The Crimson Flame is an ancient and mysterious source of power wielded by Vladimir Sokov, the Golden Age Red Lantern, and his daughter Ruby Sokov.
History
Millenia ago, in an attempt to bring order to the universe, the Guardians of the Universe gathered all of the ancient, wild magic of the cosmos and bound it within the heart of a star. Though they believed it contained, within the star, this cosmic heart of magic grew and developed sentience- and loneliness. Its energies became aligned to willpower, to the emerald portion of the emotional electromagnetic spectrum. Seeking to end its isolation, the Starheart willed a portion of itself out of its fiery prison. However, over time, the sentience of the Starheart had partially leached into the star's corona, where, seperated from the rest of itself, its isolation turned into bitterness and rage. When the Starheart's fragment escaped the star's gravity on its trajectory towards Earth- a portion of the corona followed, having become the Crimson Flame, its energies aligned to the crimson energies of rage.[1]
The Crimson Flame is a counterpart to the Starheart, and the two ancient magical forces are intrinsically and inextricably linked. Alan Scott's lantern, a conduit for the Starheart, has occasionally flashed red when he was in danger. When the railway bridge under Alan's train was sabotaged and it fell into a gorge below, on the brink of death Alan heard the Crimson Flame's voice in his head say "We bring deathh..."; its voice then changed to the Starheart's as it said "...thhen liiiife...thenn powerr!", healed his injuries and bestowed the powers of the Green Lantern on him.[2] Similarly, when Vladimir Sokov was restored to life by the Flame, he saw a small flash of green in the red.[3]
In 1936 Alan Scott, then a young sergeant in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, was part of a mission to locate and contain the Crimson Flame, which had been detected in the Bering Sea. He was in charge of a team of Army engineers who designed and built a containment unit for the flame. His second engineer was Cpl. Johnny Ladd, who was also his first love.[4] They successfully located the Flame and were able to contain a portion of it, but the Flame subsequently attacked the ship and almost caused it to capsize. Alan was able to right the ship by releasing the Flame, but it then grabbed Johnny and pulled him overboard. Alan heard the Crimson Flame's voice in his head saying that it would first bring death.[5] The Flame dragged "Jonny", who was in fact a Soviet spy named Vladimir Sokov, underwater where he drowned; but it then restored him to life.[3]
Sokov was rescued by Soviet divers and Soviet scientists were able to harvest the Crimson Flame from the ocean floor after the Americans departed. Much of the flame flickered out but a small amount survived in a portable containment unit. For two years the Red Labs studied Sokov and the Crimson Flame to try and find a way to harness its power, but discovered that only Sokov could control the Flame. When Green Lantern revealed himself to the world, the Soviet government decided to use Sokov as an agent to counter Green Lantern and his Starheart. The containment unit was refashioned into a red lantern and the scientists created a power ring to focus its energy. Vladimir Sokov was given the ring and lantern to become Red Lantern, Russia's first superhero.[3]
Unbeknownst to Sokov, the Red Labs continued to experiment with the Crimson Flame, resulting in the creation of a legion of superhumans fuelled by its energies known as the Crimson Host.[1] The Host attacked Sokov and Green Lantern in New York City, and in the process killed Red Lantern and destroyed his lantern. Green Lantern and the Justice Society of America defeated the Crimson Host, but the the JSA's horror the Flame restored Sokov to life and he murdered the Host. Sokov was imprisoned by the United States Government and his ring was impounded, but he discovered that he was now able to summon the power of the Flame without a ring or lantern and escaped.[6]
Years later, his daughter Ruby was born with a natural connection to the Crimson Flame, giving her glowing red skin and making her a living power ring.[7]
Notes
- The Crimson Flame was first mentioned in The New Golden Age #1.
- Though it shares a name with Golden Age Wonder Woman villain Zara of the Crimson Flame, it is unclear if any connection between the two exists.
See Also
- Appearances of Crimson Flame
- Item Gallery: Crimson Flame
- Images featuring Crimson Flame