Green Lantern: Circle of Fire
Encyclopedia
"Circle of Fire" is a story arc that ran through a two-issue, self titled comic book
mini-series
and five one shot comics starring Green Lantern
Kyle Rayner
that was published by DC Comics
in October 2000.
It consists of two bookend issues, titled Green Lantern: Circle of Fire, and five issues in between in each of which a brand new Green Lantern Corps
member pairs up with an established DC superhero
. These other heroes include Power Girl
, Adam Strange
, Firestorm
, the Atom
, and Kyle Rayner. The bookend issues and two of the team-up issues were written by Brian K. Vaughan
. Scott Beatty
, Jay Faerber
, and Judd Winick
also contributed towards writing issues, while the team of artists included Keith Aiken, Steve Bird, Norm Breyfogle
, Dan Davis
, Wayne Faucher, Randy Greene, Ray Kryssing, Mark Lipka
, John Lowe, Tyson McAdoo, Trevor McCarthy
, Cary Nord
, John Nyberg, Andrew Pepoy
, Ron Randall, Claude St. Aubin, John Stanisci, Robert Teranishi, and Pete Woods
.
Two issues of Impulse, #68-69, follows the aftermath of the story, written by Todd Dezago
with art by Eric Battle.
lapse into madness due to an attack by a colossal cosmic figure calling himself Oblivion. As Strange tries to defend the planet, he is unwillingly transported to Earth, where he gets help from Firestorm and the Atom in alerting the JLA
of Oblivion's approach. When Strange debriefs the JLA about the encounter, Kyle Rayner is shocked to hear the description of Oblivion, because it matches the description of a supervillain
Rayner had created as a child for a story he made during his period of struggling his fear and anger of growing up without a father. The JLA engages Oblivion, who can create cosmic events such as black hole
s and dwarf star
s. They are quickly overpowered, so Rayner retreats to gather other heroes to help him.
After a brief warning from the Spectre that someone close to Rayner would betray him, the Green Lantern asks for assistance from Oracle
, who sends over Power Girl. Just as she arrives to help, however, a group of six new Green Lanterns appears out of nowhere, each of them claiming to be the sole protector of Earth in a different time or universe. They are:
Rayner splits the group of heroes up to go investigate Oblivion's arrival and rescue the captured JLA, pairing Power Girl with the Emerald Knight, Firestorm with G.L.7177.6, Green Lightning with Adam Strange, and the Atom with the Teen Lanterns. He chooses DeWitt to be his partner to go and hunt down Oblivion and stop him.
In Green Lantern and the Atom, the Atom and the Teen Lanterns try to figure out who created Oblivion, narrowing down the field to four suspects: the Scarecrow
, Doctor Psycho
, Professor Ivo
, and Doctor Light, all of whom prove to have no idea who Oblivion is. Back at Rayner's apartment, however, they find a sketch of a character, Sir Nobleman, resembles the Emerald Knight in a notebook from Rayner's childhood, suggesting that Oblivion and Pel Tavin were both created together.
In Green Lantern and Power Girl, the Emerald Knight and Power Girl locate the JLA on a distant planet, only to find them encapsulated in some sort of yellow crystal. After being unable to break them free, Power Girl realizes that they are not in danger, but rather are being kept safe inside.
In Green Lantern and Adam Strange, Green Lightning and Adam Strange return to Rann only to find it in ruins, not from Oblivion's work, but from the population's madness. They discover the source of the hysteria is a giant green lantern broadcasting a signal that only Rannians can pick up. They conclude a Green Lantern must have constructed the beacon.
In Green Lantern and Firestorm the Nuclear Man, unsure if it even exists, G.L.7177.6 and Firestorm search for the "Omega Option", the only thing capable of stopping Oblivion in Rayner's childhood comics. As they travel through space, they instead come across and battle Professor Martin Stein, a fire elemental who was one half of the original Firestorm. They eventually discovers that the weapon doesn't exist.
In the last team-up book, Green Lantern and Green Lantern, Rayner and DeWitt deal with their conflicting emotions over each seeing his or her long-dead partner as they track down Oblivion. During this, Kyle finds himself mysteriously weakening. They finally find him on the ruins of Oa
, so they call everyone to rendezvous.
