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Obsidian (character)

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Obsidian
Obsidian as depicted in Infinity Inc. #6; art by Mike Machlan.
Publication information
PublisherDC Comics
First appearanceAll-Star Squadron #25 (September 1983)
Created by
In-story information
Full nameTodd James Rice
SpeciesMetahuman
Team affiliations
Partnerships
Abilities
  • Can merge with his own shadow, giving him enhanced physical strength and vitality
  • Flight
  • Intangibility
  • Invisibility
  • Phasing
  • Shadow manipulation
  • Shadow absorption
  • Shadow creature control
  • Shadow construct creation
  • Shadow possession
  • Envelop enemies, showing them their dark side
  • Ability to enlarge himself and cover areas in pure shadow/darkness from a vast distance

Obsidian (Todd James Rice) is a superhero published by DC Comics. He first appeared in All-Star Squadron #25 (September 1983), and was created by Roy Thomas and Jerry Ordway.[1] He is the son of Alan Scott and Rose Canton and the twin brother of Jade. According to an Infinity, Inc. letter page, Obsidian was named "Todd" after a friend of Thomas.

Obsidian made his first live-action appearance on the second season of the DC show Legends of Tomorrow, with a younger version of the character portrayed by Dan Payne, with no speaking lines, and an older version portrayed by Lance Henriksen. Rice also appears in the third season of Stargirl on the CW network played by Tim Gabriel.

Creation

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Thomas spoke on the character's creation, stating "To make up for Nuklon's and Northwind's non-blood-relative status, Dann and I decided that Alan Scott, a.k.a. Green Lantern, would have two kids in the new group—twins, no less... Obsidian became the dark side of the ring's magic, but that concept seems to have taken a bit more time to come together."[2]

Fictional character biography

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Pre-Crisis

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Todd Rice is the son of Alan Scott and Rose Canton, respectively the Golden Age superhero Green Lantern and villain Thorn. Todd was raised in an abusive adoptive home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.[3] As a teenager, he discovers that he has a twin sister, Jennie-Lynn Hayden / Jade.[4] After reuniting, the two follow in their father's footsteps and become superheroes and founding members of Infinity, Inc.[5][6]

Post-Crisis

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Following Crisis on Infinite Earths, Obsidian becomes a member of the Justice League.[7] At one point, he was corrupted by Ian Karkull and attempted to cover the world in darkness before being defeated and cured of his mental instability.[8][9][10][11][12]

Afterwards, Obsidan retired, came to terms with his self-identity as a gay man, and began dating Damon Matthews, an assistant district attorney and ally of Kate Spencer / Manhunter.[13]

After being attacked by Karkull, Obsidian is transformed into a dark egg before it eventually hatches and resurrects him.[14]

Brightest Day

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During the "Brightest Day" storyline, Obsidian and the JSA battle Alan Scott, who has been possessed by the Starheart, the cosmic force that empowers him and his children.[15][16][17] During this time, he and Jade are fused into a singular entity controlled by the Starheart before eventually being separated.[18][19]

Convergence

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In the 2015 comics event Convergence, a two-part miniseries titled Infinity Inc. featured the return of the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths version of the Infinity Inc. team, including Todd as Obsidian. Todd and Infinity Inc. were brought to Telos in the series. This Obsidian was based on his pre-Crisis version but had elements of the modern day version of the character as well. His counterparts made veiled references to Todd's sexuality and appeared accepting of him being in a relationship with a man.[20]

DC Rebirth

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In Doomsday Clock, Obsidian is among the Justice Society members who were erased from history when Doctor Manhattan altered history to prevent Alan Scott from becoming a Green Lantern. However, he and the Society are eventually restored when Superman convinces Manhattan to return history to normal.[21] Obsidian then reunites with his father, who comes out as gay to him.[22][23]

Powers and abilities

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Obsidian is able to harness the energy of the Shadowlands to manipulate shadows, the result of his father being exposed to shadow energy during a battle with Ian Karkull. This enables him to become intangible, fly, and grow to an enormous size.

