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Rex Mason is Metamorpho, the Element Man, an archaeologist, bodyguard, and superhero with a freakish appearance and the ability to transform into any element contained with the human body. He has been a member of the Outsiders and the Terrifics, and is employed by Simon Stagg's Stagg Industries and engaged to his daughter, Sapphire Stagg.
History
Origins and Early Career
The son of famed archeologist Montana Mason, Rex Mason followed in his father's footsteps, though the elder Mason disapproved of his pursuit of fame and fortune.[1]
The Supermen Theory
Working as a soldier-for-hire, Mason was recruited by the United States Government's Department of Metahuman Affairs to participate in the development of superhuman soldiers for the United States of America. He was found to possess the metagene, which, when triggered exposure to an ancient power source, transformed Mason into a superpowered metahuman. Under the name Metamorpho, he became the first manufactured superhero, waiting to be activated in service of his country while performing in a scripted training narrative alongside fellow Department subject Urania Blackwell, as "Element Girl," and a similarly-manufactured rogues gallery that included his childhood friend Bobby Fradon, "Doc Dread," Samuel Reese, "Stingaree,"[2] and "the Prosecutor." Publicly, Metamorpho maintained a fiction that his transformation had been the result of an accident caused by Simon Stagg of Stagg Industries, the supervisor behind his true origin.[3]
Following alterations to history caused by the interference of Doctor Manhattan[4] and Wonder Woman's "unknotting" of the timeline,[5] Metamorpho's supposed cover story is once again his accepted origin.[6]
Current Origin
Rex Mason entered the employ of billionaire industrialist Simon Stagg, and a romantic relationship with his daughter, Sapphire Stagg, to her father's consternation. To put an end to their liaison, Sebastian Stagg tasked his servant Java with killing Mason, and during an expedition for the Orb of Ra in the pyramid of Pharoah Akhton, he was knocked unconscious and left for dead. Mason survived, however, but was mutated by exposure to a radioactive meteor, which rearranged the elements that made up his body and left him with a bizarre, inhuman appearance and a suicidal sense of self-loathing. Despite his disfigurement, he returned to Sapphire Stagg, whose feelings for him remained, and with her help he re-learned speech and how to approximate human form. At the same time, he discovered that he had gained the ability to transmute himself into any element found in the human body, and, out of love for Sapphire Stagg, reentered her father's service as his bodyguard, Metamorpho, the Element Man.[7]
Unbeknowst to to Mason or the Staggs, the meteor had been sent to Earth by the sun god Ra as a means of recruiting "solar gladiators"—super-powered champions to fight on his behalf in the event of a conflict between rival sun gods, whose victory or loss would determine whether their patron sun was preserved or destroyed.[8] Simon Stagg came into possession of the Orb of Ra, which had been carved from the mutagenic meteor and could disable Metamorpho's powers, and claimed to be developing a cure for Mason's condition. The accident of his origin was deliberately replicated by the US governmental agency S.H.A.D.E., transforming Agent Urania Blackwell into the Elemental Gal, sharing Metamorpho's powers. Mason worked with Blackwell on occasion, and she became a rival to Sapphire Stagg for his affections, though the two metahumans fell out of contact after a case dubbed the "Doomsday Diamond Affair."[6]
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Elementary
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Metamorpho was a member of the European branch of the Justice League International, fighting with them against the Time Commander[9] and entering into a romance with his teammate the Crimson Fox.[2] His time with the League ended badly, however,[10] with his apparent death aboard a satellite in orbit over the Earth.[11]
The New 52
He was considered as one of the possible candidates for the United Nations' Justice League International, but was not chosen,[12] and arranged the faked deaths of Batman Incorporated's Outsiders aboard a space platform belonging to the terrorist Leviathan Organization, a situation similar to the events that had previously befallen him.[11] When student Emily Sung acquired powers like his own in an apparent accident, Mason offered to mentor her in their use, but ultimately neglected her teaching.[8]
