Alan Scott, aka the Green Lantern, is coming out.

DC Comics has announced that one of its oldest and most enduring heroes, the Green Lantern, is returning — as an out, proud and openly gay super hero.

Click image to enlarge. Via: DC Comics.

The change is revealed in the pages of the second issue of “Earth 2” out next week, and comes on the heels of what has been an expansive year for gay and lesbian characters in the pages of comic books from Archie to Marvel and others, reported the Associated Press.

But purists and fans note: This Green Lantern is not the emerald galactic space cop Hal Jordan who was, and is, part of the Justice League and has had a history rich in triumph and tragedy. Instead, he’s a parallel earth Green Lantern. James Robinson, who writes the new series, said Alan Scott is the retooled version of the classic Lantern whose first appearance came in the pages of “All-American Comics” No. 16 in July 1940.

So what will the new gay version of Alan Scott be like? DC Comics’ writer James Robinson tells Entertainment Weekly:

“He’s a giant of the media industry. By getting involved in communication, the news, and the Internet, he’s become a billionaire. He’s kind of a cross between Mark Zuckerberg and David Geffen. The original Alan Scott owned a radio station in the ’40s and ’50s, so he was a media giant then. He was this bold, heroic, brave man who took control, who would risk his life for you and be this emerald knight that was always there to protect the world. “The Alan Scott I’m doing now is that same dynamic, brave, honorable man. A man that you’d want guarding your welfare, your children, your life, your home. He’s willing to give his life for the world. He’s everything you want in a hero. And he happens to be gay. So really, apart from his sexuality, there isn’t that much of a difference.”

The announcement of a gay super hero from DC Comics was not unexpected, as DC co-publisher Dan DiDio’s teased last month that an iconic DC character will reveal he is gay in a June issue, joining prominent lesbian character Batwoman — but the announcement did fuel widespread speculation as to which super hero would be revealed to be gay.

Last month, Marvel Comics announced that its first openly gay hero — Northstar — would be getting hitched. Northstar will marry his boyfriend in mainstream superhero comics’ first same-sex wedding in an upcoming issue of “Astonishing X-Men.”

Earlier this year, Archie Comics featured the wedding of openly gay character Kevin Keller in “Life With Archie” No. 16.