Green Lantern gay? Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern introduced back in 1940, is an openly gay man, joining a short list of comic book characters who are coming out the ink closet.
Up until recently, a middle aged version of Alan Scott was one of the stars of Justice Society of America, a comic series featuring the 1940s versions of DC’s heroes set in the present day. The new versions of these characters in Earth Two have all been aged down considerably, to the point that Scott’s gay superhero son Obsidian had to be sacrificed.
Writer James Robinson says he was inspired to write as a gay character to make up for that loss.
“The logical leap that I made was, oh, why don’t we make Alan Scott gay?,” he says. “To DC’s credit, there wasn’t any hesitation. [Co-publisher] Dan DiDio was like ‘Oh, that’s a great idea, let’s do it!’”
Robinson’s version of Green Lantern differs from his counterpart in the regular DC Universe in ways other than his sexual orientation. “He has a ring which he uses to help manifest his powers, but he doesn’t have a lantern,” he says, noting that the mainstream Green Lanterns are members of a corp of space police who draw their energy directly from their own willpower. “He is the receptacle, the conduit for the energy of the Earth, which is this green energy.”
Unlike previous versions of Scott dating back to the Forties, wood will not be a weakness for the new Green Lantern. “He is the earthly powerhouse, and when you see him in terms of his power level, he’s up there close to Superman.”
And we are speechless cuz this is awesome! Not everyone thinks so, however.Anti-gay group One Million Moms freaked out.
“Why do adult gay men need comic superheroes as role models?” said the American Family Association-affiliated project in their statement. “They want to indoctrinate impressionable young minds by placing these gay characters on pedestals in a positive light. These companies are heavily influencing our youth by using children’s superheroes to desensitise and brainwash them into thinking that a gay lifestyle choice is normal and desirable.”
Previous efforts by the group to denounce gay comic book characters have resulted in those comics selling out.
Marvel Universe has two gay characters who are set to be married this month in Astonishing X-Men, NorthStar and his boyfriend Kyle.
Northstar was revealed as gay in 1992. Green Lanern gay: Are you buying it?
RollingStone