Who the Clix? Alan Scott

Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.

Today we look at the original Green Lantern: Alan Scott

Appearances in Heroclix: Joker’s Wild, World’s Finest, Superman/Wonder Woman, DC Heroclix 10th Anniversary, DC 75th Anniversary, Origin, Legacy
First Appearance: All-American Comics #16
Team Affiliations: Justice Society of America, Checkmate, All-Star Squadron, Sentinels of Magic
Created By: Martin Nodell and Bill Finger

Artwork and character is copyright/trademark DC; used under Fair Use
Artwork and character is copyright/trademark DC; used under Fair Use

Pre-Crisis

Thousands of years ago a meteor fell to earth, giving off a powerful green flame. The flame predicted it would act three times: once to bring death, once to bring life and once to bring power. Some time later, a lamp-maker forged the meteorite into a lamp. The local villagers viewed this as sacrilege and killed him only to be destroyed by a blast of the green flame from the lamp. Much later, a mental patient found the discarded lamp and fashioned it into a modern lantern. The green flame restored this patient’s sanity and gave him new life.

Finally, in 1940 the green lantern fell into the hands of Alan Scott, a young railroad engineer. The flame taught Scott how to use a portion of the metal to forge a ring and use it to wield the green flame’s power. Though Alan Scott becomes a Green Lantern, his ring has many powers but is not the same as the power ring wielded by the Green Lantern Corps. Alan’s ring allows him mental control, flight, energy manipulation and the ability to move through solid objects via the fourth dimension. On rare occasions it could even allow time travel. Scott uses his new found powers to become a superhero and helps found the Justice Society of America.

The JSA battle Ian Karkull who imbues them with a strange energy that keeps them and their spouses youthful for decades. Early in the 1950s, they are investigated by the Joint Congressional Un-American Activities committee and accused of having communist sympathies. When asked to reveal their identities, most of the group declines and chooses to instead retire.

The JSA reform in the 1960s and meet their counterparts on Earth-One, the Justice League of America. Alan shares sevearl adventures with Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern of Earth One. In his civilian identity, Alan runs the Gotham Broadcasting Company as well as marrying Rose and Thorn. The GBC is ruined by creditors at one point, but the JSA helps Alan recover personally and professionally. Alan and his wife have two children, Jade and Obsidian. In the 1980s, Alan (single again) remarries, this time taking up with Molly Mayne, his one time nemesis the Harlequin. Alan also reconciles with his children.

Post-Crisis

On post-crisis Earth, Hitler detonates a doomsday weapon that draws the JSA into a limbo dimension to fight and eteranl Ragnarok. Eventually the Waverider is able to save the JSA from this dimension and return them to the modern day Earth. Alan helps his teammates battle the Ultra-Humanite, Kulak the Sorceror and others. He also reconnects with his wife and children, all of whom have aged without him.

Alan is among the heroes that travel to Oa with Guy Gardner to investigate a distress signal. There they are met and defeated by Hal Jordan, now calling himself Parallax and insane from the destruction of his home, Coast City. After the seeming destruction of the Green Lantern Corps, the last Green Lantern ring seeks out a young artist named Kyle Rayner. Alan Scott finds the young man and informs him of the cosmic events that led to his new super-hero identity. After being defeated alongside his teammates by Extant, Alan gives his original ring to Kyle and passes the Green Lantern title on. Parallax later destroys this ring.

The Starheart eventually becomes a part of Alan’s body and rejuvenates him to a youthful appearance. Alan begins to call himself Sentinel and founds a new JSA. Unable to cope with this, his wife Molly sells her soul to Neron for youth. Alan goes to the demonic realm and recovers his wife’s soul with the help of Phantom Stranger, Zatanna and Kyle Rayner. Alan continues to adventure with the JSA and eventually begins calling himself Green Lantern again.

Alan helps a resurrected Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner and Kilowog battle and defeated a Parallax-possessed Ganthet. Parallax then tires to control Alan but finds it is unable to and so decides to simply kill him. With the help of the Spectre, Hal is able to break Parallax’s control and save his friend. Alan later becomes an honorary member of the Green Lantern Corps.

Alan and his daughter, Jade, are among those that help Donna Troy battle Alexander Luthor, Jr during the Infinite Crisis, though Jade loses her life. As Adam Strange tries to teleport the heroes to safety with a Zeta beam, it is fractured and costs Alan his eye. After many more misadventures, Alan falls into a coma and is visited by the spirit of his daughter who gifts him a portion of her energy. When he wakens, his eye has been replaced with a mystical green orb that can track astral energies.

Alan Scott soon joins Checkmate and has difficulties with fellow member’s policy on killing. Alongside Amanda Waller, Alan tries to keep the group together and on the side of the angels.

Alan then helps the Justice Society members that battle the powerful being Gog. Though Alan falters in the hopes that Gog can resurrect Jade, he inevitably helps the heroes remove Gog from Earth and leave him on the Source Wall. He then goes on to resist Darkseid’s forces as well as the Black Lanterns, even helping Jakeem Thunder build a “black lantern bomb.”

After the White Lantern’s power resurrects Jade, she travels to Oa to heal and recuperate. However, the Starheart soon finds her in space and captures here before returning to Earth and poisoning metahumans all over the planet. Alan himself is then corrupted as his ring forms green medieval armor and he states his intention to destroy the Earth.

After building an emerald city on the moon and leaving fellow team member Starman powerless, Alan is confronted by a team led by Batman that includes Jade. Jade uses her power to purge the Starheart’s influence from her father. Once again in his right mind, Alan decides to leave the city in place and invites mystical heroes to come to it for asylum.

Alan and the JSA face Scythe: a Nazi genetic experiment that Alan and Jay had been tasked with destroying during World War II but had failed to due to disagreement about what to do with it. Scythe snaps Alan’s neck and leaves the hero paralyzed, unable to attempt to heal himself lest the Starheart take control of his body once more. D’arken later escapes and steals the powers of several JSA’ers. Panicked, they conclude that the only way to defeat the villain is to unleash the Starheart’s energies. Alan does so to save the world and is incinerated in the power surge.

Earth 2

Artwork and character is copyright/trademark DC; used under Fair Use
Artwork and character is copyright/trademark DC; used under Fair Use

Alan Scott is the young good looking head of GBC productions on Earth 2. He and his boyfriend Sam are on a bullet train in China, with Alan ready to propose, when the train derails and kills everyone on board save Alan. Scott is protected by a green flame that speaks to him and heals his wounds, informing him of the threat that the Rot poses to the planet. The flame gives him a costume and transforms his engagement ring into a power ring, giving him a power linked to the Green of Earth 2.

As the new Green Lantern, Alan allies with other Wonders to battle Grundy and resist Darkseid. He is among the heroes that battles Talos during the Convergence and helps the citizens of Earth 2 survive and transport to their new earth.

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