On June 1, 2012, DC Comics announced that it would be introducing an alternate version of Alan Scott as a gay man in the title "Earth 2". The "New 52" issue was released on June 6, 2012. In its story, Alan Scott and his partner Sam were both passengers aboard a train, but the latter was killed when their train was wrecked in the railroad-bridge collapse that Scott alone survived; a magical green flame found Alan amongst the rubble. Telling him he is to become an avatar of the flame's great power and that he must channel this power through an item of importance to his heart, Alan chooses the engagement ring he was to give his boyfriend, becoming Green Lantern. This alternate version is not a member of the Green Lantern Corps, which does not exist in Earth 2, but rather adopts the name Green Lantern for himself, for his mystical powers derive from the Green (the elemental force which connects all plant life on Earth).