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Alan Scott (Prime Earth)

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As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page.

Quote1 We don't know each other, but I promise you I know how dark things can get when you keep emotions secret. To live with truth as a north star...that takes real willpower. Quote2
— Green Lantern src

Alan Scott is a young engineer who later on became the world's first Green Lantern and a member of the Justice Society of America.

Early Career

Early Life

Born in 1912, Alan Scott was raised in a rural part of the Midwest. Even into adulthood, he had never even visited the big city and remained somewhat uninformed about the wider world. However, he did manage to become a talented engineer.

Alan Scott and Johnny Ladd 001

Alan Scott with his partner Johnny Ladd

In 1936, Alan Scott was drafted into the Army Corps of Engineers and assigned to "Project Crimson", an important mission to locate and harness the semi-mythical Crimson Flame, believed to be somewhere beneath the sea in the North Pacific. While a member of this project, he developed romantic feelings for fellow engineer Corporal John Michael Ladd. Ladd helped him understand what he was going through, and the pair began a romantic relationship.

Late in the project, Ladd suggested Alan that they continue the relationship in a more real sense after the projected completed. He put his own ring on Alan's finger and told him that he would like to stay with him after the mission and go off the radar, for good. Though he cared for Ladd, the idea scared Alan. The conversation was interrupted, however, by an eruption of crimson energy from beneath the sea.[5] Johnny was seemingly killed by the Crimson Flame.[6]

When Johnny died, the nature of their relationship was revealed. Alan was discharged from the military and checked himself in to Arkham Asylum, hoping to "cure" himself of his homosexuality. While he was in Arkham, he befriended a transwoman named Billie, who carved him a lantern as a gift. Billie was eventually lobotomised and, horrified, Alan lead a mass breakout of inmates from Arkham's "Deviancy Wing", taking Billie's lantern with him. He fled to Colorado and became a train engineer, falling in love with a conductor named Jimmy Henton.[7]

Becoming Green Lantern

The New Golden Age Vol 1 1 Textless Talaski Variant

Scott becomes the Green Lantern

On July 16th, 1940,[8] Alan Scott and Jimmy Henton were travelling aboard a train together.[9] On this particular evening, their romantic encounter would end in tragedy, however. The train would pass over a bridge that Alan designed; he recently outbid a rival engineer named Albert Dekker for that bridge contract, but a bomb exploded beneath the bridge derailing the train. Everyone on board was killed in the explosion – everyone but Alan Scott. When Alan woke up, he found Jimmy and all the passengers dead. Alan was close to death himself, but a green light emerged from Billie's lantern, healed his wounds and granted him the power of the Green Lantern.[7]

With this fantastic new power under his command, Alan set out to find Albert Dekker – the man responsible for blowing up the bridge and killing Jimmy. Glowing like a green phantom, he phased through the walls of Dekker's office and made him see justice.

After a revealing encounter with Jimmy's mother, Doris Henton, Alan promised her that he would continue to use that light, which she said was also in her son, to help people find their way through the darkness. Her words inspired the oath he would recite when he charged his ring on the Lantern.[10]

Further Adventures

Alan was blackmailed by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover into joining the Justice Society of America, as Hoover had obtained his records from Arkham and compromising photos of him with Johnny.[6] At some point he would be present for a battle against the Injustice Society, unknowingly fighting alongside the time-displaced conciousness' of the present-day Carter Hall and Shayera Thal.[11]

Alan's prominence inspired the Russian military to attempt to replicate his powers. The Soviet Red Labs managed to tap into a mysterious and mystical Crimson Flame and imbued its power into a lantern and ring very much like Alan's. This ring was wielded by an agent known as "Red Lantern", who began murdering Alan's former lovers and leaving a trail of evidence to suggest he had killed them to keep his sexuality hidden. During his investigation to determine who was behind the killings, Alan found himself receive unwanted help from his JSA teammates The Flash and The Spectre, who each recognised his sexuality and to his surprise accepted him. The Spectre told Alan that someone involved in Project Crimson was the most likely suspect, and Alan had a sudden realisation: if the Crimson Flame was a counterpart to the Starheart, perhaps it had done to Johnny what the Starheart had done to him. Alan rushed home and found the Red Lantern waiting for him, who he recognised as Johnny. Red Lantern knocked Alan out and told him "Время историй [Story time] my love".[12]

