Team Five: Speedsters and speed freaks—-unexpected and controversial choices for fast-moving characters.
The Flash/Wally West (DC Comics)
Thor Odinson (Marvel comics)
Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D)
Green Lantern/Kyle Rayner (DC Comics)
Fictional heroes, villains, and everyone in between have formed unlikely alliances to answer a common calling: which group of kindred characters is the mightiest of them all? United by a shared theme, troops of four fabulous fictional characters will figuratively compete in a tournament of television, movie, and literature’s finest where only one foursome can be crowned kings and queens of popular entertainment. Join in on the roll call to learn more about these similar characters and delve into their individual histories. It's time to assemble the analogous all-stars and find out who is the best, one team at a time.
These may be scandalous picks: The Green Lantern power ring allows the wearer to travel at incredibly fast speeds through space; Mjolnir carries Thor at hyper-fast speeds. Roy Harper/Speedy was on speed so he is an honorary member.
Fast Four, assemble!
3. Kyle Rayner/Green Lantern
First appearance: Green Lantern (vol. 3) #48, January 1994.
Popular entertainment of 1994:
Star Trek: Generations - film starring Patrick Stewart
Friends - television series starring Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer
Blood of Elves (The Witcher #1) - novel by Andrzej Sapkowski
Writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks created the next generation of one of the most enduring superheroes, Kyle Rayner, the last Green Lantern. It was during an era that many of DC Comics’ iconic characters were undergoing bold shakeups. One could cite the catalyst being when Barry Allen sacrificed himself to save the universe, ushering in the time of Wally West to go from being the sidekick Kid Flash to taking over the mantle of The Flash; later, Batman got his back broken by the villainous Bane; Aquaman grew out his hair and beard and replaced his severed hand with a golden harpoon; and, of course, the death of Superman in a cataclysmic battle with the monstrous Doomsday. Hal Jordan, one of the intergalactic peacekeepers known as Green Lanterns protecting Earth’s sector of the galaxy, spiraled out of control after the destruction of the city he called home. The devastation led the longtime member of the superhero team the Justice League to betray his super-friends, his fellow Lanterns, as well as the Guardians, the aliens who oversaw the power batteries needed to recharge each Lanterns’ Power Ring. More than an emerald piece of jewelry, the ring draws from the wearers’ willpower to create green constructs that can be anything, only limited by a Lantern’s imagination.
Jordan became known as Parallax and massacred the Green Lantern Corps. Ganthet, one of the primary Guardians, desperately sought out a torchbearer to carry on the Corps’ legacy. Ganthet bestowed the last functioning Power Rings to an unsuspecting Los Angeles-based freelance artist named Kyle Rayner. Gifted with vivid artistic skills, Rayner’s creativity allowed him to dream up intricately detailed constructs with his newly acquired ring.
Rayner would undergo several trials by fire in his early days as a GL, but would tirelessly work to preserve the mission of what was left of the Lanterns. He joined the Justice League where Rayner would help fend off evildoers from Earth as well as cosmic forces. In the 2002 issue of Green Lantern (vol. 3) #150, Rayner absorbed the full power of the since-rebuilt Central Power Battery, transforming himself into Ion, a godlike being. With near-infinite energy, Rayner restored the Guardians and began rebuilding the Corps on a cosmic scale. Ultimately, he relinquished this power to maintain balance.
Eventually, Hal Jordan would return and the Corps would return to its full status as the universe’s defenders. As time went on, Rayner fought alongside his fellow Ring-slingers in various conflicts, including a saga that explored the different color-coded energies of the emotional spectrum. Rayner would achieve a mastery of the range of eclectic powers associated with the spectrum. Rayner took on the role of White Lantern, wielding the power of life itself.
In current continuity (of the main Earth followed in what is considered the “main” timeline/canon), Rayner appears in his classic form, using his imaginative constructs to defeat threats to the galaxy itself.
A Green Lantern’s Power Ring grants its user the ability to be carried at extraordinary speeds while traversing the stars. Though an unconventional speedster, Kyle Rayner is able to keep up with even the fastest beings under the right circumstances.
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