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As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
I remember a time when there weren't any Green Lanterns left. Just me. I carried the torch. That was a dark time. We survived. I don't know what threats are coming. All I know is they're going to have their hands full. Because the Green Lantern Corps is back. And that's not all. I'm back. Let's get to work.
- — Kyle Rayner src
Kyle Rayner is one of Earth's most powerful Green Lanterns, having also been the White Lantern and the host of Parallax and Ion.
Contents
History
Copy Edit Needed |
After saving the life of a construction worker in New York, Kyle Rayner was chosen to wield the other six rings in the Emotional Spectrum, in addition to his own green one. Soon after being attacked by Arkillo, Munk, Bleez and Fatality.[1] who believed he had stolen the rings, Kyle unsuccessfully tried to explain that the rings were not, indeed, stolen by him, to no avail. Later, however, he was rescued by Saint Walker, who traveled with him to Oa seeking answers.

Kyle as a Hybrid Lantern
When Rayner arrived, he realized that Ganthet had been stripped of his emotions and the Guardians demanded to know about the rings following him. When Kyle struggled to respond effectively, the Guardians sought to restrain him for interrogation but were shocked when all six rings chose Kyle as their respective users. They slipped onto his fingers and, to the shock of the Guardians, Kyle became the Lantern for the entire Emotional Spectrum.[2] Though initially overpowering the Guardians, he was soon overwhelmed and all of the rings, save his original Green Lantern Ring and an Orange Power Ring, were destroyed.
The Guardians tried to expel Kyle from the Green Lantern Corps and strip him of his ring, but this proved unsuccessful. Soon the Orange Lantern Ring revealed itself not to be a ring, but an Orange Lantern construct by the name of Glomulus. Again, the Guardians' citadel was breached, this time by Saint Walker and the cadre of ring bearers who had previously ambushed Kyle (Bleez, Munk, Fatality and Arkillo). A quick fight ensued between the two factions, with the Guardians emerging victorious. Having seen the intruders dealt with, the Guardians were ready to arrest all of their adversaries, at which point Larfleeze and his entire corp of orange constructs (with the exception of Sayd, whose head he was riding on) burst through the ceiling wall, declaring that they were all his.[3] With Larfleeze's help they managed to escape the Guardians and Sayd said that a force from beyond tried to pull Larfleeze's Orange Power Ring.
Rise of the Third Army
Incomplete |
Following the events of the Larfleeze-Invictus War and The Fall of The Blue Lanterns, Kyle prepared to fight the Guardians of the Universe. His first choice of color to master was the Red of Rage. Kyle was physically and verbally tormented by Atrocitus in a cemetery whilst Carol Ferris watched from the sidelines. Atrocitus tried to anger Kyle through sheer force and humiliation but sensed no angry spark within him.
Being thrown through the headstone of his former girlfriend Alexandra DeWitt, Kyle recalled in flashback, the happy times prior to her horrific murder at the hands of Major Force. Atrocitus berated Kyle further, but the sight of his former lover's grave just brought him sadness, not anger. Carol told Atrocitus that this wasn't the way to inspire rage, but Atrocitus threatened her not to interfere. Taking Kyle with him, Atrocitus promised Carol that upon their return, Kyle would "be a new man."
Atrocitus took Kyle to the Middle East where a small village was being massacred by a rebel faction. Again and again, Atrocitus forced Kyle to watch families slaughtered while Kyle tried to avert his gaze. However, increasingly angered by the slaughter and Atrocitus' own inaction against the bloodshed, Kyle finally channeled the blinding power of rage and transformed into a Red Lantern avatar. Using his new powers, Kyle killed all of the violent rebels and then angrily told Atrocitus that he was no better than the rebels to which Atrocitus replied, "No, child...I am WORSE!" Atrocitus left Kyle, reminding him of their bargain against the Guardians.
Kyle used the power of Hope to heal the wounded in the village before returning to Carol to witness her using her Star Sapphire ring to fix Alex DeWitt's headstone. However, Kyle appeared cold and unaffected by Carol's gesture. He told her that he would move onto the next color by asking his ring to locate Arkillo. Carol tried to speak to Kyle wondering what Atrocitus did to him, however, Kyle ignored her and flew off with Carol chasing after him.
Wrath of the First Lantern
Incomplete |
Lights Out
After the events of the Rise of the Third Army, Kyle was approached by the group of Templar Guardians who sought his assistance in navigating the universe in search of a better understanding of its inhabitants and its customs. Untrusting, Kyle declined at first, until Hal managed to persuade him, and that doing so would be in the best interest of the Green Lantern Corps and the universe because of the fact that these new Guardians could be potential threats, as the old Guardians were.
The first outing that Kyle and the Guardians undertook led them to the outer edge of the universe where an anomaly in the form of a giant floating mass was being studied by multiple spaceships and guarded by Exeter. The Guardians left Kyle to deal with Exeter while they would take a closer look at the anomaly. As Kyle wielded the white light to protect himself, the anomaly exploded and released Relic before the Guardians had a chance to warn him.
Now facing Relic and obviously out-powered, the Guardians called on the assistance of Carol Ferris, nonconsensually pulling her from Earth. As Kyle attempted to battle Relic, he was captured as the entity studied Kyle's memories. With the combined force of Carol Ferris and Exeter, Carol managed to talk Kyle out of his illusion as Relic fled with the collected information.
