Are you satisfied with Alan Scott's place in the GL/DC "world?"

[west3man]

Alan Scott's emerald energy is somewhat different from that of other Green Lanterns. His origin is different. His weakness is different. Even the source (as in, not just the ring) of his power is different.

He's not a member of the Green Lantern Corps (even from the past) and, that I know of, never has had a place amongst them.

DC's made attempts here and there to define him and his place in their world, including, but not limited to the above (think: "Starheart"). How do you feel about these attempts? What do you think SHOULD be done with him? Should he be more connected to the "regular" (but not "original," I know) GL world... or the rest of the DCU?

--------------------------------------------------

Personally, I like the attempts. Heck, I like any story that features him... well, MOST stories. I'd like to see some consistency, though. I'd also like to see him, like Jay Garrick, have more of a connection with whatever GL continuity is around the corner. I liked that Kyle would occasionally interact with him... go to him for advice and whatnot. I'd like to see him defined more, though. I don't feel like DC knows what to do with him outside of JSA. Heck, even in JSA I get that impression sometimes.

What can he do? What CAN'T he do? He can teleport them from one dimension to another, apparently. He has internalized his emerald flame. Why is WOOD his version of the impurity?

I'd like for something cool and concrete to be introduced, explored, and committed to.

What about you?

[Bouncing Boy]

I remember a GL story in the early 1990's where they said that Alan Scott's Lantern was actually from a member of the GL Corps who went bad. He was like the best of the GLs so the Guardians took out the yellow impurity from his lantern but the power corrupted him, so they replaced it with an impurity of wood and he was overthrown by the people of the world he had taken over. His lantern ended up on earth somehow and was sculpted into the lantern that Alan ended up with. This was obviously overwritten by the whole Starheart thing but I liked it better.

[west3man]

I remember a GL story in the early 1990's where they said that Alan Scott's Lantern was actually from a member of the GL Corps who went bad. He was like the best of the GLs so the Guardians took out the yellow impurity from his lantern but the power corrupted him, so they replaced it with an impurity of wood and he was overthrown by the people of the world he had taken over. His lantern ended up on earth somehow and was sculpted into the lantern that Alan ended up with. This was obviously overwritten by the whole Starheart thing but I liked it better.
wow, BB. I've NEVER heard that. I don't know which I like better. I like elements of both.

Interesting that the LACK of an impurity corrupted one GL and the PRESENCE of it corrupted another.

I'd love to find that story. It sounds really interesting. If you remember anything more about it, please feel free to share.

[Josh]

http://www.glcorps.org/alan.html

That addresses a handful of your concerns.

I too would really like to see him and Jay Garrick interact more. I'd really like their friendship explored. Also, if you ask me, Kyle didn't go to Alan nearly as much as he probably should have. I hope that Alan has a respectable role in the new Green Lantern series.

[Alan2099]

I've heard that Alan actually lives in Gotham. I don't know if it's true or not but if so, It would be nice to see him cleaning up the city and bit more and forcing batman to clean up his act.

[Josh]

That's a really good point that I hadn't thought about. As far as I know, Alan does still live in Gotham, and I think that he should be on hand taking care of the Bat-God's unbearable jackass attitude. He teamed up with Bats back in the summer of 2003 in a great three-issue arc in Detective Comics called "Made of Wood." In the story, Batman actually acted and spoke like BatMAN and not the BatGOD which comes across in so many other Bat-appearances in the past ten or fifteen years.

Also, Alan should've been able to help a lot more during the Gotham earthquake.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Alan Scott's emerald energy is somewhat different from that of other Green Lanterns. His origin is different. His weakness is different. Even the source (as in, not just the ring) of his power is different.

He's not a member of the Green Lantern Corps (even from the past) and, that I know of, never has had a place amongst them.

DC's made attempts here and there to define him and his place in their world, including, but not limited to the above (think: "Starheart"). How do you feel about these attempts? What do you think SHOULD be done with him? Should he be more connected to the "regular" (but not "original," I know) GL world... or the rest of the DCU?

--------------------------------------------------

Personally, I like the attempts. Heck, I like any story that features him... well, MOST stories. I'd like to see some consistency, though. I'd also like to see him, like Jay Garrick, have more of a connection with whatever GL continuity is around the corner. I liked that Kyle would occasionally interact with him... go to him for advice and whatnot. I'd like to see him defined more, though. I don't feel like DC knows what to do with him outside of JSA. Heck, even in JSA I get that impression sometimes.

What can he do? What CAN'T he do? He can teleport them from one dimension to another, apparently. He has internalized his emerald flame. Why is WOOD his version of the impurity?

I'd like for something cool and concrete to be introduced, explored, and committed to.

What about you?

I dunno, I've always thought Alan's place within the DCU has been pretty well defined for several years now, despite all that silly "Sentinel" stuff Editorial tried to saddle him with when Kyle was been force-fed to readers as the *only* GL.

