KYLE RAYNER, GREEN LANTERN OF SECTOR 2814
Created By: Ron Marz & Darryl Banks
First Appearance: Green Lantern #48 (Jan. 1994)
Role: Upstart Rookie Hero, Flying Blaster
Group Affiliations: The Titans, The Justice League of America, The Green Lantern Corps.
PL 13 (220)
STRENGTH 2 STAMINA 3 AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 7 DEXTERITY 4
INTELLIGENCE 1 AWARENESS 2 PRESENCE 2
Skills:
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Art) 8 (+9)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 7 (+8)
Expertise (Space Hero) 4 (+5)
Insight 3 (+5)
Intimidation 2 (+4)
Investigation 2 (+4)
Persuasion 4 (+6)
Perception 4 (+6)
Ranged Combat (GL Blasts) 3 (+11)
Vehicles 1 (+5)
Advantages:
Accurate Attack, Defensive Attack, Extraordinary Effort, Improved Critical (Blast), Improved Aim, Luck, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 4, Set-Up, Teamwork, Ultimate Will Save
Powers:
"Oan Green Lantern Ring" (Flaws: Removable) [115]
(Feats: Restricted- Overcomes Great Fear, Unbreakable)
Create 15 (Feats: Precise, Dynamic) (Extras: Impervious 13, Movable 12) (57) -- (81)
- Dynamic AE: Blast 15 (Feats: Dynamic, Precise, Penetrating 8) (41)
- Dynamic AE: "Multi-Blast" Blast 12 (Feats: Dynamic, Penetrating 5) (Extras: Multiattack) (43)
- Dynamic AE: "Area Blast" Damage 12 (Feats: Dynamic, Penetrating 8) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Line) (33)
- Dynamic AE: "Area Blast" Damage 12 (Feats: Dynamic, Penetrating 8) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable) (33)
- Dynamic AE: Snare 14 (Feats: Dynamic, Reversible) (44)
- Dynamic AE: Snare 12 (Feats: Dynamic, Reversible) (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable) (Flaws: Touch Range) (38)
Dynamic AE: Move Object 16 (Feats: Dynamic) (33) - Dynamic AE: Immunity 7 (Heat, Cold, Pressure, Radiation, Vacuum, Suffocation 2) (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Affects Others Only +0, 30ft. Burst, Ranged) (22)
- Dynamic AE: "Boosted Field" Force Field 6 (Feats: Dynamic) (Extras: Impervious 15, Affects Others 12) (35)
- Dynamic AE: "Flashlight" Environment 1 (Light) (Feats: Dynamic) (2)
- Dynamic AE: "Ring Sensors" Senses 7 (Feats: Dynamic) (Detect Energy & Life- Ranged 2 & Analytical, Communication Link- Central Power Battery) (12)
- Dynamic AE: Communication (Electronic) 5 (Feats: Dynamic) (Flaws: Green Lanterns Only after 3 ranks) (19)
Flight 9 (1,000 mph) (18)
Movement 3 (Space Travel 2, Environmental Adaptation- Zero Gravity) (6)
"Standard Force Field" Force Field 6 (Extras: Impervious 7) (13)
"Universal Translator" Comprehend 4 (Languages 4) (8)
Enhanced Advantages 5: Equipment 5- Green Lantern Database (5)
Features 2: Quick Change 2 (2)
-- (141 points)
Offense:
Unarmed +8 (+2 Damage, DC 17)
Blast +11 (+15 Ranged Damage, DC 30)
Multi-Blast +11 (+12 Ranged Damage, DC 27)
Area Blasts +12 (+12 Damage, DC 27)
Snare +11 (+14 Ranged Affliction, DC 24)
Area Snare +12 (+12 Affliction, DC 22)
Initiative +4
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +8 (DC 18), Toughness +3 (+10 Standard Field, +16 Full Field, +4-11 Impervious), Fortitude +6, Will +12
Complications:
Power Loss (Will)- Green Lantern Rings depend upon the Will of their wielder. If Kyle fails a Will Save (such as from being intimidated or mentally-screwed with), he will drop Constructs and Force Fields.
Power Loss (Out of Energy)- Power Rings must be recharged via their Lanterns occasionally, and will run out of power after extended use.
Power Loss (High Levels of Power)- Green Lanterns must pass Will Saves to bring their power effects any higher than their natural Will Save +2 (in Kyle's case, 14). This includes Blasts, Move Object & Force Fields.
Responsibility (The Green Lantern Corps)
Relationship (Various)- Kyle lost his first girlfriend to Major Force and a refrigerator. He later dated Donna Troy, Jade and Soranik Natu, among others.