As the backup arrives team-by-team, the friends fill each other in on what each team had discovered. Piecing together the clues, Rayner concludes that Pel Tavin must be the traitor the Spectre warned about. Before the Emerald Knight and Power Girl return, however, Oblivion attacks the heroes, killing Forest. As the Atom and Hunter are about the face the same fate, the missing duo swoops in to save them. Realizing Pel Tavin wasn't Oblivion after all, Rayner charges towards the supervillain, only to be transported into his own subconscious. There, he learns that Oblivion was created using the power of the ring and the negative emotions Rayner bottled up after DeWitt's death and that the new Green Lanterns are equally imagined, each representing a positive aspect of Rayner's subconscious; Alex is an embodiment of Kyle's capability for love
, while Tavin represents his courage
, Ali represents hope
, G.L.7177.6 represents logic
, Hunter and Forest represent imagination
, and Kyle himself represents his own willpower
.
Kyle also realises that his current weakening state is because of subconsciously sustaining Circle of Fire's existences with his willpower, and he eventually would die if they aren't return to him. The heroes agree and Rayner reabsorbs each of them to gain back enough power to fight Oblivion, even Alex herself after she and Kyle bid their tearful farewells. The villainous cosmic entity threatens to destroy everything Rayner loves, starting with New York City
, unless Rayner lets Oblivion take over his mind and therefore the power ring. Rayner threatens suicide to stop Oblivion, but Oblivion reminds Rayner that the JLA would be lost forever. Rayner lets Oblivion into his mind, where the overwhelming positive power of Rayner's personality as represented by the new Green Lanterns and Kyle's childhood home defeats the negativity of Oblivion. This was what Kyle had planned all along as he knew that besides sacrificing himself, the other option was to imprison the villain inside of him. However, Oblivion vowed that he would return once Kyle again gives in to his fear and anger.
Having rescued the JLA and stopped Oblivion, Rayner tenders his resignation. Superman
, Wonder Woman
and Batman
, however, interpret this to be a sign of maturity and responsibility and refuse to accept his resignation. The Spectre, who is hidden, watches this meeting and the man beneath the cloak, Hal Jordan
, Kyle's predecessor as Green Lantern, deeply proud of his successor. Followed the meeting, Kyle is eager to look forward into the future.
. After the battle with Oblivion, Adam Strange misses his Zeta Beam due to Impulse
shoving him out of the way; the speedster winds up being teleported to Rann himself, when it appears that Strange is about to be struck by lightning. This situation forces Strange to seek the Justice League's aid, to which Kyle Rayner responds and takes the adventurer back to Rann. Along the way, the two try to rebuild their trust toward each other as well as repairing the damages made by Oblivion and the impetuous young speedster on the planet.
This miniseries paves the way for the Green Lantern: Power of Ion storyline, in both plot and theme. Here, Rayner denies the temptation of omnipotence
for altruistic reasons. In Power of Ion, Rayner is again faced with all the energy from Oblivion, becoming godlike in nature, only to give it all up.
The miniseries also deals with evolving the character of Kyle Rayner from the perennial rookie of the DC Universe
to a responsible, powerful hero in the eyes of his colleagues.
An element of the story was briefly explored on Tales of the Sinistro Corps Presents: Parallax
, as Kyle once again gives into the fear and anger after the death of his mother, but this time leading to him being possessed by fear entity Parallax
instead of the return of his darker persona Oblivion. Parallax plays the same role as Oblivion with Kyle as he tortures Kyle with his own fear and doubt to continuously breaking his will. Kyle's childhood home, has appeared once again since Circle of Fire during a battle with Parallax inside Kyle's mind.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
mini-series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
and five one shot comics starring Green Lantern
Green Lantern
The Green Lantern is the shared primary alias of several fictional characters, superheroes appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The first Green Lantern was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Martin Nodell in All-American Comics #16 .Each Green Lantern possesses a power ring and...
Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner
Kyle Rayner is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually in those starring the Green Lantern Corps, an extraterrestrial police force of which Rayner is a member. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks, Rayner first appeared in Green Lantern vol...
that was published by DC Comics
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
in October 2000.
