This is copied from the old board, and some of the info may be dated, but I wanted to keep the topic alive. There's been alot of talk lately about how there are four active Green Lanterns from the Earth these days - meaning Hal Jordan, John Stewart, Guy Gardner and Kyle Rayner. There might be five - last I saw, Charley Vicker was listed as "missing, presumed dead", which in comic book land means he's probably alive and well and hosting Inside the Actor's Studio (which would explain why no one's seen him lately). But even if Our Charley is deader than Bucky Barnes and Jason Todd combined, there are still five active Green Lanterns from Earth these days - it's just that the last one doesn't get thought of because he's not a member of the Green Lantern Corps. I'm speaking of course of Alan Scott. Now, in pre-Crisis days (Note to my younger readers: I am, it must be confessed, very ancient of days, and so, when I speak of the "Crisis", you can safely assume that I am speaking of the "Crisis on Infinite Earths", and not any subsequent "Crises" that may have happened along later. The first Crisis was the one that killed off the DC continuity that I had known since I was a boy. Any subsequent such events were, for me, something more along the lines of rearranging the pieces of an already-dead horse. Some such rearrangements may have been more aesthetically pleasing than others, but no matter what, the horse remains dead.), Alan Scott's relationship with the Guardians and the Corps were relatively simple to understand. Scott lived in another universe, outside the Guardians' purview, and it's conceivable that they were not aware of his existence until such time as Hal Jordan reported his existence to them. I can only recall one pre-Crisis story (there may have been others) in which Scott traveled to Oa. As I recall it, he was treated cordially, but no especial interest was taken in him beyond the solution of whatever immediate adventure brought him there. (There was a cool scene of Scott and Jordan charging their rings from the Great Power Battery side-by-side - if I recall, it later became a plot point that Scott hadn't charged his ring from its usual source -and I wish I still had that book, but it's gone the way of all fish.) Post-Crisis, however, Alan Scott and the Guardians existed in the same universe, and this, to my mind, is where their relationship, or lack thereof, becomes problematical. A key question at this point is that of just how "all-seeing" the Guardians actually are. Are they at the level of the Watchers* - able to see past, present and alternative realities - or are they just "most-seeing", able to see most of what's going on in their own universe and time? If they're more "all-seeing", then at some point in the dim and distant past they must've foreseen what would happen to the Starheart and how it would lead to Alan Scott becoming an anomalous "Green Lantern" and decided for whatever reasons of their own not to interfere. But, if the Guardians are merely "most-seeing", then the question arises as to when they became aware of Alan Scott becoming a "Green Lantern" and what, if anything, they decided to do about it. When would they have become aware of him? Were they watching for any reappearance of the Starheart or its energies? If so, they may've noticed when it wiped out that village in Medieval China and kept half an eye on Earth ever since. They would've known of Alan Scott becoming the Green Lantern almost as soon as he did. On the other hand, the universe is a big place, and maybe even the Guardians can't see everything. Maybe the Guardians didn't know about Alan Scott until the day Hal Jordan asked them "What's the deal with the Green Lantern that was in the JSA? Is he one of us?" To which the Guardians might've replied, "The who that was in the what now?" In either case, once the Guardians knew of the existence of Alan Scott, what, if anything, did they do about it? It's hard to think they did nothing. To me, it's analogous to a police commissioner finding out that a guy in a remote precinct was wearing a funny uniform and calling himself "Police Officer" and arresting people. The Guardians would at least want to know what kind of a guy Scott was. If he was a bum, they wouldn't want the peoples of the universe thinking that they endorsed him. Now, of course, Alan Scott is a great guy, and it may be that the Guardians were perfectly content to let him go about his business. I do wonder if the Guardians ever thought about "bringing him on board". There could be a story in that. On the other hand, it could be that there are advantages to them in there being a "Green Lantern" who was not in any way connected to them. There could be a story in that, too. *There's an "Earth-44" story I'm not remotely smart enough to write - what's it like for the Guardians in a universe that also contains Time Lords, Celestials, the Watchers, the Q, etc...

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  • It occurred to me that in the post-Crisis version of the period in which the Space Smurfs were giving Hal Jordan jib for spending too much time on Earth, they could have berated him with "There's already one Green Lantern on Earth that doesn't answer to us, we don't need two!"
  • The Baron said:
    "The who that was in the what now?"

    ROFL :P
  • "Space Smurfs" would be a great new series.

    And band name.

    "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read." -Groucho Marx

    Check out the Secret Headquarters (my store) website! It's a pretty lame website, but I did it myself, so tough noogies

    Listen to WOXY.com, it's the future of rock-n-roll!


  • Given that the Guardians are a bunch of blithering idiots, I imagine that anytime Alan Scott turns up in conversation, they all bury their heads in holes in the floor and cry 'neener, neener, neener' until the subject is changed.
  • Randy Jackson said:
    Given that the Guardians are a bunch of blithering idiots, I imagine that anytime Alan Scott turns up in conversation, they all bury their heads in holes in the floor and cry 'neener, neener, neener' until the subject is changed.

    I'd buy that book.
  • {Post-Crisis, however, Alan Scott and the Guardians existed in the same universe, and this, to my mind, is where their relationship, or lack thereof, becomes problematical. A key question at this point is that of just how "all-seeing" the Guardians actually are. Are they at the level of the Watchers* - able to see past, present and alternative realities - or are they just "most-seeing", able to see most of what's going on in their own universe and time? If they're more "all-seeing", then at some point in the dim and distant past they must've foreseen what would happen to the Starheart and how it would lead to Alan Scott becoming an anomalous "Green Lantern" and decided for whatever reasons of their own not to interfere. But, if the Guardians are merely "most-seeing", then the question arises as to when they became aware of Alan Scott becoming a "Green Lantern" and what, if anything, they decided to do about it. When would they have become aware of him? Were they watching for any reappearance of the Starheart or its energies? If so, they may've noticed when it wiped out that village in Medieval China and kept half an eye on Earth ever since. They would've known of Alan Scott becoming the Green Lantern almost as soon as he did. On the other hand, the universe is a big place, and maybe even the Guardians can't see everything. Maybe the Guardians didn't know about Alan Scott until the day Hal Jordan asked them "What's the deal with the Green Lantern that was in the JSA? Is he one of us?" To which the Guardians might've replied, "The who that was in the what now?"

    In either case, once the Guardians knew of the existence of Alan Scott, what, if anything, did they do about it? It's hard to think they did nothing. To me, it's analogous to a police commissioner finding out that a guy in a remote precinct was wearing a funny uniform and calling himself "Police Officer" and arresting people.}
    A little bit of a different circumstance here. I suppose if Alan Scott went into other space sectors and started arresting people then they would address the issue. The Guardians know of Alan Scott but since he derives his power from another source and is basically just an Earthbound super-hero, they could care less about him.


    The Guardians would at least want to know what kind of a guy Scott was. If he was a bum, they wouldn't want the peoples of the universe thinking that they endorsed him.
    99.9% of the DCU doesn't even know that Alan Scott exists!

    Now, of course, Alan Scott is a great guy, and it may be that the Guardians were perfectly content to let him go about his business. I do wonder if the Guardians ever thought about "bringing him on board". There could be a story in that. On the other hand, it could be that there are advantages to them in there being a "Green Lantern" who was not in any way connected to them. There could be a story in that, too.
    Unless I'm mistaken, there has already been a Post-Crisis story where Alan Scott has met the Guardians.
  • Interesting points. I think you're right that there has been a story like that.
  • The Baron said:
    Interesting points. I think you're right that there has been a story like that.

    I think they just all played a mean game of pinochle
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