Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner is a male comic superhero who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Kyle Rayner was the son of Aaron Rayner and Maura Rayner though his father had left his wife when she was pregnant with their son. The boy was raised in North Hollywood by his mother as her only child with Maura and her son living a modest lifestyle.
Kyle's grandfather was a skilled anthropologist, adventurer and explorer named Roderick "Snowy" Rayner who had worked alongside Buck Wargo. (Green Lantern 80-Page Giant v1 #2)
Whilst his mother sought his missing father, she neglected her son with Kyle looking after himself and during these years he fell into a wrong crowd by following a gang in school thinking they were his friends. During this time, the gang were bullies in school and Kyle participated in their actions though he personally disagreed with them. After picking on a freshman named Michael, the gang attracted the attention of fifth-year senior Otis Wilkins who could not stand bullies and warned them off leading to a fight with Rayner. Rayner was confident his gang would be there to support him but they left him alone during his fight which he lost. The fight, however, convinced Kyle that the gang were not his friends and he did not want to be a bully. The next day he decided to help others instead and fought his former gang including their leader Dirk where he beat them up when they were attempting to bully another student. (Green Lantern 80-Page Giant v1 #1)
By adulthood, he lived the life of a gifted but struggling freelance graphic artist who began living and working in Los Angeles.
Green Lantern
Alex broke up with Kyle because he was irresponsible, so he went to the Heretic Club for some drinks. Ganthet, the sole survivor of the Guardians of the Universe after Green Lantern Hal Jordan went rogue and killed the rest, appeared to Kyle and gave him the last remaining Green Lantern power ring, telling him he'd know what to do with it. Kyle put it on and was transformed into the last Green Lantern. He had to tell someone, so he told Alex, and she agreed to get back together with him and move to New York City with him. The next day she got a call to cover supervillain Ohm trashing Rodeo Drive, and Kyle thought it would be a good time to start his superhero career. His total lack of experience made the fight incredibly difficult for him but in the end he was victorious. (Green Lantern v3 #51) Kyle and Alex went to the beach so Kyle could be undisturbed practicing the use of the power ring. Alex helped him along by suggesting he use his skills as a graphic artist to make power ring constructs. Mongul, mistaking Kyle for Green Lantern Hal Jordan, attacked him with the intent of killing Kyle. Superman arrived and helped Green Lantern defeat Mongul. Green Lantern was thrilled to have a team-up with Superman and defeat a major villain, and although Superman was wondering where Hal Jordan was he gave the new Green Lantern some encouraging words before he left. (Green Lantern v3 #53) Kyle caught a news report about time anomalies caused by Zero Hour, and Alex encouraged him to act like a real hero and investigate. He encountered a city from the future and an earthquake from the past, and managed to save lives during the chaos. He returned home eager to tell Alex about his heroic exploits, only to discover her murdered by Major Force, who was after his ring. Kyle saw red and fought Force, but during the battle his power ring ran out of energy. Force had a green shard on his person that landed in the alleyway where Kyle got his ring from Ganthet. The shard turned into a power battery in the presence of the power ring, and with his powers renewed Kyle beat Force. The battle alerted local authorities, and Force revealed he was working for the federal government, and Kyle fled home. Green Lantern Alan Scott was waiting for him at his home, and told him the history of the Green Lantern Corps and the recent events that led Hal Jordan to destroy the Corps and Guardians. Kyle wanted to get rid of the power ring because he blamed it for Alex's death, but Alan told Kyle that when the time came to take Hal down he would be needed. (Green Lantern v3 #55)
He was among the Justice League members targeted by the League of Assassins when Ra's al Ghul acquired Batman's secret plans for use against his comrades in case he ever had to battle them. (JLA v1 #45)
Torchbearer
Green Lantern Corps
