Over the decades, there have been literally thousands of characters to wield the power ring of Rayner’s light has dimmed in recent years, and it’s all because of the heroic legacy that he has pioneered.
With other fan-favorite Green Lanterns like John Stewart or Jessica Cruz, it’s no wonder that not every Green Lantern gets adequate time to shine. But in the last few years, Kyle has hardly been much more than a background character - a dramatic shift for the character who was DC Comics’ star Green Lantern for the better part of a decade.
Unlike his Lantern predecessors, Kyle was not inducted into the Corps because he was particularly worthy. When Rayner is first given a ring in the pages of Green Lantern #50 by Ron Marz and Darryl Banks, he isn’t the usual fearless candidate chosen by the ring for his great willpower. Instead, Kyle is an everyman, the best of a bad situation in which a desperate Guardian of the Universe finds himself frantically searching for someone to carry on the Green Lantern legacy. Further differentiating Kyle from his fellow Lanterns like Hal Jordan or Guy Gardner is that he knows fear. As such, Rayner struggles with copious insecurities over his ability to live up to the legacy. Ultimately, he does so marvelously, even suring the previous Green Lanterns in the eyes of many fans, and as the first Green Lantern to “overcome great fear,” he’s served as a template for his Lantern successors.
Since Kyle’s time as the primary Green Lantern, fans have been introduced to more than a few worthy Corpsmen of the mantle. Whether it’s Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz, or most recently Jo Mullein, DC Comics has knocked it out of the park with one new fan-favorite Lantern after another. Unfortunately, this has left Rayner in an awkward position. In many ways, Kyle is treated like the forgotten middle child between the classic older Lanterns like Jordan or John Stewart and the newest generation of Ringslingers like Baz, Cruz, and Mullein. And though these new Lanterns have deservedly been in the spotlight, the roots of their characterizations can be traced back to Kyle.
Like Kyle Rayner before them, neither these Green Lanterns are worthy of iration, it’s unfortunate that DC’s former primary Green Lantern is portrayed as little more than a side character in recent years as this influx of amazing new Lanterns has led to Kyle Rayner taking a backseat to this newer generation.
As DC Comics’ Dark Crisis by Joshua Williamson and Daniel Sampere will be centered around legacy, it’ll be interesting to see whether or not the legacy of this iconic Green Lantern is explored in depth. After all, within the DC Universe, there’s an entire Green Lantern Corps of amazing characters to explore. But even when DC Comics forgets, there’s only one Kyle Rayner Green Lantern.