It consists of two bookend issues, titled Green Lantern: Circle of Fire, and five issues in between in each of which a brand new Green Lantern Corps
Green Lantern Corps
The Green Lantern Corps is the name of a fictional intergalactic military/police force appearing in comics published by DC Comics. They patrol the farthest reaches of the DC Universe at the behest of the Guardians, a race of immortals residing on the planet Oa...
member pairs up with an established DC superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
. These other heroes include Power Girl
Power Girl
Power Girl is a DC Comics superheroine, making her first appearance in All Star Comics #58 ....
, Adam Strange
Adam Strange
Adam Strange is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Mike Sekowsky, he first appeared in Showcase #17 .In May 2011, Adam Strange placed 97th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time....
, Firestorm
Firestorm (comics)
Firestorm is the name of several comic book superheroes published by DC Comics. Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein, the first Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm, the Nuclear Man #1 , and was created by Gerry Conway and Al Milgrom. Martin Stein, by himself as Firestorm, debuted in Firestorm the Nuclear...
, the Atom
Atom (comics)
The Atom is a name shared by several fictional comic book superheroes from the DC Comics universe.There have been five characters who have shared the Atom codename. The original Golden Age Atom, Al Pratt, was created by Ben Flinton and Bill O'Connor and first appeared in All-American Publications'...
, and Kyle Rayner. The bookend issues and two of the team-up issues were written by Brian K. Vaughan
Brian K. Vaughan
Brian Keller Vaughan is an American comic book and television writer. He is best known for the comic book series Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina, Runaways, and Pride of Baghdad, and was one of the principal writers of the television series Lost, during seasons three through five...
. Scott Beatty
Scott Beatty
Scott Beatty is an American author who has written comic books and encyclopaedias based on DC Comics characters.-Biography:Beatty has worked extensively for the popular comic book publisher DC Comics since the mid '90s...
, Jay Faerber
Jay Faerber
Jay Faerber is an American comic book and television writer. Faerber is known for his work on Generation X and New Warriors for Marvel Comics, and The Titans and Connor: Spotlight for DC Comics. He later wrote his own creator-owned titles for Image Comics, including Noble Causes, Dynamo 5 and Near...
, and Judd Winick
Judd Winick
Judd Winick is an American comic book, comic strip and television writer/artist and former reality television personality...
also contributed towards writing issues, while the team of artists included Keith Aiken, Steve Bird, Norm Breyfogle
Norm Breyfogle
Norman Keith "Norm" Breyfogle is an American comic book artist, fine artist, illustrator, and writer. He was involved with the character of Batman consistently from 1987-1995. Breyfogle has worked on many different characters for most comic book publishers at one time or another...
, Dan Davis
Dan Davis
Dan "The Duke" Davis is an American radio personality. He is an original broadcaster of ESPN Radio based in Bristol, Connecticut. He anchors the midday portion of ESPN Radio SportsCenter. Sometimes he makes comments on Extra Point. His voice is often heard introducing various ESPN programs...
, Wayne Faucher, Randy Greene, Ray Kryssing, Mark Lipka
Mark Lipka
Mark Lipka is a comic book artist who has inked such comics as Batman, Star Wars, Justice League of America, Wolverine, Gambit & Bishop, Green Lantern, Swamp Thing, Aliens versus Predator, Daredevil, among others....
, John Lowe, Tyson McAdoo, Trevor McCarthy
Trevor McCarthy
Trevor McCarthy is a comic book artist and illustrator known for his work on Batman: Gates of Gotham mini-series of 2011 and Nightwing from the early 2000's...
, Cary Nord
Cary Nord
Cary Nord is an artist noted for his work in comic books. He started his career with a letter and some original artwork sent into the editors of Marvel Comics's Marvel Comics Presents. They were so impressed, he was awarded with a professional job penciling a Shang Chi serial. He eventually became...
, John Nyberg, Andrew Pepoy
Andrew Pepoy
Andrew Pepoy is an American comic book artist writer and artist.-Early life:Andrew Pepoy was born on May 13, 1969 in Holland, Michigan.-Career:Pepoy began working as a professional artist while still in college at Loyola University Chicago....
