In a universe that is as unfathomable as it is mysterious, the Green Lantern Corps is a willpower-fueled police force that protects and serves the cosmos in a never-ending attempt to keep the scales of justice balanced. And while there is seemingly an infinite number of Lanterns ready to fight the good fight on any given day, including the iconic Lanterns of Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and Guy Gardner, it’s the fourth ring bearer of Sector 2814, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, that is the true savior of the Corps and the most versatile Lantern that Oa has ever produced.

But who is Kyle Rayner in comparison to his better-known brothers in arms? And why is Kyle the only Green Lantern that constantly and consistently transcends his usual Lantern duties to become something that not even the Guardians of the Universe want to mess with?

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Kyle Rayner, The Torchbearer

Kyle Rayner

Created by Ron Marz and Darryl Banks as part of the influential mid-‘90s Green Lantern storyline, Emerald Twilight, Kyle was just an ordinary dude and struggling artist when the last remaining Guardian of the Universe, Ganthet, sought him out and inexplicably changed his life forever. When the Green Lantern Corps was completely and brutally wiped out by one of their own, Hal Jordan, after he went full supervillain mode caused by what would eventually be revealed as him being possessed by the fear-based entity named Parallax, Kyle was gifted the final Green Lantern ring and tasked with continuing in the Corps’ footsteps by protecting and serving the universe to the best of his abilities, a weight that he would be forced to carry alone for years to come.

And while Kyle was extremely green in the early stages of his career (pun intended), his uncanny creative ability to think outside of the box allowed him to learn the ropes of the superhero business quickly, with the guidance from the members of both the Titans and Justice League proving invaluable in helping him settle into his new role as the final remaining Lantern. In the years that followed, Kyle would go on to become an important part of the DC Universe as well as a fan favorite for a generation of readers that would know him as the face of the Green Lantern franchise. Later on in his career and after he successfully brought about the rebirth of the Green Lantern Corps (more on that later), Kyle would come to be known across the universe as the “Torchbearer”, or the one Lantern who shepherded the legacy and light of the Corps through their darkest times, a triumph that the Corps would have otherwise never been able to accomplish without Kyle’s unwavering help and determination to the cause.

Kyle Rayner, The All-Powerful Ion

During his tenure as the last Green Lantern, Kyle eventually became the god-like entity known as Ion, an omnipotent role that saw him obtain powers that quite literally allowed him to manipulate time, space, reality, and more, the limits of which are still unknown to this day. Through absorbing the energy of a villain named Oblivion that was the physical embodiment of Kyle’s subconscious hate and doubt, coupled with the remaining energy in the Central Power Battery as well as the leftover energy of the sun after Hal sacrificed himself to reignite it during the events of Final Night, Kyle was able to transcend into godhood for a short period of time before realizing that the power of the universe was something that he could not continue to possess on his own. Being the selfless and forward-thinking guy that Kyle is, he transferred the power of Ion back to Oa’s Central Power Battery, rebooting the lifeline that the willpower fueled rings of the Corps need to function and creating a new batch of Guardians of the Universe in the process, thus, paving a way for the rebirth of the Green Lantern Corps as a whole.

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But that wasn’t the last time that Kyle was able to wield the power of Ion. Years later around the same time that Infinite Crisis was wreaking havoc in the DC Universe, Kyle’s second transformation into godhood came at a much higher price than before. After the death of Jade, Kyle’s former lover and daughter to the magically powered version of Green Lantern, Alan Scott, Kyle is imbued with her powers, leading to the re-awakening of the Ion entity that had laid dormant inside of him since the last time he took up the mantle. Returning to full strength to a universe that needed him more than ever, Kyle continued to play the role of Ion until the bane of the Green Lantern Corps’ existence, Sinestro, forcibly tore the Ion entity from Kyle in the lead up to the iconic Sinestro Corps War event, eventually turning Kyle into the unwilling host of the fear-based entity of Parallax, the same entity that drove Hal Jordan to massacre the Green Lantern Corps years beforehand. Ion was gone for the time being, but Kyle took back up his regular ring-slinging duties soon after.

Kyle Rayner, The One True White Lantern

Kyle Rayner as a White Lantern

After the long drawn out battles of the Sinestro Corps War, Blackest Night, War of the Green Lanterns, and the continuity changing New 52 reboot, Kyle’s next step in his journey as the most versatile Lantern was achieved when he transformed into the rare and all-mighty White Lantern. First seen in the zombie-tinged event, Blackest Night, and its follow-up Brightest Day, Kyle began his evolution towards becoming a White Lantern after a scuffle with the Guardians led him to question their authority, leading him to begin training with each champion of the respective Corps of the Emotional Spectrum to take them on when they enact the events that transpire during the Rise of the Third Army story arc.

Starting with learning how to command the rage of the Red Lanterns by the towering behemoth that is their leader, Atrocitus, Kyle made his way through the Emotional Spectrum and picked up the skills necessary to eventually become the fabled White Lantern and unlock the ability to wield the power of all seven lights. But as time went on and Kyle settled into the role, he realized that he could not possibly sustain the power of life itself, and as his control over his powers started to lose focus, Kyle took it upon himself to find a new way to put them to better use. By choosing to split the power of the White Lantern between seven rings and then sending those rings to choose their own bearer, Kyle successfully siphoned off the White Lantern energy but also gave his new Corps a backdoor ability to recombine their powers in the event that they are needed. With his time as a White Lantern firmly behind him, Kyle once again became an honorable Green Lantern, a role that he still fills to this day.

Even with the Green Lantern Corps spread across the cosmos doing what they can to help a universe that needs their guiding hand more often than not, Kyle Rayner is a hero that transcends what it means to be a Lantern in every way imaginable. Not only has Kyle pulled the Corps back from the brink of extinction in their darkest of times, but he’s also become a god more than once and wielded the embodiment of the entirety of the Emotional Spectrum at the tips of his artistic fingers. So while some other Lanterns might give him a run for his money in the greatest Green Lantern department, Green Lantern Kyle Rayner is and always has been much more than the emerald energy flowing through him, and for that, he’ll go down in history as the most versatile – and important – Green Lantern of all time.

Next: Who Is Green Lantern Guy Gardner? Comic Origin & Role Explained