RON MARZ TALKS PARALLAX, KYLE, AND THE SEARCH FOR RAY PALMER

[MattBrady]

by Steve Ekstrom

SPOILERS FOR GREEN LANTERN: SINESTRO CORPS SPECIAL

Revelations abound! The Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special hit shelves last week, and held bombshells aplenty. Chief among them for fans who stuck with the Green Lantern series in the ‘90s was the transformation of Kyle Rayner into a new host for Parallax—the impurity that possessed Hal Jordan and caused the near-annihilation of the Green Lantern Corps.

Ron Marz, creator of the Kyle Rayner character, is gearing up for the September release of two projects involving his creation and newly crowned Parallax: Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Parallax with artwork provided by Adriana Melo; as well as, a six issue mini-series called The Search for Ray Palmer—starring Kyle Rayner (?), Jason Todd, and Donna Troy—with art by Pico Herrera and the cover provided by the legendary Arthur Adams.

Newsarama managed to hunt down Marz to talk about the recent developments in Green Lantern and Countdown and how his projects will work within DC’s in-flux status quo this year.

Newsarama: So, the Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special set up a lot last week, didn’t it?

Ron Marz: Yeah, it set up a lot and it paid off a lot actually. Truthfully, it’s really Geoff’s story—something that he’s been setting up for a while. We planted some seeds in Ion so I hope readers will see where some of loose ends, in Ion, were leading to. It wasn’t like we were saying, “To hell with it, we don’t feel like tying this stuff up.” Hopefully the light bulb will go on now.

NRAMA: In the Ion maxi-series, you had established ‘The Bleed’ as a focal point—now that the Wildstorm Universe has been designated ‘Earth 50’ in the DC Multiverse—Ion’s role kind of expanded. Now that Kyle is Parallax—how does that bode for the Multiverse?

RM: Everything changes now.

NRAMA: The Sinestro Corps Special kind of dropped a couple of bombs—looking at those final pages—you’re kind of gasping, “Holy crap—look at Kyle…” It seems like Kyle is getting a new set of circumstances to respect; first, he’s made the “Patron Saint of Green Lanterns” and now—he’s their worst nightmare. What about the fans who are going to be upset that Kyle has been perverted?

RM: Of course there are going to be some people who get pissed off—

NRAMA: …and you’re used to that! (laughs)

RM: (laughs) ME?!? Naw…you want a reaction out of people and you want a genuine reaction out of the audience not one that telegraphs or is an easy out. I think it’s great that people are invested enough in the characters that they have a reaction to stuff. To me, that’s what telling a story is all about—that you want to give the reader some kind of experience. I think it’s the old thing where you give the audience what they want but not necessarily what they ask for.

NRAMA: With this new set of circumstances—Hal Jordan became Parallax for a different reason than Kyle—it’s kind of forced on him. Isn’t he going to be a completely different shade of Parallax compared to Hal’s incarnation of Parallax? Hal was a slightly aberrant villain—now you have this full tilt “heavy” bad guy…

RM: He’s going to be different version of Parallax for a number of reasons—one is that the readership looks at the whole Parallax thing in a completely different way now because of the story Geoff told in Green Lantern: Rebirth. Because of what Parallax has turned into—because it’s been revealed that it is something other than what people thought it was—I think the audience will look at it like, “Ah, now Kyle has been taken over.”

The book I’m doing in September, the Parallax one-shot, is really about what it is like for Kyle to be trapped within Parallax. That story is going to be told from the point of view of the Kyle that we know and love…

NRAMA: So it’s internal?

RM: Yeah it’s a very internal story…yeah. I guess I’ll leave it at that—it’s there for the audience to see what Kyle is going through. By that extension it’s kind of what Hal went through as well when he was Parallax. I kind of liken it to being on a trip that’s entirely on auto-pilot. Kyle isn’t in control of where he is going or what is happening—all he can do is watch. In a lot of respects, that’s the worst thing—Kyle watches all the stuff Parallax is doing in the next couple of issues of Green Lantern which I have sitting here on my desk in black and white—what Parallax does is…pretty heinous.

