JL8 - Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman in Grade School

[LadyEowyn]

I can see the relationship between Hal's behaviour in the last strip and his behaviour now. He wants J'onn to be his cool, unusual alien friend. He can impress his other friends by having an alien friend, and he can impress his alien friend by teaching him about Earth.

Except that doesn't work when J'onn already knows stuff about Earth, hence Hal being patronizing and dismissing his knowledge.

It's pretty clearly an analogy for treating people from other cultures as "exotic and foreign". The "aggravated" and later "face palm" looks on John Stewart's face are another indication that Hal's demonstrating a (ignorant rather than malicious, but no less offensive and aggravating for all that) form of racism. John can tell, and it's annoying him.