Warning: Spoilers for Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age #4!DC Comics explores a new iteration of theGreen Lantern. The beauty of the ever-growing lore behind the Green Lantern Corps is that it can constantly be revisited and expanded upon. The same can be said about alternative takes of classic Green Lantern characters in the DC Universe.
For instance,the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, gets a new reinventionin a preview forBatman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age#4 by Andy Diggle, Leandro Fernández, and Matt Hollingsworth. The series isa sequel to the classic Elseworld tale,Batman: Gotham by Gaslightby Brian Augustyn, Mike Mignola, P. Craig Russell, David Hornung, and John Workman. This new expansion introduces new,dark versions of characters like Wonder Womanspecifically for this universe - and now Green Lantern joins the fray.
The Elseworlds tradition of new iterations of familiar characters continues by implementing Alan Scott - which in itself is a new trend for DC Comics, asthis isn’t the only character reinvention that Alan Scott has received in the last year.
Alan Scott’s Green Lantern Debuts in theGotham by GaslightUniverse
And Gains His Ring
In Alan Scott’s original origin story in official DC Comics continuity, the mysterious Green flame saves the railroad engineer’s life following a fatal train crash, gifting him powers in the process. Similarly, in the world ofGotham by Gaslight, Alan Scott miraculously survives a train crash, to his own surprise. He narrowly survives, but one Mrs. Silverton does not. Scott frantically checks on his friend as she lies dying, but the elder has one dying wish before she passes away from her injuries:share the Ring of Jong Lee with a worthy bearer.
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In the previous issue, before the train wreck, Mrs. Silverton first meets Alan Scott (making his pre-Lantern debut) on a train. She shows off the Ring of Jong Lee to Alan,presenting it as a ring that many men died forbefore it was claimed by her grandfather, Guangzhou, during the opium wars. The ring fell into her hands eventually, and when it did, 30 years ago, it would glow and speak to her. Upon their meeting, she can tell that the ring"likes"Alan.
What Will Alan Scott Do with His Green Lantern Ring?
The Green Lantern of an Elseworlds Universe
Alan promises she’ll be okay if they can get tohis hot air balloon, named the Green Lantern, but alas, she knows she doesn’t have long left. She recognizes Alan’s kind heart and decides thatScott would be the perfect man to give her ring to. Alan initially refuses to take the woman’s heirlooms. He confesses that he’s nothing more than a conman who should be the one who’s dying instead of her. She clarifies that he’s alive because"it saved you"before forcing it onto his finger.“Now, earn … what you have been given,“are Mrs. Silverton’s dying words.
Almost immediately, Alan Scott is chased by ninjas working for Talia al Ghul in the League of Shadows, the same forces who pursued Catwoman and Batman in the first issue of this miniseries. Using his newfound ring, Scott completely incinerates his would-be attackers,and he is naturally horrified by what he has become. Time will tell how Scott continues to develop and learn about the powers of this ring, as well as the lore behind it and what he can do with it.
Gotham by GaslightOffers Another Reinvention of Alan Scott
Not the Only One from This Year
This isn’t the first time that the DC Universe has tweaked the character of Alan Scott in 2024.Previously, another miniseries did just that:Alan Scott: The Green Lanternby Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey, which is completely canon to the main DCU. The miniseries exists to contextualize the fairly recent revelation thatAlan Scott is gay, updating his classic Golden Age origin story to account for this character change. The series recontextualizes Alan Scott as a superhero who was closeted at the height of his superhero career, and in the process, was ostracized and evenblackmailed to join the JSA.
All six issues ofAlan Scott: The Green Lanternare out now, and the collected edition is available September 24th, 2024 from DC Comics.
At the same time, the revelation presented the opportunity for DC to tell a story about the fortitude, endurance, and ultimately, the willpower of the human, queer spirit.Such a story like this would not be possible without the desire to reinvent a character who debuted 80+ years ago.Doing so allows the character to grow with the times, and it reshapes that character in new, fresh ways. There is a good chance that the same goal could be achieved through this newGaslightiteration of Alan Scott.
DC’s Green Lantern Legacy Changes Forever with Godlike Evolution of Alan Scott’s Powers
This latest update for the original Green Lantern manages to connect Alan Scott’s power level to his queer identity in a way that hints at much more.
In a couple of short issues, that goal already seems to be achieved in many ways. The typically righteous, noble Alan Scott is reinvented as more of a conman and perhaps a scoundrel on some level. More significantly, this new issue paints him as someone outright horrified by what the Green Lantern ring can be capable of. Especially during the cheery world of the Golden Age, Alan Scott’s powers were meant to be celebrated. Here, the powers of theGreen Lanternare recontextualized as a curse with deadly repercussions rather than a blessing.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight - The Kryptonian Age#4is available now from DC Comics.
Green Lantern
Green Lantern is the name given to multiple enforcers of intergalactic justice in the DC Universe. Green Lanterns can harness the cosmic energy of willpower, and create unique spectral objects to face off against their enemies. Though some Green Lanterns have assisted with the Justice League, they primarily belong to the Green Lantern Corps.
