by SpaceManAndy
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| The not gay Green Lantern |
BALTIMORE-- DC Comics has been getting a lot of buzz lately. In next week's issue of Earth 2 (For those of you that don't follow DC comics, there are multiple earths and multiple universes) it will be revealed that the Green Lantern is gay. Now, I know some of you are probably drooling at the idea of a gay Ryan Reynolds, but let me stop you right there. It's not him, it's a different Green Lantern. See, Green Lantern is more of a title than a person, a lot like the Dread Pirate Roberts. The Green Lantern that is played by Ryan Reynolds -- the one that gets movies and action figures and is generally regarded as THE Green Lantern -- is NOT gay. Alan Scott is the gay Green Lantern. Ever heard of him? Neither have most people
Alan Scott made his debut in 1940, and that era was his heyday. He was the first Green Lantern, which bears very little resemblance to the current incarnations most of us are familiar with. While all the other Green Lanterns wear the Green Lantern Uniform and a power ring given to them by the Guardians of the Universe and form the Green Lantern Corps, Alan Scott has nothing to do with any of that. His ring is magic, and his costume is totally his own. If Alan Scott hadn't been de-aged (Yes, that stuff happens when DC gets bored) and been made a character in Earth 2, he would be as irrelevant today as Oswald the Rabbit.
DC promised that a prominent character would turn out to be LGBT in the Earth 2 universe, and they delivered... kinda. Yes, Green Lantern is a very prominent character, but Alan Scott is really just A Green Lantern. Also, the son that Alan Scott had, Obsidian, was openly gay. But when they de-aged Scott, they erased Obsidian's existence. This was an exercise in playing it safe for DC. They made a character gay, yes, but it's not like Alan Scott's sexuality could possibly effect any of their merchandising; he isn't important enough. Also, he really just replaces his son, so we still have the same number of gay characters in the DC Universe. I am unimpressed.
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Alan Scott in the upcoming issue of Earth 2
Credit: AP Photo/DC Entertainment |
Marvel, on the other hand should be commended. They have LGBT characters all over the place and are even having a same-sex marriage planned! In an upcoming issue of The Astonishing X-Men, Northstar will be marrying his boyfriend. Northstar is actually a pretty major X-Man and has been openly gay since 1992. Seriously, 1992! That's 20 years ago. Before he was even part of the X-Men he was part of a group called Alpha Fight, where he had a story line addressing HIV/AIDS. He found a baby girl with AIDS, he adopted her and she later died. The whole story served to express the dangers of staying silent about HIV/AIDS, and eventually lead to his coming out.
A minor character being openly gay and having a wedding is much more significant in the struggle for LGBT equality than a company announcing that a major character would turn out gay, but trying to play it too safe and embarrassing themselves. Yes, Marvel is also milking this Northstar wedding plotline in the press, but at least they have a historically gay character doing it, and I believe it will not be a letdown. But that's just my two cents.
SpaceManAndy is a blogger from Baltimore, Maryland. He is best known for his advice column, "I Don't Know, I Guess That Could Work. Maybe?" at City That Breeds. When not blogging, Andy is a gigantic nerd who enjoys reading, bad television, tabletop RPGs, and Legend Of Zelda. Andy also likes beer.
