So this has been a series that I've lately been getting into, and it's a shame that it doesn't get all that much attention, considering the large amount of lore and potential it's gotten in its setting and characters. Then again, I'm not too surprised, given that there was a film adaptation in 2011 that flopped and thus, studio execs in WB have been reluctant in bringing it to our screens, which is a damn shame. while most of the comics storylines featuring them are great, I don't think they're enough, considering just how the series never really finds its way to branch out to mainstream culture.
Of course, judging by the title of this proposal, I'm talking about Green Lantern. The focus of this proposal will be on a member of the eponymous Green Lantern Corps as well as one of it's most famous and accomplished members; Kyle Rayner.
The Work(s)[]
Green Lantern is a superhero comic book series published by DC Comics and has been running since 1940. Unlike most superhero stories, Green Lantern isn't the name of own individual, but it is rather a mantle held on by a member of the Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic space organization that is mentored and looked after by the Guardians of the Universe. Green Lantern members are bestowed a ring that endows the wearer with (mostly) green attire, physical enhancements to one's physiology and the ability to create constructs based on one's imagination. The rings are powered by willpower, which is represented by the color, green, in the emotional spectrum.
Who is He/What has he Done?[]
Kyle Rayner was initially a gifted and creative, yet struggling artist. That is, until Hal Jordan went mad with grief after the events of Reign of the Superman and killed off the entire Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of the Universe. In desperation, Ganthet, the sole survivor of the latter, traveled to Earth, where he found Kyle and granted him the one remaining Green Lantern Ring. With the ring in his possession, Kyle became the newest, and last, member of the Green Lantern Corps, and he used his powers to fight evil and uphold good, like any hero would, though he would reach a tipping point when his on/off girlfriend, Alexandra Burke was killed and Stuffed into the Fridge by PE Villain, Major Force. Kyle pursued vengeance and brutalized Major Force, but refrained from killing him before handing him over to authorities and encountering Alan Scott, who told Kyle to prepare for their inevitable encounter with Hal Jordan.
Said encounter happens in Zero Hour: Crisis in Time where Kyle and a collection of superheroes attempt to stop Extant from trying to destroy the multiverse, only for his superior and real architect of the plan to reveal himself as Hal, now calling himself Parallax, who wanted to destroy worlds because of his trauma and grief and wanting to recreate it into an idealized world where heroes can always have the life they desired. It was his encounter and battle against Parallax that proved Kyle to be a worthy wielder of a Green Lantern Ring.
Kyle would turn up in many adventures, such as Underworld Unleashed, The Final Night, Day of Judgement, and Circle of Fire, getting himself involved in trying to stop several villains in trying to harm his loved ones and destroying his world/universe in a supporting role, whilst also finding himself in personal endeavors like maintain a relationship with Jade and Donna Troy, and trying to rebuild the Green Lantern Corps with the aid of John Stewart and Guy Gardner, with little success. The latter would be fulfilled in Green Lantern: Rebirth when Hal Jordan finally properly came back, severed his connection to Parallax (the Fear Entity) and reuniting the Green Lantern Corps alongside Kyle, John, Guy, and Kilowog. Of course, Kyle would turn up a major player in the Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night, where despite succumbing to Parallax in the former, he rebounds with Hal's help to aid him in defeating Sinestro and his forces and doing the best he can to repel the forces of Nekron in the latter. He would also become a White Lantern later on after embodying all seven emotional spectrums at some point in his career.
In the Post-Flashpoint timeline, Kyle's origins and his experience as a Green Lantern largely remain the same, though he does go through some new adventures and battles, such as having to fend off Volthoom, the First Lantern, fighting against Sinestro again, and even having to contend with General Zod when he and Hal arrived to investigate in the planet of Jekuul. In DC Rebirth, Kyle and the rest of the Lanterns band up to prevent Darkseid in his attempt to claim the emotional entities for himself in his quest to subjugate the entire multiverse under his control.
Admirable Standards[]
Well, this is the DC Universe, so of course, the demands regarding admiration is naturally very high and when you've got the likes of Superman and Barry Allen to contend with, then one really needs to make sure that they are more than willing to do whatever it takes to help and save others, regardless of the circumstances.
Kyle is a Green Lantern, whose main trait is the abilities to create constructs and possessing incredible willpower to such an extent where giving up is nigh-impossible. It's safe to compare him to other members of the Corps, particularly Hal Jordan and John Stewart, both of whom more than meet the admirable standards, however, Hal falls short due to his persistent cockiness and recklessness when it comes to confronting threats, whereas Stewart may qualify as PG, despite his previous experience as a United States Marine. In comparison to the two of them, I believe that Kyle stands out in his own way.
For one, he has contributed to saving the multiverse several times from being destroyed/enslaved, be it from Parallax, Nekron, and Volthoom, and it was a decision that he made for himself. In fact, he died fighting against the Black Lanterns, though he was resurrected shortly after thanks to the powers of the White Light, continuing on to fight another day. It should also be noted that alongside John Stewart, Kyle is the most steadfast in regards to upholding moral situations and choices. It's something that's comparable to Hal, though the latter is sometimes more of a rebel, choosing to do his own thing, regardless of what he's told. Additionally, before Hal's return, Kyle did make attempts to rebuild the Green Lantern Corps, even getting John to help him out, and while he didn't have much luck, it shows just how much devotion he has to good and justice. There's also the fact that he's the nicest and most considerate of the Green Lantern Four Horsemen, being a mediator of sorts, especially when they get into arguments.
