| Character Name: | Lightray |
| Converted: | y |
| 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 |
| Powers: |
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| Altcat: | New Gods of New Genesis |
| 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).[1] Lightray was a major character in New Gods volume 1 (1971–1978),[2] 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 that was published in January 1978.[3]
The version of the character in current DC continuity was introduced in Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead #1 (December 2014).[1]
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:
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".[3]
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".[4]
Lightray is the shining star of New Genesis and a high-spirited New God. He is a friend of Orion, whose grim personality contrasts with his own. Furthermore, Lightray briefly joins the Justice League before Superman disbands the group.[5] [6] [7]
In Final Crisis, Lightray is killed by Infinity-Man before being resurrected.
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.
Jack Kirby's 1971 design for Lightray's costume influenced the look of artist Al Milgrom's creation of Firestorm in 1978. In an interview from 2019, 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!"[8]
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".[9]
An alternate universe variant of Lightray appears in .
Lightray appears as a character summon in .[13]