Warning: contains spoilers for Green Lantern War Journal #3!
DC has just set its 1990s Green Lantern, Kyle Rayner, up for a major comeback. Rayner, introduced as a replacement for Hal Jordan in the early 1990s, has been missing in action from the DC Universe, but now he may be on the verge of returning. In Green Lantern War Journal #3, readers meet another Kyle Rayner from elsewhere in the multiverse, and if that was not enough, the real Rayner will soon be starring on an alternate cover.
Green Lantern War Journal #3 is written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and drawn by Montos. John Stewart has been infected by the Radiant Dead, which is slowly corrupting him. Stewart fights Lantern Shepherd, who pulls him to the Space Between Moments. This pulls Stewart back to sanity, and as he gets his bearings, he meets Kyle Rayner–or at least a variant from another universe. Wearing a green blindfold and cape, this Rayner is unlike any fans have seen before.
Rayner and Shepherd then fill in Stewart on the Radiant Dead and the Revenant Queen.
Kyle Rayner Owes His Existence to Superman
In the early 1990s, inspired by the success of The Death of Superman, DC briefly took an iconoclastic approach to their heroes, shaking up tired and true formulas, and Green Lantern was not spared. In the controversial Emerald Twilight, Hal Jordan went insane and massacred the Corps, and the sole remaining ring went to Kyle Rayner. He proved himself a worthy successor to Jordan, and remained a Lantern even after Jordan returned. Rayner was last seen shortly before the attack on the Power Battery at Oa, and he was declared missing in action afterward.
While the Rayner John Stewart meets in this issue is from another universe, there are signs that the real deal may be returning as well. In a recently revealed variant for Green Lantern #8 by Evan “Doc” Shaner, Rayner is front and center wearing his classic 1990s outfit, against a backdrop of comic panels from the same era. There is a possibility this cover could be nothing more than a shout-out for the character’s 30th anniversary in 2024. This same anniversary provides a grand opportunity to bring the character back and give him his proper due.
Kyle Rayner Has Picked the Right Time to Return as a Green Lantern
Kyle Rayner’s return to the Green Lantern Corps would come at the most inopportune of times, as the Corps has been taken over by the United Planets. Former Lanterns John Stewart and Hal Jordan have become disenfranchised from the Corps. Kyle Rayner is a seasoned Green Lantern, and he would also have opinions on the Corps’ new direction as well. Rayner was more powerful than a regular Green Lantern, and his return would certainly attract the attention of the Corps and their new bosses. If Kyle Rayner is to return as a Green Lantern, he will have to make a hard decision on where his loyalties lie.
Green Lantern War Journal #3 is on sale now from DC Comics!
