So Joan Garrick and Molly Mayne have past away, right?

[The Cool Thatguy]

Really wish they made Alan either bi, or just have him become gay after his very long life.

People change, after all.

Seems so weird that he fought Neron for the soul of his beard...

[Mutant God]

Seems so weird that he fought Neron for the soul of his beard...

Out of context that does sound like a comic book story lol

[Will Evans]

Isn't that the problem with most of Infinity Inc? They're all baby boomers, technically and their kids are pushing 40, lol.

Worse one is Damage, son of Golden Age Atom. He’s just now late teens.

[Digifiend]

If Harlequin was working for the FBI, there must have been heavy positive feedback from Alan. Even accepting her antics as merely mischievous, that would not look good on an application to work for the FBI.

And I am with you totally on this story for Molly. Smart woman, initial crush on Alan, discovers lack of interest on his part, surmises he's gay maybe due to friends she knew trying to hide their sexuality. It's really not a stretch of the original stories.

Surely her being the Harlequin would not have been mentioned on her CV at all?

[GreyFox]

Worse one is Damage, son of Golden Age Atom. He’s just now late teens.

I think Damage has a lot of genetic engineering, though, so it can be explained.

If you asked me, I would probably advise some sort of story where the 'crisis merger' might have happened in Earth-2 in 1980, but from the perspective of Current-Earth it was only 6 to 10 years ago, this allowing 30+ years to be skipped without actual suspended animation or time travel. This does not match up with pre-Flashpoint, but lots of other things do not.

[MajorHoy]

They could very well go that route, but dang if that doesn't make Molly an even sadder character. Not only does she get the full "Lois Lane never figures that the love of her life is standing right in front of her all along" treatment, but she also gets slapped with the "and she never realized he was gay, either" fish, as well.

But back in those pre-Stonewall Inn riot days, would the idea of somebody like Alan possibly being gay really have crossed Molly's mind?

Surely her being the Harlequin would not have been mentioned on her CV at all?

I thought she was accepted by the feds because they knew she had been Harlequin?

[D.Z]

They did something about Black Canary's mom. https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Canary_I_(Prime_Earth)

Someday they might have to split Earth 2 off Earth 0 again and also do some adjusmmets, of course since Earth 2 name is already taken, another number in the multiverse would work, so for example Earth 2222.

[ducklord]

But back in those pre-Stonewall Inn riot days, would the idea of somebody like Alan possibly being gay really have crossed Molly's mind?

Probably not, it just seems a little extra cruel to the character, y'know? I mean, if Alan was comfortable confiding in Doiby, it seems that he should've, at some point, gently broke it to Molly that she was barking up the wrong tree.

[kcekada]

Really wish they made Alan either bi, or just have him become gay after his very long life.

People change, after all.

Seems so weird that he fought Neron for the soul of his beard...

I think it's a disservice to the character that he was pretending to be straight and went as far as marrying someone (when he was a senior citizen!) to maintain his cover. Just because it can happen in real life doesn't mean Alan Scott should do it! Frankly, they should not have gone down this road with him, but they wanted a big name (Green Lantern) -- even though most of the public has no idea who or what Alan Scott is.

[kcekada]

Probably not, it just seems a little extra cruel to the character, y'know? I mean, if Alan was comfortable confiding in Doiby, it seems that he should've, at some point, gently broke it to Molly that she was barking up the wrong tree.

It's very cruel -- which is why it reflects poorly on him. I guess some could argue that even heroes have flaws, but to toy with someone's emotions over multiple decades is so out of character. DC really should have thought long term about this before changing his back story to match the new 52 version. It made sense for the latter, not for the former.

[kcekada]

Personally, if we're going to have a full-on retcon to their relationship, I'd rather that she be in on the joke. As Alan's secretary, she'd be an invaluable asset in keeping his secrets (both of them) from leaking out to the public. You could still keep a couple of the initial "became Harlequin to get GL's attention" stories intact, but have her more quickly move over to the FBI once the comical situation had been resolved. Also, her being in the FBI would allow her to keep tabs on whether Alan was being investigated by the government.

That would make this all more palatable. In fact, it could be concluded that by the time he and Molly married, it was never intended to be a sexual relationship. Some people reach a point where companionship is more important than sex. That would make their marriage not a lie -- and not sully Alan's character.

[MajorHoy]

I think it's a disservice to the character that he was pretending to be straight and went as far as marrying someone (when he was a senior citizen!) to maintain his cover. Just because it can happen in real life doesn't mean Alan Scott should do it! Frankly, they should not have gone down this road with him, but they wanted a big name (Green Lantern) -- even though most of the public has no idea who or what Alan Scott is.

There was a reason they made the New52 version of Alan gay that really shouldn't have applied to the "current" version of Alan, but for whatever screwed-up reason they chose to make a character who had been around since back in 1940 gay some +/-80 years later. Now they have to make that decision retro-fit into all of his past stories, something they probably hadn't really thought / cared about doing when they first decided to make him gay.

[MajorHoy]

They did something about Black Canary's mom. https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Canary_I_(Prime_Earth)

I'm not sure what exactly DC "did" about Black Canary's mother.

That site isn't an official DC site, is it? After all, it does say

We are the world's largest DC Comics encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Learn all about your favorite superheroes and villains!
Our project contains 126,325 articles and 159,400 images.

It also says that the Golden Age Black Canary was a member of the All-Star Squadron, but when was that? Has DC ever clarified when the Golden Age Black Canary first became active now? (Traditionally, she didn't first appear until Flash Comics #86 in 1947, well after WWII ended.) Did the All-Star Squadron even still exist after WWII ended?

[ducklord]

There was a reason they made the New52 version of Alan gay that really shouldn't have applied to the "current" version of Alan, but for whatever screwed-up reason they chose to make a character who had been around since back in 1940 gay some +/-80 years later. Now they have to make that decision retro-fit into all of his past stories, something they probably hadn't really thought / cared about doing when they first decided to make him gay.

Well, the *wisdom* of rectonning Alan's sexual orientation is a whole 'nother kettle of fish.

Me, I'm kinda sorta in favor of *someone* in the classic JSA getting that treatment. It's statistically likely, and opens up possibilities for a bunch of interesting stories set in the past.

Was Alan the right guy to pick? Well, in terms of splashy publicity, sure. The Golden Age GL is one of the top two or three names in that group, so yeah, you can see it. On the other hand, as this thread can attest to, it makes his backstory a LOT messier.

Of course, the rest of the original JSA doesn't exactly have a lot of prime targets, either. Spectre's dead, and Dr. Fate, Hawkman, and Sandman are so tied to their female partners that it would be insane to retcon them. Jay Garrick would've been an interesting choice, but jettisoning Joan would be kind of mean. There *is* the eternal bachelor Johnny Thunder, but making the flamoyant goofball of the group gay seems a little on the nose. I'd say Al Pratt would've been an interesting choice, but that would be a lie - nothing about Al Pratt has ever been interesting

Truthfully, of all the golden age JSAers, the one I always suspected could easily have been revealed as gay was Dr. Mid-Nite. I'm half-convinced that Robinson hinted at that in a couple of Starman stories.

[MajorHoy]

. . . Truthfully, of all the golden age JSAers, the one I always suspected could easily have been revealed as gay was Dr. Mid-Nite. I'm half-convinced that Robinson hinted at that in a couple of Starman stories.

Or the easiest choice would have been the Golden Age Mr. Terrific. He guest-starred in one Golden Age story, then occasionally was used in the Silver-/Bronze-Age meetings with the JLA.