DC’s Green Lantern Legacy Changes Forever with Godlike Evolution of Alan Scott’s Powers

The hinted power level of Alan Scott completely changes Green Lantern lore forever. As a series, Alan Scott: The Green Lantern exists largely to update the original Green Lantern’s origin story to include the more recent revelation that he was always a closeted gay man. The series attempts to bridge a gap between Alan Scott’s superhero identity and his queer identity.

Alan Scott ties his queer identity into the willpower he has over his ring, and it makes him stronger than ever (in more ways than one) in Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #6 by Tim Sheridan and Cian Tormey. Still only a few years into his superhero career, Scott still doesn’t understand how to create energy constructs with his ring. Yet, as soon as his lover-turned-enemy Red Lantern dies in front of him, he unleashes the full extent of his power.

A further monologue hints at Alan Scott being a far more powerful Lantern than anyone would’ve expected, completely resetting how fans understand the power rankings of DC’s many Earth-based Green Lanterns.

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Alan Scott Earns His Biggest Power Upgrade Ever

His Solo Series Was Always Leading to This

At the start of this series, J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI forces Alan Scott into joining the Justice Society of America by threatening to out the Green Lantern’s secret identity and him being gay to the world. It’s one of the many reasons why Alan Scott carried shame about who he was at the time, going as far as checking himself into Arkham Asylum for his sexuality. Following his burst of energy following his ex’s death, Alan Scott stopped caring about what anyone thought. It gave him a new perspective on willpower.

Vlad Sokov’s revival and subsequent escape leads to Hoover ordering Alan on another mission, which he refuses. Not worried about being outed this time, he equates the willpower of the Green Lantern to the potential willpower of queer folks if they weren’t forced into hiding their true potential. It’s no coincidence that he uses the word “willpower” when describing what it takes to live a secret life. He adds how he (and other queer folks) would be unleashed once those shackles were off, not unlike when he unleashed his willpower earlier on the battlefield.

Alan Scott Unleashes Immense Green Lantern Power

He’s Been Holding Back This Whole Time

At this point in time, this young version of Alan Scott has yet to tap into the full power of a Green Lantern’s might. He already feels compelled to hold back who he is as a queer man. Alan Scott literally doesn’t know the full extent of the power he harbors as a queer man or a Green Lantern. Vlad, the Red Lantern, has to tell him that it’s possible to create the construct of a truck to throw at their opponents. So, for Alan, being able to uncontrollably unleash this full blast of energy should be unheard of and impossible.

Except it isn’t impossible. Not when it happens because he completely lets go of his emotions and just allows his power to exist – allows himself, a queer man who at the start of this series was ashamed of who he was, to exist. Just as he was holding back from showing the world who he really was for years, he was holding back his true power. When he stops holding back, he proves himself to be inexplicably and unfathomably powerful.

Alan Scott Connects Willpower, Queerness, and Green Lantern’s Might

The (Will)Power of Queer Identity

It’s important to look at both of these moments from the issue in unison with each other. Alan Scott would not have come to the conclusion he does in this speech without having experienced that burst of energy that he couldn’t have thought himself capable of. In many ways, the same sentiment can be applied to anyone who lived the queer experience during the 20th century, at a time when it was not only difficult to be queer in America, but in certain spaces, dangerous.

Hiding queerness was a means of survival for many in the community during that time. Being forced to hide one’s potential makes it easy for one to overlook the potential they have in themselves. Having to hide in plain sight was holding Scott back until the final battle. Once he realized how powerful he could be as a Green Lantern, he the realized how powerful he could be as a queer man, compelling him to finally break ties with Hoover and to take back his agency — his power — in the process.

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Is Alan Scott the Most Powerful Green Lantern?

When He’s Not Holding Back – Quite Possibly, Yes

Alan Scott’s monologue speaks to how powerful queer people are when they aren’t forced to hide who they are, just as he showed how powerful he was as a Green Lantern when he stopped holding back. Realizing his potential as both a queer man and a Lantern was the final step in Scott fully realizing not only who he is as a hero, but who he could become. In the same breath, the moment gave readers a taste of just how powerful he could be if he stopped holding back.

Some may argue that this surge could be achieved by anyone with a Green Lantern ring, theoretically speaking. However, such an uncontrollable burst of energy has rarely (if ever) been achieved by another Green Lantern. If other Lanterns are capable of such a feat, few (if any) have been able to tap into it. Such a surge seems to tap an emotional core. Every ounce of anger, pain, sorrow, and fear in his body that he couldn’t control anymore — or refused to — had finally been pushed out in one of the greatest feats readers have seen by a Green Lantern.

It’s easy for modern audiences to overlook Alan Scott’s power. He debuted 84 years ago and, in that time, future Green Lanterns like Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Kyle Rayner all showcased feats greater than anything he pulled off in his era. In the modern scope of the DC Universe, it’s easy to forget all about Alan Scott. But that would be a mistake. This issue suggests that if Scott wasn’t so concerned about hiding for so long, he could’ve been the most powerful Green Lantern.

Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #6 is available now from DC Comics. The collected edition is available September 24th, 2024.

ALAN SCOTT: THE GREEN LANTERN #6 (2024)
	Writer: Tim Sheridan Artist: Cian Tormey Inker: Jordi Tarragona Colorist: Matt Herms Letterer: Lucas Gattoni Cover Artist: David Talaski

Alan Scott: The Green Lantern

The Green Lantern is the most powerful member of the JSA, beloved by all of America, but his personal life is a well-kept secret. Both his public and private life are threatened when he’s framed by a mysterious killer, and the victims are people from his past! This is a story about love, about fear, and most of all about courage to stand up to that fear. Alan Scott’s past is the key to his future when the Red Lantern appears, ready to strike down the mighty Green Lantern! Can Alan Scott stop his enemy’s monstrous plans?

Writer

Tim Sheridan

Penciler

Cian Tormey

Colorist

Matt Herms

Letterer

Lucas Gattoni

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.

Created By

Martin Nodell , Bill Finger , John Broome , Gil Kane , Dennis O’Neil , Neal Adams

First Appearance

All-American Comics

Alias

Alan Scott, Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner, John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz, Sojourner Mullein

Alliance

Justice League, Justice Society of America, Green Lantern Corps

Comic Books

Green Lantern #1

Summary

Several individuals have taken up the name, powers, and duties of the Green Lantern since the character was created for DC comics in the 1940s. But no matter who takes on the name, members of the Green Lanterns, an intergalactic force for protection and justice, seek to eliminate evil and keep Earth (and other planets) safe.

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