| Obsidian | |
|---|---|
.png) Obsidian as depicted inInfinity Inc. #6; art by Mike Machlan. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | All-Star Squadron #25 (September 1983) |
| Created by |
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| In-story information | |
| Full name | Todd James Rice |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | |
| Partnerships | |
| Abilities |
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Obsidian (Todd James Rice) is asuperhero published byDC Comics. He first appeared inAll-Star Squadron #25 (September 1983), and was created byRoy Thomas andJerry Ordway.[1] He is the son ofAlan Scott andRose Canton and the twin brother ofJade. According to anInfinity, Inc. letter page, Obsidian was named "Todd" after a friend of Thomas.
Obsidian made his first live-action appearance on thesecond season of the DC showLegends of Tomorrow, with a younger version of the character portrayed byDan Payne, with no speaking lines, and an older version portrayed byLance Henriksen. Rice also appears in the third season ofStargirl onthe CW network played by Tim Gabriel.
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]
Todd Rice is the son ofAlan Scott and Rose Canton, respectively theGolden Age superheroGreen Lantern and villainThorn. Todd was raised in an abusive adoptive home inMilwaukee, 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 ofInfinity, Inc.[5][6]
FollowingCrisis on Infinite Earths, Obsidian becomes a member of theJustice League.[7] At one point, he was corrupted byIan 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 hisself-identity as agay man, and began dating Damon Matthews, an assistantdistrict attorney and ally ofKate Spencer / Manhunter.[13]
After being attacked by Karkull, Obsidian is transformed into a dark egg before it eventually hatches and resurrects him.[14]
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]
In the 2015 comics eventConvergence, a two-part miniseries titledInfinity 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]
InDoomsday Clock, Obsidian is among the Justice Society members who were erased from history whenDoctor Manhattan altered history to prevent Alan Scott from becoming a Green Lantern. However, he and the Society are eventually restored whenSuperman convinces Manhattan to return history to normal.[21] Obsidian then reunites with his father, who comes out as gay to him.[22][23]
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 withIan Karkull. This enables him to become intangible, fly, and grow to an enormous size.
He has a short-lived, troubled relationship with Marcie Cooper, the thirdHarlequin, shortly before the disbanding of Infinity, Inc. Later, sexual confusion was shown during his tenure in the Justice League, when he told his friendNuklon 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 appeared inManhunter (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 ofManhunter, 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 ofJSA, also stated his support for the idea.[26]
When writerBill Willingham took over theJSA title, there was a great amount of concern among fans about how this would affect Todd (as Willingham is aRepublican). Some fans even feared that Willingham would "cure" Todd's sexuality. InJustice 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 thefourth wall for a brief moment, that he was only joking and that he was still gay.[citation needed]
As ofJustice Society of America (vol. 3) #43 (October 2010), Todd is still dating Damon, confirming this in conversation with his father.
During the crossoverConvergence 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.
The following are enemies of Obsidian:
An alternate universe variant of Obsidian fromEarth-2 makes a non-speaking cameo appearance inJustice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths — Part One.[32] This version is a member of theJustice Society of America.
Obsidian appears as a character summon inScribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.[33]
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.
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