Green Lantern [Alan Scott] Respect Thread

HOMEWORLD: Earth
SECTOR: 2814, though not applicable as Corps assignment

FIRST APPEARANCE:
ALL-AMERICAN COMICS # 16
(July 1940)
"The Green Lantern"

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:
Scott's appearance has changed, as he aged and regained youth
Male human
Height: 6'0"
Weight: 201 lbs.
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue

KNOWN RELATIVES:
Alyx Thorin aka Rose Canton aka the Thorn (first wife, deceased)
Molly Catherine Mayne-Scott aka the Harlequin (second wife)
Todd Rice aka Obsidian (son) Jennie-Lynn Hayden aka Jade (daughter)

HISTORY:

Though he was never an actual member of the Green Lantern Corps, the story of Alan Scott, first known as the Golden Age Green Lantern and now Sentinel, is older than the Corps itself.

Three and a half billion years ago a humanoid race from the world of Maltus sought to bring order to the stars. An offshoot of the race became known as the Guardians of the Universe. They sought to remove magic from the universe, and laid siege to the necromantic forces of the cosmos. The war was costly on both sides. The last to fall was the powerful Empire of Tears, finally subdued by the Guardians on the tombworld of Ysmault.
[GL2 # 40, 111-112, GLCA # 2]

After the wars, the stray mystical energies were gathered and bound in an orb called the Starheart. Its strength grew over the eons, and eventually it became self-aware and was known as the Green Flame of Life. Though the Guardians were powerful, the force of magic was something that could not be contained forever. In preparation for this day, the Starheart willed a small portion of itself to travel through the universe to fulfill its destiny. As it travelled through space, the piece of the Starheart gathered debris over the centuries until in resembled a meteor.
[GL2 # 111-112, SO # 18, GLCQ # 5, 7]

Three billion years ago, the Green Lantern Corps was created. Wielding the mighty power ring, the Green Lanterns continued the Guardians' quest for order.

Two thousand years ago, one of the greatest of the Green Lanterns, Yalan Gur of Space Sector 2814, was nearly killed by a yellow beast. The Guardians removed his ring's yellow impurity, rather than risk losing their best Green Lantern to an arbitrary weakness.

Yalan Gur was soon corrupted by his power, forcing his will on the people of ancient China. The Guardians had no recourse but to instill a new weakness in Yalan Gur's ring to humble their errant Green Lantern. He was now vulnerable to the wood of the peasants' weapons. The Green Lantern was badly injured by the angry humans.

So enraged by the humans' attack and by the Guardians’ apparent betrayal, Yalan Gur did not order his ring to repair his wounds. Mortally injured, he plummeted to Earth, the air friction setting him on fire.
[GL3 # 19]

The wandering piece of the Starheart felt Yalan Gur's pain and joined with the Green Lantern. He died during reentry to Earth's atmosphere, his life force absorbed by his power battery. Its casing melted and fused with the piece of the mystical Starheart. The Guardians left the remains on Earth, as a monument and prison to a fallen Green Lantern.
[GLCQ # 7]

The remains were found by local villagers and considered a meteor. Chang, a lamp maker that dabbled in sorcery, heard a mental cry from Yalan's tortured spirit. "Three times shall I flame green!" it spoke, "First - to bring death!" it promised in rage, "Second - to bring life!" in its remorse, and "Third - to bring power!" in his desire to live again.

Chang had read prophecy regarding the strange green meteor and took a part of it, frightening the people of the village. They had believed Chang and the fallen star were evil. Chang made a lamp of the molten metal, angering the villagers to the point of attacking him. They burned his books and it was believed they had killed him. In turn the villagers were killed by green flame of the lamp. "First - to bring death!"
[ALL-AMERICAN COMICS # 16, GL2 # 108-110]

The lamp passed through many hands over the years. It brought good luck and fortune to the good of heart. To the evil, though they might achieve mighty conquests, in the end it brought destruction.

In the twentieth century, the lamp was brought to America by a trio of adventurers who had tracked the pirates of the China seas. Eventually, it was abandoned just north of Gotham City, outside the Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

The lamp was found in a trash can and given to one of the patients, Mr. Billings. He had killed his broker in the aftermath of the stock market crash of 1929. Billings was fond of working with metals, and transformed the Chinese lamp into a train lantern.

As the lantern flamed with light, Billings was cured of his insanity. Soon, he walked out of Arkham Asylum a sane man. "Second - to bring life!"

In 1939, the lantern and engineer Alan Scott were onboard a train testing the newly constructed Trestle Bridge in the American West. A fellow engineer of Scott's was worried about their competitor in the bid for the bridge, an unscrupulous man named Albert Dekker. Scott did not believe Dekker would stoop so low as to sabotage their trial run, but he was wrong. While crossing the bridge there was a mighty explosion, the train was hurled to the ground below.

All on the train were killed, except for Alan Scott. The green lantern's flame illuminated the wreckage and spoke to Scott, telling him much of its story. The flame promised Scott that power over the dark, evil things would be his if he had faith in himself. If he lost his faith, he would lose his power, because willpower was the flame of the green lantern. Scott was told to carve away part of the lantern to make a ring of power. The ring would need to be touched to the green lantern once every twenty-four hours.

Dazed and confused, Alan Scott swore revenge on Dekker. He returned to his office and set to work on creating a ring. Scott found the metal formed easily, almost as if the ring were willing itself to be shaped. The lantern was his power source.

Willing the ring to find Dekker, Scott found the ring granted him amazing powers, such as flight and the ability to walk through walls. He had a strange immunity to metals as bullets and knives could not stop him, but wood proved a vulnerability. Though Scott's strength was that of a normal man, he fought well against Dekker's men.

Dekker tried to bribe Scott, but the engineer would have no part of it. A high altitude flight persuaded Dekker to confess. Albert Dekker died soon after signing his confession, the shock had been too much for him.

Alan Scott felt the call of destiny. He decided to make himself a dread figure to evil, dressing in a costume of red and green. He created an oath, based on the words of the green flame. "Third - to bring power!" From that day forth, Alan Scott was known as the Golden Age Green Lantern.

[ALL-AMERICAN COMICS # 16, SO # 18]
[ALL-AMERICAN COMICS # 16, SO # 18]