Hal Jordan, John Stewart, and their scrappy army of Green Lanterns have their hands full at the moment, with several new threats emerging that each have the power to shift the landscape of the DC Universe. Between Varron, Thaaros, and the new Fractal Lanterns, the Green Lanterns need all the big guns they can get, and luckily they just got one of their biggest weapons back in his ultimate form just in time. For the Kyle Rayner fans, things are about to get even better. Spoilers incoming for Green Lantern #17, and you can check out our non-spoiler review of the issue right here.
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White Light
Green Lantern #17 stacks the deck against the Lanterns’ rebel force. Not only is Thaaros still alive, but he’s now even more powerful thanks to the Dark Star Ring. Then there’s Varron, who was already a major threat anyway but is now one of the most powerful forces in their sphere thanks to the new ring he now wields, which allows him access to the Source Lantern.
The new ring was created from the experiments Thaaros ran on Keli Quintela after she was captured, with his teams attempting to figure out what powered her gauntlet’s connection to the Source Lantern and how to access it. They were finally able to harness that and craft their own connection to the Source Lantern through the creation of a new ring, but Thaaros never had a chance to wield it.
An Epic Return
That’s because Varron took the ring and opened up a door to the Source Lantern, attempting to take its power for himself. When Varron opens this door Kyle Rayner senses it and suddenly says “The Spectrum…it…it’s been breached. He’ll destroy it all! I have to stop him! I have to save the spectrum!” He then changes from his Green Lantern form to his White Lantern form before soaring into the sky towards breach, which is seen by Hal and the other Lanterns.
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They chase after him but Kyle says “I have to fix it. I can see. This is my destiny” before flying through the barrier. Thaaros is seen from space and says that Rayner is dead, adding “and soon you will join him…so says the Dark Star.” That might make you feel uneasy, but the good news is that the very next page makes it clear that Kyle Rayner lives, and it gets even more interesting from there.
On the page, Rayner is seen on the ground as what seems like dozens of beings of energy fight with Varron above him. These beings are all made up of white light and, not to draw too many conclusions, certainly give off Guardian-style vibes. As the energy swirls around him, Rayner says “My…destiny…”, and if you’ve followed Rayner’s history, this could be another case of his mantle of Torchbearer coming into play.
Rayner has previously held other powerful forms, including his time as Ion, but it’s difficult to surpass the power of a White Lantern. Kyle’s white light abilities allow him to command every part of the emotional spectrum, meaning he can call upon the abilities of each of the other Corps at will. Rayner previously wielded the white light all by himself, but then later would split the power several ways, though ahs the ability to reunite them if the situation should ever call for it.
It’s hard not to see this as one of those situations, and now Rayner has brought back his ultimate form to help the Lanterns and the DC Universe in its hour of need.
What did you think of the issue? You can talk all things comics and Green Lantern with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb and on Bluesky @knightofoa!