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Exploring the Dark Multiverse
Rex was forced by Simon Stagg to transmute into Nth Metal as a part of his plan to open a portal into the Dark Multiverse. Metamorpho would work with Mister Terrific and Plastic-Man force Stagg into close the portal. However all three are sucked into the portal and shielded by Plastic-Man who is immune to the Dark Multiverse. While in a lifeless void Rex and the others would encounter Phantom Girl who reveals that she is stuck in an intangible state and was unaware she was responsible for sending a signal to pull Rex and his team to her location. It was revealed by a hologram of Tom Strong who reveals that Metamorpho and his allies are needed to save the multiverse.[13] Rex is later sent by Mister Terrific back Stagg's compound only for him and his new friends are drawn back together. It's revealed that he can't separate from the others.[14] Upon find this out Rex and his new allies form The Terrifics.[15]
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During investigations into tax fraud by Stagg Industries, documents detailing Metamorpho's Department of Metahuman Affairs origin were leaked to the public, contributing to Doctor Helga Jace's "Supermen Theory," that the preponderance of American superheroes was due to the experiments conducted by the US government. Mason went into hiding after the story's publicization,[2] but resurfaced to join a group of heroes heading towards Mars, traveling with the Outsiders and Batman Family aboard a Bat-Rocket to confront, Doctor Manhattan a mysterious enemy thought to have attacked Superman. The heroes met and engaged Manhattan, but they were easily defeated.[16]
The Outsiders
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He was called in as a Justice League reservist to repel demons accidentally summoned to Superman's Fortress of Solitude by the Royal Flush Gang,[17] and he attended a funeral held at the Hall of Justice for several fellow Leaguers when they were seemingly killed.[18] He was called on by his teammate Black Lightning for a chemistry demonstration to the class the latter taught in his civilian identity, taking advantage of Metamorpho's abilities to spark the students' interest.[19] Metamorpho joined in the defense of the Hall of Justice from Paria's Dark Army of possessed supervillains, fighting with Fire and Ice against the Shaggy Man.[20]
Billy Batson, after giving up his superheroic career as Shazam, rededicated his online presence from his retired identity to Metamorpho, to the disappointment of his audience.[21] When journalist Jack Ryder mocked his appearance in a broadcast interview with Batson, Metamorpho retaliated by ambushing him at his home in the form of a pitcher of water perched above his doorframe.[22] He was among the many superheroes depowered, captured, and incarcerated on Gamorra Island by Amanda Waller's Bureau of Sovereignty.[23]
All In
After her defeat, he declined membership in the newly-reformed Justice League Unlimited, citing his traumatic history with the League.[10] However, he did work with Power Girl to capture escaped Phantom Zone prisoner Faora Hu-Ul on the planet New Thanagar,[24] and was among the heroes immune to the lifeforce-draining sword of the Silent Knight summoned by the magician Zatanna to fight against the undead knight.[25] After a brief conflict—including the non-fatal beheading of Metamorpho—the heroes joined forces with Santa Claus' wife Ulah to track her husband to the Silent Knight's castle, defended by an army of monsters.[26] Metamorpho helped to hold back the Knight and his forces, taking the form of an Arthurian suit of armor to remind him of his life and lure him into a trap. After the Silent Knight's defeat, he and his fellow heroes attended a celebration at Santa Claus' home.[27]
