Doctor Light is the name of two characters appearing in media published by

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

Arthur Light and

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

Jacob Finlay. Light's stint as Doctor Light is concurrent with that of a superheroine using the same name and a nearly identical costume, Kimiyo Hoshi. In 2009, Doctor Light was ranked as

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

's 84th-greatest comic book villain of all time. He made his live-adaptation debut in one episode of the series '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', played by David Bowe. He also appeared in the second season of the

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the shared universe in which most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. In context, the term "DC Universe" usually refers to the main DC Continuity (fiction), continuity. It contains v ...

series ''

Titans In Greek mythology, the Titans ( ; ) were the pre-Twelve Olympians, Olympian gods. According to the ''Theogony'' of Hesiod, they were the twelve children of the primordial parents Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth). The six male ...

'', played by Michael Mosley. Additionally,

Rodger Bumpass Rodger Bumpass (born November 20, 1951) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Squidward Tentacles on the American animated television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants''. He voices several other characters on the show as well, includi ...

voices Light in the animated series ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'' (2003) and ''

Teen Titans Go! ''Teen Titans Go!'' is an American animated television series developed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 23, 2013, and is based on DC Comics' fictional superhero team the Teen Titans. The series ...

'' (2013).

Publication history

Doctor Light first appeared in ''

Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...

of America'' #12 and was created by

Gardner Fox Gardner Francis Cooper Fox (May 20, 1911 – December 24, 1986) was an American writer known best for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. He is estimated to have written more than 4,000 comics stories, including 1,500 for DC ...

and

Mike Sekowsky Michael Sekowsky (; November 19, 1923 – March 30, 1989) was an American comics artist known as the penciler for DC Comics' '' Justice League of America'' during most of the 1960s, and as the regular writer and artist on ''Wonder Woman'' durin ...

. 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).

Fictional character biography

Origin

Criminal physicist Doctor Arthur Light captures the League with light rays after first drawing them in by capturing

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

, then sending the League to different planets based on their weaknesses. He then orders Snapper Carr to write this down before imprisoning him in a light field. He has not realized

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

and

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

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 Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

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 ''Secret Origins'' is the title of several comic book series published by DC Comics which featured the origin stories of the publisher's various characters. Publication history ''Secret Origins'' was first published as a one-shot in 1961 and c ...

'' #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. Through the

Silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

and Bronze Ages, Doctor Light is a minor but persistent foe for a number of heroes, including the Justice League's former sidekicks, the

. Light founds the supervillain team the

Fearsome Five The Fearsome Five is a group of supervillains from DC Comics who serve as enemies of the Teen Titans and Justice League. The group made its debut in 1981. The group's roster has changed multiple times, and characters from the group have appeared i ...

, but they are defeated by the Titans and Light is expelled from the group.

Suicide Squad

Driven by self-doubt and guilt, as well as Finlay's ghost haunting him, Light joins the

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

, a group of incarcerated supervillains who perform dangerous missions for the government in exchange for clemency. During a mission on

Apokolips Apokolips is a fictional planet that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The planet is ruled by Darkseid, established in Jack Kirby's Fourth World series, and is integral to many stories in the DC Universe. Apokolips is co ...

, Light is killed by Parademons and sent to Hell. After being resurrected, Light attempts to rejoin the Suicide Squad, but Amanda Waller rejects him. Light later joins a short-lived incarnation of the Injustice Gang.

''Identity Crisis'' onwards

Identity Crisis In psychology, identity crisis is a stage in Erik Erikson's theory of personality development. This stage happens during adolescence. It is a period of deep reflection and examination of various perspectives on oneself. The Erikson's stages of ps ...

'' reveals that Doctor Light is a serial rapist and previously raped Sue Dibny.

Zatanna Zatanna Zatara (), known mononymously as Zatanna, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in ''Hawkman (comic book), Hawkman'' #4 (N ...

alters Light's mind so that he will no longer pose a threat and inadvertently lobotomizes him. Light later recovers his memories and vows revenge against the Justice League. In ''

Final Crisis "Final Crisis" is a crossover storyline that appeared in comic books published by DC Comics in 2008, primarily the seven-issue miniseries of the same name written by Grant Morrison. Originally DC announced the project as being illustrated solely ...

'', Light is killed by the

Spectre Spectre, specter or the spectre may refer to: Religion and spirituality * Vision (spirituality) * Apparitional experience * Ghost Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Spectre'' (1977 film), a made-for-television film produced and writt ...

. In '' Blackest Night'', Light is resurrected as a

Black Lantern The Black Lantern Corps is a fictional organization of wikt:corporeal, corporeal revenants (resembling intelligent zombies or jiangshi) appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, related to the emotional spectrum. The group is composed of d ...

before Kimiyo Hoshi, the second Doctor Light, kills him.

