Solaris was a sentient, artificial sun created in the 20th century and a recurring nemesis of Superman (who is known in the 853rd century as Superman Prime).
History
When Superman-Prime retired from heroics and was succeeded by his heir Superman Secundus, Solaris tested this new Superman; in which it exerted its neutron gravity pull, attempting to wrench the very planets from their paths, into its own orbit. Superman Secundus proved himself to be capable as his predecessor and defeated Solaris. From then on Solaris has been in a perpetual battle of every generation of the Superman dynasty.
In the 25th century, Solaris went mad and launched a scorched earth rampage, bent on reducing Earth to smolders, and was stopped by Superman and that era's Justice League and drove into Earth's seas. In the early 29th century, Solaris returned from an exile in deep space at the forefront of a marauding army of sentient comets. It took the Justice League and the Legion of Super-Heroes to defeat Solaris and its army. In the 364th century, Solaris' plot backfired that invested a new phase of heroes with the quantum powers of the uncertainty principle.[1]
By the 505th century, the Solaris-Superman conflict reached a terrible climax as the artificial sun unleashed a cancer plague he created by bombarding the Solar System with waves of deadly radiation. The Superman of the 505th century, with aid from the 4th singularity and Gravity Witch, took the battle to Solaris. The singularity and the witch collapsed whole spatial dimensions to create countless hordes of duplicate Supermen to distract Solaris while providing the 505th century Superman to make a daring invasion inside of the artificial sun itself and was successful in reprogramming Solaris into a benevolent being at the cost of his life. In effect, Solaris became a willing tool in the hands of those who protect the Solar System and remained incapable of independence for millennia. Overtime, Solaris was eventually accepted as a hero and remained in good standing with the contemporary Justice League.[1]
Despite its realignment to the sake of good, Solaris became a very influential power and subverting his altruistic goal. When the universe was veering towards universal paranoia and instability, Solaris formed the Pancosmic Justice Jihad, whose aggressive agenda included preemptive strikes against worlds considered potential threats to the Solar System. The fearful populace venerated the Pancosmic Justice Jihad for its imperialistic actions as Solaris' power grew. This dark millennia continued until the return of Superman Prime himself that caused a great revival which turned public opinion against Solaris' reactionary agenda. The Pancosmic Justice Jihad was disbanded and Solaris went on to form the Academy of Prescient Justice, an organization of psychics, prognosticators and automatons that claimed to be able to forecast and prevent future crimes by manipulating current events; however, the Academy was generally ridiculed throughout its existence.[1]
By the 853rd century, Solaris became inconsequential and returned to its status as a passive secondary power source to the Solar System while being monitored by its caretaker, Starman. However, Solaris eventually reverted back to its malevolent persona and plotted for the destruction of Superman Prime. Solaris allied with the immortal Vandal Savage, and proceeded its plan by infecting the Justice Legion's Hourman with a devastating virus that attacks both humans and computers, causing the former to be driven with anger and paranoia. When the Justice Legion traveled back in time to begin a ceremony honoring the original Justice League of America, present day Earth was infected with Solaris's virus. One of which affected the guidance system of a Red Rocket suit that detonated over Montevideo, Uruguay, and killing millions. But the real purpose of the virus was to serve as a predestination paradox that allowed the creation of Solaris from the very beginning.
When Vandal Savage founded a sample of Kryptonite on Mars (where it was left by the 853rd century Starman in the 20th century) and gave it to Solaris, the artificial sun intended on using the Kryptonite to finally kill Superman Prime. In a final attack, Solaris fired the Kryptonite at Superman Prime just before he emerged from his isolation in the Solar System's sun. But unbeknownst to Solaris, the Kryptonite was actually a disguised Green Lantern Ring - it was the result of a secret conspiracy originated in the 20th century that created a foolproof plan for stopping Solaris. After Solaris was severely weakened by the Justice League's Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner) (a hero who uses a power that Solaris has never encountered before), Superman Prime, armed with the Green Lantern Ring, ultimately destroyed Solaris by having the sun to cave in on itself and become a less malicious form of matter.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Pyrokinesis: Artificial sun.
- Energy Projection: Concentrated radiation.
- Thermal-Blast: Laser beamer.
- Telepathy
- Gravity Manipulation
- Magnetic Manipulation
- Mechanokinesis
- Flight
- Invisibility
- Eidetic Memory: Super-computer.
- Force Field
- Superhuman Durability: Made of a virtually invulnerable alloy.
Abilities
Weaknesses
- Vulnerability to attacks he has never experienced before: Solaris defenses are not very effective against attacks he has never experienced before; Solaris requires seconds after experiencing an attack to scan it and develop a defense to it.
Trivia
- Solaris is also known as the Tyrant Sun and the Evil Star.
- Lyrl Dox creates an artificial sun with its own intelligence named Pulsar Stargrave, which bears a striking resemblance to Solaris. Whether or not the two are related is unknown, although the coincidence remains.
Related
- 21 Appearances of Solaris (DC One Million)
- 1 Images featuring Solaris (DC One Million)
- 1 Quotations by or about Solaris (DC One Million)
- Character Gallery: Solaris (DC One Million)
Footnotes
DC One Million Character This character was created during DC One Million, and is a part of its possible future in the 853rd Century. DC One Million was a massive company-wide crossover event published in 1998. |
Superman Villain(s) This character has been primarily an enemy of Superman in any of his various incarnations, or members of the Superman Family. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Superman Villains category." |
Justice League Villain This character is or was primarily an enemy of the Justice League, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Justice League Villains." |