Kyle's willpower is also unique in that he started off as insecure and cowardly to the point where he doubted becoming a Green Lantern. In fact, he's succumbed to fear and doubt on many occasions, but it's also because of these that his willpower is far stronger than most Green Lanterns, and this was something that the Guardians themselves had a lot of doubt in, given that they were control freaks. The Green Lantern's oath involves overcoming fear, and Kyle wound up being the ultimate example of that oath, starting off scared and eventually persevering to become one of the most powerful and heroic of the Green Lanterns to the extent that the emotional entity of willpower, Ion, was willing to bond with Kyle.
I should also note that he has the ability to inspire great hope, and that he became a Blue Lantern on a few occasions.
Corrupting Factors[]
Kyle is easily the most moral member of the Human Green Lanterns alongside Jessica Cruz, as well as it's most optimistic. That said, some things to address regarding potential corrupting factors.
He was incredibly enraged when he found that his girlfriend was killed by Major Force. In their battle, Kyle tortured Major Force and considered killing him, which can be understandable given that Major Force was a depraved villain who showed no regrets and mocked Kyle for killing his lover. That said, he consciously chose the moral high ground and let him get arrested instead. It should be noted that Green Lantern Rings are removed if a wearer kills someone due to a rule enforced by the Guardians of the Universe. That said, with Ganthet not being there, I feel that Kyle chose to be the better person regardless of what he went through. As for the "tortured" segment, Kyle was very early in his hero career, still being inexperienced on how to handle things and, well, Major Force killed and dismembered his girlfriend, so it's obvious that Kyle was acting out of blind rage and grief. Tellingly, he never tortures any other villain from what I know, suggesting that he's wizened up over the years. You could compare this to how Spider-Man dealt with Normal Osborn after the latter had killed Gwen Stacy; Parker came really close to killing him, but relented, choosing to be the better man at the end of it all.
In another fight, Kyle decapitates Major Force and leaves him in space. While the act was willing on Kyle's part, he was aware that Major Force was, in fact, immortal and couldn't be killed off. While Kyle wasn't willing to kill (or couldn't) in this case, beheading his most hated enemy proved a better alternative as it incapacitated Major Force for a long period of time, not to mention that Kyle did it to ensure that he would no longer be committing any crimes either towards others, or to him.
He has killed on two occasions, but I think the circumstances behind them were to do with the fact that they were out of Kyle's control. The first would be the Sinestro Corps War, where the Guardians decided to disable the "no-killing" rule. That said, the battle between the Green Lantern and Sinestro Corps War did become a life-or-death situation that was engineered by Sinestro himself.Kyle did what had to be done and his main goal was stopping Sinestro and end the war quickly, not kill as many Yellow Lanterns. Also, he didn't express any satisfaction in killing anyone.
The second time he killed was when he was goaded by Atrocitus who forced Kyle to watch a massacre in the Middle East, which resulted in Kyle becoming a Red Lantern and violently killing the aggressors. This one is tough to justify, but I'll say this; Red Lanterns have a corruptible influence that forces a wearer to kill, whether they like it or not, Atrocitus designed the Red Lantern's Central Power Battery that way to ensure that everyone, sans himself are violent berserkers. Again, Kyle doesn't take any satisfaction and instead tries to avert killing anyone as much as he can, not to mention that Atrocitus actively forced Kyle into killing someone without his consent and he didn't even need to do that given how Atrocitus is strong enough to kill the terrorists himself, so it's obvious who's to blame here. Of course, by the time he's a Green and White Lantern again, Kyle uses his powers more for protecting and helping others and stopping villains as opposed to killing them.
Lastly, he can be unintentionally insensitive, which resulted in his breakup with Donna and Jade, as well as driving a wedge between himself and his DC Rebirth lover, Soranik Natu when the latter realizes that a Yellow Lantern they killed, Sarko, was their son in the future. That said, Kyle tries to be best person possible, but he has social insecurities and did make some bad decisions, ones that he deeply came to regret later on, hence I don't think it detracts his heroic nature. In the case with Sarko, Kyle tried to find his son, but by the time he made it, Sarko was already fatally injured by Hal and Rip Hunter, suggesting that Kyle likely would have tried to find a way to convince him to fight on the good side. Adding to that, he also comes to regret not telling Soranik about the fact that she had a son.
Additional Note: Even Pure Good characters like Superman can show signs of jerkassery in a few comic stories, but I think it's due to how it's handled by different writers, which tends to create inconsistencies, but I don't think they're that big of a deal if they don't have much of an impact on a character's general personality and motives.
Conclusion[]
Safe to say, he's among the best of his Corps, both in regards to his heroic feats and his nature, though a darker side has been explored in some occasions, which he's done to overcome overtime. What do you think + in case he's rejected, I can safely see him being in the Near Pure Good Wiki.