The Supposed Death of Kyle Rayner
Did Green Lantern Corps #42 See The End of The Torchbearer?
Kyle Rayner has, since his creation, been a character of great debate amongst Green Lantern fans. Essentially, he was created as a means to make the character fresh and hip, and to simplify the enormous world of the Green Lantern mythos.
A Very Brief History of Green Lantern Kyle Rayner
After Hal Jordan destroyed the Central Power Battery that powers the Green Lantern's rings to become the god-like villain Parallax, the last Guardian (creators of the Green Lantern Corps) created a single ring and battery and gave them to a freelance artist in an alley behind a bar. Though choosing a Green Lantern usually involved being honest and fearless, this was merely a "right place, right time" situation.
After ten years being the universe's sole Green Lantern (during which Parallax sacrificed himself to save the Earth), Kyle absorbed what remained of Jordan's power and was able to recreate the Central Power Battery, resurrect the dead Guardians, and give life to a new Green Lantern Corps. For this, he was given the title of "Torchbearer."
In issue #42 of Green Lantern Corps, Kyle takes a cracked power battery and uses it to lead the evil Black Lanterns away from the Central Power Battery. He creates a dome with his own ring, and stands his ground as the smaller battery explodes, saving the homeworld of the GLC (at least momentarily). The final page of the issue shows his ring reporting him as deceased and flying off to be reassigned to a new bearer.
Should Fans Believe Kyle Really Died in Green Lantern Corps #42?
It's tough to say, but probably not. So far, no rings have incorrectly reported their bearer as deceased, but then again, deceased Lanterns are almost immediately turned into Black Lanterns, and there's no evidence of that here. He's also in love with a skilled doctor, and he's clearly on the cover of Green Lantern Corps #44 swimming in the red plasma of a Red Lantern Guy Gardner. Whether it's because his death caused the transformation or if Kyle does indeed come back is unknown.
Though Kyle's actions were brave, they don't seem enough for the death of the man who, for a decade, was the one and only Green Lantern. If the issue was to really signal his death, one would imagine it would have spent more time summing up who he was and how far he had come. Also, lumping his death with that of the other heroes killed during Blackest Night lessens the impact.
This sacrifice also seems a bit unusual. Considering the Black Lanterns were after the battery and not him, why not just send the battery away with his own ring and let the Black Lanterns follow it that way? Also, it was apparent that destroying a Black Lantern is useless unless one can sever the black ring's connection to the black lantern. All Rayner did was slow the Black Lanterns down, which seems like a silly reason to lose such an important character.
The Last Word on Green Lantern Corps #42
If this is indeed the end of Kyle Rayner, it's far from a fitting death. Such a cliche "you go on ahead, I'll slow them down" sort of sacrifice should be used to make a hero out of a lesser character, not to belittle a character who, as many Rayner fans will agree, has stood the test of time as a character who deserves better treatment.
Kyle Rayner with other members of the GLC
|
What do you think about this article?
Comments
More in Reading & Literature
Latest Articles