Thoughts about Ion

So...#12 has come out, and it is the end of the series, which has me slightly depressed. Although it started out a bit on the slow side, it certainly picked up momentum, and I enjoyed the further adventures of Kyle Rayner. I think that Ron Marz has a good handle on Kyle, and I enjoyed the art.

That said...Mr. Marz has certainly put poor Kyle through the ringer once again. The kid's going to get a complex! EVERYONE he gets close to...if they are female anyway...dies. Kyle is too sweet and pretty to have all this angst...it's going to give him wrinkles!

What I did rather enjoy, was the depiction of Kyle's increasingly cavalier attitude toward Grayven...who certainly deserves it. I don't know if it is because he's been hanging out too much with Guy recently or what, but Kyle does seem to be developing a bit of an edge. On the other hand, he's always been portrayed as having a temper. He's slow to anger, but when he finally does get mad...watch out.

Grayven is like a mean widdle kid...he just doesn't know when to quit...and Kyle eventually, and under a LOT of provocation finally has had enough, and does something rather drastic. He does stop short of popping Grayven's head off, but it's enough to freak out Donna, something fierce.

"Kyle? You didn't...I mean, he isn't...?" Donna asks rather nervously.

"I don't know. I don't care." Kyle replies with what appears to be an utter lack of emotion or
expression. I know it isn't without emotion, but he's just so pissed that he can't even start to show it. And then...just when he's trying to get back to Earth, to see his mother, a Monitor shows up.

Kyle just can't catch a break.

So, the Monitor starts doing his schtick...you pose a grave danger, blah, blah blah...when Kyle finally and completely runs out of patience, and gives him a Warrior-type blast from both arms.
The Monitor disappears, much to Donna's continued consternation. Kyle tells her that he didn't intend to blast him into smithereens, but that he's not particularly sorry either.

Donna and Kyle eventually do make it back to Earth, and fly in the window of his Mother's hospital room, where Guy, Kilowog and Soranik are waiting. Guy's looking all sad and concerned, which always thrills me to my marrow. But...but WHY did the artist give him that bloody haircut? All he's missing is a tonsure for heaven's sake! He hasn't worn his hair in the old "Moe" cut for QUITE some time, so it is really really annoying. Arrrghhh!

Ok...got that out of my system.

Anyway, Kyle's too late, his mom has died. Kyle promptly goes to pieces, which just breaks my heart, because I 'm such a sap. He then has a Hal Jordan moment, and decides that he can "fix" this. Both Guy and Kilowog try to talk him down, but he's starting to get a bit cranky, and does this glowing hands on his mom...and BRINGS HER BACK FROM THE DEAD!

Guy's jaw just about hits the floor, and the rest of them are equally kerfuffled. Kyle is getting seriously Parallax-like here, but even his mother realizes that it is all wrong. Kyle is trying to believe that everything will be all right, but Maura Rayner is no fool, and she convinces him that he can't do what he's trying to do. At least he does have the chance to say goodbye to her, which is the one bit of good fortune that he has, and then he lets her go.

*sniff*

There is a rather lovely four panel page of everyone at the funeral, while Kyle is thinking about all the things that have to be done, the mundane parts of getting the funeral together, disposing of her things and so on, and how there are people there to help you through the process. In the first panel of course, everyone is there, and in the succeeding panels, the number gets smaller and smaller, as they all have to go ahead and get on with their lives...and Kyle is finally all alone in the last one.

And he finally realizes that he's paid such a huge price for his power...and he's not really sure that it is worth it.

I really like Kyle, and I'm not sure that I am entirely happy with all the turmoil and pain that he's going through. Just once, I'd like to let the poor kid catch a break. It doesn't look as though things are going to be improving in the immediate future either, with the Sinestro Corps coming and all. Can we let Kyle go off and play with Guy for a while in Green Lantern Corps? They'll both feel better.