Other versions

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  • An alternate universe variant of Obsidian who resembles the Shadow appears in Kingdom Come as a member of Batman's Outsiders.
  • Two characters based on Obsidian appear in the Tangent Comics universe. The first is Todd Rice, an operative of Nightwing also known as Dark Star, while the second is an unnamed female operative of Nightwing's Russian counterpart Meridian who can transform into stone.[24]
  • Two alternate universe variants of Todd Rice appears in The New 52.[25]
  • An alternate version of Obsidian appears in the Amalgam Comics universe fused with Gambit of the X-Men, going under the name of Wraith.

Sexual orientation

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He has a short-lived, troubled relationship with Marcie Cooper, the third Harlequin, shortly before the disbanding of Infinity, Inc. Later, sexual confusion was shown during his tenure in the Justice League, when he told his friend Nuklon that the only two people he could ever love in the world were his sister and him. When Nuklon asked if he was gay, Obsidian did not fully answer, instead asking "Why must there be labels?" After Obsidian's redemption, JSA penciller Steven Sadowski stated that Todd's sexuality would be dealt with whenever he returned to that title.

Todd shares a kiss with Damon Matthews.

Todd appeared in Manhunter (vol. 3) #18 where he shares a kiss with Damon Matthews, a recurring gay character, and spoke in the fashion of a lover, confirming his sexuality. Marc Andreyko, the writer of Manhunter, goes into detail about selecting Obsidian as Damon's lover:

I didn't want to make a character gay unless it felt organic. So, the list was pretty short. Then I remembered when Obsidian was in the JLA years ago and Gerard Jones, the writer, danced around the issue. I went back and read all my Infinity, Inc.'s and although Todd dated women, it was always a mess.

Andreyko said that DC was supportive, wanting a "visible gay character" and that it was "a general void in the DCU that needed exploration". Geoff Johns, longtime writer of JSA, also stated his support for the idea.[26]

When writer Bill Willingham took over the JSA title, there was a great amount of concern among fans about how this would affect Todd (as Willingham is a Republican). Some fans even feared that Willingham would "cure" Todd's sexuality. In Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #40, Willingham attempted to address this concern in a humorous way by having the newly restored Obsidian announce that his homosexuality has been cured, only for him to quickly renounce this claim, telling the readers, while breaking the fourth wall for a brief moment, that he was only joking and that he was still gay.[citation needed]

As of Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #43 (October 2010), Todd is still dating Damon, confirming this in conversation with his father.

During the crossover Convergence Infinity Inc., Obsidian's sexuality is referenced. His teammates are okay if he is gay, but he denies it even though he brought a close male friend to his sister's theatre performance.

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The following are enemies of Obsidian:

  • Ian Karkull: A former foe of the All-Star Squadron and the Justice Society of America. Having been believed to be dead for decades, Ian manipulated Obsidian to gain access to, and subsequently rule, the Shadowlands. Karkull had apparently been corrupting Obsidian for months in an effort to get revenge on his enemies in the Justice Society.
  • Chroma: A cosmic entity that Obsidian faced during his time with Infinity, Inc. Chroma interrupted a televised concert with a song about apocalyptic events. The song, though talking about death, somehow proved so engaging that many people desired to hear it again and again. Todd, having just come off a bad date, found himself uninvolved with the song (thus making him immune to its effects).
  • Kid Karnevil: While posing as a new JSA recruit, All-American Kid, Jeremy Karne attacked Obsidian with an illumination device. The attack left Todd in a severely degenerated state. Karne later stole the black egg that Obsidian had degenerated into and handed it over to his allies in the Fourth Reich.
  • Harlequin: A former girlfriend of Todd's. She attempted to recruit him to the Manhunters, but he refused. Marcie was later responsible for the murder of Todd's leader and friend, Sylvester Pemberton.

In other media

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Television

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  • Obsidian makes non-speaking cameo appearances in Justice League Unlimited as a member of the Justice League.
  • Obsidian appears in the second season of Legends of Tomorrow, portrayed by Dan Payne as a young man and by Lance Henriksen as an older man.[27][28][29][30] This version is a member of the Justice Society of America, who were primarily active in 1942. As of 1987, he became the last living member of the JSA after most of them were presumed dead while on a mission years prior.
  • Todd Rice appears in the third season of Stargirl, portrayed by Tim Gabriel.[31] This version was separated from his sister Jennie-Lynn Hayden and taken in by the Helix Institute for Youth Rehabilitation while looking for her. Additionally, their powers became connected to each other after her ring, which she inherited from their father Alan Scott, is infected by dark matter residue left over from her fight with Eclipso in the second season. Jennie and Todd eventually reunite and she helps him gain control of his powers. Shade agrees to help Todd get control of his powers.

