Kyle Rayner Appreciation 2019

[James Hunter]

I’ve been out of the DC/and GL loop since Rebirth started... is Kyle a GL still, or is he still rocking the mantle of the White Lantern?

Kyle is a G.L again (has been for a while now, just F.Y.I. By "a while" I mean since about May last year, in HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #17

[WallyWestFlash]

Kyle is a G.L again (has been for a while now, just F.Y.I. By "a while" I mean since about May last year, in HAL JORDAN AND THE GREEN LANTERN CORPS #17

That has one of the best covers ever. drawn by EVS.

hal-17-Ethan-Van-Sciver.jpg

[byrd156]

That has one of the best covers ever. drawn by EVS.

hal-17-Ethan-Van-Sciver.jpg

Kyle's costume is so awesome. It reminds me a lot of Alan's. Looks very theatric that doesn't necessarily mesh but somehow works anyway.

[married guy]

Big Dan D probably likes kyle not so sure about Dick and Wally...

It's pretty much common knowledge that Dan isn't a fan of ANY legacy character.
He wanted to kill off Nightwing, he's taken Wally and Roy off the board, Garth isn't recognisable as Tempest, and then there's all the other TT characters who have been in limbo for over a decade.
The JSA have been unseen in a decade. Jay Garrick pops up for 2 pages never to be seen again.
The current mentality is Silver Age or nothing at all because they (according to Dan) are the most 'iconic' versions of the characters.
Hence the return of Barry, Hal, Ollie etc.

While there is certainly merit in that statement, to push these characters while tearing down everything else is providing a HUGE disservice to both the creators and the readers.

[LP22]

That has one of the best covers ever. drawn by EVS.

hal-17-Ethan-Van-Sciver.jpg

EVS is one of the best ever really miss his art

[Lirica]

The difference between Kyle and Wally is, even though they're both have the same powers as their predecessors, Green Lanterns are a Corps and so they don't really eat each other for attention. Those that DC aren't currently pushed can just be in the background for a while as part of the army until they decide to give them attention again. Not a main character, but also doesn't directly attract attention away from the main character of DC's choosing.

The Flash, the Bat, the Arrows, meanwhile, have identities that can be donned by multiple people but belong to a single person definitively. Batman is Bruce Wayne. Green Arrow is Oliver Queen. So if someone try to replace them, they original is immediately brought back and the replacement is sent off to the side. If the replacement is popular enough and has their own identity like Dick, he'll survive. If they're Connor Hawke, he's gone.

The Flash belongs to both Wally and Barry because they represent a different era, so right now it depends on what DC prefer to represent the brand of The Flash, and right now it's Barry. Wally's only back in Rebirth because of a strong following in and outside of DC's office, but DC, whoever in charge, wasn't interested in bringing him back. They want Barry as The Flash and don't know what to do with Wally.

Thank you for taking the time to write this explanation. It was really helpful!

On a side note: Man, I miss Connor. I liked his interactions with Kyle.

That has one of the best covers ever. drawn by EVS.

hal-17-Ethan-Van-Sciver.jpg

I don't know why I never noticed this, but the background of Kyle's symbol here is colored like his original uniform (the green and black). I do miss that symbol compared to his current one.
As I haven't read HJatGLC, is there a reason Kyle chose to wear his original uniform with just a symbol change when he became a GL again, aside from a meta reason?

[LP22]

Personally I prefer Kyle as a green lantern ever since he became the white lantern it felt like Kyle lost his way

[j9ac9k]

....
As I haven't read HJatGLC, is there a reason Kyle chose to wear his original uniform with just a symbol change when he became a GL again, aside from a meta reason?

Kyle didn't specifically mention the change in Lantern symbol (presumably because he's part of the Corps now rather than his own solo version), but in the comic there's a sentiment behind him going back to his original look:
GL_Kyle.jpg

[Lirica]

Kyle didn't specifically mention the change in Lantern symbol (presumably because he's part of the Corps now rather than his own solo version), but in the comic there's a sentiment behind him going back to his original look:
GL_Kyle.jpg

I'm glad Venditti at lead sort of had Kyle explain himself in a roundabout way. Thanks for the panel.

On a separate note, while Kyle is not in YJ, 3x10 gives us a glimpse that spoilers:

Hal has gone gray

end of spoilers

[DevilBat66]

It's good having Kyle Back on the Earth with the Titans.

Now if we could get a solo book of him away from the rest of the GLC and let him be the cool Earthbound artist GL that he works best as, that would be awesome.

[married guy]

It's good having Kyle Back on the Earth with the Titans.

Now if we could get a solo book of him away from the rest of the GLC and let him be the cool Earthbound artist GL that he works best as, that would be awesome.

Titans is cancelled - so there goes Kyle appearances there.
Kyle & Guy are my two favourite GLs. I'd love to see them appear together in a monthly.

[LP22]

Titans is cancelled - so there goes Kyle appearances there.
Kyle & Guy are my two favourite GLs. I'd love to see them appear together in a monthly.

Seconded also I whold like if they put Kyle with Jessica I believe they can have an amazing dynamic

[DevilBat66]

Titans is cancelled - so there goes Kyle appearances there.
Kyle & Guy are my two favourite GLs. I'd love to see them appear together in a monthly.

Yup. At least we got a story arc.

Can't stand Guy so I'd pass on that like I have every other GL book since the Rebirth mini.

[WallyWestFlash]

george-evangelista-kyle-rayner-will-jeziorski.jpg
1char.

[Lirica]

While I do enjoy Guy and Kyle's friendship, I'd rather see Kyle interact with more heroes outside of the GLC. I'm glad we got at least a story arc of him with the Titans, especially seeing Kyle and Donna together again, even for just a little while.

I'd love to see Kyle and Wally's friendship revisited as well as Kyle and Connor's, but that's not going to happen anytime soon, sadly.