Why Alan couldn’t cut it-
I’m not beating the “is obsessed with the 82’ novelization accusations, this is my 5th time reading it. In my defense it’s great and adds a lot of detail, anyways.
The way it talks about Alan and his morals really struck me. They put him into a great contrast with Dillinger and even Flynn, who ultimately does good but is a bit looser when it comes to following rules. The paragraph says it better than I’m going to but his decision to go along with the break in plan comes simply because he feels what’s happening at ENCOM is wrong. Someone has to do something, Alan waits before acting himself sees if anyone attacks from a legal Avenue. A “someone will” attitude, because he has so much faith in others that he knows it’s not just him who will see a issue and want to do something about it. Not him but someone will… unfortunately we don’t live in a world with many “doers”. His decision to go along with the break in is a spur of the moment, he’s struck with sympathy for Flynn and his already existent frustration and sense of wrong. It’s probably one of the first times he doesn’t talk himself into backing down.
Alan is a good man. A honest man and a hard worker who’s faith in others is a bit higher than they deserve. He’s a rarity! A honest, rule following businessman. That’s why he could never last at the top of ENCOM, in “the last day” short film and likely the Flynn lives campaign there’s a brief mention of Alan being a Temp CEO while Flynn was missing. This was a very brief period in the 90s that quickly saw him pushed back down onto the board and basically being expected to shut up. Almost a quite firing. He’s not cut out for the cutthroat corporate game - he’s good at deals and explaining what they do but that only gets you so far… I can also see why from a talk perspective. In the Paranoids online mini video he absolutely flounders until Lora swoops in to save him. He’s not exactly Flashy Kevin flynn who could go “woof” into the mic and make the crowd go wild.
Additionally I love how much this puts him into contrast with Tron. For all the things that make Alan weak in the business world are what make Tron the admirable chosen warrior, the noble hero, within the grid. Here all of the best aspects of Alan are commemorated. That honesty, faith and stalwart behavior are better suited for the mythical other world of fairytale endings. Good conquers evil, the MCP explodes and the end. In the real world? Good luck, good guys can’t seem to win anymore.