| Ion | |
|---|---|
.png) Ion as depicted inGreen Lantern (vol. 4) #52 (May 2010). Art byDoug Mahnke. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | As Kyle Rayner: Green Lantern (vol. 3) #145 Revealed as Creature: Green Lantern/Sinestro Corps Special #1 |
| Created by | Original concept: Judd Winick Dale Eaglesham Ion creature: Geoff Johns Ethan Van Sciver |
| In-story information | |
| Team affiliations | Green Lantern Corps Guardians of the Universe |
| Abilities | First version: The sum total of all the energies contained by theGuardians of the Universe and the Central Power Battery which granted the possessor nigh-omnipotent control over time, space and reality. Second version: Bestows its host with flight, energy manipulation, and other powers similar to aGreen Lantern CorpsPower Ring and (when fused withJade) theStarheart. |
Ion is a fictional character, aDC Comicssuperhero. Created by writerJudd Winick and artistDale Eaglesham forGreen Lantern (vol. 3) #142, Ion was devised as the new superhero identity forGreen Lantern protagonistKyle Rayner.[1] It was later revealed to be able to formmutualism with a host, bestowing its power to a host willingly. This followed a similarretcon asParallax, originally the new supervillain alias ofHal Jordan, which was revealed to be a parasitic embodiment of fear in the 2004–2005 miniseriesGreen Lantern: Rebirth.
As soon as sentient beings developed willpower, Ion was born from the green wavelength of the so-called "emotional spectrum". Its existence has been kept a secret for eons, and it resided in the Central Battery on Oa to keepParallax, the parasitic fear entity also imprisoned there, in check, as well as granting theGuardians of the Universe and their successive police forces such as theGreen Lantern Corps a portion of its vast powers. After Hal Jordan, under the influences of Parallax andSinestro, destroyed the Central Battery, Ion, along with Parallax and Sinestro, were set free. After wandering throughout the cosmos, it eventually settled within Kyle Rayner as its host.[2]
Kyle first assumes the Ion identity after a prolonged series of events stemming from the death of his girlfriendAlex. First, he unconsciously expels all his feelings of rage from himself, which takes physical form as one of Kyle's childhood nightmares and calls itself Oblivion. Kyle defeats Oblivion in the "Circle of Fire" storyline, and his powers are boosted as a result. Over time, his powers begin to grow even stronger until Kyle realized he is harnessing the Green Lantern energy left in the sun after Hal Jordan's death during "The Final Night". After a battle over control of the power with the villainNero, Kyle absorbs all the powers of the Green Lantern Corps and becomes Ion.[3]
Kyle uses his newly expanded abilities to recreate theGuardians of the Universe on the planet Oa, whom he places in the care ofGanthet and orders him to teach them humility, and then recharges the Central Power Battery on Oa.[4] Kyle willingly gives up his powers soon afterward when he realizes he is losing touch with the people he was protecting.
Sometime after resuming the Green Lantern identity, Kyle becomes Ion once again whenJade transfers all of her abilities to Kyle after her death during the events of theRann–Thanagar War.[5] This is then followed by a twelve-partIon miniseries. The series follows Kyle as he accepts his new role as "the Torchbearer" for the Guardians and the Corps. While doing so, he is confronted with the most challenging adversaries from his past as Green Lantern and the sudden illness of his mother Maura, who ultimately dies.[6] It is later revealed that Maura died after being infected by Sinestro Corps member Despotellis as part of a conspiracy against Kyle to break his spirit.[7]
The 2007one-shot specialGreen Lantern/Sinestro Corps Special reveals that Ion is a non-corporeal entity who was forcefully extracted from Kyle and imprisoned onQward by theSinestro Corps. After expelling Ion from Kyle,Sinestro forces Kyle to bond with Parallax, who possesses him.[7] Ion is eventually freed by several members of the Green Lantern Corps after being experimented on by theAnti-Monitor.[8]
InGreen Lantern Corps (vol. 2) #17, the Guardians, feeling that Kyle better serves the Corps as a Green Lantern, choose theDaxamiteSodam Yat as the new host for Ion. Witnessing the creation of the new Ion,Superman-Prime attacks him in the skies above New York. The pair is matched in terms of power until the fight moves into a nuclear power plant where Sodam Yat's Daxamite physiology causes him to be severely weakened by the lead present in the reactor. With Sodam's powers diminished bylead poisoning, Prime nearly beats him to death.
InTales of the Sinestro Corps Presents: Ion, following the events of the war, the Guardians request Kyle Rayner assist Sodam in adjusting to his new role. While speaking about Sodam's history and attitude as a Lantern, it is revealed that Sodam must now permanently wear a power ring to prevent the lead in his body from killing him. They are then attacked byNero, who had been freed during the initial assault on Oa. Kyle fights at less than full power to encourage Sodam to embrace his status as Ion. Sodam eventually defeats Nero with the same strategy that Kyle used when Nero first gained the yellow power ring, before the creation of the Sinestro Corp: seizing control of Nero's own constructs.
In the "Blackest Night" storyline, Sinestro bonds with theLife Entity and sees the beginning of existence and the origin of the emotional spectrum. Ion is revealed to be the first living being that ever willed itself to move.[9]
During the "Green Lantern: Lights Out" event, Ion and the emotional entities are weakened by the emotional spectrum being drained and sacrifice themselves by passing into theSource Wall to repair the spectrum.[10] Ion returns inGreen Lantern Corps (vol. 4), where the Green Lantern Corps free it and the other entities from the Source Wall to help combatStarbreaker.[11][12]