"Johnny" carried Alan to his hideout, and when he regained consciousness he told Alan his backstory. He revealed that his real name was Vladimir Sokov, and he was a Soviet agent sent to obtain the Crimson Flame for the glory of Russia. After he was pulled overboard he had drowned, but the Flame had restored him to life and he and it had been saved by the Soviet Navy. They had then returned to Russia where Soviet scientists had been able to fashion a lantern and ring for him to match Alan's. He also claimed that he had never loved Alan and their entire relationship had been a manipulation, revealing that he had put his ring on Alan's finger to distract him from a Soviet boat signalling at him.

Enraged, Alan attacked him and demanded to know why he had killed those men, but Red Lantern easily fended him off then phased through the wall. Although his ring was almost out of power, Alan gave chase and flew after him. He chased Red Lantern through the skies over New York, but his ring suddenly ran out of power and he fell to Earth. Red Lantern caught him in a sphere of energy, which Alan didn't know was possible, and safely carried him to a rooftop. Vladimir told Alan that he had barely scratched the surface of what he could do and that their powers were fuelled by emotion, and that if Alan hadn't always suppressed his feelings Vladimir wouldn't have been able to defeat him so easily. Alan asked why, if all Red Lantern wanted to do was defeat him, he had killed his former lovers rather than just kill him. After a moment's silence Red Lantern claimed he hadn't wanted to kill anyone and Alan asked him if he had done it because he was jealous. Red Lantern angrily insisted that he was not gay and had a wife. Alan asked if his wife knew what he really was, and when Red Lantern asked what that was he responded "A spy".

Alan turned his back to Vlad and leaned up against the wall of the bubble. After a moment Vladimir did the same and they stood back-to-back with only the bubble between them. Alan revealed to Vladimir that he had bought a lakehouse where they had once stayed for two weeks at great expense despite hating it, because he felt like an echo of "Johnny" was still there. They turned to face each other and Alan put his hand on the bubble; after a moment's hesitation, Vladimir did the same. Suddenly Alan punched through the bubble and hit Vladimir in the face. He dropped the red lantern and Alan grabbed it. Vladimir shouted that it was too dangerous but Alan charged his ring with the red lantern, become imbued with the power of the Crimson Flame.[13]

Alan attacked Vladimir, filled with rage and paranoia due to the effects to the Flame. The unstable energy started to poison him and Sokov told him he needed to get rid of it before it killed him. Fortunately Derby had discovered Alan's home ransacked heard the voice of the lantern telling him to carry it to the roof. When he got up there it released a burst of green energy that flew to Alan, purged the Crimson Flame from him and recharged his powers. The Starheart appeared to Alan in a vision, taking the form of Jimmy Henton, and told him that the Crimson Flame was a corrupted fragment of itself that needed to be stopped, and told him that he needed to cinvince Vladimir to join with him as something much worse was coming.

Alan awoke from the vision and Sokov tried to continue the fight, but Alan told him they were both in danger. He flew outside and they saw crimson energy blasts erupting into the sky. They were attacked by the Crimson Host, a Soviet team also empowered by the Crimson Flame, with orders to kill them both. They tried to fight the Host off but were outnumbered. To Alan's surprise, the JSA came to help him.[1]

Red Lantern went on to clash frequently with Alan Scott, to the extent that they were considered to be each other's arch-nemesis. The pair did, however, briefly team up against a group of Nazi agents that threatened both Russian and American interests. Despite an open offer of continued collaboration from Alan, Vladimir did not opt to continue this partnership. Red Lantern disappeared in 1951, presumed dead. He left behind an infant daughter, Ruby Sokov.[14]

