Origin
Todd Rice is the son of Alan Scott and Rose Canton, the villain known as Thorn. One of a pair of twins, both were put up for adoption as infants and separated. Todd grew up in an abusive home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – the same town as his sister, Jade. Jade was the lucky one as Todd was regularly abused. In his late teens, Todd found he had a twin sister and he set out and eventually found Jade.
Afterward, they set off and joined a team called Infinity Inc. which was largely filled with the proteges and offspring of the JSA. When Infinity Inc. ended Obsidian and his friend Nuklon were put into the JLA comic book of the early nineties. It was here that the first appearance of Todd’s homosexuality appeared when he said he loved Nuklon.
Todd inherited a chance of mental illness from his mother, Thorn. Then being corrupted by scientist Ian Karkull, Obsidian turns evil, using his shadow-like powers to aid him in stealing all the shadows from an entire city, to help him spread darkness all over the world.
Todd has recently joined the Justice Society of America as a security guard for the New York Headquarters. He did this until the latest attack on it which caused him to transform into an egg of darkness. This egg was nearly stolen by the All American Kid.
Powers and Abilities
Obsidian has a variety of shadow-like powers from his father’s exposure to shadow energy in a fight with Ian Karkull. He gains his powers by funneling them from a dimension known as the Shadow-Lands – a place where nightmare becomes reality. He has the power to possess someone’s shadow and combine it with his own. When Obsidian turns into his shadow form, he is much stronger than when in human form. He is able to control his powers so that he can expand his size or create objects out of shadows. When in shadow form he can also pass through objects, fly, and he can also reform from any attack – even Captain Marvel‘s thunder. He can also transport matter through shadow portals.
He also has miniscule telepathic abilities which allows him to force a person to the evil side of their soul, driving them crazy. He can also possess others by trapping them in their own nightmares, turning them into his slaves, and this power even works on heavy-hitters like Dr. Fate or Jay Garrick. He has also shown to be able to turn people blind. During the crisis in which Neron was attempting to gain the souls of heroes it was shown that Todd’s powers were greatly increased. He seemed able to move through the shadows to almost anywhere in the universe, and draw on the evil around him for power. Though it hasn’t been shown since it is reasonable to assume that Obsidian is vastly more powerful when evil or the darker forces are present in the mortal world.
Character Profile
- Height: 5’10”
- Weight: 193 lbs
- Eye Color: Brown
- Hair Color: Brown
- Citizenship: American
- Place of Birth: Milwaukee
- Marital Status: Single
- Occupation: Adventurer, social worker
- Known Relatives: Jennie-Lynn Hayden (twin-sister), Alan Scott (father), Rose Canton (mother), Molly Mayne (stepmother), James Rice (adoptive father), Shirley Rice (adoptive mother), Jeremy Rice (adoptive brother)
- Base of Operations: Los Angeles, California; New York City, New York
Other Media
Television
Obsidian appears in the second season of Legends of Tomorrow alongside the the other JSA members of Dr Mid-Nite, Stargirl, Commander Steel, Vixen and Hourman. He is portrayed by Dan Payne and Lance Henriksen.
Cartoons
He appeared as a member of the Justice League in Justice League Unlimited. However, he was not given a speaking role and was not seen in combat.