Lightray (character)
DC Comics hero
title: "Lightray (character)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["characters-created-by-jack-kirby", "comics-characters-introduced-in-1971", "dc-comics-characters-with-superhuman-durability-or-invulnerability", "dc-comics-characters-with-superhuman-strength", "dc-comics-deities", "dc-comics-male-superheroes", "fictional-characters-who-can-manipulate-light", "fourth-world-(comics)", "justice-league-characters"] description: "DC Comics hero" topic_path: "general/characters-created-by-jack-kirby" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightray_(character)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary DC Comics hero ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox comics character"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| character_name | Lightray |
| image | Lightray.png |
| converted | y |
| caption | Lightray as depicted in New Gods #2 (April 1971). Art by Jack Kirby |
| publisher | DC Comics |
| debut | New Gods #1 (February 1971) |
| creators | Jack Kirby (writer/artist) |
| real_name | Solis |
| species | New God |
| homeworld | New Genesis |
| alliances | New Gods |
| Justice League | |
| Justice League International | |
| aliases | |
| supports | |
| altcat | New Gods of New Genesis |
| sortkey | Lightray |
| :: |
| character_name = Lightray | image = Lightray.png | imagesize = | converted = y | caption = Lightray as depicted in New Gods #2 (April 1971). Art by Jack Kirby | publisher = DC Comics | debut = New Gods #1 (February 1971) | creators = Jack Kirby (writer/artist) | real_name = Solis | species = New God | homeworld = New Genesis | alliances = New Gods Justice League Justice League International | aliases = | supports = | powers =
- Immortality
- Superhuman physical attributes
- Light-speed flight
- Solar powers
- Carries a Mother Box | altcat = New Gods of New Genesis | hero = | villain = | sortkey = Lightray
Lightray (Solis) is a DC Comics superhero. Created by Jack Kirby for the Jack Kirby's Fourth World meta-series, he first appeared in New Gods #1 (February 1971). Lightray was a major character in New Gods volume 1 (1971–1978), as well as volume 2 (1984), volume 3 (1989–1991) and volume 4 (1995–1997). He has also appeared with Orion in the Cosmic Odyssey limited series (1988–1989), Jack Kirby's Fourth World (1997–1998) and Orion (2000–2002).
Seven years after the character's creation, Lightray's origin story was revealed in DC Special Series #10, a Secret Origins of Super-Heroes issue published in January 1978.
The version of the character in current DC continuity was introduced in Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead #1 (December 2014).
Characterization
For the fourth volume of New Gods created in 1995, Rachel Pollack and Tom Peyer discussed with Back Issue! magazine how Lightray changed after Orion kills Darkseid in issue #2:
::quote
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Orion writer Walt Simonson said that his conception of Lightray and Orion was based on the relationship that Kirby established in New Gods volume 1. In 2018, Simonson said: "I saw Lightray as a strategist, whereas Orion is more a tactician. Jack actually had Orion refer to Lightray as a planner at the climax of the Deep Six story, "The Glory Boat!" (New Gods #6, Jan. 1972). I tried basing my notions of Lightray primarily on that story".
In Superheroes of the Round Table, Jason Tondro characterizes Lightray's place in Kirby's New Gods work: "We have characters like... the amazing Lightray, a denizen of New Genesis who embodies light with all of its creativity, bright humor, and intelligence... Lightray embodies illumination". Tondro says Lightray "and other characters, both good and evil, hint at the full dimensions of Kirby's epic pantheon".
Fictional character biography
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Countdown48.jpg" caption="Orion]], Lightray is cheerful and optimistic and prefers to solve problems through compromise rather than combat. He uses the speed of light to his advantage in eluding foes."] ::
Lightray joins the Justice League with Orion when a membership drive fails to find other new recruits. In JLA (1999), Superman disbands the Justice League, thus ending Lightray's membership.
In Countdown #48, Lightray falls to Earth after a fight with an unknown entity, who is later revealed to be Infinity-Man. He dies holding Jimmy Olsen's hand, repeating the word "infinite" and glowing brighter. In Final Crisis #7, Lightray is resurrected after New Genesis is restored.