The group managed to track down Relic to the Blue Lantern Corps' home planet, where he attempted to drain their Central Power Battery. Despite the best efforts of the Blue Lanterns and Kyle's group, Relic managed to empty the battery's reservoir of hope. With an injured Saint Walker, the other Blue Lanterns sacrificed themselves to allow Walker and Kyle's group to escape via Kyle's Indigo teleportation powers.
Kyle space-warped the group to Oa where he met with Hal. They learned that the Green Lantern Central Power Battery was also acting out of sorts. Not long after, Relic arrived and encouraged the Lanterns to stand down by surrendering their rings. When they declined and began their attacks, no constructs seemed to harm him, and he successfully drained the Power Battery. Without an active power battery, Oa began self-destructing.
While John stayed to fight as a distraction, Hal and Kyle lead the other Lanterns to safety. While observing Oa's destruction from a safe distance, Kyle sensed the presence of most of the Entities- Ion, Adara, The Predator, Ophidian, The Butcher, Proselyte. They commandeered Kyle's body as a host and struck out at Relic. Hal and the other Lanterns tried in vain to force the entities to leave Kyle's body, but not until the Guardians reminded Kyle that he could pit the entities against each other long enough for him to take control and to contain them. From what Kyle learned from the Entities, he knew that he could not stop Relic but instead should help him save the universe.
When Kyle did find Relic, after all, the latter entrapped Kyle in a blanket of devices that drained the energy Relic needed until Hal and the Lanterns of every Lantern Corps managed to save him. The Lanterns distracted Relic long enough for Kyle to pull Relic through the Source Wall that guards the edge of the universe. The two of them disappeared until Relic was seen transforming into a part of the wall, a typical reaction to anyone who would venture too closely. Hal and the other corps members thought Kyle dead and transported themselves to Mogo, the new home planet of the Green Lanterns. The Guardians, though, stayed behind to study the wall when they saw Kyle reemerge from the other side. Kyle told them how the Entities sacrificed themselves to refill the reservoir that fuels the rings of the Lanterns. The Guardians decided that this was too important for others to know, and so they came to the decision that Kyle's survival must be kept a secret, as his journey had only just begun.
Gods and Monsters
Incomplete |
Oblivion
Incomplete |
The Psions
Incomplete |
Godhead
Incomplete |
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
- Artistry: Kyle is a skilled and creative artist. He's been an artist since he was born and has an equally long history of creativity. He's drawn, painted, sculptured, photographed, inked, colored, designed, and created thousands of works of art with or without his rings.
- Green Lantern Ring Mastery: Kyle's constructs are amongst the most powerful. Kyle's constructs are much more elaborate than those of any other green lanterns, often fading into view like a sketch refined into an illustration.
- Indomitable Will
Paraphernalia
Equipment
Weapons
- Green Lantern Ring
- White Lantern Ring (Formerly)
- Blue Lantern Ring (Formerly)
- Red Lantern Ring (Formerly)
- Qwardian Power Ring (Formerly)
- Indigo Power Ring (Formerly)
- Star Sapphire Ring (Formerly)
- Orange Lantern Ring (Formerly)
- Life Equation (Formerly)
Oath
"In brightest day, in blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship evil's might,
Beware my power...Green Lantern's light!"
Notes
- Kyle Rayner was created by Ron Marz, Bill Willingham, and Darryl Banks, first appearing in Green Lantern (Volume 3) #48. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Kyle Rayner first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Green Lantern: New Guardians #1 by Tony Bedard and Tyler Kirkham.
Recommended Reading
- Green Lantern Recommended Reading
- Green Lantern (Volume 1)
- Green Lantern (Volume 2)
- Green Lantern (Volume 3)
- Green Lantern (Volume 4)
- Green Lantern (Volume 5)
- The Green Lantern (Volume 1)
- Green Lantern Corps (Volume 1)
- Green Lantern Corps (Volume 2)
- Green Lantern Corps (Volume 3)
- Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors (Volume 1)
- Green Lantern: New Guardians (Volume 1)
- Green Lanterns (Volume 1)
- Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps (Volume 1)
Related
- 185 Appearances of Kyle Rayner (Prime Earth)
- 99 Images featuring Kyle Rayner (Prime Earth)
- 22 Quotations by or about Kyle Rayner (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Kyle Rayner (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
Green Lantern Corps member This character is or was a member of the Green Lantern Corps, chosen by the Guardians of the Universe to act as their sector's Green Lantern and to protect it from interstellar threats with a Power Ring. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Green Lantern Corps members category." |
Justice League member This character is or was a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from both interstellar and domestic threats. |
White Lantern Corps member This character is or was a member of the White Lantern Corps, guided by the Life Entity to wield the White Light of Life. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "White Lantern Corps members category." |
Titans member This character is or was primarily a member of the superhero team known as the Titans, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Titans members" category. |
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- Height 5'
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- Ron Marz/Creator
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- Characters
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- Copy Edit
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- Artistry
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- Indomitable Will
- Equipment provided energy construct creation
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- Green Lantern Corps members
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