Essentially, Alan Scott is the elder statesman of the DCU's superheroes. In a lot of ways, he's filled the role of the Golden Age Superman as the one hero that all the others look up to.

And, considering Geoff Johns will be writing JSA and GL for the foreseeable future, I think he should be pretty consistent in those two titles.

There's plenty of Alan info in the GL FAQ at the top of the page....

[Forsaken_One]

That's a really good point that I hadn't thought about. As far as I know, Alan does still live in Gotham, and I think that he should be on hand taking care of the Bat-God's unbearable jackass attitude. He teamed up with Bats back in the summer of 2003 in a great three-issue arc in Detective Comics called "Made of Wood." In the story, Batman actually acted and spoke like BatMAN and not the BatGOD which comes across in so many other Bat-appearances in the past ten or fifteen years.

Also, Alan should've been able to help a lot more during the Gotham earthquake.
Okay, I can see him clearing up some trouble in Gotham, but... righting "the bat-god"? Are you confusing JLA with the Batman books? Batman is nothing close to God-like in the Bat-books, if anything he's made mistake after mistake.

And confronting him about his attitude? Come on, that's a bit of a streach. How the hell would you even start that conversation? Batman isn't exactly known for caring about people's opinions of him, either in the world at large or in the superhero community. And if there wasn't an intervention for Guy Gardener I can't see there being one for Batman.

Even assuming he confronted Batman about the state Gotham is in, how would he do that? Accuse Batman of being negligent all Batman would have to ask is where he was during that giant breakout from Arkham, or that really big earthquake that ruined most of the city (as you stated), or during the latest city wide gang war that was going on. Kinda takes the wind out of Alan's sails when he can't really claim to in any way protect the city he lives in.

[west3man]

http://www.glcorps.org/alan.html

That addresses a handful of your concerns.

I too would really like to see him and Jay Garrick interact more. I'd really like their friendship explored. Also, if you ask me, Kyle didn't go to Alan nearly as much as he probably should have. I hope that Alan has a respectable role in the new Green Lantern series.
Wow.

Thanks for the link. That had some stuff I knew and a good deal I didn't... err.. know.

I kinda like the mesh of mystical and non-mystical energies.

Some of it didn't seem to add up, to me. For instance, I could maybe get over how a green lantern got his arse kicked by some wood-bearing regular-folk... maybe. But once they put a serious beating on him, why would be in a position to burn up in re-entry. If he were that wounded I couldn't see him heading into SPACE of all places.

But anyway, the parts I read were pretty interesting. Thanks, again.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Wow.

Thanks for the link. That had some stuff I knew and a good deal I didn't... err.. know.

I kinda like the mesh of mystical and non-mystical energies.

Some of it didn't seem to add up, to me. For instance, I could maybe get over how a green lantern got his arse kicked by some wood-bearing regular-folk... maybe. But once they put a serious beating on him, why would be in a position to burn up in re-entry. If he were that wounded I couldn't see him heading into SPACE of all places.

But anyway, the parts I read were pretty interesting. Thanks, again.

Ron Marz explained this when he linked the Starheart and Yulan Gur origins together. When Yulan Gur was fleeing the wood-thumping mob, he collided with the Starheart meteorite and fell back down to China as the mysterious green comet from Alan's origin story in 1940.

Nifty bit of retconning from Marz there....I may not have liked a lot of his work, but his linking up of Alan Moore's Empire of Tears to Denny O'Neil's Starheart to Gerard Jones' Yulan Gur was pretty seamless.

[Sk8maven]

No, Alan doesn't live in Gotham any more. This was made quite explicit in the "Made of Wood" arc in Detective Comics (issues #784-786). He'd been away so long, he'd forgotten what crimefighting in Gotham was like - and he said so.

Marz tying Yalan Gur to the Starheart-fireball stretched coincidence to the breaking point - but, well, "this is comics". We'll see if Gur is even remembered over the long haul, or is as forgotten eventually as Cooley the Leprechaun. :)

Maven

[stealthwise]

I loved the GL Corps Yulan Gar stuff and am a bit sad to see that they've retconned it further with the "Starheart" or whatever, but Alan Scott's character is a true classic and I'm glad to see that they're keeping him around.

[Indy24LA]

I've never really been a big Green Lantern fan until I started reading JSA. Now Alan is my favorite Green Lantern. I like having him linked to the corp yet still never being apart of it. I like the idea of him being the hero which all 65 of earth's Green Lanterns look up to and try and emulate.

[Asmith]

We'll see if Gur is even remembered over the long haul, or is as forgotten eventually as Cooley the Leprechaun. :)


No! Cooley the Leprechaun will never be forgotten! His origin inspiring antics will amuse generations to come!

[AlanScott606]

As everyone can see, Alan Scott is one of my favorite DC characters of all time (he and Wally West tie for the top spot, followed closely by Blue Beetle).

I would love to see a regular series for him but I would settle for a Mini-Series or a Maxi-Series written by Johns exploring more of his past outside of the JSA.

