Green Lantern’s Greatest Romance May Be Far from Finished

Alan Scott is the first Green Lantern, having first appeared 85 years ago. DC has always had the best Golden Age heroes and Scott has long been one of the best, fighting alongside the Justice Society of America for decades, teaming up with the Justice League, and serving as one of DC’s most inspiring heroes. Recent years have seen some big changes to Alan Scott, as in the New 52 reboot it was established that Scott was gay. With the end of the New 52, this retcon stayed around and informed the recent (and excellent) Alan Scott: Green Lantern miniseries, which told the story of Alan Scott getting his powers and meeting the love of his life — Vladimir Sokov, the man who would become Red Lantern.

JSA has pit the team against the Injustice Society, with one of the villainous team’s members being Sokov’s daughter Ruby, who is serving as the modern Red Lantern. JSA #11 saw the two teams facing off in battle, when Ruby reveals something to Alan that rocks his world — that Vladimir could still be alive. Alan Scott is a Green Lantern icon, but he spent most of his life having to hide who he really was. Vladimir Sokov became a key part of Alan Scott’s origin, and his possible return could change everything for the original Green Lantern. Scott and Sokov’s relationship was extremely complicated, but their love was real.

The Two Lanterns Had a Fiery Romance

Alan Scott was a talented engineer who was recruited by the Army Corps of Engineers for Project Crimson. Project Crimson was all about looking for the legendary Crimson Flame, with Scott assigned to the ship hunting it in the Pacific Ocean. During this time, he met Johnny Michael Ladd, a corporal working on the project. The two of them fell in love, doing their best to keep their trysts secret from the rest of the ship. Eventually, they find what they believe to be the Crimson Flame, but when they try to retrieve it, Ladd is seemingly devoured by its energies. Ladd’s death ended up revealing their relationship with each other, and Scott was put into Arkham Asylum for “deviancy”. With the help of a trans woman named Billie, Scott is able to stage an escape from the Asylum. Scott becomes a locomotive engineer, where he meets Jimmy Henton. The two fall in love, and the train accident that caused Alan to get the Starheart happens. Scott becomes Green Lantern and eventually he ends up learning about a new Soviet supervillain known as the Red Lantern. The two battle it out, and they realize the other’s secret identity. Johnny Ladd had survived, but Johnny Ladd never actually existed. He was a Russian spy, his real name Vladimir Sokov.

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Sokov’s mission was to infiltrate the crew, and steal the Crimson Flame. He seduced Scott, hoping to use him to get the Crimson Flame, and that succeeded. However, the Crimson Flame changed him forever. The Crimson Flame became a part of him, and his body was transformed into energy. He fled back home to Russia, eventually figuring out how to create a body for himself, and rejoined the Soviet armed forces. After training, he was dubbed the Red Lantern, the crimson power of hate flowing through him. When Scott became Green Lantern, the Soviets rightly thought that the Crimson Flame and the Starheart were linked, and sent Red Lantern to defeat Green Lantern. Scott is obviously devastated by all of this, but it’s eventually revealed that Sokov wasn’t just using him for his mission, but actually did love him. The Starheart reveals to Alan that the Crimson Flame was a corrupted fragment of itself, and eventually, Alan has to recruit the entire Justice Society to help him defeat Red Lantern. They’re eventually successful, but Red Lantern is able to escape back to Russia. He has his daughter Ruby, but eventually disappears in 1951, never to be seen again.

Is Green Lantern’s Only Future Heartbreak?

The relationship between Alan Scott and Red Lantern was a major retcon for the character, using Scott’s homosexuality to change his origin in an interesting way. Scott was legitimately in love with Sokov, and Sokov loved him as well (Sokov went on a jealousy-fueled killing spree against Scott’s former lovers), but their status as heroes of the United States and Soviet Union meant that they were never going to be able to get together. The end of the Cold War would give them a chance to be together, if it wasn’t for the disappearance of the Red Lantern.

Ruby revealing that Red Lantern may be alive changes everything for Alan. There’s a chance that the man he loved more than anyone else is actually alive, and if he can find him, they can actually have the relationship they always wanted. Of course, Ruby (who was a former member of the Justice Society and left the team before the latest series started) doesn’t know the truth and refuses Scott’s entreaty to join him and look for her father together. However, the issue ends with Ruby looking on in terror as the Injustice Society’s summoning of Johnny Sorrow’s Lovecraftian gods, meaning she could switch sides. Will she help Alan find the Red Lantern? It looks like the book is setting that up.

JSA #11 is on sale now.

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