Origin
Sojounrer Mullein grew up in a hard working but low income family in New York City. Under that stress, her parents eventually divorced. After 9/11 happened, Jo was near ground zero and was inspired to make a difference after witnessing so much tragedy. She graduated valedictorian, joined the army, gave university a shot, but eventually joined the police force. She was motivated by great ambitions, but every choice revealed systemic failings. The one that ended her law enforcement career was when she watched her partner beat a suspect nearly to death. She decided to turn him in but was unceremoniously fired when she was tagged in a "Black Lives Matter" facebook post. Drowning her sorrows over the police backing her partner, she was approached by a Guardian of Oa with a brand new ring and a challenge: "one year to make a difference."
Creation
Jo Mullein made her debut in Far Secter #1 by N. J. Jemison and Jamal Campbell. It was part of DC's Young Animal imprint, founded by Gerard Way, that put offbeat spins on DC properties that also leaned toward more mature audiences.
Major Story Arcs
The City Enduring
Her first beat is The City Enduring, the rebuilt home of three warring races after they destroyed their two planet system. So their rivalry never gets out of hand again, they use a drug called Emotion Exploit (EE) to keep their emotional response lessened. Sojourner has been granted an exemption from the EE. Soon after she was assigned, the world experienced their first murder in five centuries.
Jo and local law enforcement, The Peace Division, quickly find their suspect, a member of the keh-Topli people. Before Jo could interrogate her, she was killed by an unknown member of The Nah race, who ultimately evaded capture. Afterward, a protest against the Emotion Exploit erupts into a riot when the Peace Division opens fire on the crowd. Jo learns it was planned by the wife of the first murder victim because she blames the EE for leaving her husband's killer unable to process her emotions in a healthy way.
Investigating this revealed a criminal element motivated by Switchoff, a drug that counteracts the Emotion Exploit. Jo finds a vast virtual dark net populated by @Ats, as well as "sweatshops" full of Switchoff addicts creating entertainment, like memes and jokes, to be used as currency. Jo found out that 2 of the 3 members of the council were orchestrating events to get the attention of the Green Lantern Corps and out their deeper fascist roots. However, this blew up spectacularly when one of the council members, Averrup, was killed and the other, Marth, was arrested for his role, allowing the third member, @Blaze, to take control of the military and stage a coup.
With 20% charge, Jo takes on the City Enduring's fleet. Instead of attacking them head on, she boards the main ship. With help from CanHaz, she broadcasts her tough-love conversation with the ship's commander, who eventually orders a cease fire, ending the coup and starting the Emotion Exploit weaning.
Battery Destruction
Jo was called to Oa, as was every other Green Lantern. With the creation of the United Planets, The Guardians agreed to scale back the Green Lantern Corps reach. Lanterns of defunct sectors would be given new job titles and duties. Soon after the announcement, the Central Power Battery exploded. Luckily, Jo was running late and not caught in the blast.
As one of the few Green Lanterns left with power thanks to her prototype ring, Jo sent a distress call over the United Planet's hypernet. She warned her fellow GLs that rings will depower and rescue missions were being planned. Along with Teen Lantern (whose gauntlet works without the battery) and Simon Baz (who was outfitted with cybernetic armor and weapons), Jo set off to uncover who is responsible.
However, when Teen Lantern jumped the gun and attacked New Korugar, Jo had to go stop her before the United Planets stepped in or Sinestro took it for an act of war. Keli was rendered unconscious by Jessica Cruz, who joined Sinestro Corps after her GL ring went out. Jo with Simon brought her to the United Planets HQ for medical, but when they attempted to remove her weapon, she subconsciously constructed Young Justice members to defend her. Jo noticed they weren't affecting Simon and convinced him to talk Keli into stopping through her coma.
Powers & Abilities
Power Ring: Jo's ring has all the same abilities of the other Green Lantern rings except it doesn't need a power battery to recharge. It just recharges incrementally over time. The trade off is it is less powerful than the other rings, and, if depleted completely, it leaves the ringbearer vulnerable for a lot longer. Rather than base its power on the user's willpower to overcome fear, it uses the user's willpower to live with fear. The ring was able to convert Jo's consciousness into electrical signals into which allowed her to enter City Enduring virtual network.
Meatware: Jo had a biocybernetic virus code written into her DNA which translates alien languages.
Alternate Realities
Future State
20 years in the future, Jo is a member of reformed Justice League. Leading up to that, Jo garnered the reputation of being one of the best detectives after uniting the Corps to solve Oa's greatest mystery. After the Justice League defeated The Hyperclan, Jo was voted leader by the team.
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