Obsidian is a fictional character, a sometime superhero in the DC Comics universe.

History

Obsidian was born Todd James Rice, the son of Alan Scott, the Golden Age Green Lantern. Todd was raised in an abusive adoptive home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He found out in his late teens that he had a twin sister, Jennie-Lynn Hayden, alias Jade. They met, discovered they both had superpowers and, operating under the assumption that Green Lantern was their father (which they did not know for certain at the time, but did eventually learn to be true), decided to follow in his footsteps.

As Obsidian and Jade, they were founding members of the superhero team Infinity, Inc., a group composed mainly of the children, grandchildren and protégés of members of the Justice Society of America. Obsidian also served briefly with the Justice League.

More recently, Obsidian, who apparently inherited schizophrenia from his mother, the Golden Age villain known as Thorn , turned evil, and used his shadow powers to spread darkness over the entire world. He was defeated by his father and retreated to the Shadowlands , the otherdimensional plane from which he derives his powers. Later he teamed up with mystical villains Mordru and Eclipso to seek vengeance on Green Lantern and the JSA for his earlier defeat. The JSA defeated them, and Obsidian, apparently cured of his mental unabalance, found that his powers had also become dormant, at least for the time being.

Powers

Unlike his sister, Jade, whose powers resemble their father's, Obsidian has various shadow-based powers. Todd can, at will merge with his own shadow and possess the shadows of others. In his shadow form he is stronger than in human form, can pass through solid objects and can fly. His powers are of a magical nature. Eventually Todd was able to control his shadow powers to the point that he could grow to enormous size and create objects out of shadow, in a similar way that his father and sister can create objects out of green energy. He also has limited telepathic abilities and can force a person to see the evil side of their own soul, which has been known to drive people insane.