Kyle Rayner
| Green Lantern | |
|---|---|
| File:Glkyle.PNG Green Lantern Kyle Rayner Art by Jim Lee. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Green Lantern v3 #48 |
| Created by | Ron Marz Darryl Banks |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Kyle Rayner |
| Team affiliations | Green Lantern Corps,, New Titans, Justice League of America |
| Notable aliases | Ion |
| Abilities | Power Ring |
Kyle Rayner is a fictional hero from the DC Comics universe.
History
Kyle Rayner was a struggling freelance artist when he was approached by the last Guardian of the Universe, Ganthet, to become a new Green Lantern with the last power ring. Ganthet did not choose Rayner for any particular reason; he simply needed to find someone to fill the role. Despite not being cut from the same cloth of bravery and fearlessness as Hal Jordan -- or perhaps because of that -- Kyle Rayner proved to have his fans.
Kyle was a gifted artist and a fan of comic books. He grew up enamored with Superman and Batman, though had only a passing knowledge of Earth's various Green Lanterns. This soon changed, and he found that the Green Lantern ring was the ultimate expression of his imagination. While in battle, he often used the ring's power to create constructs of other superheroes, anime characters, mystical characters, mechas, futuristic weapons and original characters from his comic books. While some questioned the practicality of those constructs, they often made Kyle an unpredictable opponent.
Rayner also joined the JLA. He initially clashed with the Flash early in his career -- who had issues about the new Lantern replacing Jordan, but worked it out and became one of Rayner's best friends and biggest supporters. Rayner also formed friendships with the Golden Age Green Lantern, Alan Scott, and his daughter Jade (also a Green Lantern previously). Kyle and Jade's relationship was a complicated, but ever growing one. Their relationship went as far as Kyle proposing and Jade believing she was pregnant. His adventures have mostly been confined to Earth, with a brief period of godhood as the imposing Ion. Kyle's godlike powers had drawbacks: Ion was one with everything, but Kyle Rayner could no longer sleep or separate himself from the overwhelming responsibilities. Rather than sacrifice his humanity, Kyle abandoned omnipotence, bleeding off the vast power (recharging the Central Power Battery on the planet Oa and helping to create a new group of Guardians in the process). Once again limited only by his willpower and imagination, Rayner's ring can affect yellow and does not have a set time limit on its power, though prolonged use can leave it depleted and in need of recharging. After the brutal beating of his young assistant and friend Terry, Kyle went on a lengthy self-imposed exile into space. Before leaving he placed John Stewart, recently revived from his parapeligia and given a new power ring, into his spot in the JLA. On his return, he discovered that Jade had begun seeing someone new, and was doing so in his own apartment.
After being tricked as part of a plot to steal his ring, into believing his mother had been murdered by Major Force, Kyle fought with the villain. Knowing Major Force was essentially immortal, Kyle decapitated him and shot his head off into space. Feeling that he was a danger to those he cared for, once again left for the far reaches of space. After the events of Rebirth, where he returned to Earth with Jordan's corpse, Kyle no longer operates on Earth. He was given his first official GLC assignment from Kilowog, and has met with the Guardians, along with Guy Gardner, about his future role in the Corps. He is given special status amongst the Guardians, who consider him the "torch bearer", the Green Lantern who carried the legacy through the Corps' darkest period.
Controversy
The editorial decision to turn Jordan into an homicidal maniac and replace him with Rayner was very controversial in comic book fandom, sparking a debate that has lasted for years in forums such as Usenet. Many fans consider the treatment of Jordan to be a betrayal of the character (some fans created a Jordan defense organization called H.E.A.T., "Hal's Emerald Advancement Team"), while other fans feel that Jordan's fate should not reflect badly on Rayner. Caught in the middle has been writer Ron Marz, who executed the editorial decision to replace Jordan with Rayner, and who has been defended as having done the best he could with a decision which was out of his hands.
The controversy is somewhat similar to that of replacing Barry Allen as The Flash with Wally West, except that Allen was, fans feel, given a heroic send-off while Jordan was not. Moreover, writer Mark Waid addressed the Allen/West controversy head-on and developed West into a fully-rounded character, while despite several attempts some feel that no similar catharsis has been provided in the case of Green Lantern.
Another Jordan/Rayner controversy stemmed from the Green Lantern: Rebirth miniseries, which cleared Hal Jordan of the crimes he apparently committed as Parallax, and returned him to active duty as a Green Lantern, followed by a new Green Lantern series beginning with issue #1. With Jordan's return, Kyle Rayner's place in the pecking order is seen as uncertain, which some fans having preemptively protested the apparent retro move. However, it should be pointed out that while Jordan's return means that Rayner will no longer be the "star" Green Lantern of the DC Universe, this does not necessarily mean that Rayner will disappear; Guy Gardner and John Stewart, for example, continued to be active presences throughout the decade of Jordan's absence as Green Lantern, and Gardner has now again become a GL himself. In addition, Rayner appeared in two 2005 miniseries: Rann/Thanagar War and Green Lantern Corps: Recharge. He co-starred in the latter with Kilowog and Guy Gardner, in which they are employed by the Guardians train a new army of Green Lantern recruits. Dave Gibbons, the writer on the former miniseries and co-writer (with Geoff Johns) on the latter, sparked further controversy due to his statements which claim that Rayner "doesn't have the soul of a Green Lantern." It is interesting to note, however, that in Green Lantern Corps: Recharge #1, when Kyle Rayner appears unannounced before the Guardians on Oa, some of them are visibly moved by his appearance, apparently holding him in great esteem and admiration as the "Torch-Bearer" and "The One Who Gave Us New Life" for his maintaining the GL legacy following Hal Jordan's descent as Parallax, which may be seen as the writers' way of bestowing some measure of prestige on him now that he is no longer the "star" of the monthly Green Lantern comic book.