The Guardians came to dispatch Kyle to aid in the search for Ray Palmer who was lost somewhere within the Nanoverse. Rayner thus journeyed into Sorcerer's World where he helped save Donna from Belthera. He then joined Donna, Jason Todd, Ryan Choi and the Monitor called Bob in finding Palmer where he informed his compatriots that he informed them that Ray was somewhere within the Multiverse. (Countdown v1 #33) Kyle set about aiding them in their journey when they lost Ryan Choi to an unseen force. Despite wanting to search for Choi, Jason Todd and the Monitor insisted that the mission was more important with Kyle reluctantly continuing the search for Ray Palmer. However, a hidden force was affecting their ability to find Palmer thus causing them to end up on other alternate Earths such as Earth-30 and Earth-3. (Countdown v1 #32)
White Lantern
He was told by the Templar Guardians that there was a residual connection to the White Light that was being exploited by Highfather to use the Life Equation. Thus, Kyle sought to reclaim it and engaged Highfather in a mental fight over it. During this time, Kyle was overwhelmed but highlighted the fact that Highfathers actions were just as bad as Darkseid. This led to the New God coming to an understanding over his actions and he decided to relinquish control over the Life Equation. As a result, Kyle became the White Lantern once more where he used the last of his power to banish the Source-Titans ravaging New Genesis. The act spurred hope in Saint Walker who became a Blue Lantern once more where he helped boost the power of the green rings allowing the Green Lantern Corps to save the crashing New Genesis. In gratitude, Highfather ended the state of hostility with the Lantern Corps and had them returned back to normal space with Kyle resuming his duties as the White Lantern. (Green Lantern Annual v5 #3)
Back in Green
In an effort to restore hope, Ganthet and Sayd asked Kyle to channel the White Light's power into resurrecting the Blue Lanterns by using Saint Walker as a means to achieve this feat. However, some force prevented him from using this power and instead his white ring was sundered into its component parts that sought new wielders. As a result, Kyle's time as the White Lantern came to an end with a single green ring behind that inducted Rayner back as a Green Lantern. (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1 #17)
He received an emergency beacon signal and arrived on an isolated world to discover the Titans who were stranded on the planet. (Titans v3 #30) After returning the Titans to Earth, he received a briefing on the nature of the threats they faced from the ruptured Source Wall and decided to join the team in order to stop emergent Source energy events on the planet. (Titans v3 #31)
Overview
Personality and attributes
It was said that Rayner wanted to do right and help people. (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1 #21) Kyle could find the good in everyone which was a trait that made him different from others. (Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1 #23)
One of his fears was that when asleep that his ring would manifest his nightmares. This led to Kyle deciding never to sleep with his ring on. (JLA v1 #45)
Powers and abilities
He could instil his spirit within his ring allowing it to continue with his personality and knowledge longer after his body was dead so long as it retained power for its continued functions. (JLA v1 #73)
Notes
- Kyle Rayner was created by Ron Marz, Bill Willingham and Darryl Banks where he made his first appearance in Green Lantern v3 #48 (January, 1994).
Alternate Versions
- In JLA v1 #9 (1997), the Key used a psycho-virus to put the Justice League into a dream state where they imagined separate worlds from reality. Within this dream world, Kyle was shown to had become Weaponeer 500 and the Sector-Dictator for the Qwardians of the Galaxy.
In Countdown v1 #30 (2007), an alternate version of Kyle Rayner was shown to had existed in the Multiverse in one incarnation of Earth-15. On this Earth, he came to be the Green Lantern of the planet and was on the Justice League alongside Donna Troy who operated as Wonder Woman, Jason Todd who was Batman and General Zod who was Superman in this reality.
In other media
Television
- In the DC Animated Universe, the character made a few appearances in the shared animated continuity setting.
- In Superman: The Animated Series, Kyle Rayner made his first appearance in the episode "In Brightest Day" where he was voiced by actor Michael P. Greco.
- In Justice League, Kyle Rayner was mentioned in the episode "Hearts and minds" where it was revealed that John Stewart had sent the new recruit to be trained by Katma Tui.
Video games
- In DC Universe Online, Kyle Rayner made an appearance in the MMORPG game where he was voiced by actor Robert S. Fisher.
Appearances
- Green Lantern v3:
- JLA v1:
- Green Lantern Corps:
- Countdown v1:
- Green Lantern: New Guardians:
- Green Lantern Annual v5:
- Omega Men:
- Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps v1:
- Titans v3:
External Link
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