How do you feel about the new Alan Scott being gay?

[Andrew NDB Shot Caller Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew NDB]

I'm a bit surprised this hasn't really been addressed or discussed on this board in any level of depth.

OK, I get that the people that would have actually grown up with Alan Scott as "their" Green Lantern are either... well, dead or long out of comics, but we're still left with several sects. Some have been familiar with Alan Scott, either through various revivals throughout the 80s or 90s with the JSA or whatnot. Or the GL diehards like myself, at the very least with Alan Scott as basically Kyle Rayner's first teacher. We know him as a dedicated father of two (if estranged, at times) kids and a very dedicated husband. Either way it goes, Alan Scott has been portrayed for the better part of 80 years as a very straight character.

How do you feel about the New 52 not only literally leaving Alan Scott in a ditch (where he was left in the closing issues of JSA pre-Flashpoint) but reborn as a gay man on the separate Earth-2?

[Deadpool Fight like a man: with your words, not your fists. Find all posts View Profile Close Deadpool]

It's DC being politically correct, but it's completely unnecessary. They made him gay for no reason other than attention and being seen to do the right thing. If I had to make anyone gay it probably would have been one of the Robins.

[Big Daddy Dave Skywalker Moisture Farmer Find all posts View Profile Close Big Daddy Dave Skywalker]

It's not really Alan Scott so it doesn't bother me at all. The entire E2 book has become so far removed from anything JSA related that nothing they o there affects my inner fanboy anymore.

My Alan Scott is right in my longboxes where I left him, taking his wife Molly to Pound Town two nights a week.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

The whole thing always felt like a publicity stunt but I like reading Earth 2 anyway.

That said, it doesn't bother me, even though I read the book, because it's not that Alan Scott. He's not even truly a lantern. His powers aren't from the Starheart or the GLC. They're more like from where Swampy's power comes from. He reminds me of Stan Lee's GL.

Realistically, they could still add Scott to the New 52 because this one is just the
alternate version.

As a side note, they've also downplayed this aspect. They mention his lover being killed sometimes, but he hasn't dated or kissed a guy since the first issue.

[Mister Ed Horse of a Different Color Find all posts View Profile Close Mister Ed]

I went with the last choice, but then realized that, really, that's exactly what they did. They just reused the name.

I'm more bothered by them basically erasing the old Alan Scott than I am by them making a new, gay GL who happens to share his name.

[IonFan Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close IonFan]

i went with the "Worst idea ever", it was just a stunt to get the DC name on tv, if they really wanted to make a statement they a) should of made a new character that was gay or b) made one of the big 3 gay (S-man, B-man, or WW) THAT would of been a statement but instead they make AS a GL (something i for one think hurt the GL name) gay, h@ll from my understanding he's only been gay for one issue and then they never really touched on it again ( f@cking @$$bags)

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Yeah, I would think it's almost an insult to the gay community. It's like DC was saying, "you want to see yourself in a superhero, fine we'll give you Green Lantern ... the old, old GL ... oh, and he's going to be an alternate world version ... oh, and his power won't really be GL powers ... BUT he's gay!"

[Sylent_Asassin Black Lantern Find all posts View Profile Close Sylent_Asassin]

This was done for the big publicity splash and the sales that comes with the shock value. Aside from that, I really couldn't care less. It would have meant more if they waited and made Jessica Cruz gay, rather than tinkering with an established character, elseworld version or not.

[Tarmode Green Lantern Initiate Find all posts View Profile Close Tarmode]

It's an insult to old comics fans, Alan Scott himself, and even to DC.They better be careful, some of these stupid decisions are going to come back and bite them in the ass.They should be ashamed of themselves for taking liberties with a Golden Age character like that.

[Star-Lantern Weaponer of Qward Find all posts View Profile Close Star-Lantern]

I don't think DC would have done that to a character they really care about. So, I think it shows their disposition about Alan Scott. I'm not really invested in Alan Scott, myself, so I don't care much, but i'm generally against the process of turning characters who have been straight for decades and decades gay.

I certainly understand the need for comics to be more inclusive to those who aren't straight White males, but I don't think that's the optimal way to go about it.

I was talking to a gay friend about superheroes by chance. He wanted to know some stuff about Batman and I told him I was more of a Green Lantern guy. He said he didn't know much about GL except he had been turned gay recently. But it was ''only the alternate universe one no one cares about.'' Those were his words, so he, at least, wasn't impressed by the gesture.

[Hypo Lil' Leaguer Find all posts View Profile Close Hypo]

Diversity in comics is important but I can't say I'm happy with the decisions to make Alan gay or to make Wally into an African American. To me those decisions were the lazy way out, instead of devoting the time and effort to build up new characters DC decided to piggyback on existing properties and embraced the entire shock value nature of the thing and that just rubs me the wrong way.

Now to be fair part of the reason DC went this route is because of today's readership. A lot of people just aren't interested in new titles that aren't directly or indirectly related to the established properties they've been reading for years, it's part of the reason we have so many books under the Batman umbrella despite everyone and their mother constantly bemoaning the number of titles in that category, so I can see why DC would be hesitant to create a new character and would go in this direction.

But on the other hand I look over at Marvel and see what they did with Miles Morales and how they put their biggest writer on that book with A-list artistic talent and 3 years later they've stuck with that plan. Now granted Miles isn't the perfect example either due to him being a legacy character of sorts but I prefer that to what DC did with Alan and Wally.

Now that being said I do hope that DC sticks with these changes for the long run, don't make them be what in the worst case they would be, mere publicity grabs, but actually do new and unique things with them. I don't want to see these characters portrayed exactly the same as they were before, because while your sexuality or race certainly don't define who you are, they do influence who you are. Besides if in the end these characters are basically the same DC's not really introducing diversity, they're simply paying lip service to the entire idea.

[Tarmode Green Lantern Initiate Find all posts View Profile Close Tarmode]

All I know is, they better straighten this crap out. And fast.

[Evergreen City Corps Den Mother Find all posts View Profile Close Evergreen City]

Yeah, I would think it's almost an insult to the gay community. It's like DC was saying, "you want to see yourself in a superhero, fine we'll give you Green Lantern ... the old, old GL ... oh, and he's going to be an alternate world version ... oh, and his power won't really be GL powers ... BUT he's gay!"

Concur. Tokenism. Plain and simple. Ignore it and move on.

[Evergreen City Corps Den Mother Find all posts View Profile Close Evergreen City]

It's not really Alan Scott so it doesn't bother me at all. The entire E2 book has become so far removed from anything JSA related that nothing they o there affects my inner fanboy anymore.

My Alan Scott is right in my longboxes where I left him, taking his wife Molly to Pound Town two nights a week.

Yup. Mine too.

[Tarmode Green Lantern Initiate Find all posts View Profile Close Tarmode]

Next thing you know, they will be trying to make Hal Jordan gay, and we'll see some beatdowns if that happens?