NRAMA: Now that Parallax inhabits Kyle Rayner—is there a possibility that readers will get to discover the dark underlining of Kyle Rayner?

RM: The Parallax one shot is really more of a chance, very literally, to be inside Kyle’s mind as he’s going through all this stuff. Obviously, to me with Parallax, there’s all been this inciting incident—that allows Parallax to get his claws (no pun intended) into somebody; with Hal, it was Coast City. For Kyle, it was the death of his mother; which now people obviously understand was brought on by Sinestro. So now, everyone is out there thinking, “Jesus, Marz has got one story—‘Kill Kyle’s Mom’—over and over and over.” Well, no—there is a specific purpose here.

NRAMA: Purist DC fans seem to struggle with the idea that “bad things do happen to good people”—care to share your thoughts on that?

RM: To this day, there is this—maybe not at the companies themselves with the people who are actually doing the books—there is still, as far as I can tell, a ‘DC Fan’ and a ‘Marvel Fan’ and they have their outlooks on what they like and I think the DC fans are a lot less accepting of—as you said, “bad things happening to good people”.

Marvel has a different kind of storytelling paradigm—let’s face it, without DC Comics—there would have been no Marvel Comics—Marvel Comics was kind of a reaction to, at the time, DC’s ‘lantern jawed’ (no pun intended) heroes of that era that had become, for lack of a better term, ‘vanilla’. Marvel took a more realistic approach compared to DC’s lofty characters.

I was much more of a Marvel reader as a kid; but, as a writer, my take on it is—if you can’t put your characters through the ringer than why should anybody read it? To me, if Romeo and Juliet lived happily ever after or if Hamlet doesn’t die in a duel—those aren’t very good stories. There has to be, at least to me, at times—elements of tragedy—if for no other reason to contrast with elements of victory and triumph that are part and parcel superhero comics too.

NRAMA: Let’s switch gears for a minute and talk about The Search for Ray Palmer. Arthur Adams cover for this mini-series is very similar to the Morrison and Quietly Earth-2 graphic novel…

RM: We had to come up with a cover concept for that and we just kind of told him to put our characters and the Wildstorm characters—and then Arthur came back with that and we were—I was at least—like, “Wow, that’s cool.” I mean—seriously, it’s an Arthur Adams cover—which is worth the price of admission right there. I haven’t seen the actual finished version of it yet.

NRAMA: Kyle is featured in The Search for Ray Palmer as well—when does this take place in confines with the Parallax one-shot?

RM: …if I told you, I’d have to kill you.

NRAMA: Okay—let’s switch gears and talk about Donna Troy and Jason Todd then—with Kyle, they have been labeled anomalies in Countdown. Are these characters supposed to exist? Does The Search for Ray Palmer provide insight into the mystery surrounding these characters? With the inclusion of the Wildstorm Universe into the DC multi-verse—are these anomaly characters supposed exist somewhere else?

RM: You know, I don’t know if we’re supposed to view all the alternate Earths as having duplicates from other Earths or that they are all duplicates of each other—with tweaks here and there. Certainly the Wildstorm Universe is not a mirror image of the DC universe. As far as we know, there are no analogous versions of Midnighter or Apollo and we explored that a little bit with stuff like Captain Atom traveling to the Wildstorm Universe.

That said—The Search for Ray Palmer is more than just this one issue. It’s going to be at least six issues—and each issue will be a different location—and I know all the locations. It’s one of those things where DC said, “We’d like you to do the Wildstorm one,” and I was like, “Yeah, that would be cool.” Then they turned around and said, “Then they are going here and here…” and then I said, “Oh—no wait—I wanna do that one!”

