Kyle Rayner was always unique in the history of the Green Lantern Corps. Chosen at random to be the last Lantern after the Corps was all but wiped out, Kyle Rayner operated for years without the thousands of other Corpsmen as back-up, although he did frequently turn to his surviving predecessors like John Stewart and Alan Scott for advice. He was responsible for protecting the entire galaxy, not just one space sector, and he eventually proved worthy of standing alongside the greatest heroes of Earth.
When Kyle’s most famous predecessor, Hal Jordan, returned to life as a Lantern in Green Lantern: Rebirth, Kyle found himself in an odd place. But even as the Corps fully returned, Kyle wound up occupying unique roles that emphasized that he was still a special Lantern.
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Created by Ron Marz and Darryl Banks, Kyle Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern #48 in 1994. After Hal Jordan became possessed by Parallax he went on a rampage throughout space that destroyed the Green Lantern Corps. Ganthet escaped to Earth where he encountered Kyle and gave him the last green power ring. Kyle became the last Green Lantern, though he didn’t fully dedicate himself to the role until after the infamous death of his girlfriend, Alex DeWitt.
Kyle would serve on both the Titans and the Justice League, even though he doubted his own worth as one of the DC universe’s great heroes. Green Lantern stories featuring Kyle continued to update and adjust the franchise’s mythology in ways that would influence future tales for years. Kyle’s ring was more powerful than others as it lacked many of their weaknesses, such as the vulnerability to yellow. Kyle continuously pushed the limits of what was possible with the ring and after absorbing various kinds of energy from two different villains he achieved god-like power. This was the first time he called himself Ion but he soon gave up the additional power to retain his humanity.
More than a decade after Kyle was introduced, Hal Jordan fully returned to his old, heroic self in the monumental limited series Green Lantern: Rebirth. Despite Hal’s starring role, Kyle also had an important part to play in this crucial Green Lantern tale. While patrolling deep space he discovered an alien population’s tales of Parallax, making him the first of Earth’s heroes to realize Parallax was its own monstrous being, not just a villainous identity Hal adopted.
Following orders from Ganthet, Kyle retrieved Hal’s corpse and brought it back to Earth. The ensuing battle again highlighted Kyle’s unique importance. Due to his more thorough experiences with the emotion of fear Kyle was the only active Green Lantern capable of resisting Parallax’s influence. After Hal’s soul was freed it returned to his body and he and Kyle teamed up to dispatch Sinestro before sharing their first normal meeting with one another, in which their mutual respect was obvious. Hal and Kyle then worked with John Stewart, Guy Gardner, and Kilowog to defeat Parallax.
Following “Rebirth” the Green Lantern Corps was fully restored and the Green Lantern solo comic was relaunched with Hal in the lead role. Despite this, Kyle maintained a special place in the Lantern ranks. Kyle became Ion once more after Jade transferred her power to him before dying during the “Infinite Crisis” event. Following this, the Guardians gave Kyle the rank of “Torchbearer” for his valiant service during the Corps’ darkest hour. Considered the most powerful member of the Corps, Kyle was not given a specific sector to patrol but would be called on in times of emergency throughout the galaxy.
His new position didn’t last long, however, as Sinestro secretly had Kyle’s mother killed to imbue him with overwhelming fear. During “The Sinestro Corps War” Sinestro defeated Kyle and removed the power of Ion from him, revealing that it was actually the sentient embodiment of willpower, a counterpart to Parallax, that had possessed Kyle. But Hal and the other Earth Lanterns helped him free himself and Kyle and Hal personally arrested Sinestro at the end of the war.
Following the war, Kyle was made a member of the Green Lantern Honor Guard, and along with Guy Gardner, became a main character in the Green Lantern Corps ongoing. Kyle and Guy set up a bar on Oa for fellow Lanterns to enjoy and this was the first time Kyle was fully integrated into the Corps as a regular member. Still, he has continued to find himself in unique situations since, including when he became the White Lantern.
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