, Ron Randall, Claude St. Aubin, John Stanisci, Robert Teranishi, and Pete Woods
Pete Woods
Peter "Pete" Woods is a comic book artist, illustrator and penciller. He is best known for his work on titles such as Backlash, Deadpool, Robin, Catwoman, Amazons Attack and Action Comics.-Biography:...
.
Two issues of Impulse, #68-69, follows the aftermath of the story, written by Todd Dezago
Todd DeZago
Todd Dezago is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his collaborations with penciller Mike Wieringo on The Sensational Spider-Man and their creator-owned fantasy series Tellos, which premiered in 1999, as well as for co-creating Young Justice with artist Todd Nauck in the 1998...
with art by Eric Battle.
Synopsis
The story opens with Adam Strange witnessing the entire planet RannRann
Rann is a fictional planet in the Polaris star system of the whose capitol city is Ranagar. Rann is most famous for being the adopted planet of the Earth explorer and hero Adam Strange and for their teleportation device called the Zeta Beam...
lapse into madness due to an attack by a colossal cosmic figure calling himself Oblivion. As Strange tries to defend the planet, he is unwillingly transported to Earth, where he gets help from Firestorm and the Atom in alerting the JLA
Justice League
The Justice League, also called the Justice League of America or JLA, is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by DC Comics....
of Oblivion's approach. When Strange debriefs the JLA about the encounter, Kyle Rayner is shocked to hear the description of Oblivion, because it matches the description of a supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
Rayner had created as a child for a story he made during his period of struggling his fear and anger of growing up without a father. The JLA engages Oblivion, who can create cosmic events such as black hole
Black hole
A black hole is a region of spacetime from which nothing, not even light, can escape. The theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will deform spacetime to form a black hole. Around a black hole there is a mathematically defined surface called an event horizon that...
s and dwarf star
Dwarf star
The term dwarf star refers to a variety of distinct classes of stars.* Dwarf star alone generally refers to any main sequence star, a star of luminosity class V.** Red dwarfs are low-mass main sequence stars....
s. They are quickly overpowered, so Rayner retreats to gather other heroes to help him.
After a brief warning from the Spectre that someone close to Rayner would betray him, the Green Lantern asks for assistance from Oracle
Oracle (comics)
Oracle, in comics, may refer to:*Oracle, an alias used by DC Comics character Barbara Gordon*Oracle. the original alias of the DC Comics character who would be reimagined as Aurakles...
, who sends over Power Girl. Just as she arrives to help, however, a group of six new Green Lanterns appears out of nowhere, each of them claiming to be the sole protector of Earth in a different time or universe. They are:
- Pel Tavin, the Emerald Knight, a DaxamDaxamDaxam is a planet within the DC Universe. It is home to a race called the Daxamites, who are descended from Kryptonian colonists.-History:Daxamites were originally Kryptonians who left their homeworld in order to explore the Universe. They are an intensely xenophobic race, and are fearful of alien...
ite knightKnightA knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....
from the 13th Century - Ali Rayner-West, Green Lightning, a descendant of both Rayner and Wally WestWally WestThe Flash is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. He is the first Kid Flash and the third Flash....
, who has both a power ring and superspeed - Hunter and Forest Rayner, cousins and members of the Teen Lantern Corps, who are from a world where Rayner's descendants all share his original power ring
- G.L.7177.6, a reprogrammed Manhunter android
- Alexandra DeWittAlexandra DeWittAlexandra "Alex" DeWitt is a fictional character in the . She is the girlfriend of Kyle Rayner before he receives the Green Lantern power ring from Ganthet. She is best known, however, as the murder victim whose manner of disposal led Gail Simone to coin the phrase "Women in Refrigerators". Alex...
who, in an alternate timeline, had received the last power ring only to have Rayner murdered soon thereafter (an inversion of Rayner's story)
Rayner splits the group of heroes up to go investigate Oblivion's arrival and rescue the captured JLA, pairing Power Girl with the Emerald Knight, Firestorm with G.L.7177.6, Green Lightning with Adam Strange, and the Atom with the Teen Lanterns. He chooses DeWitt to be his partner to go and hunt down Oblivion and stop him.
