Nero was the second person recruited by the Qwardians to take down the new Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, the first being Fatality. In order to find someone with the same imagination and artistic skill as Rayner the Qwardians sought out Nero, who had a history of drawing violent and dark pictures in the asylum. Nero was designed as the "archenemy" of Kyle Rayner, seeing how both are artists with limitless imagination. He escaped from the asylum only to be confronted by a both the original Green Lantern Alan Scott and Kyle Rayner. A battle ensued and Alan Scott was seriously wounded, forcing Kyle to retreat and call upon the assistance of the JLA. Kyle Rayner asked the JLA not only to stop Nero but to be prepared to kill him, reasoning that Nero's ring was one of the most powerful weapons in th