Doctor Polaris

Doctor Polaris is an alias used by two supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. ^[1] The first and most prominent is Neal Emerson, a scientist who can manipulate magnetism.

Doctor Polaris
The Neal Emerson incarnation of Doctor Polaris as depicted in The Flash vol. 2 #114 (June 1996). Art by Oscar Jimenez.
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	(Emerson): Green Lantern vol. 2 #21 (June 1963) (Nichol): Justice League of America vol. 2 #17 (March 2008)
Created by	(Emerson): John Broome (writer) Gil Kane (artist) (Nichol): Brad Meltzer (writer) Gil Kane (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Neal Emerson John Nichol
Species	Metahuman
Place of origin	New Earth
Team affiliations	Cadre Secret Society of Super Villains Black Lantern Corps Suicide Squad
Notable aliases	Baxter Timmons Butcher of the Board Room Repulse
Abilities	(Both): Magnetism manipulation (Emerson): Expert physicist and medical specialist (Nichol): Business intuition

Publication history

Created by John Broome and Gil Kane, the first Doctor Polaris, Neal Emerson, made his first appearance in Green Lantern #21 (August 1963). ^[2]

The second Doctor Polaris, John Nichol, first appeared off-panel in Justice League of America vol. 2 #11 (September 2007), before receiving a full introduction in Justice League of America vol. 2 #17 (March 2008). Nichol's origins in this issue were developed by Lilah Sturges and Andre Coelho.

Fictional character biography

Neal Emerson

Neal Emerson and his brother John were raised by an abusive father (although a later flashback shows him raised by an abusive aunt). This apparently drove Neal Emerson within himself and led to the creation of the personification of his own dark side. ^[3] Emerson left the United States for a year and returned to find he was an uncle. His brother John and sister-in-law Katherine had adopted a baby and named him Grant. Emerson is not around much for his nephew over the years, but is fond of him.

As a medical student, Neal Emerson develops a fanatical interest in magnets, despite the teasing of his classmates. Emerson is convinced exposure to magnetic fields will give him more energy. He later holds crowd-drawing lectures on "Health via Magnetism". Due to his medical background and belief in magnetism, Emerson adopts the name "Doctor Polaris". He designs a special costume and mask to wear for his public appearances. ^[3]

Emerson's evil personality eventually takes over and becomes a supervillain and enemy of Green Lantern. ^[4]

In "Underworld Unleashed", the Polaris personality sells Emerson's soul to Neron in exchange for increased powers. He serves as Neron's lieutenant before being betrayed by Lex Luthor and the Joker. ^[5]

Some time afterward, