Solar (comics)
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Solar is an American fictional comic book character. Originally known as Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom, he first appeared in a comic book published by Gold Key Comics in the 1960s.
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[edit] Gold Key Comics
The original Doctor Solar was a physicist named (Dr.) Phillip Solar. He was exposed to a massive amount of radiation in an attempt to rescue a fellow worker (Dr. Bentley) sabotaging a nuclear power facility. He amazingly survived and soon discovered that he had powers to convert his human form into any kind of energy (E=mc² !). Use of these powers depleted his "store" of energy which would require him to re-expose himself to radiation sources for replenishment. Using his new powers, he began searching for the "mastermind" behind the plot responsible for the sabotage of the nuclear lab that caused his condition in the first place. This evil mastermind (named Nero) was a continuing character Doctor Solar clashed with many times.
On an interesting note, Doctor Solar didn't get a superhero costume until the 5th issue of his comic. Furthermore, "Doctor Solar" was his 'real' or 'civilian' name. When he went into action, he was known as "The Man of the Atom". His costume was intended to shield others from his radiation. Also, when he went into action and 'powered up', his skin turned green.
His original run lasted 27 issues, from October 1962 to April, 1969. In the early 1980s, the series was resumed with issue #28 and lasted 4 issues.
[edit] Valiant Comics
In the early 1990s, Doctor Solar, Turok, and Magnus, Robot Fighter, were licensed by Valiant Comics, which planned to use the characters as part of Jim Shooter's new superhero line. A number of changes were made to the character and his back-story. The new version (now known simply as Solar) was a physicist named Phil Seleski. Seleski was a fan of the Gold Key line, especially the adventures of Doctor Solar. One day, Seleski and his colleagues were testing a new type of fusion reactor. When an accidental breach threatened to decimate the entire area, Seleski rushed to shut down the reactor. He succeeded, but he was exposed to lethal doses of radiation in the process. Amazingly, the exposure didn't kill him. Instead, it gave him an ability to manipulate energy. Seleski tried to use his powers for the good of mankind. He became determined to destroy the world's supply of nuclear weapons. The US government tried to stop him. Unfortunately, their efforts caused Seleski to lose control of his powers, which in turn caused Earth to fall into a giant black hole.
Seleski wound up thrown several weeks back in time (or so he thought). The guilt over his role in destruction of his world caused him to split into two beings: Doctor Solar, who believed himself to be Seleski's childhood hero; and Phil Seleski, who retained all the memories of the original. Seleski sought to prevent an accident that gave him powers from taking place. His efforts were complicated by the presence of Doctor Solar, who was convinced that Seleski was a dangerous criminal. Eventually, Seleski managed to convince his alter-ego that they needed to work together. They fused with the past version of Seleski and prevented the accident. In the process, they discovered that Seleski's fusion reactor was actually a "wish machine" that allowed anyone within close proximity to change the universe in any way they saw fit. Before the original accident, Seleski wished that he could become his childhood superhero. As the result, the reactor simulated the events that gave the original Doctor Solar his powers. Seleski also found out that he didn't travel to the past. After falling into a black hole, he tried to recreate his universe. For the most part, he succeeded. However, there were several important differences, the most important of which was that Earth was now populated by a large number of super-powered beings.
The revelations inspired Seleski to take up the mantle of his childhood hero. He became known as Solar, Man of the Atom.
Solar went on to have many adventures, fighting a wide variety of threats, from Spider Aliens to malevolent Harbingers to Mothergod. He survived for many centuries. He blew himself up in an effort to stop the Spider Alien invasion of AD 4000.
[edit] Graphic Novels
- Alpha and Omega hardcover slipcase - Collects # 1-10 (back-up stories); written by Jim Shooter; art by Barry Windsor-Smith & Bob Layton.
- Alpha and Omega trade paperback - Collects # 1-10 (back-up stories); written by Jim Shooter; art by Barry Windsor-Smith & Bob Layton.
- Second Death trade paperback - Collects # 1-4 (lead stories); written by Jim Shooter; art by Don Perlin & Bob Layton.
[edit] Acclaim Comics
When Acclaim Comics restarted all its properties from scratch, Solar was left untouched. In a four-part limited series, it was revealed that the Acclaim Universe was an alternate Valiant Universe timeline that was accidentally created by Solar. He sought to erase the Acclaim Universe from existence, but was opposed by the Seleski twins, alternate versions of himself. He departed from the Acclaim Universe, leaving a portion of his powers to the Seleski twins.
[edit] Unity 2000
During the Unity 2000 crossover, Solar rallied heroes from VH-0 Universe to stop Acclaim Universe's Master Darque from causing a multiverse-wide disaster. According to the series plot, the other heroes would eventually discover that Solar had his own malevolent agenda in mind. Since Unity 2000 wasn't published beyond issue 3, this never came to pass.
[edit] Current status
In 1994, Valiant Comics was purchased by Acclaim Entertainment, a video game company. Even with some success in the comics, Acclaim suffered from too much debt due to major flops of its video games. In 2004, the company filed for bankruptcy and put its assets up for auction. The license for Solar elapsed, with the rights reverting Random House, which acquired Western Publishing's properties in 2001. Random House licensed Dark Horse Comics to reprint the original series in form of a hardcover anthology series, similar to the DC Archive series. The series should be completed by the end of 2006.
Volumes published/planned:
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom ISBN 1-59307-285-6 (reprints #1-7)
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom ISBN 1-59307-327-5 (reprints #8-14)
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom ISBN 1-59307-374-7 in Nov (reprints #15-22)
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom IBSN ?? (reprints #23-31?)