In Green Lantern and the Atom, the Atom and the Teen Lanterns try to figure out who created Oblivion, narrowing down the field to four suspects: the Scarecrow
Scarecrow (comics)
The Scarecrow is a fictional character, a supervillain, that appears in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in World's Finest Comics #3 and was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane...
, Doctor Psycho
Doctor Psycho
Doctor Psycho is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. A villainous telepathic dwarf, Doctor Psycho has traditionally been presented as an adversary for Wonder Woman...
, Professor Ivo
Professor Ivo
Professor Anthony Ivo is a fictional character, a mad scientist in the DC universe and is the creator of the androids Amazo, Kid Amazo, Tomorrow Woman and Composite Superman in his retconned origin.-Fictional character biography:...
, and Doctor Light, all of whom prove to have no idea who Oblivion is. Back at Rayner's apartment, however, they find a sketch of a character, Sir Nobleman, resembles the Emerald Knight in a notebook from Rayner's childhood, suggesting that Oblivion and Pel Tavin were both created together.
In Green Lantern and Power Girl, the Emerald Knight and Power Girl locate the JLA on a distant planet, only to find them encapsulated in some sort of yellow crystal. After being unable to break them free, Power Girl realizes that they are not in danger, but rather are being kept safe inside.
In Green Lantern and Adam Strange, Green Lightning and Adam Strange return to Rann only to find it in ruins, not from Oblivion's work, but from the population's madness. They discover the source of the hysteria is a giant green lantern broadcasting a signal that only Rannians can pick up. They conclude a Green Lantern must have constructed the beacon.
In Green Lantern and Firestorm the Nuclear Man, unsure if it even exists, G.L.7177.6 and Firestorm search for the "Omega Option", the only thing capable of stopping Oblivion in Rayner's childhood comics. As they travel through space, they instead come across and battle Professor Martin Stein, a fire elemental who was one half of the original Firestorm. They eventually discovers that the weapon doesn't exist.
In the last team-up book, Green Lantern and Green Lantern, Rayner and DeWitt deal with their conflicting emotions over each seeing his or her long-dead partner as they track down Oblivion. During this, Kyle finds himself mysteriously weakening. They finally find him on the ruins of Oa
Oa
Oa is a fictional planet that lies at the center of the DC Comics universe. Since its inception, Oa has been the planetary citadel of the Guardians of the Universe and the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps...
, so they call everyone to rendezvous.
As the backup arrives team-by-team, the friends fill each other in on what each team had discovered. Piecing together the clues, Rayner concludes that Pel Tavin must be the traitor the Spectre warned about. Before the Emerald Knight and Power Girl return, however, Oblivion attacks the heroes, killing Forest. As the Atom and Hunter are about the face the same fate, the missing duo swoops in to save them. Realizing Pel Tavin wasn't Oblivion after all, Rayner charges towards the supervillain, only to be transported into his own subconscious. There, he learns that Oblivion was created using the power of the ring and the negative emotions Rayner bottled up after DeWitt's death and that the new Green Lanterns are equally imagined, each representing a positive aspect of Rayner's subconscious; Alex is an embodiment of Kyle's capability for love
Love
Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...
, while Tavin represents his courage
Courage
Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation...
, Ali represents hope
Hope
Hope is the emotional state which promotes the belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. It is the "feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best" or the act of "look[ing] forward to with desire and reasonable confidence" or...
, G.L.7177.6 represents logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
, Hunter and Forest represent imagination
Imagination
Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
, and Kyle himself represents his own willpower
Will (philosophy)
Will, in philosophical discussions, consonant with a common English usage, refers to a property of the mind, and an attribute of acts intentionally performed. Actions made according to a person's will are called "willing" or "voluntary" and sometimes pejoratively "willful"...
.
Kyle also realises that his current weakening state is because of subconsciously sustaining Circle of Fire's existences with his willpower, and he eventually would die if they aren't return to him. The heroes agree and Rayner reabsorbs each of them to gain back enough power to fight Oblivion, even Alex herself after she and Kyle bid their tearful farewells. The villainous cosmic entity threatens to destroy everything Rayner loves, starting with New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, unless Rayner lets Oblivion take over his mind and therefore the power ring. Rayner threatens suicide to stop Oblivion, but Oblivion reminds Rayner that the JLA would be lost forever. Rayner lets Oblivion into his mind, where the overwhelming positive power of Rayner's personality as represented by the new Green Lanterns and Kyle's childhood home defeats the negativity of Oblivion. This was what Kyle had planned all along as he knew that besides sacrificing himself, the other option was to imprison the villain inside of him. However, Oblivion vowed that he would return once Kyle again gives in to his fear and anger.
