Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner)

Kyle Rayner

Background
Kyle Rayner was a struggling-but-gifted freelance graphic artist who lived in Los Angeles when Hal Jordan, grief-stricken over the destruction of his home town, Coast City, went on a mad rampage killing the members of the Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe under the influence of Parallax. Rayner was found by the last surviving Guardian of the Universe, Ganthet, who gave Kyle the last working Green Lantern power ring. While Kyle took possession of the ring very lightly, his girlfriend, Alexandra DeWitt, encouraged him to be more responsible and helped him train for his new role as a superhero. Her murder and stuffing in a refrigerator by Major Force drove Rayner to take his role more seriously and he strove to be the best Green Lantern he could be.

After relocating to New York City, 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 of America where he embarked on a relationship with Jade, the daughter of Green Lantern (Alan Acott). For a brief period, Rayner achieved godhood as Ion after absorbing the energy Hal Jordan had left in Earth's Sun. With his new powers, Rayner could bend time, space, and reality. Rather than sacrifice his humanity, however, Rayner eventually abandoned omnipotence, bleeding off the vast power to recharge the Central Power Battery on Oa and helping to create a new group of Guardians and reviving the Green Lantern Corps in the process. After the brutal gay bashing of his young assistant and friend, Rayner went on a self-imposed exile into space. On his return, he discovered that Jade had begun seeing someone new. 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.

After being tricked into believing his mother had been murdered by Major Force, and feeling that he was a danger to those he cared for, Rayner once again left for the far reaches of space. He returns with Jordan's corpse and the discovery of the true nature of Parallax. Rayner 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.

When Jade dies during the Rann/Thanagar War, she transfers her power to Rayner, catalyzing his second transformation into Ion. Rayner learns his mother is dying of an unknown cause he returns home to attempt to reanimate his now-dead mother's corpse with the newly acquired powers, but she declines resurrection, asking Rayner to allow her to die, a request that the grief-stricken Rayner grants. Sinestro abducts Rayner from Oa and reveals to Kyle that he was responsible for infecting his mother with the sentient virus Despotellis to kill her in a plot to break Rayner's will so that he could serve as Parallax's new host. When Kyle is taken over by Parallax as Jordan once was, Parallax returns to Qward with the Sinestro Corps and is inducted into their ranks, becoming one of the Anti-Monitor's heralds.

With the help of Hal Jordan, Guy Gardner and John Stewart, Kyle is freed from Paralax's possession during the Sinestro Corps War on Earth. After the war he is assigned to the Honor Guard and sent to counsel Sodam Yat, the new Ion. Since his promotion to Honor Guard, Rayner has acted as a troubleshooter for the Corps, participating in actions such as the defeat of Sinestro Corps member Mongul and the capture of Sinestro Corps member Krybb. Following this, Rayner and Lantern Soranik Natu, daughter of Sinestro, began a romantic relationship.

Trivia

 * Kyle Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern Vol 3 #48 (January, 1994)