Dispersal: 10, Flight: 25, Force Manipulation: 21, Invulnerability: 05, Life sense: 30, Miniaturisation: 10, Omni-Power: 10, Regeneration: 04, Sealed systems: 16, Skin armour: 04, Telepathy: 05

Bonuses and Limitations:

• None of the Powers has an AV (-1 or -0 Drawback, depending on house rules). Use the relevant Accuracy Skill instead.
• As long as APs of Skin Armour are active, the same number of APs is always subtracted from every use of the following three Powers – Acuity, Force Manipulation, Omni-Power.
• Detect can only be used upon the death of the wearer, to scout for a successor.
• Dispersal can only be used when the Green Lantern is not under imminent threat, and the Green Lantern cannot perform Dice Actions whilst Dispersed. Though Omni-Power could be used to emulate a form of Dispersal free of these Limitations.
• Life Sense is limited to detecting Green Lanterns.
• Telepathy cannot be used to engage in mental combat – only for communication, often helped by the ring’s Comprehend Languages.

Skills:

Scientist (Analysis, Observation): 09

Advantages:

Area Knowledge (Universe ; Wormholes locations), Insta-Change, Misc.: part of the Data Storage power is used to store the Green Lantern database in its mobile version.

Drawbacks:

• Gradual Power Loss: Mental conditions that make it difficult to accurately visualise force constructs drastically lower the efficiency of the ring. These include psychoactive drugs, neural scrambling, inner ear scrambling, some sonic attacks, etc.
  Any RAPs from such an effect means an immediate Gradual Power Loss of (RAPs+1) Columns on all of the ring’s Powers, as long as these effects are active. In the same spirit, RAPs from Mental and Spiritual attacks are subtracted from the EV or RV of any power ring use during the next Dice Action.
• Might have a Power Loss about things that are yellow.

In a sort of cyberspace with @IcanhazEarthstuff01.

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Recharge

• Ms. Mullein’s ring has 100 “power points”. You can make a display for that using 2d10 (or 3d10 if you must).
• Routine use of the rings (decoration, short flights, basic scans and communication, etc.) usually cost no points. Or one point if it’s ambiguous.
• We’ll consider three typical types of engagement. Minor costs 10 points, Serious costs 25 points, Catastrophic costs 60 points.
• Every 1½ hour (90 minutes, 11 APs) the ring recovers one point of charge.

An engagement is an entire scene.

1. “Minor” is brief, with Jo in control and energy expenditures being well-controlled. APs are probably kept under 12.
2. “Serious” lasts longer, and requires large-scale energy expenditure. APs might go up to 17 or so.
3. “Catastrophic” is, say fighting three hypertech armoured fighting vehicles in a sort of cyberspace with the ring struggling to remap data to sensory input Jo can use to orient herself. APs used – all she can get.

Obvs, you can use these numbers as a starting point to evaluate the charge cost of a scene.

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Running on fumes

Once the charge is under 36, the /BODY/ provided by the ring degrades. It cannot be higher than (remaining charge)/3, rounding down.

Likewise, all Powers have an APs cap equal to the remaining charge points. If, say, she’s a 10% charge she cannot deploy more than 10 APs of anything.

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Design notes

Some of the ring’s functionalities are assumed standard, but not demonstrated in the material. Frex, the ability to detect other Green Lanterns. These have often been arbitrarily lowered.

One scene conveys the impression that Jo can speak a bit of Pashto. It’s too tentative for inclusion in the stats. But another caption implies that she learns the languages of her areas of operations.

Though she’s technically a n00b, I’ve statted Jo on an elite Green Lantern scale (particularly the WIL/MIN/SPI triptych). She seems a smidgen more competent (but not as good with her ring) than Jordan was at the same stage. Presumably because she has more life experience.

The Detective Skill is symbolic – her INF/AUR make it unnecessary. By the same token she may have a few now-useless Area Knowledge Advantages, particularly for Brooklyn.

Technically she has Low Credentials with the Green Lantern Corps. But in practice it’s a moot point – she’s in a far sector.

By Sébastien Andrivet.

Source of Character: Far Sector DC Comics Limited Series.

Writeup completed on the 4^th of August, 2021.