Kyle Rayner
| Ion | |
|---|---|
 Kyle Rayner from Ion #1. | |
| 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, JLA, New Titans |
| Notable aliases | Ion, Green Lantern, the 'Torch Bearer' |
| Abilities | Power Ring |
Ion is a fictional hero from the DC Comics universe, with the secret identity of Kyle Rayner. He was created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks, though neither have received official credit.
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. He is the only known Green Lantern to be able to create objects out of light using colors other then green.
Rayner also joined the 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 a number of 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.
The majority of Kyle's adventures have mostly been confined to Earth, with a brief period of godhood as the imposing Ion. 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 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, is keyed directly to him, will always return to him and though prolonged use can leave it partially depleted and in need of recharging.
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.
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, he once again left for the far reaches of space. After the events of Rebirth, where he returned with Jordan's corpse and insight into the true nature of Parallax, Kyle no longer operates on Earth. He was given his first official Green Lantern Corps 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.
Template:Spoiler
In the Rann-Thanagar War Infinite Crisis Special, Jade dies during a mission in the Rann/Thanagar conflict. Her power is transfered to Kyle Rayner vastly increasing his power, and it is this transfer that instigates Kyle's second metamorphosis into Ion.
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.
Recently it was revealed that Rayner will have his own 12-issue series called "Ion" after Infinite Crisis concludes. The last time Kyle was dubbed Ion, he had ascended past godhood after absorbing all of the energy from OA's power battery along with the Oblivion energies following Hal Jordan's death in the Final Night storyline.
In other media
Being created much too late to be a part of the animated DC products of the 70s and early 80s (like Superfriends), Kyle's only incarnation in a cinematic medium so far has been in the DC Animated Universe.
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 recognizeable Green Lantern), which is augmented by the fact that animated Kyle Rayner looks more like Hal than Kyle. It is not known why the two characters were blended for the DCAU.
The decision to pass on using Kyle in Justice League in favor of John Stewart caused a 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. Last we heard, Stewart is still stationed in 2814, and Kyle appears to be stationed on Oa, acting as a sort of field commander for the Lanterns posted there. In his Justice League appearances, Kyle has adopted his "variant" costume from the comics (thus lowering the resemblance to Hal Jordan ).
Kyle has also featured in the Justice League of America book series by Dennis O'Neil called "Hero's Quest", publishe 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.