Having rescued the JLA and stopped Oblivion, Rayner tenders his resignation. Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
, Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
and Batman
Batman
Batman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
, however, interpret this to be a sign of maturity and responsibility and refuse to accept his resignation. The Spectre, who is hidden, watches this meeting and the man beneath the cloak, Hal Jordan
Hal Jordan
Harold "Hal" Jordan is a DC Comics superhero known as Green Lantern, the first human shown to join the Green Lantern Corps and a founding member of the Justice League of America. Jordan is the second DC Comics character to adopt the Green Lantern moniker...
, Kyle's predecessor as Green Lantern, deeply proud of his successor. Followed the meeting, Kyle is eager to look forward into the future.
Aftermath
The story was followed by two issues of Impulse #68-69, serving as an epilogueEpilogue
An epilogue, epilog or afterword is a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature or drama, usually used to bring closure to the work...
. After the battle with Oblivion, Adam Strange misses his Zeta Beam due to Impulse
Bart Allen
Bartholomew "Bart" Allen is a superhero in the . Allen first appeared as the superhero Impulse. He would later go on to become the second Kid Flash and the fourth Flash. Allen's first cameo appearance was in The Flash #91, while his first full appearance was in issue #92...
shoving him out of the way; the speedster winds up being teleported to Rann himself, when it appears that Strange is about to be struck by lightning. This situation forces Strange to seek the Justice League's aid, to which Kyle Rayner responds and takes the adventurer back to Rann. Along the way, the two try to rebuild their trust toward each other as well as repairing the damages made by Oblivion and the impetuous young speedster on the planet.
This miniseries paves the way for the Green Lantern: Power of Ion storyline, in both plot and theme. Here, Rayner denies the temptation of omnipotence
Omnipotence
Omnipotence is unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence to only the deity of whichever faith is being addressed...
for altruistic reasons. In Power of Ion, Rayner is again faced with all the energy from Oblivion, becoming godlike in nature, only to give it all up.
The miniseries also deals with evolving the character of Kyle Rayner from the perennial rookie of the DC Universe
DC Universe
The DC Universe is the shared universe where most of the comic stories published by DC Comics take place. The fictional characters Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are well-known superheroes from this universe. Note that in context, "DC Universe" is usually used to refer to the main DC continuity...
to a responsible, powerful hero in the eyes of his colleagues.
An element of the story was briefly explored on Tales of the Sinistro Corps Presents: Parallax
Sinestro Corps War
"Sinestro Corps War" is an American comic book crossover event published by DC Comics in its Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps titles. Written by Geoff Johns and Dave Gibbons and drawn by Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason, and Ethan Van Sciver, the 11-part saga was originally published between June...
, as Kyle once again gives into the fear and anger after the death of his mother, but this time leading to him being possessed by fear entity Parallax
Parallax (comics)
Parallax is a fictional comic book supervillain in the DC Comics universe. Created by writer Ron Marz and artist Darryl Banks for Green Lantern vol...
instead of the return of his darker persona Oblivion. Parallax plays the same role as Oblivion with Kyle as he tortures Kyle with his own fear and doubt to continuously breaking his will. Kyle's childhood home, has appeared once again since Circle of Fire during a battle with Parallax inside Kyle's mind.
Reading order
- Green Lantern: Circle of Fire (Oct. 2000) #1
- Green Lantern.Adam Strange (Oct. 2000) #1
- Green Lantern/The Atom (Oct. 2000) #1
- Green Lantern/Firestorm (Oct. 2000) #1
- Green Lantern/Power Girl (Oct. 2000) #1
- Green Lantern/Green Lantern (Oct. 2000) #1
- Green Lantern: Circle of Fire (Oct. 2000) #2
- Epilogue: Impulse vol. 1 (Jan.-Feb. 2001) #68-69