Green Lantern’s Most Intense Construct Confirmed the 1 Villain He’ll NEVER Hold Back Against

Warning: Includes depictions of death readers may find disturbing

Among the Green Lanterns, Kyle Rayner is often regarded as the most creative. An artist prior to becoming a superhero, Kyle’s power constructs are largely fun and creative, sometimes taking on pop culture iconography. When it comes to fighting his greatest enemy, however, Kyle proved he could produce one of the harshest constructs in Green Lantern history.

Green Lantern #55 – by Ron Marz, Derec Donovan, Darryl Banks, Craig Hamilton, and Romeo Tanghal – shows Kyle Rayner early in his career as a Green Lantern, in his first meeting with original Lantern Alan Scott. The issue also featured Kyle fighting the villain Major Force for the first time after he killed Rayner’s girlfriend, Alex DeWitt.

The fight with Major Force was a brutal battle, especially considering how early it is in Kyle’s career as Green Lantern. During the brawl, Kyle used his ring to create an electric chair, hooking Major Force up and electrocuting him to force the villain to talk.

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Kyle Rayner’s Green Lantern Wanted Revenge On Major Force For The Infamous “Fridging” Moment

Green Lantern #54 features one of the most infamous moments in comic book history, as Kyle Rayner returned home to find his girlfriend, Alex, has been murdered and stuffed into a refrigerator. This moment led to the coining of the term “fridging” to describe a trope of women, particularly in comics, being killed, depowered, maimed, or sexually assaulted to further the journey and development of a male character. The trope of “Women in Refrigerators” was coined by then-comics fan Gail Simone, who later went on to be an iconic writer for DC and other publishers.

Kyle Rayner’s journey as Green Lantern was kickstarted by the fridging moment, with the stakes of being a superhero being realized through the shockingly gruesome murder of Alex. While Rayner can be seen as one of the lighter and more fun Green Lanterns, his personality contrasts starkly with the events of Green Lantern #54, where Alex’s death is depicted in a grizzly fashion. Alex had, to this point, served as a sort of mentor for Kyle, encouraging him to grow up and do something meaningful with his powers. Since then, she’s remained a driving force for Kyle.

Kyle’s Harshest Green Lantern Construct Shows His Hatred For Major Force

Picking up right after the events of the fridging, Green Lantern #55 shows an enraged Kyle wanting to make Major Force pay for Alex’s murder. After putting Major Force into the electric chair construct, Green Lantern electocutes his enemy for information, slapping him while he’s held down. When Major Force refuses to answer, Kyle threatens to murder the villain, before being interrupted by the Los Angeles Special Crimes Unit. Were Kyle to not be interrupted, it’s likely that he would have killed Major Force.

Juxtaposed against Kyle’s other lighthearted Green Lantern constructs, the electric chair displays a surprising level of brutality. Kyle would later state that his Green Lantern ring generally prevents him from killing or mortally wounding his opponents, highlighting his deep desire for blood in his first fight after Alex’s death. It’s a moment deeply tied to one of the most infamous scenes in the history of comics, indicative of a much larger problem in the literary field. Kyle’s rage here stands out for the character as he, like the Green Lantern series, finds himself at one of his darkest, lowest points.