Kyle Rayner

For the Marvel supervillain named Ion, see Ion (Marvel Comics).

Ion
Kyle Rayner in his second "Ion" costume. Promotional art for Ion #1, art by Ivan Reis.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	Green Lantern vol. 3, #48 (January 1994)
Created by	Ron Marz Darryl Banks
In-story information
Alter ego	Kyle Rayner
Team affiliations	Green Lantern Corps Justice League Titans
Notable aliases	Green Lantern
Abilities	Previously nigh-omnipotent with control over time and reality; Flight, energy manipulation, and other powers similar to a Green Lantern Corps Power Ring and the Starheart

Kyle Rayner is a fictional comic book superhero from the DC Comics universe, known for most of his publication history as Green Lantern, a member of the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. He is currently operating under the alias of Ion. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks, Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern vol. 3, #48, as part of the “Emerald Twilight” storyline, in which DC Comics controversially replaced perennial Green Lantern Hal Jordan with the younger Rayner in order to attract younger readers. Following Jordan’s return to GL status in the 2004–2005 limited series Green Lantern: Rebirth, and the 2005 crossover event Infinite Crisis, Rayner has again undertaken the identity of Ion, a role he had temporarily taken previously during his initial run as a Green Lantern. Rayner is the son of Aaron and Maura Rayner.

Character history

The last Green Lantern

Before he acquired a Green Lantern power ring, Kyle Rayner was a struggling-but-gifted freelance graphic artist. He lived and worked in Los Angeles initially. After Hal Jordan, grief-stricken over the destruction of his home town of Coast City, went on a mad rampage, killing or depowering the members of the Green Lantern Corps, including most of the Guardians of the Universe, who oversee the Corps, Rayner was found by Ganthet, the last surviving Guardian, and given the last GL power ring, the powerful weapon wielded by each Green Lantern that allows them to conjure any form of matter or energy solely with their willpower. Ganthet's reasons for choosing Kyle to bear the ring have never been made completely apparent, aside from Rayner having been in the right place at the right time. Rayner then moved to New York City.

His girlfriend, Alexandra DeWitt, helped Kyle train for his new role as a superhero, but was later murdered by the supervillain Major Force. Kyle later developed relationships with Donna Troy, and later Jade, the daughter of Alan Scott.

Kyle 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 just about anything his artistic mind could imagine: 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.

Justice League

Rayner joined the superhero group, the Titans for a brief time, during which he dated Donna Troy, but eventually became a member of the Justice League (JLA). He initially clashed with the Flash (Wally West) early in his career. West had grown up with Hal Jordan as the Green Lantern and he had reservations about Kyle replacing Jordan, but he eventually became one of Rayner's best friends and biggest supporters. Rayner also formed friendships with the Golden Age Green Lantern (Alan Scott), Scott's daughter Jade, Green Arrow Connor Hawke, and Green Lantern John Stewart.

Oblivion

During the 5 Week Event "Circle of Fire," it was discovered that a cosmic entity named Oblivion is the embodiment of Kyle's fear, unknowingly created when he first received the ring. It wasn't until later that Oblivion came to "merge" with Kyle. The Justice League tried to stop Oblivion, but during the battle, Kyle was sent back to Earth to get reinforcements. When he reached Earth, Kyle recruited Power Girl, The Atom, Firestorm, Adam Strange, and the Circle of Fire — ostensibly a group of Green Lanterns from alternate realities and different time periods. In reality, Kyle created all of these Green Lanterns. The Circle of Fire consisted of Kyle's late girlfriend Alex, a pair of juvenile siblings, a descendant of Wally West and Kyle Rayner who possessed both the Flash and Green Lantern's powers but could only use one of those powers a day, a reprogrammed Manhunter robot, and a Green Lantern from the Middle Ages.

This group was split up to handle different crises caused by Oblivion, or in some cases to search for a way to defeat him. Eventually they all realized that Kyle had created the Circle of Fire because he needed help. When they realized this, they decided that the created Green Lanterns should return to Kyle's mind. Doing so made Kyle unlock more power from the ring that he hadn't used before. In a confrontation with Kyle, Oblivion revealed that he was a distillation of Kyle's doubts and darker impulses, made manifest through the power of the ring. After facing up to this, Kyle was able to defeat Oblivion and restore the Justice League.

