• Send us Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • Subscribe to our RSS Feed
  • Search Site

Polari Magazine

  • Home
  • Up Front
    • Editorial
    • Clementine: The Living Fashion Doll
    • Polari Safari
    • WTF? Friday
    • Bulletin Board
    • Polari Facts
  • Features
    • Interviews
    • Features
    • Gallery
    • Opinion
    • Heroes & Villains
  • Community
    • Oral Histories
    • Coming Out Stories
    • Relationships
    • IDAHO
    • LGBT History Month
    • Blogs
  • Reviews
    • Books
    • Film and Television
    • Music
    • Stage
    • Visual Arts
    • Classics: Books
    • Classics: Film and Television
    • Classics: Music
  • About
    • About Polari Magazine
    • Contributors
    • Contact

You are here: Polari Magazine / Bulletin Board / It’s The Green Lantern!

It’s The Green Lantern!

02 Jun 2012 / Comments Off / in Bulletin Board/by Christopher Bryant

The rumours turned out to be true. The long-standing DC Comics character who is set to come out as gay is the Green Lantern. Alan Scott, the original Green Lantern, is an important player of the DC superhero stable in the new series Earth Two.

The Green Lantern debuted in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940). A railway engineer, Alan Scott, discovers a magic lantern that turns into a ring, and with the superpowers it bestows he becomes a crime fighter. It was later established that Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern, lived in the parallel Earth, Earth-Two. This parallel universe was first introduced in The Flash #123 back in 1961. The Earth-One Green Lantern, Hal Jordan, was introduced in the Silver Age of comics, in 1959, and in Green Lantern #40 (1965), Alan Scott and Hal Jordan meet. In other words, no, we shall not get to see Ryan Reynolds tapping into his metrosexual side if the film Green Lantern 2 ever makes it beyond the development stage. (The first film had a buget of $200 million and made $222,001,172, so it’s not that likely.)

The signs are that DC Comics will be treating Scott’s sexuality as a fact rather than using it to make a point. The Earth Two artist Nicola Scott, has said, “Alan strikes me as an incredibly open, honest and warm man, a natural leader and absolutely the right choice to be Guardian of the Earth. His sexuality is incidental.” In an interview with USA Today, the writer, James Robinson, confirmed, “Alan’s sexuality is just one facet of him, along with his innate goodness, valour, charisma and skill at leadership.” He added that “presenting that kind of a heroic role model hopefully will be a good thing and help to show gays in a positive light for people who might be a little more small-minded”.

In an interview with The Advocate, Robinson said that he wanted Earth Two “to be as diverse as possible, and so I thought, ‘Why don’t we make Alan Scott gay? Why don’t we make the leader of the Justice Society a gay man?’ I suggested this to DC’s co-publisher Dan Didio, and to his credit there was never a moment of hesitation. He said, ‘That sounds like a great idea.’ There wasn’t a lot of soul-searching about it. It really was a simple and logical decision.” He also added that there will be another gay character, beyond Scott’s love-interest, that is. “There is another character down the line, but that character won’t be appearing for some time, so it’s probably a bit too early to talk about that, but this book will definitely have a diverse cast. Alan Scott won’t be the only gay character in Earth Two, I promise you that.”

There will be much said about role models, and about how the portrayal of homosexuality in comic books affects children, in the wake of this revelation. And you can guarantee that most of it will be hot air. What matters is that it looks to be a step forward in the representation of homosexuality, not as an ‘issue’ or the basis for a scandalous storyline, but as a fact of life. Which it is.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
Tags: alan scott, dc comics, dc comics gay character, earth two, green lantern, james robinson, marvel comics, nicola scott, ryan reynolds

Related Posts

Did you like this entry?
Here are a few more posts that might be interesting for you.
Related Posts
The Date That Miaowed
The Marriage of Northstar and Kyle
Queer X: The Queer History of the X-Men
Which DC Superhero is Going to Come Out?

Search Polari

Latest Posts

  • Polari Magazine 2008-2014December 3, 2014 - 6:16 pm
  • Tearing Up Their Map: An Interview with LambDecember 2, 2014 - 2:45 pm
  • Future Islands • GigDecember 2, 2014 - 1:41 pm
  • Puppets with Attitude (at Christmas)December 1, 2014 - 6:30 pm
  • The Aesthetic of Voyeurism: Interview with Antonio Da SilvaDecember 1, 2014 - 1:25 pm
  • Broke With Expensive Taste • Azealia BanksNovember 28, 2014 - 3:59 pm
  • Royalty Strutting on an American College Stage: Miss and Mr. Gay ISU 2014November 27, 2014 - 2:59 pm
  • Bright Light Bright Light: Everything I Ever WantedNovember 26, 2014 - 11:15 am
  • Jaime Nanci And The Blueboys: ‘Toy’ TalkNovember 25, 2014 - 4:09 pm

About Polari Magazine

Polari Magazine is an LGBT arts and culture magazine that explores the subculture by looking at what is important to the people who are in it. It’s about the lives we lead, not the lifestyles we’re supposed to lead.

Its content is informed & insightful, and features a diverse range of writers from every section of the community. Its intent is to help LGBT readers learn about their own heritage and to sustain a link between the present and the past.

Polari is designed to nurture the idea of community, whether that be social and political, or artistic and creative. It is your magazine, whether you want to read it, or whether you want to get involved in it, if you're gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans, or queer.

Polari Magazine is all these: it's a gay online magazine; it's a gay and lesbian online magazine; it's an LGBT arts and culture magazine. Ultimately, it is a queer magazine.

Latest Posts

  • Polari Magazine 2008-2014December 3, 2014 - 6:16 pm
  • Tearing Up Their Map: An Interview with LambDecember 2, 2014 - 2:45 pm
  • Future Islands • GigDecember 2, 2014 - 1:41 pm
  • Puppets with Attitude (at Christmas)December 1, 2014 - 6:30 pm
  • The Aesthetic of Voyeurism: Interview with Antonio Da SilvaDecember 1, 2014 - 1:25 pm
  • Broke With Expensive Taste • Azealia BanksNovember 28, 2014 - 3:59 pm
  • Royalty Strutting on an American College Stage: Miss and Mr. Gay ISU 2014November 27, 2014 - 2:59 pm
  • Bright Light Bright Light: Everything I Ever WantedNovember 26, 2014 - 11:15 am
  • Jaime Nanci And The Blueboys: ‘Toy’ TalkNovember 25, 2014 - 4:09 pm

Twitter

Tweets by @PolariMagazine

Archive

  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • July 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • May 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
© Copyright - Polari Magazine - Wordpress Theme by Kriesi.at
  • scroll to top
  • Send us Mail
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Join our Facebook Group
  • Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Website Privacy & Cookies