Showcase his family and more of his solo adventures and have the series span up until today. Try to keep the JSA and other Green Lanterns out of the book as much as possible.

I know it won't happen but I can wish can't I?

[The Shadow]

I would love to see a regular series for him but I would settle for a Mini-Series or a Maxi-Series written by Johns exploring more of his past outside of the JSA.

Showcase his family and more of his solo adventures and have the series span up until today. Try to keep the JSA and other Green Lanterns out of the book as much as possible.
I'd love a maxi series spanning the decades! Watching the world change around him as far as "normal people" are concerned to seeing the second and third generation heroes arrive would be great.

I'm a fan of the golden age stuff... Marvel's Invaders, JSA The Liberty Files... stuff like that... I'd like to see a young Alan (maybe a Year 1 sort of thing) trying to get a handle on his life and powers. Maybe even meeting a young Thomas Wayne!

[Forsaken_One]

I agree with you up until the Thomas Wayne stuff. I'm really tired of the incest in comic books, not so much in the literal sense but in that apparently every bloody hero or significant indivdiual from the same era has to meet one another. Arg! There are currently six billion people on Earth, isn't it just possible that two heros from the 1930s or whatever might not have met in their youth?! Not everything and everyone has to be interconnected.

[The Shadow]

I agree with you up until the Thomas Wayne stuff. I'm really tired of the incest in comic books, not so much in the literal sense but in that apparently every bloody hero or significant indivdiual from the same era has to meet one another. Arg! There are currently six billion people on Earth, isn't it just possible that two heros from the 1930s or whatever might not have met in their youth?! Not everything and everyone has to be interconnected.
LOL

Good point... that was more of a joke than anything. To show the cohesiveness of the DCU and that 2 important people in Gotham would have likely crossed paths at some point.

[Forsaken_One]

LOL

Good point... that was more of a joke than anything. To show the cohesiveness of the DCU and that 2 important people in Gotham would have likely crossed paths at some point.
I'm really not sure they would have, they kinda traveled in completely different crowds. One is an aristocratic doctor, I think he'd travel in the high class social scene and in the medical arena. The other is a superheroic radio operator, right? His social circle would be those who also report on and broadcast news and entertainment and whatever super hero culture was around.

I mean... I live near San Francisco and have relatives who live in the city. And yet I have never met mayor Gavin Newsom. Hell, I didn't really know half the people in my 2000 person high school because I was in a seperate social circle than many. Certainly I didn't know anyone, from classes nor from outside of classes, who was on the football team.

[BooCoo]

I don't think they know what to do with Alan. Currently they dropped him out of Checkmate, maimed him by removing an eye and killed his daughter. He's kind of extremely powerful, but it's never really shown (he gets taken out all the time). False 'weaknesses' are built into him to make him seem vulnerable. I actually liked the Sentinel storyline where he wanted to be the new Fate. That way he could still be part of the GL mythos, yet still do his own thing. Anyone interested, check out GLQ #7 (Green Lantern Quarterly series) for some lowdown on Alan's personality. His costume still dosen't work. Every other GL gets updated styling but Alan, even his own kids. Jade changed her costume like nail polish, and even Obi has tinkered with his threads. If they won't make him relevant, he'll only be interesting to a small group of fans, and that won't be enough to support a book or series (which I'd like to see him in). There are too many inconsistencies to even get into, but one thing was that Alan was always obsessed with being young. So they made him old and suddenly ok with that (no explanation given). Like I said, too many writers, too much nonsense. He can change his appearance, yet no one has explored this part of his powers anymore. So most people, given the opportunity to look younger choose to look older? It makes no sense, but then neither does Alan's history at this point. :confused:

[Joker2503]

I love the character and think he is vastly under-used.

Like someone else said, he should be treated kind of like the Golden Age Superman. The older veteran good guy that everyone looks up to. If you're a hero and you're just starting out or having a hard time, go talk to Alan Scott.

I'd like to see him as kind of an unofficial policeman for heroes. He would still focus mainly on villains, but if a hero is getting out of line or going to far, Alan would have a nice sitdown chat with them. Think of the heroes in Kingdom Come.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

I'd like to see him as kind of an unofficial policeman for heroes. He would still focus mainly on villains, but if a hero is getting out of line or going to far, Alan would have a nice sitdown chat with them. Think of the heroes in Kingdom Come.

You'll be happy to hear that Alan will be appearing in this week's Green Lantern, doing essentially the same thing you just described with Hal Jordan, whom he's taking responsibility for after all that's happened.

I get the impression that, after his little finger-wagging in Rebirth to the super-hero comunity, Alan has taken it upon himself to keep an eye on Hal. If Hal goes rogue again, Alan is the guy who puts him down.

[MadroxTMMan]

I have to admit that it seems like Alan (and Jay Garrick) for that matter are under-utilized, maybe because the editors think the readers can't relate to the older characters, which is crap. The lend a sense of legacy and significance to the newer guys, which they did masterfully when Impulse was paired up with Max Mercury, but they haven't really accomplished since...