Over the years, he would remain closeted to all but a few close friends, primarily friend and assistant Charles 'Derby' Dickles and fellow members of the Justice Society. He would occasionally visit a local bar frequented by, as he referred to them, 'confirmed bachelors', though he never worked up the confidence to flirt with the other patrons.[9] Like many gay men of his era, Alan Scott married a woman; more than one over the years, as a matter of fact.[2]

Scott was investigated under the campaign to root out suspected communists by Senator Joe McCarthy, but declared innocent. However, eventually mounting political pressure did force the disbanding of the Justice Society.[2]

Alan fathered two children, Todd Rice and Jennifer-Lynn Hayden, though he was unaware of either's existence until they were fully grown and had formed Infinity, Inc.

DC Rebirth

Justice/Doom War

A version of Alan and the rest of the Society encountered John Stewart and Barry Allen during the Justice/Doom War, when the latter two had travelled to 1941 in search of a shard of the Totality. Scott restrained them when the JSA found them in their headquarters and learned that the Legion of Doom had already won in JSA's timeline two weeks ago.[15] It was later revealed that this version of the Justice Society was isolated in Hypertime by Perpetua, who had split pieces of the past and future in order to avoid changes echoing from one era to the next.

Barry and John explained their mission to them and how they came into their timeline, also stating they were members of the Justice League. The JSA came to the realization that their existence must have been erased if the the two hadn't heard of them, with all of the team members then introducing themselves. Scott expressed surprise when John brings up the Green Lantern Corps and implores John to tell him more about it, but is stopped by Doctor Fate who states it will be dangerous for them to even interact as the timeline had been altered many times.[16]

The JSA agreed to team up with Barry and John and headed to Pearl Harbor to find the Totality shard kept there[16] but found that the Legion of Doom had taken over the minds of all soldiers present there. He battled the Japanese forces under their control alongside John and was impressed by his great willpower but remarked that he needed to be more truthful. After getting into the base, they were attacked by American soldiers under the Legion's thrall and eventually confronted their enemies. Aquaman however subdued the Legion and stated that they needed to get to Atlantis in order to get the Totality back to their time.[17]

As they travel to Atlantis, Alan reminded him to be more open about his emotions. John remarked that he was dismayed at people siding with Doom in both their times, but Alan stated that it isn't about what they achieve but fighting for what they want. The JSA and the League members were however stopped by the Atlantean guards, realizing that Atlantis was now ruled by Vandal Savage of the past and his Legionnaires Club who demanded they hand over the Totality. They were however again confronted by the Legion of Doom and the god Poseidon.[18]

John convinced Vandal to help them by stating that the real fight was always within them and that the fate of the universe depended on his decision. Impressed, Alan stated that he was worthy successor to the name of Green Lantern. As Alan and the JSA battled the Legion of Doom, Vandal opened a portal for them to travel to the League's timeline.[19] After arriving in the timeline, Alan told John that the JSA will stay there to help them fight against the forces of Perpetua after she regained part of her former powers.[20]

Doomsday Clock

On July 16th, 1940,[8] Alan was riding a train one evening, but a bridge it was passing through collapsed. He was supposed to grasp at a Lantern that would save his life and transform him into the first Green Lantern of Earth, however Doctor Manhattan moved the lantern six inches out of Alan's reach so that Scott dies in the train accident and leaves no family behind, as the green lantern is passed through different locations thereafter.[21][22][23]

His death causes Justice Society of America to never exist in the first place as he was a major cause behind it. Their past existence was first leaked to Lois Lane secretly by Lex Luthor. She however had never heard of them, a result of Dr Manhattan's meddling with the timeline.[24] Manhattan however undid his alterations and moved the Green Lantern back into Scott's reach after being inspired by Superman's words. This caused Scott to survive and the JSA to be restored back to reality.[8]