The New 52

In ''

The New 52 The New 52 was the 2011 revamp and relaunch by DC Comics of its entire Line (comics), line of ongoing monthly superhero American comic books, comic books. Following the conclusion of the "Flashpoint (comics), Flashpoint" Fictional crossover, cros ...

'' 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. Light joins the Justice League before being killed by Atomica and resurrected as a light entity.

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. Such things have included

constructs,

Superboy Superboy is an identity used by several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series ...

's heat vision, and magic lightning from

Wonder Girl Wonder Girl is the alias of multiple list of superheroines, superheroines featured in comic books published by DC Comics. They are associated with the superheroine Wonder Woman and possess Amazons (DC Comics), Amazonian powers. The Wonder Girl a ...

'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. 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. As a result, he becomes a much deadlier opponent.

Other versions

* An unrelated Doctor Light who is an enemy of Doctor Mid-Nite appears in ''

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

'' #82 (February 1947). * Doctor Light makes a cameo appearance in ''

JLA/Avengers ''JLA/Avengers'' (issues #2 and 4 are titled ''Avengers/JLA'') is a comic book limited series and crossover published in prestige format by DC Comics and Marvel Comics from September 2003 to March 2004. The series was written by Kurt Busiek, wi ...

'' as a minion of Krona. * An alternate universe variant of Doctor Light appears in '' Tiny Titans''. This version is a science teacher at Sidekick City Elementary School. * An alternate universe variant of Doctor Light from Earth-21 makes a cameo appearance in '' DC: The New Frontier''. * An alternate universe variant of Doctor Light appears in ''Nightwing: The New Order''.

In other media

Television

* Doctor Light appears in ''

'' (2003), voiced by

. 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. * Doctor Light appears in ''

'' (2013), voiced primarily by Rodger Bumpass and by

Scott Menville Scott David Menville (born February 12, 1971) is an American actor and musician who is known for his voice work in animated films, television series and video games. He voices Robin in Cartoon Network's ''Teen Titans'' (2003–2006) and ''Teen ...

in the episode "Colors of Raven". * Arthur Light appears in the second season of ''

'', portrayed by Michael Mosley. This version is a former physicist at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

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 San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated area, unincorporated place ...

. Four years later, Light escapes from prison and joins forces with

Deathstroke Deathstroke is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, the character first appeared in ''The New Teen Titans'' #2 (December 1980) as Deathstroke the Terminator. In his co ...

to defeat the Titans, only to mistakenly believe their plan went awry and leave to fulfill it himself, leading to Deathstroke killing him.

Film

* Doctor Light makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in '' Justice League: The New Frontier''. * Doctor Light makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in '' Superman vs. The Elite''. * Doctor Light makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in ''

Teen Titans Go! To the Movies ''Teen Titans Go! To the Movies'' is a 2018 American animated superhero comedy film featuring the DC Comics superhero team, the Teen Titans. Based on the Cartoon Network animated television series ''Teen Titans Go!'', it was produced by Warner ...

''.

Video games

* Doctor Light appears in ''

'' (2005), voiced again by Rodger Bumpass. * Doctor Light appears as an unlockable character in ''

'' (2006) via the "Master of Games" mode. * Doctor Light appears as a

non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...

in ''

DC Universe Online ''DC Universe Online'' (''DCUO'') is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online game set in the fictional universe of DC Comics. Developed by Dimensional Ink Games and co-published by Daybreak Game Company and WB Games, the game was initiall ...

'' via the "Sons of Trigon" DLC. * Doctor Light appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''. * Doctor Light appears as a playable character in '' Lego DC Super-Villains'', voiced again by Rodger Bumpass.

Miscellaneous

* A

DC Animated Universe The DC Animated Universe (DCAU, also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans) is a Shared universe, shared fictional universe based on DC Comics properties and media franchise produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It began with ''Batman ...

-inspired incarnation of Doctor Light appears in ''

Adventures in the DC Universe While Batman and Superman had their own animated series and comic book follow-ups, the rest of the characters in the appeared in the following comics often. ''The Batman Adventures'' ''The Batman Adventures'' was created as a comic book tie-in ...

'' #1, '' Justice League Adventures'', and ''DC Comics Presents: Wonder Woman Adventures'' #1. * The ''Teen Titans'' (2003) incarnation of Doctor Light appears in ''

'' (2004).

References

External links

Doctor Light
at Comic Vine

{{Gardner Fox Characters created by Gardner Fox Characters created by Mike Sekowsky Comics characters introduced in 1962 DC Comics male supervillains DC Comics metahumans DC Comics scientists Fictional characters who can manipulate light Fictional characters who can turn invisible Fictional characters with anti-magic or power negation abilities Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional murderers Fictional physicists Fictional rapists