Well, This is the last entry for Green Lantern month here at Secret Origins. It’s been a wild ride, but let’s be honest, most Green Lantern origins are startlingly similar. “Ooh I inherited a ring, I am gonna make giant boxing gloves and stuff now, I guess.” Today’s Lantern is decidedly different. Not only is he not a member of the Green Lantern Corps, but he’s also the prototypical Lantern. How can that be, you may ask? Well, it’s because he’s the first, and still one of the greatest. He’s Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern!
The story of the original Green Lantern starts eons ago with the Guardians of the Universe. One day, those “lovable” blue overlords created the Central Power Battery and the Green Lantern Corps themselves. This was considered good, but those wee totalitarians also decided to banish all magic in the universe into the heart of a star, because hey, why not? Eventually, the Starheart gained a kind of sentience, and broke a part of itself off, and it in turn found itself approaching a small blue/green world of little importance in the milky way galaxy. Gravity did its work and drew the fragment of the Starheart into the Earth. Smack dab into ancient China, specifically. When it landed, the Starheart made an ominous statement…
“Although since I’m speaking in English, you probably can’t understand me!”
One man, named Chang the Lampmaker, was unafraid to approach the meteor. While many of the townsfolk were afraid of the glowing green rock (Kryptonians visiting ancient Earth maybe), Chang takes it and forms it into an ornate lamp.A historical note, here, Alan Scott was originally called Alan Ladd, evoking Aladdin and his lamp. At the time, there was a famous actor by the same name, so the publisher changed it at the 11th hour. Back to the story, the lamp itself looks pretty great, but because this is taking place in a time of extreme ignorance, the other villagers assume that Chang is an evil guy for messing with green fire. So when his work is complete, poor Chang doesn’t get to admire his handiwork for long…
Is it just me, or is the bald guy REALLY happy to be on the hunt with his pals?
And so, Chang dies. You might think this fulfills the prophecy that the Starheart recited earlier, in an ironic Twilight Zone twist, but you’d be wrong. This is comics, so as soon as one of Chang’s murderers touches the lamp, it emits its green flame and incinerates the attackers and the house when the murder took place. After that, the lamp passed through the hands of many owners. It brought luck and fortune to the good, and destruction to the wicked. That’s what I want out of my magic lamp, a moral compass. Eventually, the lamp made its way to 1940’s Gotham City, because yes, the city can exist without Batman. You’re forgiven for instantly thinking Batman though, because it does come into the possession of an inmate at Arkham Asylum. The inmate murdered his stockbroker after the 1929 crash, he also liked to work with metal, so he fashions the lamp into a train lantern. After this task is completed, the lamp decides after many centuries to fulfill the second part of the prophecy…
I hate to break it to you, but now you’re sane enough to stand trial for murder.
And so, the man inexplicably is allowed to walk free. What of the newly minted train lantern, though? Well, as luck would have it, it came to be used on a train! And while it took centuries for the second prophecy to be fulfilled, the third would only take a few days. We find Alan Scott and his assistant Jimmy Henton testing a new trestle bridge built by Scott’s company. Jimmy is concerned with a man named Dekker, who lost out on the bid for the bridge. Jim thinks Dekker is going to somehow sabotage things. Jimmy is a pretty astute guy, because the bridge is blown up. In the wreckage, Alan finds Jimmy dead, but what is in store for him will change his life forever…
“Unless there’s ever a villain called Dr. Light, then you’re screwed.”
The Starheart/Lantern continues with its spiel, tell Alan to fashion a portion of itself into a ring to be a focus for the power. As such, the ring must be touched to the lantern every 24 hours to recharge its link. To me, this actually makes more sense than the Corps’ version of the 24-hour limit where it seems much more arbitrary. Anyway, as Alan forms the ring, he has thoughts of revenge on Dekker, even contemplating murder. The ring has other ideas, though. It seems to give Alan some clarity of mind, and ultimately Alan decides to bring Dekker to justice rather than vengeance.
Alan is surprised to find himself streaking through the sky like a green comet, making a bee-line for Dekker’s “place of business”. Once there, Dekker immediately outs himself as the mastermind of the bridge explosion, going so far to say some of the overhead he’s going to charge the government when they’re forced to take his bid will cover the costs of the explosion itself. So yeah, he’s kind of a dick. At this point, Alan makes his appearance and freaks everyone right out by his method of entry.
“Hmm, I could call myself the Green Ghost!”
Of course, bullets are pretty futile. Really now, the guy just walked through your wall! Do you really think bullets won’t go right through, too? Dekker is convinced Alan is just playing up the “superstitious, cowardly lot” aspect of villainy and tells his goons to keep at it. These thugs are apparently paid pretty well, because they comply, even though they aren’t very effective.
“Your knife may not have worked, but this fish will!”
Even though he is full of green fighting fury, Alan is felled by a wooden paperweight, revealing his ring’s only weakness. Alan is a hearty specimen though. He gets right back on his feet, and although the ring isn’t working, his fists still do! He takes out the remaining thugs easily and it’s just down to Scott and Dekker…
“A lawyer. I’m looking a bit too much like Doc Savage, here.”
Alan gets Dekker to submit, and flies him across the Grand Canyon, scaring the ever-loving crap out of the unscrupulous cretin. At this point, Alan makes him write a confession admitting all of his wrongdoing. I don’t think that this confession would be considered valid seeing that Dekker is obviously doing it because he’s being threatened. It really doesn’t matter though, because as soon as the confession is signed, Dekker dies of fright. Alan scoffs, saying it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. Now don’t get me wrong, I like Alan Scott, but the way this is written, it really seems like Alan is just protecting his business interests rather than being truly heroic.
Thankfully, Alan Scott realizes that he has been given great power, and he can use it to help the weak and oppressed, because that’s what Golden Age heroes do, dammit! But to be a Mystery Man, he needs an alter ego. Using the source of his power as his new moniker, he dons one of the most garish unique costumes ever…
Unless you’re color blind, I guess.
After these humble beginnings, Alan Scott, aka Green Lantern, has had one of the most storied careers in comic history. Other than a brief hiatus, Alan has brought emerald justice to the world for nearly 70 years, and is still serving actively today. While DC Comics has said that they’re putting the Golden Age heroes, Alan included, to the side for a while, you can’t keep a good ring-slinger down. I’m certain that the first Green Lantern will grace many a comic page in the years to come!
This story was originally published in Secret Origins vol. 2 #18 September, 1987. It’s never been reprinted to my knowledge, so keep an eye on your back issue bins!