In post-Rebirth continuity, Solis was assumed to have been born without powers. Highfather encouraged him and Orion to become friends, ensuring that Orion would have somebody who saw him for who he was rather than as a god or demon. One day, Orion and Solis encountered a group of warriors from Apokolips who had infiltrated New Genesis. Solis was gravely wounded in the ensuing battle, but refused to die and healed himself through his will to live.
In New Gods (vol. 5), Lightray is killed by Karok Ator, a claimant to the throne of Apokolips following Darkseid's death. The Black Racer takes his spirit into the Source.
Powers and abilities
As a New God, Lightray is nigh-immortal and possesses superhuman physical abilities. He possesses the ability to fly at light speed and generate bursts of solar energy.
Other versions
- Lightstray, an alternate universe funny animal version of Lightray, appears in Captain Carrot and the Final Ark.
- An alternate universe version of Lightray makes a cameo appearance in JLA: The Nail.
- Bald'r, a fusion of Lightray and Marvel Comics character Balder, appears in the Amalgam Comics one-shot Thorion of the New Asgods.
Influence
Jack Kirby's 1971 design for Lightray's costume influenced artist Al Milgrom's creation of Firestorm in 1978. In a 2019 interview, Milgrom admitted: "The facemask on Firestorm, the way it comes around the chin, was probably inspired by Lightray more than anything... I liked the [Lightray] head-covering thing; I said, "I'm stealin' it!"
A July 1971 New Gods story featuring Lightray has been noted as an example of racial bias in 1970s superhero storytelling. In "Death and the Black Racer" (New Gods #3), Lightray — a blond white man — is running desperately to escape the Black Racer, portrayed as a person of color. José Alaniz and Scott T. Smith noted in Uncanny Bodies: Superhero Comics and Disability that the story "suggests a racial dichotomy... in which blackness presents as a threatening force".
In other media
Television
- Lightray appears in series set in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU):
- Lightray makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Superman: The Animated Series episode "Legacy".
- Lightray appears in the Justice League episode "Twilight", voiced by Rob Paulsen.
- Lightray makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the Justice League Unlimited episode "Destroyer".
- Lightray was originally planned to appear in the Harley Quinn episode "Inner (Para) Demons", where Darkseid would have killed him for his incompetence, but DC Comics objected and his cameo was replaced by Forager.
- Lightray appears in Young Justice, voiced by Nolan North.
Film
An alternate universe variant of Lightray appears in Justice League: Gods and Monsters.
Video games
Lightray appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure.
References
References
- (2016). "The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe". DK Publishing.
- (2014). "American Comic Book Chronicles: The 1970s". TwoMorrows Publishing.
- (June 2018). "The Return of the New Gods". Back Issue.
- (2011). "Superheroes of the Round Table: Comics Connections to Medieval and Renaissance Literature". McFarland & Co.
- (September 1990). "[[Justice League America]]". DC Comics.
- (March 1999). "[[JLA (comic book)". DC Comics.
- (May 2007). "[[Countdown to Final Crisis]]". DC Comics.
- (March 2009). "[[Final Crisis]]". DC Comics.
- (July 2025). "[[New Gods (vol. 5)". DC Comics.
- (June 2025). "[[New Gods (vol. 5)". DC Comics.
- Kendrick, Ted. (May 3, 2025). "Lightray Attempts To Outrun Death in The New Gods #5".
- (May 2019). "The Firestorm Interviews". Back Issue.
- (2019). "Uncanny Bodies: Superhero Comics and Disability". Penn State University Press.
- "Lightray Voices (Superman)". Behind The Voice Actors.
- (2020). "Harley Quinn EPS Talk the Evolution of Harlivy and Plans for Season 3". SYFY. Retrieved 27 June 2020
- Matadeen, Renaldo. (April 16, 2022). "Young Justice: Phantoms Revealed a New God's Cosmic Hulk Problem".
- Eisen, Andrew. (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - ''Scribblenauts Unmasked'' Guide".
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