Doctor Light is the name of two characters appearing in media published by DC Comics: supervillainArthur Light and superheroJacob Finlay.[1]
Light's stint as Doctor Light is concurrent with that of a superheroine using the same name and a nearly identical costume, Kimiyo Hoshi.[2] In 2009, Doctor Light was ranked as IGN's 84th-greatest comic book villain of all time.[3]
During the 1980s Doctor Light was transitioned from a serious menace to a comedic villain, a transformation which culminated in the DC Comics Bonus Book appearing in The Flash (vol. 2) #12 (May 1988).[5]
Fictional character biography
Origin
Criminal physicist Doctor Arthur Light captures the League with light rays after first drawing them in by capturing Aquaman, then sending the League to different planets based on their weaknesses.[6] He then orders Snapper Carr to write this down before imprisoning him in a light field. He has not realized Superman and Batman impersonated each other, allowing Superman to escape the world he was sent to and rescue the other members. Light fools the League with three duplicates of himself that are apparently committing robberies of light-associated objects, though they are actually placing devices around the world. Green Lantern realizes this trick and fakes his death to track Doctor Light, finally stopping him before he pulls the lever that would have set off the light impulses allowing him to take over the world.
Secret Origins #37 reveals that Light is the second Doctor Light. His predecessor is S.T.A.R. Labs scientist Jacob Finlay, who created a light-manipulating suit and became a superhero before Light accidentally killed him and took the suit and codename.[1]
Through the Silver and Bronze Ages, Doctor Light is a minor but persistent foe for a number of heroes, including the Justice League's former sidekicks, the Teen Titans.[7]
In Justice League of America #136, he is one of King Kull's agents with which the Beast-Man hopes to wipe out humanity on all three Earths, helping in the attack on Earth-S by creating perpetual light and darkness on each side of the Earth, and teaming up with Shade, Joker of Earth-Two, and Weeper. He is petrified by Kull's satellites, but restored when they are destroyed.[8]
He then founds the supervillain team the Fearsome Five, but they are also defeated by the Titans, and Light is violently expelled from the group.[9][10][11]
Suicide Squad
Driven by self-doubt and guilt, as well as Finlay's ghost haunting him, Light joins the Suicide Squad, a group of incarcerated supervillains who perform dangerous missions for the government in exchange for clemency. During a mission on Apokolips, Light is killed by Parademons and sent to Hell. After being resurrected, Light attempts to rejoin the Suicide Squad, but Amanda Waller rejects him. Subsequently, he joins a short-lived incarnation of the Injustice Gang.
In The New 52 continuity reboot, Arthur Light is a scientist working with A.R.G.U.S. and the Justice League who gains light-based powers after his communicator explodes.[14][15] He subsequently joins the Justice League before being killed by Atomica and resurrected as a light entity.[16]
Powers and abilities
Doctor Light can control light for a variety of purposes. He can bend the light around him to become invisible, generate blasts of energy, create force fields, and fly. By mentally repulsing photons, Light can create areas of complete darkness. Teen Titans #23 implied that Light could "power up" by draining the ambient light in the area.
The limits of his powers are unclear, but he seems to be able to wrest control of anything that emits light.[1] Such things have included Green Lantern constructs, Superboy's heat vision, and magic lightning from Wonder Girl's lasso. He is also able to take the "internal" light away from light powered characters, the heroic Doctor Light and the Ray, leaving them temporarily powerless. He also has the ability to create holographic images. Despite his frequent defeats, he is quite powerful.
Originally, Doctor Light derives his powers from his suit, but over time he internalizes this ability, and could use his powers without having to use his costume.
Arthur Light is mentally brilliant, a genius in the field of physics. However, his mind-wipe by the Justice League reduces his intelligence substantially, along with his skills for creative use of his powers. Light's recovery of his memories seems to have brought his intellect back with them and also his paraphilia.[1] As a result, he becomes a much deadlier opponent.
An original incarnation of Doctor Light named Harry Leit appears in the Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman episode "The Eyes Have It", portrayed by David Bowe. He is a scientist who stole an ultraviolet light beam and used it to blind Superman.
Doctor Light appears in Teen Titans Go! (2013), voiced primarily by Rodger Bumpass and by Scott Menville in the episode "Colors of Raven".[17]
Dr. Arthur Light appears in the second season of Titans, portrayed by Michael Mosley.[18] This version is a former physicist at the California Institute of Technology who acquired powers from a failed experiment involving light manipulation, became a criminal, and fought the Titans before being incarcerated in San Quentin State Prison.[19] Four years later, Light escapes from prison and joins forces with Deathstroke to defeat the Titans, only to mistakenly believe their plan went awry and leave to fulfill it himself, leading to Deathstroke killing him.
The Teen Titans (2003) incarnation of Doctor Light appears in Teen Titans Go! (2004). Following a minor appearance in issue #30, he founds the Fearsome Five in issue #43.[21]
^McAvennie, Michael (2010). "1960s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. Dorling Kindersley. p. 105. ISBN978-0-7566-6742-9. In a tale written by Gardner Fox, with art by Mike Sekowsky, Doctor Light's first [adventure] was almost the JLA's last.
^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. 93. ISBN978-1-4654-5357-0.
^Wells, John (2015). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-64. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 125. ISBN978-1605490458.
Justice League (vol. 2) #22 (July 2013). DC Comics.
Trinity of Sin: Phantom Stranger #11 (October 2013). DC Comics.
Justice League (vol. 2) #23 (October 2013). DC Comics.
Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. #1 (October 2013). DC Comics.
Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. #3 (February 2014). DC Comics.
Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. #5 (April 2014). DC Comics.
Forever Evil: A.R.G.U.S. #6 (May 2014). DC Comics.
Deathstroke (vol. 4) #22 (October 2017). DC Comics.
^ abcde"Doctor Light Voices (Teen Titans)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 20, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
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