Ion is a 2006-2007 comic book published by DC Comics. It was written by Ron Marz and drawn primarily by Greg Tochinni.
After the events of Rann-Thanagar War, Kyle Rayner absorbed the Starheart after Jade sacrificed herself, which returned the Physical God powers he had lost after The Power of Ion Story Arc of Green Lantern (1990). With this newfound power, and the Green Lantern Corps having been rebuilt once more, he is appointed by the Guardians of Oa as the "Torchbearer", who will serve as the special agent for the Guardians and revive the GL Corps once more should they be wiped out again.
The comic lasted 12 issues, and its events lead directly into both Sinestro Corps War and Countdown to Final Crisis.
Ion contains examples of:
- Big Bad: The man responsible for brainwashing Alexander Nero and Effigy is Grayven.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Alex Nero (who was already a paranoid schizophrenic) and Effigy, who both served as Kyle Rayner’s Arch-Nemesis at one point or another, have been brainwashed into respectively disguising himself as Ion and sowing chaos through the universe and randomly go after Kyle. They’re both pawns of Grayven.
- The Bus Came Back: Radu comes back in issue #7 after having been Demoted to Extra in Winick and Raab’s runs on GL.
- Call-Back:
- In issue #2, Killowog calls the Guardians out on abandoning Ion by pointing out that they wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for Kyle, referencing Green Lantern #150, when Rayner resurrected the Guardians of Oa before giving up the power of Ion.
- When Ion recovers consciousness in issue #7 after having been knocked down, he mentions he hasn’t felt like this since he went on that cruise ship with Connor Hawke and Wally West. He is aluding to the Three of a Kind Crossover between Green Lantern (1990), Green Arrow (1988) and The Flash (1987), which began with all three going on a cruise ship together.
- Kyle mentions that the last time someone threatened his mother, somebody lost their head, which happened in the final arc of Green Lantern (1990).
- Cartwright Curse: Kyle grimmly points out in the first issue how his last three girlfriends all died.
- The Chosen One: Ion
- Continuity Nod:
- When pointing out how his last three girlfriends all died, Kyle adds that one came back though, referencing the events of The Return Of Donna Troy.
- Captain Atom brings up how he visited a different universe with different heroes before entering the Bleed, which happened in Captain Atom: Armageddon.
- Downer Ending: Ion must kill Grayven to get back to Earth, but its too late–his mom already died. Even when he tries to bring her back to life, he fails to do much but animate her corpse. Kyle is consumed by despair and grief, which leads to him being selected as a host for Parallax for the upcoming Sinestro Corps War event.
- Greater-Scope Villain: Sinestro is the one responsible for having sent Despotellis to kill Moira Rayner, but this will only come into play in future comics.
- Kick the Dog: After explaining his Evil Plan to destroy the Guardians and reclaim his birthright throne on Apokolips, Grayven digs the knife further in by asking to Kyle “how’s your mother?”
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When meeting up with Donna Troy again in issue #11, Kyle muses on how he doesn’t even know why they split up, almost as if they were pulled apart by things they couldn’t control. Notoriously, the break up between Green Lantern and Troia happened thanks to
Executive Meddling from the editors on Wonder Woman. - Male Gaze: Issue #2 opens with the perspective shot focusing on Soranik’s chest.
- Red Baron: Kyle Rayner is also known as the Torch Bearer.
- The Reveal: Issue #4 shows the truth behind Kyle’s genocidal attacks on civilizations: It’s Alexander Nero disguised as Kyle.
- Something Only They Would Say: Kyle Rayner proves he is the real Kyle to Hal Jordan by mentioning when the latter took him on a joyride on a jet (and how much he screamed).
- Sudden Downer Ending: Issue #8 is a lighthearted issue about Kyle serving as the champion of an alien kingdom to fight a gladiatorial battle against a would-be conqueror. The issue ends with him about to get it on with a Green-Skinned Space Babe… When Guy Gardner interrupts them to inform Kyle that his mom is dying.
- Void Between the Worlds: Issue #10 sees Ion be transported to the Bleed, the “sea” that exists between the different Earths of the multiverse.
- Wham Line: The ending of issue #8 darkens the entirety of the Breather Episode with a single line deliver by Guy Gardner: "Kyle, it's your mom... It's not good."