Kyle Rayner Rebirth - Speculation

[Claude]

So, I've been mulling a couple of things that have been bubbling under for a little while now - and thought it was interesting to look back at them now that Rebirth is out in the open and a little more understood.

First off, we know there's a - roughly - two year plan for Rebirth from Johns, and that a lot of set-up for that will be happening across various titles. Including titles yet to be launched, who are being given time to be "built up to" in universe, like the new Justice League America.

On Kyle's absence from the Rebirth splash-page/promo poster, Geoff Johns said at SDCC

“Kyle was left off of that spread deliberately because of what’s coming up for him in ‘Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps,’ and his next evolution. We didn’t want to give it a way, but he will be doing something very important to the new DC universe.”

And previously Robert Venditti was reluctant to talk about the plans for Kyle in HJATGLC for fear of ruining the end of Omega Men - which ended with Kyle traumatised, disillusioned, in full control of his powers and refusing to be directly commited to the defence of Earth from the "war" that was apparently approaching it.

Once Omega Men landed, Venditti was able to talk a little more:

I am limited as to what I can say now because the plans that we have for Kyle are a bit more secretive. You'll notice that a lot of the art that we've put out so far, we haven't really shown him in cover images and things like that. That's not by accident. [Laughs] What I can say is that readers will see him in the "Rebirth" issue and the arc that he is going to be on as a character is going to tie very heavily into some of the key moments and developments that happen in "Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps: Rebirth" #1. He won't have as much page time early on as we might with John or Guy or Hal but when he does show up, it's going to be for a big reason. It's going to be because they need him and he's only guy who can do what they need him to do.

So, secretive plans there - based around things only he can do.



Which could all be flim-flam, of course - no writer is going to say "nah, we don't care about that character", no matter how strongly they might think it. But it's notable that whilst Guy and John become part of the greater homogenised whole of the Corps - with Guy's time as a Red Lantern now being quietly ignored - DC have shown perhaps surprising commitment to keeping Kyle as "The White Lantern".



The White Lantern - despite being occasionally frustratingly non-specific about actual power levels/abilities - is also one of the few character who, in certain depictions can match Doctor Manhatten for impact on the world around him.



So, what do we think? Plausible?

[stephens2177]

I liked kyle on earth,and i like that he has the biggest heart of any GL,and I don't believe he needs to be "all powerful" to be a great character,he already was.

But I hope they dont bring him back to kill him off in some kind of hero sacrifice idea.

[TRS80]

They will keep him. Especially now that all the fan favorites are coming back.

They should do New Guardians. The power of the White Lantern is too god like. So Kyle spreads his white lantern power among a team. But instead of several white lanterns it prisms into the emotional spectrum. Each color represented. Kyle would be the battery and no funny limits. They police the emotional spectrum and cosmic events.

[Vericc]

They will keep him. Especially now that all the fan favorites are coming back.

They should do New Guardians. The power of the White Lantern is too god like. So Kyle spreads his white lantern power among a team. But instead of several white lanterns it prisms into the emotional spectrum. Each color represented. Kyle would be the battery and no funny limits. They police the emotional spectrum and cosmic events.

This would be cool and what I ultimately think will happen to Kyle in the long run but they seem to have big plans for him before then. I really hope he's not going to be the one that takes on Dr. Manhattan. I think that would work far better if every superhero had to unite to defeat him although Kyle could still be at the center of the conflict.

[Trey Strain]

Making him special has flopped every time, but it looks like they're going to try it again and expect a different result.

[bcentsale]

I've liked Kyle since way back in GL 50 in the 90's. He always seemed more down-to-earth than the other GL's, maybe as a result of being mentored by Alan Scott. He carried the torch for over a decade and each time he's been granted god-like power (which is starting to be an overused plot device IMO) he's always made the sacrifice for the greater good. His more-or-less New 52 side-lining has given him a break, but I truly hope he comes back in some way. Him vs Dr. Manhattan could be interesting. As Ion in GL 150 he commented that he "held all the strings" - meaning he could have reordered creation to his liking any time he wanted. Instead he gave it all up to reignite the central battery and resurrect the guardians. Who later all turned out to be dicks, but hey, he tried.

[Frontier]

This would be cool and what I ultimately think will happen to Kyle in the long run but they seem to have big plans for him before then. I really hope he's not going to be the one that takes on Dr. Manhattan. I think that would work far better if every superhero had to unite to defeat him although Kyle could still be at the center of the conflict.

Though with Kyle's mastery over the White Light, he would probably be one of the few heroes who could conceivably go toe-to-toe with Manhattan.

[Vericc]

Though with Kyle's mastery over the White Light, he would probably be one of the few heroes who could conceivably go toe-to-toe with Manhattan.

Yeah I get that but I just hope when the final battle with Manhattan comes every character gets their time to shine. I also think it would sort of make if the heroes had to work together to stop him saying as relationships between them are what have been starting to come back together through rebirth.

[king of hybrids]

Though with Kyle's mastery over the White Light, he would probably be one of the few heroes who could conceivably go toe-to-toe with Manhattan.

might vs might is how the genre got to this point.

perhaps the White Light allowing access to the Life Equation and the Source could be more a means of enabling communication with Manhattan that isn't on his* terms

*in the sense that it won't be a communication he's having/perceiving at the same time as everything else he has/is/ever will experience

[Slaughter]

I think it might tie to Soranik. Soranik will probably jump the yellow train before it derails.

[Waterfall]

I wonder if his relationship with Wally will come back? That would also tie him to Rebirth plot too.

[EmeraldGladiator]

be careful what you wish for because if it becomes Kyle vs Dr Manhattan, Kyle is going to die. Why? Because if Dr. M is the big bad DC will have a more primary character take him down, not in some people opinion a 4th tier GL. If you watch Dragonball Z, he will be like Tien, who goes all out but is just cannon fodder until the real hero arrives. Just like the Spectre wasn't going to take down the Anti-Monitor in Crisis on Infinite Earth's, Earth-2 Superman landed the last blow. I am thinking maybe he becomes a Guardian.

[InfamousBG]

I have always loved Kyle. I hope they use him in the best way possible.

[AcesX1X]

i would like for kyle to find a unique place in the dc universe that is not redundant of the green lanterns. his time as gl is OVER. call him the new "guardian," let him keep some of his old white lantern powers, and give him something useful to do!