The Search for Ray Palmer has some really cool locations to it—places that, I’m sure, people thought they would never in an in-continuity DC book—but now, we can do all that stuff.

NRAMA: What’s your take on Jason Todd?

RM: You know, I’m just starting to get a feel for his character. One of the things we’re going to be doing in this book—is this sort of triangle—between Jason, Kyle, and Donna. Jason Todd and Kyle Rayner are not going get along. I think in a lot of ways Kyle is the good ex-boyfriend and Jason is the somewhat alluring bad boy—and the bad boy and the good ex-boyfriend never ever get along.

NRAMA: So where does that leave your perception of Donna Troy?

RM: I’ve been asked questions about Donna before—and her back story is so complex at this point that I am really just writing Donna in an iconic fashion to avoid all of the problematic situations that occur by including her history. Her back story can kind of bring a story to a halt.

I’m a lot more interested in what Donna is going to do next then the aspect of where she has been. I’m much more interested in where a character is going as opposed to where they came from.

NRAMA: All that being said—these three characters are a solid part of the pay off of Countdown?

RM: Yeah—this all sort of folds in together and leads to—these are going to be good stories in and of themselves but we are obviously dealing with a larger framework here; this story is part of that.

NRAMA: Since spoiling anything would lead to my untimely demise at your hands—can you give readers something to chew on until the Parallax one-shot hits shelves?

RM: Keep your eye on the pencil.

[CandidGamera]

I was much more of a Marvel reader as a kid; but, as a writer, my take on it is—if you can’t put your characters through the ringer than why should anybody read it? To me, if Romeo and Juliet lived happily ever after or if Hamlet doesn’t die in a duel—those aren’t very good stories. There has to be, at least to me, at times—elements of tragedy—if for no other reason to contrast with elements of victory and triumph that are part and parcel superhero comics too.

Actually, there's this whole other kind of story, called 'comedy'. Shakespeare wrote a couple of those, too.

[Wade Wilson]

I love Ron's work and I happen to be a huge fan of both Kyle and Jason. So score one for me!

[boem104]

All the spin offs and connecting stories. And Kyle tied into the search for the Atom.

I know people are complaining about the crossovers and how it's very much like the 90's. But there is a difference. The 90's crossovers were bad and crossover issues held little to no significance to the main story. The first Crisis in the 80's mentioned the Guardians but the Green Lanterns took a back seat. As a matter of fact most of our heroes took a back seat to the Monitor and Harbinger and such. Batman had little to no role in the first.

In this one:
Superman and Luthor are major players and expected leaders in both camps.
Wonder Woman also serves a major role in redefining the superhero
Captain Marvel (I hate that we have to call him SHAZAM) leading the way with the new Magic DC Universe
Batman - Someone has to figure what this is all about (Finally a role for him in the cosmic theme of things
Flash WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK! WALLY'S BACK!
Even Atom plays a major role.
And Donna Troy - pretty important for someone who started in comics as a younger version of Wonder Woman
And finally the Lanterns. If it's a cosmic story, they should be at the front. This time they are. And Kyle is still a major player. Kudos to DC for not taking this (replacement) character and simply killing him when his storyline is over.

[Zenstrive]

Parallax will be purged by the shear power of FEAR itself!

FEAR of not getting proper girlfriend ever, that is!

Go! Go! Kyle!

[The Skoot]

Originally Posted by CandidGamera

Actually, there's this whole other kind of story, called 'comedy'. Shakespeare wrote a couple of those, too.

I can't think of a comedy that doesn't have elements of tragedy in it. You need to have something happen to your protagonist in order for them to change and grow during the course of your story, otherwise there's no point in the story as nothing of any importance happens.

[Big Bad Icon]

Kyle is being mistreated as a character and disrespected by the writers!!!! That's it!!! I'm officially starting... K.E.A.T.

[Grievous]

Can't wait for this comic.

[BlueThunderArmy]

The Search for Ray Palmer is more than just this one issue. It’s going to be at least six issues

At least???