The JSA including Alan came to the aid of Superman in Washington, D.C. and helped him stop the ongoing battle between the metahumans. Scott later promised that JSA will investigate the role of the Department of Metahuman Affairs in the "Supermen theory", which alleged that the American government had been creating metahumans to act as its tools.[8]

Manhattan's attempt at fixing the timeline and reality failed however, as they merely re-adjusted into a new version.[25][26] Wonder Woman became the world's first superhero and her heroics and ability to see the greatness in every individual inspired Alan to become a superhero himself.[27]

Infinite Frontier

Back in the present

Dark Crisis Vol 1 3 Textless Justice Society Variant

Scott with the new Justice Society

Alan returned to the present timeline along with other Justice Society members when Wally West, having gained the powers of Dr. Manhattan and acquiring the Mobius Chair, attempted to fix time by merging the various timelines, but he was now significantly older. He guarded the Valhalla Cemetery alongside other surviving JSA members, after the Batman Who Laughs and the Dark Knights conquered the world.[25][26][28]

When Alan was called to be the sentinel overlooking the Totality of their world, he decided to have a frank conversation with his twin children before he left. Having remained closeted for much of his life, inspired by his own son, openness, Alan came out as gay to his children. Todd and Jennie-Lynn accepted their father's truth, supporting him unconditionally.[2]

Dawn of DC

The New Golden Age

Helena Wayne, the daughter of Batman and Catwoman from a possible future, travelled back in time to foil the villain Per Degaton. She defeated him but inadvertently erased her own timeline, leaving herself stranded in the present. She suggested that the Justice Society recruit her teammates from the future, most of whom were active villains in the present.[29]

One of the people Helena wanted to recruit was Red Lantern's daughter Ruby Sokov, who was wanted for multiple murders in Russia. Alan insisted that Ruby should not be recruited and went to Moscow to try and convince her to face justice for the people she had killed. Ruby had been searching for her father and was convinced he was being held prisoner in the Red Labs. She fought her way into the Labs, killing multiple guards, but Alan stopped her and told her that her father was dead. He took her to a bar and asked her to turn herself in for the men she had killed searching for her father but she refused, saying that the Russian government would just hand her over to the Red Labs. Alan assured Ruby that he Vladimir was dead and he saw him die. He told her that her father wouldn't want her to have become a killer and she yelled at him that he had been her father's enemy and not to act like Vladimir was his friend. After a pause Alan agreed that they had been enemies, but Ruby sensed he was lying.

Alan admitted that he couldn't let the Russian government take Ruby and told her that Helena Wayne believed she had it in her to be a hero. Against his better judgement, he took her back to America with him to meet Helena.[30]


Abilities

Weaknesses


Weapons


  • Alan took his first love's last name, Johnny Ladd, and added it to his own in memory of him.[5]
  • Due to the fact that Alan was 24 years old in 1936 it can be speculated that he was born around 1912.[5]

Related

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #5
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Infinite Frontier #0
  3. ↑ Titans: Beast World Tour: Star City #1
  4. ↑ Dial H for Hero #4
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 DC Pride: Through the Years #1
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #1
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #2
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Doomsday Clock #12
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 DC Pride #1
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Green Lantern 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1
  11. ↑ Hawkman (Volume 5) #27
  12. ↑ Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #3
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #4
  14. ↑ The New Golden Age #1
  15. ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #30
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Justice League (Volume 4) #31
  17. ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #32
  18. ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #33
  19. ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #34
  20. ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #35
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Doomsday Clock #7
  22. ↑ Doomsday Clock #9
  23. ↑ Doomsday Clock #10
  24. ↑ Doomsday Clock #8
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Flash Forward (Collected): Flash Forward – Epilogue
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Justice League (Volume 4) #39
  27. ↑ Wonder Woman #750
  28. ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal #2
  29. ↑ Justice Society of America (Volume 4) #1–Justice Society of America (Volume 4) #7
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 Justice Society of America (Volume 4) #8
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Lazarus Planet: Omega #1
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Infinite Frontier #1


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