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Quote1 Let there be light! Quote2
Doctor Light src

Kimiyo Hoshi is the second Doctor Light, though she is not a successor to the original nor a villain. She has been a member of the Justice League Europe and Justice League of America.

Origin

Kimiyo Hoshi was the supervising astronomer at an observatory in Japan overseeing her male colleagues as they charted a mysterious phenomenon. Disgusted by the men's fear of the approaching antimatter cloud, she arrogantly rebuked them (including her father), ordering them to leave so she could study it in peace.

Meanwhile, the Monitor, a being linked to all positive matter, sensed the great threat of the Anti-Monitor as it absorbed parallel Earths with his antimatter cloud. In order to tip the scales against the encroaching force, the Monitor created a champion to combat it.

He sent a condensed beam of energy from the Vega star to Earth, which struck the unsuspecting Hoshi, leaving massive destruction in its wake. Gifted with the power of photonics, Hoshi adopted the appropriate alias of Doctor Light, and was assigned by the Monitor to guard one of the vibrational forks required to save the Earth. The Teen Titan Starfire and the Outsiders member Halo set out to destroy the machine. Since Doctor Light could not speak to them in English, she resorted to repelling them with force. Superman was the first to communicate with her, given his knowledge of most of Earth's languages. Aboard the Monitor's Satellite, Katana assumed the role of translator.

For convenience, Kimiyo was granted the ability to understand English and accompanied several heroes to the Antimatter Universe to confront the Anti-Monitor. Along with Superman, Kimiyo discovered the machines that the villain had deployed to destroy the remaining Earths, then defended Superman as best she could when they were ambushed by the Anti-Monitor. Supergirl gave her life which allowed Kimiyo to carry the unconscious Superman to safety. The sacrifice made Kimiyo realize how selfish she had been, and resolved to change.

She was later summoned by Harbinger along with a force of heroes in a final barrage against the Anti-Monitor. She absorbed the energy of a gigantic star that the Anti-Monitor was using as a power source, blasting a gaping hole through him.

Doctor Light acted as a member of the Justice League more than once, most notably as a member of Justice League Europe, and briefly a part of the Doom Patrol. While a member of the Justice League, Kimiyo formed significant friendships with Wally West and Power Girl, and was romantically involved with a Japanese member of the Global Guardians known as Rising Sun.

Infinite Crisis

Following his recovery from the mind-wipe he suffered at the hands of the Justice League, Arthur Light drained Kimoyo of her powers. Her power loss was temporary, and mustered her abilities to aid in the evacuation of Tokyo, where Bart Allen warned her about the otherworldly menace, Superboy-Prime.[1] In that same event, she was warned by Bart Allen, in the costume of the Silver Age Flash, of the escape of an enraged Superboy-Prime. She was later battled her evil male counterpart.[2]

Oracle invited Kimiyo to join the Birds of Prey, but she was not selected to take part in the first mission. She once more found a place with the Justice League instead.

Powers

Abilities

Weaknesses

  • Light Dependency: (Formerly) She previously required some source of light to power her abilities. As such an area of absolute darkness severely weakens her abilities.

Other Characteristics


  • Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
  • She is potentially one of the most powerful superheroines in the DC Universe, but she has not tapped into the heightened levels of power she used during the Crisis. (Although few remember those events, Doctor Light is one of the few who do, seeing as how she once mentioned in Showcase '96 #9 (October 1996) that she has faced "Anti-Matter Gods".)
  • During her tenure with Justice League Europe, she believed that her anti-social attitude during the Crisis was due to her diet after Power Girl was diagnosed with a similar condition. However, it is revealed that her behavior in Crisis was, in fact, just selfish.

Related

Footnotes


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Justice League member
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This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from the clutches of both interstellar and domestic threats.
This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Justice League of America members" category.

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Outsiders member
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This character is or was a member of one or more of the teams known as the Outsiders. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Outsiders members" category.

Doom Patrol 014
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Doom Patrol member
This character was at some point primarily a member of the Doom Patrol. A long-running team of rag-tag misfit heroes who work together for the common good, fighting evil against all odds. This template will categorize any article that includes it into the Doom Patrol members category.

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Citation Needed
"When? How? Where? What? Why? - Life's full of questions, isn't it?"
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