Very happy to see Kyle getting the spotlight--some of us didn't just 'stick out' the 1990s Green Lantern, some of us grew up with him and prefer him.

That said, I'd really like to see Kyle in a story about Kyle's adventures, rather than a Prologue to the Next Big Thing (as in Ion) or a World Tour (as, it appears, in Search for Ray Palmer, though I will say that series sounds quite good). The Parallax thing is an interesting twist, and I look forward to seeing what happens with it.

[Ace]

The pencils for that Art Adams cover are interesting. And I think it';s intentional we haven't seen a color version yet.

It LOOKS like Kyle is not completely sporting the Parallax look, but he's also not sporting the Ion look. At the least, he doesn't have the cape.

But Kyle's a fav and Marz is a fav and Donna's a fav and Jason Todd is likely to be at least somewhat well written if Marz is writing him, so there you go.

[Bevbos]

Even though I can't stand Kyle Rayner, this actually sounds very interesting to me... Marz sounds like a good guy and an interesting writer. I'll probably pick this up.

[davew]

Certainly the Wildstorm Universe is not a mirror image of the DC universe. As far as we know, there are no analogous versions of Midnighter or Apollo...

Hmmmmm....

[Cicero]

Originally Posted by MattBrady

RM: To this day, there is this—maybe not at the companies themselves with the people who are actually doing the books—there is still, as far as I can tell, a ‘DC Fan’ and a ‘Marvel Fan’ and they have their outlooks on what they like and I think the DC fans are a lot less accepting of—as you said, “bad things happening to good people”.

Marvel has a different kind of storytelling paradigm—let’s face it, without DC Comics—there would have been no Marvel Comics—Marvel Comics was kind of a reaction to, at the time, DC’s ‘lantern jawed’ (no pun intended) heroes of that era that had become, for lack of a better term, ‘vanilla’. Marvel took a more realistic approach compared to DC’s lofty characters.

I'm mostly a Marvel fan, but I don't like reading stories about DC characters which undermine or torture them. I think the differing tones of the companies cause me to expect and appreciate different kinds of stories from each of them.

In Kyle's case, from what has been said, this story cannot be other than bad for the character. If Hal's Parallax was more a hero with a different perspective, and Kyle's more a villain, that implies that Hal more thoroughly withstood the corrupting influence of the fear being. (Of course, the Rebirth retcon severely undermines the intelligent storytelling which preceeded it, as well as consistency between it and the stories which follow.) This makes Kyle less of a Green Lantern than Hal, which is a disservice.

[ejulp]

weird that kyle and apollo are almost direct reflections of each other, at least in how they're bending their legs...and todds is a slight off reflection of the midnighter, which i guess makes sense, and donna troy has an not direct reflection...wonder why the kyle apollo is more significant?

[optime]

Originally Posted by CandidGamera

Actually, there's this whole other kind of story, called 'comedy'. Shakespeare wrote a couple of those, too.

Yes, but at its essence, comedy still has hints of tragedy in it.

Carol Burnett said, "Comedy is tragedy plus time." (http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/3444.html)

Spiderman makes all those quips because at heart he's still a nervous kid, afraid of what will happen if he fails. He suffered loss, and uses humor to deal with it.

[Caeu Zokul]

So that's Kyle in silo on the Parallax book. He also appears to take Sinestro's place on the cover of GL: SC Special second printing.

Those sharp teeth below the mask are just scary.

[zodcomplex]

Sinestro Corps was everything that good comics should be about. I'm not typically a fan of Marz's writing, but I liked his Ion mini & I'm glad that it's leading into bigger things for the character. Kyle's role in the DCU is being redefined in a big way; I'm glad that they are making such big distinctions between the Green Lanterns.

I haven't been following the Atom series since the first few issues or so (just not my thing) but I'll have to check out the Ray Palmer mini - I'm anxious to see where that character is going & what role he'll have to play coming up.

