Isn’t Kyle Rayner’s Move Into The Background Compounded By Geoff Johns Forcing Hal Jordan Back Into

Isn’t Kyle Rayner’s move into the background compounded by Geoff Johns forcing Hal Jordan back into the spotlight when no one was really clamouring for it (even if you did enjoy that run)?

I mean, Kyle was explicitly created to replace Hal and became very popular in his own right, so I understand people being upset with what happened. It’s the same thing that happened to Wally West - we take it for granted now, but the return of the old guard was never really viewed as on the cards back then.

"No one was really clamoring for it"? Oh how quickly we forget:

Hal fans never stopped screaming for his return, and the return of the Green Lantern Corps in general. If you thought the Snyder Cult was bad, these guys were their forefathers. And they hated Kyle for the exact reason you state: Kyle was meant to be Hal's permanent replacement, and furthermore to be a radical change in what being a Green Lantern meant. Wally and Barry can both be Flash without any major problems far as I'm concerned, but Hal and the GLC returning has hurt Kyle because Kyle is not supposed to be your standard GL.

Of the "Four Corpsmen" he's the only one who doesn't have a background in the military while Hal, John, and Guy do. He wasn't chosen because he was the best candidate but because he was the only one Ganthet could find on short notice. Finally Kyle's status relies upon being the "Torchbearer" the one who kept the green light going when Parallax had almost snuffed it out. Once the Corps comes back... where does Kyle fit in? His popularity came from being the "only" Lantern, a raw recruit handed the most powerful weapon in the galaxy and left to figure out how the hell he was going to redeem the name "Green Lantern" after Hal Jordan's fall. Once he's accomplished that and brought both the Guardians and the GLC back to life, what should be his new direction? The other human Lanterns have central conflicts rooted in their backgrounds and personalities, but Kyle's issues were mainly a result of inexperience. Time offered a solution to his problem in a way it didn't for the rest.

Yes Hal's return hurt Kyle, but if you look at the sales, Kyle's popularity was already slipping. That's what opened the proverbial door to the idea of bringing back Hal in the first place. GL's sales weren't doing very well, and Kyle was just as passé as Hal had been when Kyle had replaced him. Maybe my memory is failing me but while Johns may have pushed Hal as the "the greatest", I definitely remember a lot of GL stories around that time fawning over Kyle as "the torchbearer" and as Ion. Kyle kept being in a fairly unique position compared to the other human Lanterns.

DC kept trying to maintain his uniqueness by giving him roles that pushed him back into being "the rookie" again. Mastering Ion or the White Lantern powers was a way to reset Kyle without actually resetting him. Each time he was handed immense power with no training or mentor to guide him, and he had to figure out how to wield the power for good. Omega Men likewise thrust him into the center of a space sector's politicking that he knew nothing about, and he had to learn the realities of the Omega Sector first hand. A good kid in over his head has been the go-to story for Kyle ever since his debut, and I wonder if anyone can write a story for him that moves beyond that.

I see two possible directions for Kyle: one re-emphasize him as the Earthbound GL. Kyle has a life and a career here on Earth that's important, put him back in Los Angeles and make him that city's protector again. Give him a day job as an artist that he needs to meet deadlines for, and give him a non-superpowered civilian love interest to complement that. Nerf the ring so he needs to worry about food and paying rent, give him "normal problems" in addition to the superhero threats. Kyle was meant to be the Spider-Man of the GLs, so let's put that back at the front again. Otherwise let's throw him back into another Omega Sector situation where he's in over his head out in space and has to solve a crisis on his own. That Round Robin GL: Underworld On Fire pitch sounded perfect, bring that back the same way that Blue Beetle got brought back:

Fish out of water Kyle seems to be his best status quo for space adventures. Send him to another area of the DC cosmos we haven't seen before and do a story that lays out a case for what Kyle continues bringing to the table that none of the other Lanterns do.