Johnny Sorrow
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| Johnny Sorrow | |
 Cover to JSA # 18. Art by Howard Porter. |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Secret Origins of Super-Villains # 1 (1999) |
| Created by | David S. Goyer Geoff Johns Phil Winslade |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Unknown |
| Team affiliations | Injustice Society |
| Notable aliases | King of Tears |
| Abilities | Ability to kill anyone that directly views his face, Intangibility, Teleportation, Energy manipulation, Psionic powers. |
Johnny Sorrow is a DC Comics supervillain and a recurring Justice Society of America foe. He first appeared in Secret Origins of Super-Villains 80-Page Giant # 1 (Dec 1999), though he was first mentioned in Starman v.2 #8 in 1995.
[edit] Character History
Johnny was a silent film actor, but after being forced into retirement by the then-new "talkies," he turned to a life of crime. He would eventually come into possession of a "Subspace Prototype", that enabled him to become intangible. During a fight with the Justice Society, Sandy the Golden Boy destroyed the Subspace Prototype, which threw Johnny into another dimension.
In this "fractional dimension," one of the "Subtle Realms", Sorrow's body was hideously altered. There he found beings that had apparently been banished there when The Presence finished creating the universe. They were led by a large creature called the King of Tears. These entities gave Johnny a new mask that would contain his new form and allow him to manifest in the regular world. Johnny Sorrow now appears to be an invisible man in a suit, with an expressionless mask floating where his face should be. He was then sent back so that he could bring the King of Tears out into the world.
Johnny's first stop was to see his wife. Unaware of how much he had changed, he removed his mask and accidentally killed his wife. Later, he kidnapped Sandy and successfully opened a gateway for the King of Tears, but was foiled by the Justice Society and the King of Tears was consumed by the Spectre. The Spectre could not destroy the King, but transformed its essence into tears, which Jay Garrick safeguarded in his lab for decades.
Sorrow would return years later with a new incarnation of the Injustice Society to again attempt to bring out the King of Tears. He succeeded, but both he and the King were seemingly killed when Jay Garrick dragged both of them into the Speed Force, drawing on the speed of Black Adam to gain the power necessary to reach that speed.
Later, Sorrow would team up with Despero in a plot against the Justice League and the Justice Society involving an attack on the Rock of Eternity. Again he was defeated and this time captured.
Most recently, Sorrow was rescued from another dimension by a new Injustice Society after he had saved the Wizard from the JLA and then forced him into service. It is unknown how Sorrow ended up in this other dimension. After returning, he reclaimed leadership of the group from the Wizard. Their current plans are unknown, but Sorrow has stated that it involves everyone on the team (although the Gentleman Ghost is being allowed to pursue his own plans for the time being). Sorrow still has a burning hatred of Sandy, now known as Sand, whom he blames for his transformation and unhappiness.
[edit] 52
In 52, Captain Marvel, on the brink of sanity, mentioned that Johnny Sorrow tried attacking the Rock of Eternity.
[edit] Powers
Johnny Sorrow's face is so hideous that people who view it die, though there are exceptions to the rule:
- Spirits and the undead are unaffected as they aren't actually alive.
- Exposure caused Captain Atom to quantum leap forward in time.
- Shazam was turned to stone.
- Doctor Mid-Nite nearly died of shock, but survived due to the unusual nature of his artificially-restored and enhanced vision (His goggles copied the sight and he was later able to use it against Sorrow).
- The non-organic Sand proved immune after he was transformed into glass by Firestorm and his transparent eyes made him blind.
- A prison guard watching over the Icicle in prison was driven mad and clawed his own eyes out (It is unknown why he wasn't killed, but it is possible that his fellow guard, who did die, took most of the force of the attack).
Sorrow is intangible, but can become solid and must in order to remove his mask. Once solid, he cannot become intangible again until the mask is replaced. While tangible, he can be hurt by physical force as well as matter manipulation. He also once proved vulnerable to a recorded image of his own face, which briefly solidified and paralyzed him.
He has also shown the ability to teleport himself and others as well as levitate. It seems Sorrow has some sort of power to manipulate energy since he was able to bend energy attacks coming at him together causing an explosion.