[boem104]

I agree! Why are so many people against capes, action, mystery and space?

Kyle becoming Parallax was such a natural fit.

[jsf]

Parallax is now officially DC's answer to the Venom symbiote ... only worse.

Ugh. Just ugh.

[Innercaine]

Ron Marz: Yeah, it set up a lot and it paid off a lot actually. Truthfully, it’s really Geoff’s story—something that he’s been setting up for a while. We planted some seeds in Ion so I hope readers will see where some of loose ends, in Ion, were leading to. It wasn’t like we were saying, “To hell with it, we don’t feel like tying this stuff up.” Hopefully the light bulb will go on now.

I have to say.. I was in this camp. I'm kinda glad I stuck through all of ION now..

I guess you're kinda vindicated now Mr. Marz.

I'm hoping Countdown pays off like this over the long haul too. I'm sticking with that one too.

One thing about ION that I do disagree with Marz about, I don't think Greg Tocchini was not a good choice as an artist. I respect that Marz defends his co-creator, and he's entitled to his opinion (as the writer it carries weight), but I didn't like the guy's art. Nothing personal.

But I do like the ION series even more than I did before now...

[Justice dp]

Originally Posted by Ace

The pencils for that Art Adams cover are interesting. And I think it';s intentional we haven't seen a color version yet.

It LOOKS like Kyle is not completely sporting the Parallax look, but he's also not sporting the Ion look. At the least, he doesn't have the cape.

But Kyle's a fav and Marz is a fav and Donna's a fav and Jason Todd is likely to be at least somewhat well written if Marz is writing him, so there you go.

The costume on the cover looks like a "busted" version of his Parallax suit. Just like Hals new suit, that has stil the angular shape of his Parallax armor at the waist and the face mask. I think at the end of the SC war he will sport an updated version of his first costume.

And that Jason and Donna may become an item is interessting, I would love to see Dick and Dianas reaction if it happens ...

I'm really interessted to see this play out, getting to see Kyle's horror as the grass hoper goes on a rampage in his body.

[BRUNOWILIS]

Originally Posted by jsf

Parallax is now officially DC's answer to the Venom symbiote ... only worse.

Ugh. Just ugh.

Hmmmm....... Venom is a parasite. Parallax is an EXTINCTION LEVEL THREAT. This is like comparing Matter-Eater Lad to Galactus..........

[vbartilucci]

Originally Posted by CandidGamera

Actually, there's this whole other kind of story, called 'comedy'. Shakespeare wrote a couple of those, too.

The way I learned it in school (and the formula they used in Stranger than Fiction) was if the main character dies it's a tragedy, if he lives it's a comedy.

I prefer a bit of positive in my stories. So I am fully confident that Kyle will triumph over Parallax, and I think he's gonna build a big green sterilizing autoclave, and put Despotellis in it.

I dare you to tell me he's gonna have any moral dilemmas about killing a germ, sentient or no. The Guardians might, and that's a setup for a story. But him? He's gonna take a can of lysol and a tube of Purel and clean house...

Originally Posted by optime

Yes, but at its essence, comedy still has hints of tragedy in it.

Carol Burnett said, "Comedy is tragedy plus time." (http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/3444.html)

As Stephen King says, "It's comedy if it happenes to someone else, it's horror if it happens to you"

Or as Mel Brooks says (as the 2000 year old man)- "Tragedy is if I cut my finger. Comedy is if you fall down a hole and die".

[MarvelBoy74]

Obviously they are going to find Ray on the Kingdom Come Earth. I wonder if they are actually going to find another Kyle Raynor?

[MrJasonTodd]

Originally Posted by BlueThunderArmy

some of us didn't just 'stick out' the 1990s Green Lantern, some of us grew up with him and prefer him.

Thats how i feel too. I got to know Hal through back issues and wikapedia, Kyle was there w/ me since the first DC issue i bought.