Responsibility (The Legacy of Hal Jordan)- Kyle took years to overcome comparing himself to Hal Jordan, "The Greatest Green Lantern Ever". Especially notable is Kyle's ability to feel fear- most Green Lanterns to this point where said to be "Fearless". In the end, this proves to be one of Kyle's strengths.
Rivalry (The Flash)- Wally West often disrespected Kyle openly- it took a long time for him to accept Kyle's validity as Green Lantern.
Total: Abilities: 50 / Skills: 42--21 / Advantages: 14 / Powers: 115 / Defenses: 20 (220)
Kyle Rayner- Then The Most Controversial Replacement Character Ever?:
-Hoo boy, remember the days when replacing a superhero with a Legacy Character was controversial and provoked flame wars? Sure glad we're past THAT. Few characters in comics have ever been as controversial as Kyle Rayner. Me, I never saw it, but that's because I had little understanding of Hal Jordan. So to me, Kyle was the "rookie super hero" of the '90s, following the rest of the Justice League around, doing occasionally crazy-powerful things the more crack-induced the writer was in deciding what "creating anything" counts as (Mech Suit? No problem! Defillibrator? OK! Decompression Chamber? YES! Oh, and let's wrap the ENTIRE FRIGGIN' MOON up in Green Energy combined with Wonder Woman's Invisible Jet). I never read his solo series and didn't really get any of it, but reading JLA I really bought his whole "I can't handle this- it's like playing with the Beatles" everyman schtick, so I dug it. Except the crab mask. But boy did fans take a while to accept him.
-So Kyle Rayner ended up being created to be a whole NEW Green Lantern after Hal Jordan was turned into an insane mass-killer known as Parallax. DC, finding the Green Lantern concept poison and wanting to just scrap the entire thing and start over for whatever reason (I get the impression sales sucked ass for a LONG time), decided that a brand-new hero was needed in the title role. So Guy Gardner became "Warrior", John Stewart became a Darkstar and the entire Corps was destroyed, and this normal everyman was chosen to be the sole remaining Green Lantern in existence. Kyle was "One Of Us"- a comic book geek and self-described "manga nut with a Power Ring" to make sure fans would take to him (...), and he was immediately given the "Rocket Push".
Kyle Rayner- Struggling Superhero:
-Kyle is a comic book artist who is gifted the last remaining Green Lantern Ring by the last Guardian of the Universe- Ganthet merely appears and says "You will have to do", and Kyle's the new Green Lantern, entirely unprepared. He takes the job very lightly at first, and in an incident that still reverberates across the entire industry, he's given an "Uncle Ben Moment" as his girlfriend Alexandra is created solely to die- she is murdered and stuffed into his refrigerator by the villain Major Force. Seen as a callous example of a disposable female character, this led to "Women in Refrigerators", the foundation of Gail Simone as a major voice in comics, and a massive debate about sexism in the industry. This has led to critiques, fair and unfair, ever since- supporting characters of all sexes and species have been treated this way ever since people learned that "Dead Friends = Angst = Sales", but that it happened disproportionately to females is hard to ignore, and that the industry was mostly sporting males it power made that... icky.
-ANYWAYS, this is how Kyle learns his lesson and decides to be serious about his job. But DC went so overwhelmingly into "Not only does Hal suck, but he's a mass-murdering butthole" that the fan backlash against Kyle was TREMENDOUS, creating a ten-year debate about "Hal vs. Kyle". The clumsy way Kyle was handled didn't help. He was given the "Ideal Comic Book Woman" girlfriend in Donna Troy so fanboys would want to be him (I mean, I assume so- Donna is perf), joined the Titans book under Arsenal to give him an established group, given power feat upon power feat, and did cool things with his powers. But fans of Hal haaaaaaaaaaated him. Wizard Magazine constantly talked about the Hal/Kyle wars and gave both sides a voice. Donna broke up with Kyle when John Byrne had Donna's entire family (ex-husband, son and stepdaughter) killed off in a car accident). And in Hitman, Garth Ennis managed to write him as a complete, easily-led doofus who looked ridiculous, then later implied that he was drugged and sodomized by Bueno Excellente. Both surely among Ares's favorites scenes in comics, lol.
