| Joshua Clay | |
|---|---|
 Tempest as depicted inDoom Patrol (vol. 2) Annual #1 (December 1988). Art by James Fry. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Showcase #94 (August 1977) |
| Created by | Paul Kupperberg Joe Staton |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Joshua Clay |
| Species | Metahuman |
| Team affiliations | Doom Patrol Black Lantern Corps |
| Notable aliases | Jonathan Carmichael, Tempest |
| Abilities |
|
Joshua Clay, also known asTempest, is a member of thesuperhero teamDoom Patrol incomic books published byDC Comics. Created byPaul Kupperberg andJoe Staton,[1] he first appeared inShowcase #94 (August 1977).[2]
Joshua Clay appeared in his first live adaptation on the first season of theDoom Patrol television series forDC Universe played byAlimi Ballard.
A member of the secondDoom Patrol, Joshua Clay is the firstDC Comics hero to use the name Tempest. Along withCaptain Comet, he is one of the few DC Comics heroes initially identified as amutant.
Joshua Clay was born in theBrownsville section ofBrooklyn,New York, the youngest of five children. His parents struggled to keep their family together in the middle of what was at that time one of the worst slums in the country. At sixteen, Joshua joined a street gang called the Stompers, and eventually, as a result, wound up being given a choice between prison and service in theUnited States military. Joshua chose the army and was trained as acombat medic and shipped off toVietnam.[2]
Less than a month before the end of his tour, Joshua witnessed the attempted massacre of an entire village of Vietnamese non-combatants by his sergeant. Horrified, Joshua unconsciously triggered his powers, apparently killing the man. The stress of this discovery led Clay to goAWOL and flee the country, eventually returning to the U.S. Clay spent the next ten years living as a fugitive.[3] The sergeant eventually becomesReactron, an enemy of the Doom Patrol.
Arani Caulder tracks down Joshua Clay and enlists him as a member of the new Doom Patrol.[4] Clay stays active within this incarnation of the Doom Patrol for a year before it disbands due to internal dissent. Swearing off superheroics, Clay uses his underworld connections to secure a new identity for himself as Jonathan Carmichael, M.D. Due to years of private study and his previous military training, he easily passes his New York medical board examination. As Carmichael, using funds borrowed from a local loan shark, he purchases a smallPark Avenue medical practice and lives a quiet, respectable life treating richhypochondriacs untilRobotman tracks Clay down. Due to Steele's threat to reveal Clay's true identity to the medical board, he reluctantly returns to superheroics.[5] He again retires from active service during theGrant Morrison scripted period to become the team's physician.[6]
InDoom Patrol #55 (1992), theChief kills Joshua after he discovers his plan to ravage the world with a genetic weapon and create an improved society.[7] Joshua is temporarily resurrected as aBlack Lantern inBlackest Night and permanently resurrected inThe New 52 continuity reboot.[8][9] Following theDC Rebirth relaunch, Joshua's history isretconned, restoring his death inDoom Patrol #55 to continuity.[10]
Joshua Clay draws power from the sun and thusly can generate and radiate powerful blasts from his hands, able to meltsteel. Tempest can control his blasts' volume and intensity to the extent that he can ignite the head of amatch from twenty feet away. Properly focused and controlled, his energies allow Tempest to propel himself through the air at 90 miles per hour.
As a Black Lantern, Joshua can manipulate weather.
Trained as a combat medic by theU.S. Army, he later becomes a licensed physician.
An alternate universe variant of Joshua Clay appears inTeen Titans: Earth One as a member ofS.T.A.R. Labs.[11]
Joshua Clay appears inDoom Patrol, portrayed byAlimi Ballard. This version was a member of a 1950s incarnation of theDoom Patrol before they were defeated byMr. Nobody. Following this, Clay became a caretaker to his incapacitated teammates.