Mason and Sapphire Stagg became engaged to be married, and when Stagg Industries relocated their headquarters to Jump City, Metamorpho went with them to act as security. While hidden as transparent oxygen and glass, he witnessed a break-in by a phase-changing intruder who, when confronted, identified himself as Mister 3 and attempted to kill Metamorpho by mimicking the Orb of Ra, causing Mason's body to lose its cohesion. He was saved by the arrival of Java and the Staggs, who countered Mister 3's ability to shift between the three states of matter with a burst of cooling Freon. The intruder fled, allowing Metamorpho to recover and pursue. He encountered Urania Blackwell, also on the scene, and determined that Mister 3 was her one-time S.H.A.D.E. handler, now an agent of a group known as Cy.C.L.O.P.S.. The two were ambushed by Mister 3, laying in wait for them, who attempted to disable them by once more synthesizing the properties of the Orb, this time in the form of a gas. The elementals were able to resist, however, and by conducting the building's power supply through their copper bodies and into the gaseous Mister 3, forcibly converted him into plasma—the fourth state of matter—leaving him helpless. Concluding that Cy.C.L.O.P.S. wanted him dead, Metamorpho agreed to work with Blackwell against them.[6]
Blackwell's presence chafed with Sapphire Stagg, who tried to use the tension between them to further her music career, ultimately drawing the attention of a Stagg-manufactured android popstar to Metamorpho. Armed with weapons designed by Stagg for government use and calling herself "Yesterday Woman," the android attacked Mason and Blackwell, who were able to destroy her by taking the form of sugar dust, which exploded when ignited by her attacks. Upon learning that the Staggs were responsible for Yesterday Woman's creation and vendetta against him, however, Metamorpho turned his back on them, leaving Stagg Industries' employ.[28] He returned to the Justice League, with whom he was temporarily mind-controlled by the Cyborg Superman,[29] deployed to help fight fires across the Amazon Rainforest set by the terrorist organization Inferno,[30] and a mourner at the funeral of fallen hero Wildcat.[31]
When Blackwell selected Java over him to the Santa Priscan jungle in pursuit Cy.C.L.O.P.S. affiliate the Mad Mod, Mason stowed away with them, feeling both spurned by Blackwell and concerned for Java. They clumsily infiltrated the temple headquarters of the Mod's host, Vandal Savage, who held off Mason and Blackwell with cufflinks simulating the Orb of Ra. While distracted, however, Savage was attacked by Java, who tore his head from his body, revealing him as a robotic duplicate. With the Mod in custody, they set back for Jump City, only to find that Stagg Industries' headquarters had become animate and laid waste to its surroundings[32] Turning to rubber and inflating himself to giant size, Metamorpho held the building at bay while Blackwell and Java shut it down from within, though not before it manufactured an android replica of his old foe the Thunderer, an attempt by Simon Stagg to replace Mason as his security corrupted by files planted in his computer by Mister 3.[33]
While rescuing the Staggs from the Thunderer, Metamorpho learned of his role as a solar gladiator from the android, which had been programmed by Cy.C.L.O.P.S. to kill him&mash;and by solar law, ensure the destruction of the Earth's sun. Fleeing with Blackwell to Belmont, Michigan, he recruited the similarly-powered Emily Sung and Element Dog as fellow gladiators against the Thunderer. By their proximity to each other, Metamorpho also engineered the release of Algon, the ancient Element Man, from the Kingdom of Elements, in an attempt to bring him too onside. After a brief conflict, Algon revealed to Metamorpho that by solar law, their rival gladiator needed to kill only one of them to claim victory, and that their gathering had in fact made them more vulnerable—just as the Thunderer arrived and disintegrated the ancient Element Man. Although Sung was able to defeat the android, Algon's death allowed the Thunderer's patron, Solaris, the Tyrant Sun, to extinguish their own and take its place in the sky.[8]
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Unique Physiology: After being exposed by the energy of an ancient meteorite, Rex Mason was transformed into metahuman with the ability to transmute his body in whole or in part into any element. These abilities include:
- Elasticity: Rex can stretch, bounce, elongated, control, reshape his body as if it were made of rubber or plastic.
- Elemental Transmutation: Rex can transmute his body to any of a wide variety of liquid, gas or metallic elemental compounds and form it to his will. Originally, he was limited to the elements which occur naturally in the human body. Over time, this limitation seems to have disappeared.[13] He can alter the shapes and consistencies of these elements and combine them to form complex compounds. Rex can assume forms of gas, liquid or solid states.
