'Alan Scott won't be the only gay character in Earth 2'
DC Comics rolled out the official announcement this morning that, yes, Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott is the 'major iconic' character that will be reintroduced as gay, but Earth 2 writer James Robinson has already made clear that he won't be alone.
'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,' he told the gay and lesbian magazine The Advocate, 'but this book will definitely have a diverse cast. Alan Scott won't be the only gay character in Earth 2, I promise you that.'
'I feel if you're going to have a team, you need to have realistic diversity,' Robinson said, explaining his rationale for including a gay member on the Justice Society. 'After all, I have gay friends and straight friends and we're all mixed together. It stands to reason, just based on the population of the world, at least one member of the team is going to be gay.'
Alan Scott's introduction in Earth 2 #1
It's a sign, perhaps, of how far DC has come since 2006, when the publisher was seemingly caught off-guard by flurry of media attention that accompanied the introduction of lesbian socialite Kate Kane as the new Batwoman. This time, however, interest in an off-hand response by Co-Publisher Dan DiDio to a fan's question last weekend at Kapow! Comic Convention has been transformed into a springboard for a full-on public relations blitz. This morning Robinson can be found everywhere from The New York Times and the New York Post to Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone discussing the reinvention of the 72-year-old original Green Lantern.
'Obviously, I'm a huge fan of DC. But one of the things I felt was that if you're going to reinvent a universe, you should really go for it,' Robinson told Comic Book Resources. 'You should go for it the way Grant Morrison has done with Superman or how Geoff Johns has come up with a new origin for the Justice League. With that in mind, the only thing I was sad about in terms of a younger Justice League was that there wasn't going to be Jade and Obsidian ' Obsidian of course being Alan Scott's gay son. And just as one idea can foster the next, from there I went, 'Why don't I just make Alan Scott gay' And to Dan DiDio's credit, there wasn't a moments hesitation on that. He just said, 'That's a great idea,' and we went with it.'
While some are already debating whether the Golden Age Green Lantern qualifies as either 'major' or 'iconic,' there's little disputing that he'll be prominent. After all, he's the leader of the Justice Society and an Internet billionaire with an A-personality whom Robinson describes as 'part Mark Zuckerberg and part David Geffen.'
Oh, and about that 'Golden Age' label? '' On Earth 2 there is only one Green Lantern, so Alan's title is The Green Lantern,' the writer told The Source. 'Alan's sexuality is just one facet of him, along with his innate goodness, valor, charisma and skill at leadership that makes him the perfect man to wield the power of the green light in the world of Earth 2.'
'Before starting work on #1, the first document I had to work from was the character breakdowns for our primary players,' Earth 2 artist Nicola Scott added. 'With Alan the brief was very clear. He needed to be a big, strapping, handsome man that everyone would instinctively follow and love. No short order but right up my alley. 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. Every time I draw him I love him even more.'
Earth 2 #2 goes on sale Wednesday.
10 Comments
Well, hopefully that dude in the blue shirt that he's kissing is another gay character in Earth-2 . . . or else the next panel will be very awkward for everyone involved.
Now I'll be sure to read the book'.
I think the same people complaining about the new Watchmen books should complain about this.
I'm all for introducing new characters that happen to be gay, or even a character in a lineage of characters that's gay, but to make an established character gay is just annoying.
I don't think it's sincere and just a publicity stunt.
They should just go ahead and make an Earth where everyone is gay.
'a character in a lineage of characters that's gay'? How would that work? It's not like legacy heroes, Blake. You don't inherit the gay mantle from the previous gay!
I was dubious about the idea, but James Robinson's thoughtful interviews have me convinced. A great move.
Why reboot the whole DCU only to keep things the same? I look forward ' cautiously! ' to seeing what other changes have been made to Earth 2. It would be nice if Obsidian and Jade did eventually pop up, though presumably their histories would be substantially different!
This is stupid. It is more than stupid. Not only was there absolutely no inclination in the early comics that that he was gay, but now there is no possibility for Obsidian to get into the picture, who is my favorite of the Justice Society. If you are going to put a gay character in a comic book, at least make it one who wasn't married and had kids in previous ones. One more thing, if they really wanted to be diverse, they should have several Christian characters. They have a much higher population than gays.
Chris, I meant in the sense of the lineage of Robins or Green Lanterns or Flashes or Batwomen, for example.
@Blake ' with New 52, the whole point is that there are no 'established characters.' And since 'established characters' tend to be straight white males by very nature of their established-ness, if you're going to have a major gay or minority character, it almost has to co-opt a well-known name or character. Create a new hero? Yes, do that, too. But it's no secret that any new character is on shaky ground, while at least Alan Scott is (presumably) here to stay.
Who says Alan Scott isn't a Christian? If he isn't who says that there aren't MULTIPLE Christian characters? Ones sexuality does not preclude there religion.
I think it's a cop out that they take a character, who happens to share a superhero name with a much more popular character (imo at least), without making the #1 guy gay. Like I said before, I think it's annoying more than anything.
They should of went whole hog and made Superman bisexual.
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