Kyle first witnessed a green shooting star moving upwards in the night sky while on a nighttime beach date with his on-again off-again photographer girlfriend Alexandra Dewitt. The shooting star was actually famed Green Lantern Hal Jordan, who had been driven insane by the destruction of Coast Cityand went on a murderous rampage, destroying the Power Battery, the Guardians of the Universe and the Green Lantern Corps. Only one Guardian named Ganthetsurvived Jordan's rampage, reforging Jordan's discarded Power Ring as the Corps' final legacy.

Later, Ganthet traveled to Earth, appearing in an alleyway outside of a nightclub and encountered two humans. One was a drunken homeless man and the other was Kyle who was getting some fresh air and spotted the same green falling star as before, this time falling to Earth. It was Ganthet, and the Guardian thrust the final ring into Kyle's hand muttering "You will have to do" before disappearing. Putting on the ring, Kyle found himself dressed in a standard Green Lantern uniform.

"Oh man... I think my life just got a lot more complicated." - Kyle after receiving his ring and finding himself in a Green Lantern uniform.

Unfamiliar with the concept of Green Lantern, Kyle went to Alex's apartment and showed her the ring and his new powers and the two made a plan, Kyle would be a superhero and Alex would photograph him in action, giving both their careers a much needed boost. Kyle had trouble at first with controlling the ring due to not knowing how it worked but with Alex's guidance and support, he quickly learned basic GL abilities like flying and constructs. However, there was much confusion over his identity as he was wearing the GL uniform commonly associated with Hal Jordan. Alex brought this to Kyle's attention and urged him to make his own identity, leading to him redesigning the costume to better fit his personality Kyle Rayner was a struggling graphic artist in Los Angeles. Son to Mexican-American father Aaron and Irish mother Maura Rayner, Kyle's infant life was spent with his parents constantly on the run. Aaron used the Military as a cover; in truth he was a C.I.A. BlackOps agent. When Kyle was 3, Aaron had to leave Kyle with his mother in order to protect them. He never came back yet was never listed as killed in action. Kyle and his mother settled and grew up in Los Angeles. Kyle attended North Hollywood High School as a teenager. Years later Kyle found out his father's real name was Gabriel Vasquez but was already scarred from growing up fatherless. He would soon to take comfort from another paternal figure... Ganthet.

Kyle first witnessed a green shooting star moving upwards in the night sky while on a nighttime beach date with his on-again off-again photographer girlfriend Alexandra Dewitt. The shooting star was actually famed Green Lantern Hal Jordan, who had been driven insane by the destruction of Coast Cityand went on a murderous rampage, destroying the Power Battery, the Guardians of the Universe and the Green Lantern Corps. Only one Guardian named Ganthetsurvived Jordan's rampage, reforging Jordan's discarded Power Ring as the Corps' final legacy.

Later, Ganthet traveled to Earth, appearing in an alleyway outside of a nightclub and encountered two humans. One was a drunken homeless man and the other was Kyle who was getting some fresh air and spotted the same green falling star as before, this time falling to Earth. It was Ganthet, and the Guardian thrust the final ring into Kyle's hand muttering "You will have to do" before disappearing. Putting on the ring, Kyle found himself dressed in a standard Green Lantern uniform.

"Oh man... I think my life just got a lot more complicated." - Kyle after receiving his ring and finding himself in a Green Lantern uniform.

Unfamiliar with the concept of Green Lantern, Kyle went to Alex's apartment and showed her the ring and his new powers and the two made a plan, Kyle would be a superhero and Alex would photograph him in action, giving both their careers a much needed boost. Kyle had trouble at first with controlling the ring due to not knowing how it worked but with Alex's guidance and support, he quickly learned basic GL abilities like flying and constructs. However, there was much confusion over his identity as he was wearing the GL uniform commonly associated with Hal Jordan. Alex brought this to Kyle's attention and urged him to make his own identity, leading to him redesigning the costume to better fit his personality  

Originally thought to be chosen by chance, Ganthet chose Kyle Rayner because he had the ability to harness the powers of the emotional spectrum. Once the Torchbearer of the Green Lantern Corps, Kyle graduated to the role Ganthet had intended for him: the White Lantern. After the White Ring is separated into seven rings, Kyle returns to being a Green Lantern Corpsman.