Ion

Main article: Green Lantern: Power of Ion

For a brief period, Kyle achieved godhood as Ion, when he absorbed the leftover energy in the sun after Hal Jordan sacrificed his life in the Final Night limited series, energy which had merged and grown with energies released after Oblivion's defeat. With his new powers, Kyle could bend time, space, and reality. Kyle could even be in many places at once. Kyle's trans-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 (the headquarters of the Guardians), and helping to create a new group of Guardians in the process. Before he purged all of the power, though, he modified his ring. Once again limited only by his willpower and imagination, Rayner's ring can still affect yellow, does not have a set time limit on its power, and is keyed directly to him. Kyle modified the ring so that it would always return to him, and so that it would always have a lifeline of power available (although the ring still required charging to get up to full power).

After the brutal beating of his young assistant and friend Terry Berg, Kyle went on a lengthy self-imposed exile into space. Before leaving, he placed John Stewart, recently revived from his paraplegia 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. He left New York and spent some time trying once again to find his place on Earth, and ended up staying with his mother for a brief time.

Green Lantern: Rebirth

After being tricked 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, Rayner once again left for the far reaches of space. During the events of Rebirth, he returned with Jordan's corpse and insight into the true nature of Parallax, risking his life to save Jordan when everyone else had practically given up on him - an action that, according to Jordan, proved that Kyle was worthy of the mantle of Green Lantern, whatever the likes of Sinestro claimed. With Hal's resurrection, Kyle no longer operates on Earth. He was given his first official Green Lantern Corps assignment from Kilowog, and met with the Guardians, along with Guy Gardner, about his role in the Corps. There, 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.

Infinite Crisis, and the return of Ion

Template:Spoiler In Infinite Crisis, Alexander Luthor reveals that had the Multiverse continued to exist after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Rayner would have been a native of Earth-Eight. When Jade dies during the Infinite Crisis, she transfers her power to Rayner, catalyzing his transformation into Ion.

In the series Ion: Guardian of the Universe, Kyle moves to a secluded retreat for artists and flirts with a mute girl named Marissa Rochelle. Kyle as Ion seemingly destroys a fleet of starships and violently attacks two Green Lanterns, Kyle has no memory of the destruction and only learns of his possible role in it after being attacked by a bounty hunter. Upon visiting the fleet's wreckage, Kyle loses control and finds himself near Mogo, the sentient planet Green Lantern. On Mogo, Kyle converses with former girlfriends Alex, Donna, and Jade and fights Major Force. Kyle realizes that as Ion, he is able to channel the green energy of both the Starheart and the Central Battery.

The Guardians forbid the Green Lanterns to leave Oa to help Kyle but do not mention those off-world. Kilowog contacts Hal Jordan to check on Kyle. Jordan finds Ion destroying a planet and attempts to speak with him, but the being lashes attacks. Jordan scans Ion with his ring and discovers that the rampaging Ion is in fact Alex Nero. Kyle catches up with Jordan, and Nero claims that his connection with Kyle and new powers are the result of a third party's interference.

With Nero in tow, Kyle confronts the Guardians and asks what they knew about his becoming Ion, why Nero was wreaking havoc as Ion, and why they ordered the Green Lantern Corps to not assist him. The Guardians claim they ordered the other Green Lanterns not to help because he needed to pass one final test for them to be sure he can handle his power. They explain that they had planned for Kyle to hold an honored position among Green Lanterns, but that he now possesses the power to revive the Green Lantern Corps, should it ever be destroyed again. The Guardians tell Kyle that he will no longer be required to patrol, but will be called in during situations that the Corps cannot handle by themselves. The Guardians admit that they only know that some unforeseen enemy has set Nero on a path of destruction to Oa. Nero unleashes a massive amount of energy, but Kyle dissipates the energy.

Kyle returns to Earth, where he again bests the bounty hunter, who is enslaving Marissa. Resuming his life as an artist, Kyle returns to his cabin. There, he is met by a Monitor, who tells him that he is supposed to have died. The Monitor speaks later on behalf of Kyle with his four "brothers", delaying for a while his final sentence on the young hero fate.

Resuming his superhero career, Kyle discovers that other enemies, like his old nemesis Effigy, are being put on his tracks. The captured Effigy could only say that Kyle location's was given to him in a subliminal way, thus Effigy cannot give a name to the unknown enemy, and, as the Gurdians discovers interrogating Nero, the knowledge of the enemy himself was expunged by his minions' mind.

As an amend for Nero's actions, Kyle returns to Alytt, the planet scorched by Nero while using his name, and clears his reputation fighting as a champion for Arianna, the local princess. He wins a peace treaty in favour of her people, being granted her gratitude and affections, but he's interrupted by Guy Gardner, bearing "bad news" about her mother.