- Toxikinesis: As an extension of this power Rex can produce toxins and compounds from his body.[34]
- Metamorphosis: Rex can reshape his body at will, he usually turns his hands in blunt weapons but he can make more complex pieces of equipment like binoculars and turbines.[34]
- Enhanced Vision: Rex can see in the dark.[34]
- Telescopic Vision: By transforming his eyes into binoculars Rex can see further and with a greater degree of accuracy.[34]
- Superhuman Strength
- Superhuman Durability: The nature of Rex's body provides him with natural body armor offering damage resistance from blunt attacks and energy attacks. He can be hit by superhumanly strong opponents and thrown through walls multiple times without suffering any lasting damage.[34]
- Bio-Fission: Rex can split his body into several copies each of them with his own powers.[19]
- Size Alteration: Rex can increase his physical size at will.[35] By increasing his size Rex can increase his physical strength to the point where he could match Alan March.[34]
Abilities
- Archaeology
- Investigation
- Martial Arts: Rex is an extremely skilled martial artist and has helped Signal in his training.[36]
- Aviation
- Chemistry: Due to his powers, Rex has great knowledge of chemistry. After briefly studying a failed cure for Joker Venom, Rex was able to correct it and synthesize it in seconds.[34]
Weaknesses
- Orb of Ra: Exposure to the energy emitted by the Orb of Ra, carved from the meteor that transformed him, negates Metamorpho's powers and causes his body to lose cohesion.[6]
- Dark Energy Bonding(Formerly): After being exposed to the Dark Multiverse energy, the Terrifics members became tethered to each other, which causes an explosion if they are separated more than a mile from each other.[15]
Notes
- Metamorpho was created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon, first appearing in The Brave and the Bold #57. However, in the Prime Earth continuity, Metamorpho first appeared as part of the New 52 DC Universe in Justice League International (Volume 3) #1 by Dan Jurgens and Aaron Lopresti.
Related
- 137 Appearances of Rex Mason (Prime Earth)
- 111 Images featuring Rex Mason (Prime Earth)
- 5 Quotations by or about Rex Mason (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Rex Mason (Prime Earth)
Footnotes
- ↑ Batman/Superman: World's Finest 2024 Annual #1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Doomsday Clock #5
- ↑ Doomsday Clock #2
- ↑ Doomsday Clock #12
- ↑ Dark Nights: Death Metal #6
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Metamorpho: The Element Man #1
- ↑ Batman/Superman: World's Finest #13
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Metamorpho: The Element Man #5
- ↑ Batman: Urban Legends #22
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 DC All In Special #1
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Batman Incorporated (Volume 2) #1
- ↑ Justice League International (Volume 3) #1
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Terrifics #1
- ↑ The Terrifics #2
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 The Terrifics #3
- ↑ Doomsday Clock #9
- ↑ Justice League (Volume 4) #71
- ↑ Dark Crisis #1
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 DC's Saved by the Belle Reve #1
- ↑ Dark Crisis: The Dark Army #1
- ↑ Shazam! (Volume 5) #3
- ↑ Shazam! (Volume 5) #9
- ↑ Absolute Power #2
- ↑ Action Comics #1080
- ↑ Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #3
- ↑ Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #4
- ↑ Batman/Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns #5
- ↑ Metamorpho: The Element Man #2
- ↑ The Question: All Along the Watchtower #6
- ↑ Justice League Unlimited (Volume 2) #4
- ↑ JSA (Volume 2) #7
- ↑ Metamorpho: The Element Man #3
- ↑ Metamorpho: The Element Man #4
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 34.4 34.5 34.6 Batman: Urban Legends #19
- ↑ Batman: Urban Legends #8
- ↑ Batman: Urban Legends #18
  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. |
 This character has been a member of the Justice League of America, or simply 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. |