Passing the Green Flame

Green Lantern: Passing the Torch
collects Green Lantern #s 156, 158-161

The final issues of Judd Winick's run on Green Lantern features the aftershock of his signature storyline, the outing of supporting character Terry Berg and the resulting sever beating he receives because of it.

Terry's friend happens to be Kyle Rayner, the erstwhile Bearer of the Last Ring, who takes the attack badly, exiling himself to space rather than confront his lost faith in humanity.  John Stewart once again wields the emerald power in the first issue, and himself struggles to find something to believe in, while Rayner and Jade, the daughter of the first human Green Lantern, Alan Scott, try to shepherd a new generation of Guardians, and try to find some new direction.  Ganthet sets them on a mission that plays like an episode of Star Trek, before they discover that one of the Guardian foundlings has gone missing and forces everyone to face some harsh truths and face what they've been avoiding.

Being a fan of Kyle Rayner since his introduction in 1994, and especially Ron Marz's extended run with the character, I was disappointed to leave him behind when I parted ways with comics in 1999.  I missed Winick's run originally, but the Terry Berg arc was one of those unavoidable developments, one of the signal comic book stories of that era.  In its own way, it's a Green Lantern story that compares to the famous Green Arrow road arc from the 1970s.  Winick does not let Rayner off the hook, and neither does Terry, for his decision to run away from his problems rather than confront them, as he essentially abandons his friend in his moment of need.

If that's not a reason for you personally to read Passing the Torch, there's Rayner's trademark deep immersion into the whole Green Lantern mythos, which was always strangely appropriate, considering he was coming in at a moment when it seemed all the old ways had been lost thanks to Hal Jordan.  The collection includes the return of Mogo, famously the planet Green Lantern, whose profile would be heightened in the reboot of the franchise that would come several years later.  It also features a handy timeline of Green Lantern lore, as if making a statement for everything new fans from the Geoff Johns era might want to know.

As a character and a moment, much of Rayner's time as Green Lantern may now seem anachronistic, even the Guardian foundlings, since these little blue men are in current continuity once again the same old guys they always were.  Reading Passing the Torch is a nice reminder of what that time was like without needing to be bogged down by its particulars.  John Stewart wonders if he should become a member of the Justice League.  The long journey and development Kyle has enjoyed in his ten years dominating the franchise seems to be reaching a natural ebb.  The title might refer to the characters in the collection, or that subconsciously, it's a goodbye to the fans who followed these adventures and refused to let Kyle be forgotten (he currently stars in Green Lantern: New Guardians, using his unique talents as a conduit between the many different corps).

The fun thing is that the writing from Winick is never better than when he's handling Kyle and Jade, treating them as the centerpiece that they are.  Kyle became famous for his relationships, both with Jade and Donna Troy, that never seemed to work out.  His most recent doomed love was with Soranik Natu, the daughter of Sinestro.  I'm sure he's got a few more in him.  He's the new Dick Grayson in that regard.  So yeah, you can just have reading it, too.