In a log cabin in California, the two young boys from the final pages of Infinite Crisis discuss the powers of Tangent Comics green lantern they've found. The lantern flames, reigniting its powers.

Controversy

File:Green64.jpg

Cover to Green Lantern vol. 3, #64. Art by Darryl Banks.

The editorial decision to turn Jordan into a homicidal maniac and replace him with Rayner was very controversial in comic book fandom, sparking a debate that has lasted for years. 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"). Other groups of fans, even long-time Green Lantern fans, approved of the removal of the Jordan character from the book and the creation of Rayner to replace him. 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. Despite being cut from a different cloth of bravery and fearlessness as Hal Jordan—or perhaps because of this—Kyle Rayner proved to have his fans.

The controversy is frequently contrasted with DC's decision in 1986 to replace Barry Allen as the Flash with Wally West. The latter is cited as an example of a replacement "done right". Not only was Barry Allen allowed to go out as a hero, Wally West continues to honor his legacy. Kyle Rayner, on the other hand, was created to replace the entire Green Lantern mythos to date, which was demolished in his origin story.

Appearances in other media

Television

Created much too late to be a part of the animated DC products of the 70s and early 80s (such as Superfriends), Kyle's only incarnation in a cinematic medium so far has been in the DC animated universe.

File:RaynerSTAS.jpg

Kyle Rayner in Superman: The Animated Series.

His first appearance was in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "In Brightest Day", which introduced the Green Lantern mythos into the DCAU. He was voiced here by Michael P. Greco. Kyle was a newspaper commercial artist for the Daily Planet (and a wannabe comic artist) when he was chosen by the Lantern ring. The ring had come from Abin Sur, who sent it off with his dying breath (having been shot down to Earth by Sinestro). Mere moments after receiving the ring, Kyle had to fight for his life against Sinestro. With Superman's help, Kyle defeated Sinestro and confirmed his place amongst the Lantern Corps. This story is closer to the origin of Hal Jordan (the more recognizable Green Lantern), which is augmented by the fact that animated Kyle Rayner looks more like Hal than Kyle. During one of the battle scenes, the fight is taken to an Air Force base—"Col. Hal Jordan" can be seen stenciled on the side of one of the fighter jets shown. Officially, it is not known why the two characters were blended for the DCAU, although it is likely due to controversy mentioned above.

File:ThereturnJLU.jpg

Kyle Rayner in the Justice League Unlimited series

Later, the decision to pass on using Kyle in Justice League in favor of John Stewart caused mild controversy amongst DCAU fans. Stewart was established in Justice League as having been a Lantern for 10–15 years, which seemed to directly contradict the continuity established as having Abin Sur as Sector 2814's Lantern (the sector including Earth) and Rayner following him. This error was slowly fixed in the series by explaining further that Stewart's time as a Lantern before the actual timeframe of Justice League was spent in a different sector than 2814, and that he returned very recently to Earth. His return, it seems, was to take Abin Sur's place as the 2814 Lantern while Kyle was brought to Katma Tui for training (referenced in the episode "Hearts and Minds"). Kyle is seen amongst the mourners at Superman's funeral in "Hereafter", and finally returns with a speaking part in the Justice League Unlimited episode "The Return". This time, he is played by Will Friedle. Stewart is still stationed in 2814, and Kyle is stationed on Oa, acting as a sort of field commander for the Lanterns posted there. In his Justice League Unlimited appearance, Kyle has adopted a "variant" costume and hairstyle from the comics (thus lowering the resemblance to Hal Jordan).

Books

Kyle has also featured in the Justice League of America book series by Dennis O'Neil called "Hero's Quest", published by Pocket Star Books in 2005. The story takes place outside of both the JLA book series and the mainstream DCU storyline. It retells how Kyle came across the ring, changing the events surrounding it, and the origins of superheroes on Earth. Rather than Hal destroying the Corps, it was instead the Guardians abandoning the Corps to remake the Universe, and Kyle is chosen by Ganthet to be the one to stop them as the new Green Lantern.

Games

Kyle Rayner makes an appearance in Justice League Heroes as an unlockable character.

External links

• DCDP: Ion - DC Database Project
• Alan Kistler's Profile On: GREEN LANTERN - Comic book historian Alan Kistler gives this in-depth three-part article on the full general history of the Green Lanterns, from the original stories of Alan Scott all the way down through Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner, with discussions on their enemies, the characters that inspired them and the stories that were planned but never happened. Lots of image scans.