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 GREEN LANTERN (Kyle Rayner)BIOGRAPHY
Created by Howard Chaykin, David Tischman and Mike McKone

Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) (Earth-5050 - Elseworlds).png


PERSONAL DATA


Real Name: Kyle Rayner
Occupation: Green Lantern
Homeworld: Earth-5050
Citizenship: American
Base of Operation: Metropolis (Kryptic Order)
Group Affiliation(s): Kryptic Order
Gender: Male
Hair: Black
First Appearance: JLA: Secret Society of Super-Heroes #1 (2000)
Creators: Howard Chaykin, David Tischman and Mike McKone


HISTORY

Created by Clark Kent, AKA Superman, the Kryptic Order was a secret society of super-heroes, dedicated to capturing criminals and sentencing them to the dimension known as the Phantom Zone. For some fifty years, the Kryptic Order had passed judgment on three hundred fifty-seven criminals who vanished without a trace. One inhabitant of the Phantom Zone, J'onn J'onzz, had come to Earth from Mars but had opposed the Kryptic Order in some manner and was exiled to the other-dimensional world.

The full membership of the Kryptic Order has yet to be revealed, but it had over the course of its history featured heroes such as Oliver Queen AKA Green Arrow, Black Canary AKA Dinah Drake, and Thomas Wayne AKA Bat-Man. Wayne and his wife had been murdered, the circumstances of their deaths remains a mystery but is likely linked to Joe Chill, a criminal now located in the Phantom Zone.

From his youth, Kent had believed good deeds were to be performed selflessly and without recognition. As Clark Kent, he had become editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet and working in secret as Superman he helped numerous superhumans become members of the Kryptic Order, but over the decades his super strength was ebbing. Invisibility discs given by the Amazon heroine Wonder Woman kept them unseen while they struck at villainy. The discs were made from the metal of her dismantled invisible plane. A current run through the disc would give it the ability to absorb the visible spectrum. The headquarters of the Kryptic Order was hidden eight hundred feet beneath the streets of Metropolis, the only access was from the Beach Street subway platform or by teleporter. -JLA: Secret Society of Super-Heroes #1-2

Tension existed between Superman and Kyle Rayner AKA Green Lantern. The power ring wielding Green Lantern felt the Kryptic Order should step out of the shadows and receive recognition and payment for their services. Repeated votes always ended in a stalemate. Green Lantern, the Flash, the Atom, Metamorpho and Plastic Man were opposed by Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, and Metamorpho, Plastic Man and Superman. One more vote was needed by Green Lantern in order for his views to prevail. He was determined to find that vote.

Unknown to all, Green Lantern would scour the world for those potentially thought to be superhumans. He would capture his target and then run tests before releasing them, but word of his actions had been picked up by tabloid reporter Lois Lane. Her sources were even able to get a picture of the emerald warrior.

FBI agent Bruce Wayne, son of the late Thomas and Martha Wayne, was seeking the cause of the disappearances of so many over the years. He possessed the ring of the Kryptic Order, of which he knew nothing but suspected it was linked to his parents' deaths. Wayne's path crossed with that of Lane's and together they found the headquarters of the Kryptic Order. -JLA: Secret Society of Super-Heroes #1

Green Lantern saw the next round of voting potentially swinging in his favor with the induction of Bart Allen, a super speedster, into the Order. Working alongside the Flash, Green Lantern wanted to show Bart Allen how much money they could make if they used their powers for personal gain. Tensions came to a head when Superman discovered Rayner's manipulation of the stock market for personal gain, resulting in a market crash in Hong Kong. Rather than face the members of the Order, Bart Allen ran off at super speed, with Wally West in pursuit.

Superman would later counter by creating a freak hurricane in Florida, destroying half of the orange crop and thereby wiping out the misguided Kryptics' entire portfolio. Green Lantern realized it was the leader of the Kryptic Order behind the strange weather.

Led by Green Lantern, they retaliated with force against Superman. Metropolis became a battle ground as the super humans fought under the cover of invisibility, until the arrival of the new Bat-Man. Taking the role of his father, Bruce Wayne short-circuited the Kryptic Order's invisibility shields, thereby exposing their secret society to the world. The civil war between the superhumans erupted and threatened the lives of the people of Metropolis.

Bart Allen pulled Lois Lane from harm's way then confronted Green Lantern. The ring wielder would have killed the teenager but for the intervention of the Flash. The ring's emerald energy tore a hole through the Flash's right shoulder. Wally West sacrificed his life to save Bart. To protect his son and stop Green Lantern, Bart's father, Barry Allen, shot the ring wielder. Green Lantern was unable to focus his will to make an escape or save himself from capture by Bat-Man.

The aftermath of the battle saw the Flash dead, the Atom killed by Hawkgirl, and Superman dead from a heart attack after saving a nearby building from collapse. Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl left together, while Plastic Man and Metamorpho went their separate ways.

Bart Allen took up the crimson costume of Wally West as the new Flash while Bruce Wayne continued as the Bat-Man. They would use the sanctuary of the Kryptic Order as their headquarters and decided their first task would be to release the criminals sentenced to the Phantom Zone.

The disposition of Green Lantern's power ring has yet to be revealed. -JLA: Secret Society of Super-Heroes #2


CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Green Lantern in chronological order click here



GLCWP NOTE

Taking the name from the old SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS title, this Elseworlds offers a darker view of super-heroes as the Kryptic Order has set themselves up as judge, jury and executioners of the guilty, which as it turns out is everyone they've ever captured. It's obvious DC was hedging their bets with the familiarity of the SSOSV title, as the title "JLA" figures prominently on the cover as well as any promotions for the series.

Though referred to as "Kyle" throughout the two issues, I don't believe Green Lantern's last name was given. Still, its a pretty safe bet his full name was Kyle Rayner as the other members of the Kryptic Order have the same identities as their "real world" counterparts.

The origin of Green Lantern was not given, nor the limitations his powers. In the first issue, it was revealed three space craft had come to Earth. The first two possibilities are obvious. The first space craft is Superman's rocket from Krypton, the second would be Hawkgirl's voyage from Thanagar. The third would either be J'onn J'onzz or the arrival of Kyle's predecessor as Green Lantern. I'm assuming the Green Lantern power ring was magic based, as I doubt anyone on Earth would have the technological means to create it, and it seems unlikely there could be a Corps in this Elseworlds. No time frame is given to when or even if the ring needed to be recharged, and the power ring had no vulnerability to yellow, as evidenced in Green Lantern's transport of the yellow-clad Bart Allen on page 11, and his foiled attack on page 36, both in issue # 2.