Film

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An alternate universe variant of Obsidian makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths — Part One.[32] This version is a member of the Justice Society of America from Earth-2.

Video games

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Obsidian appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[33]

Merchandise

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  • The Justice League Unlimited incarnation of Obsidian received a Target-exclusive figure in the series' tie-in toyline.
  • In 2010, Mattel released a 6" figure of "Todd Rice" -- as the name "Obsidian" was unavailable due to a rights issue -- in the Walmart-exclusive Wave 14 of their DC Universe Classics line.[34]

References

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  1. ^ Manning, Matthew K.; Dolan, Hannah, eds. (2010). "1980s". DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9. The children of the original Justice Society of America made their smash debut in this issue by writer Roy Thomas and penciler Jerry Ordway...All-Star Squadron #25 marked the first appearances of future cult-favorite heroes Jade, Obsidian, Fury, Brainwave Jr., the Silver Scarab, Northwind, and Nuklon.
  2. ^ https://www.twomorrows.com/alterego/articles/01infinity.html
  3. ^ Infinity, Inc. #5 & 6 (August & September 1984)
  4. ^ Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 220. ISBN 978-1-4654-5357-0.
  5. ^ Infinity, Inc. #4 (July 1984) & 33 (December 1986). DC Comics.
  6. ^ Infinity, Inc. #1–53 (March 1984 – August 1988). DC Comics.
  7. ^ Justice League America #0 (October 1994). DC Comics.
  8. ^ JSA #7 & 8 (February & March 2000). DC Comics.
  9. ^ JSA #5 (December 1999). DC Comics.
  10. ^ JSA #9 (April 2000). DC Comics.
  11. ^ JSA #46 (May 2003), DC Comics.
  12. ^ JSA #50 (September 2003). DC Comics.
  13. ^ Manhunter (vol. 3) #18 (March 2006). DC Comics.
  14. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #37. DC Comics.
  15. ^ Justice League of America (vol. 2) #43–45. DC Comics.
  16. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #41. DC Comics.
  17. ^ Brightest Day #7 (August 2010). DC Comics.
  18. ^ Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #42 (August 2010). DC Comics.
  19. ^ Justice League of America (vol. 2) #48 (August 2010). DC Comics.
  20. ^ Siegel, Lucas (2014). "DC's CONVERGENCE Week Four: Pre-Crisis Multiverse is Back, Baby". Newsarama.
  21. ^ Doomsday Clock #12 (December 2019), DC Comics.
  22. ^ Infinite Frontier #0. DC Comics.
  23. ^ Alan Scott: The Green Lantern #6. DC Comics.
  24. ^ Tangent: Superman's Reign #2. DC Comics.
  25. ^ Earth-2: World's End #8 (January 2015). DC Comics.
  26. ^ "ANDREYKO & MANHUNTER: Love Is In The Air". Archived from the original on February 20, 2006. Retrieved February 3, 2006.
  27. ^ Burlingame, Russ (September 27, 2016). "Lance Henriksen Confirms Legends of Tomorrow's Obsidian is Green Lantern's Son". ComicBook.com.
  28. ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (July 23, 2016). "Comic-Con: 'Legends of Tomorrow' to Tackle Legion of Doom Villain Team In Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter.
  29. ^ Prudom, Laura (August 11, 2016). "'The Flash' and 'Supergirl' to Stage Musical Crossover In Addition to Four-Show Team-Up". Variety.
  30. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (September 14, 2016). "Matt's Inside Line: Scoop on Arrow, Supernatural, Bones, Once, Chicago X3, Gotham, NCIS: LA, Legends and More". TV Line. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  31. ^ Bucksbaum, Sydney (March 28, 2022). "DC's Stargirl casts Tim Gabriel as Green Lantern's son Obsidian for season 3". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  32. ^ "Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths – Part One: 'The Wave' Exclusive Clip". IGN. January 8, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  33. ^ Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  34. ^ "DC Universe Classics 14: Todd "Obsidian" Rice review". OAFE. December 13, 2006. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
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