Kyle Joins the JLA:
-I think the thing that ultimately saved Kyle Rayner was that Grant Morrison got put onto the JLA book and made it the "Big Seven", including Kyle in their number. And here, Kyle was PERFECT. Instead of this dumb schmuck who kept screwing up, he was the try-hard rookie who was in over his head. And he SAID he was in over his head. It was brought up constantly, with The Flash (a former coworker of Hal's) being big on ripping Kyle's inexperience. Superman & Wonder Woman were more uplifting, and Batman of all people seemed to appreciate Kyle because of his desire to learn. But stuff like "this is like playing with the Beatles" and things humanized him, putting fans into his position better than just making him a nerd ever could. His insecurity made him feel like an actual person, and someone to be empathized with. And so when Morrison wrote Kyle as doing all this outlandish stuff, culminating in a big battle where Flash comes up and says "You look like GREEN LANTERN, man", it felt earned and real. It says something that a writer as good as Kurt Busiek ran the same angle during The Avengers with Justice, and didn't do it 1/4 as well as Morrison did. This MADE Kyle.
-Kyle went through a bunch of stuff in his solo book, naturally. His new "Comic Book Hottie" girlfriend was Jade, bridging the gap between Golden Age & Modern Age Green Lanterns (naturally by sleeping with the daughter of Alan Scott). He gained godlike power as "Ion", and recharged the Central Power Battery, recreated Oa, and allowed for a new batch of Guardians to be created. However, he bailed on Earth when his friend was gay-bashed and Jade left him and Kyle caught her sleeping with a new guy in his own apartment.
Kyle, Post-Hal:
-And then Hal Jordan returned in Rebirth. But Geoff Johns assuaged fans' fears that Kyle would be dumped by giving him a ton of props in the series, with Hal making sure to do a "Let's do this right" by shaking Kyle's hand and formally introducing himself. When Kyle nervously admits that he wasn't as good as Hal, didn't resist fear as well, and more, Hal just strikes back by pointing out that Kyle was fearful and did things anyways. He showed REAL courage, and kept the torch lit while the entire Corps was gone. Kyle continues on as the "Torchbearer", given special status among the reborn Green Lantern Corps, and helps out in various books. The "Ion" power he sometimes gets is revealed as the embodiment of Willpower, making what Parallax is for Fear. His mother is killed by a sentient virus called Despotellis, in an attempt to make Kyle give in to despair, and Parallax possesses him. Kyle finally takes control of his body once more, and he & Hal defeat Sinestro in unarmed combat.
-Kyle moves on in various ways- the Ion entity goes to Sodam Yat, whom Kyle teaches. He starts a new relationship with GL Soranik Natu of Korugar, though they later break up when he confesses he considered Jade the love of his life (even though she was now deceased). Kyle later gains the power of all seven colored Power Rings, leading to a team of "New Guardians"- this is the result of Sayd (Ganthet's fellow Guardian and lover) attempting to forge the seven Corps together in order to save Ganthet. He later becomes a White Lantern, having access to all their powers, but quickly loses this ability as well.
-In short, Kyle has continued to be a thing after Hal Jordan returned, which is at least a bit impressive, considering how much Johns was in love with Hal. It was like DC didn't want to do a "Ben Reilly" and just kill him off, so they HAD to keep Kyle around, making him relevant. To kill him off would be to admit failure, and it's like they didn't want to give that perception, either. So while John was the GL in the cartoons and Hal got a movie and a solo book, Kyle got all this stuff- The New Guardians, a White Lantern Ring, etc., just to ensure that he was still relevant and highly-important- the second-most important GL after Hal. But Green Lantern Corps, featuring Kyle & Guy as major cast members, was pretty great for a while (under the GL-verse got REALLY overloaded with too-long Event Crossovers and dragged until the climax, which was at least pretty good).
Kyle's Powers:
-Wow, Kyle is cheaper than John Stewart- wasn't expecting that one. It's mainly due to Skills, though (as a military man like Stewart is definitely above the artist Kyle), as Kyle is easily a match for him, and has 1 better Will Save. He's also got Accurate Attack & Defensive Attack, of which only Hal had the former. As the Lantern with the most imagination, his Force Fields look like Mecha Armour, his Blasts come from giant Cable-style guns, etc., but it all basically amounts to the same effect anyways. It just looks cooler.
-Kyle is PL 13, whereas my Rond Vidar build was at PL 12 (and also generally less-powerful)- I imagine most Earth Lanterns are around that level. It makes him a bit more powerful than his teammate Wally West, but a step below Wonder Woman & Superman. As a younger hero (like when he was actually a Titan), Kyle's Will lowers dramatically- starting out around a 4, but rapidly gaining until the end of Morrison's JLA run and he becomes a 10. As Ion, he would be spectacularly more powerful- how much, I have no idea, but probably anywhere from PL 14-18.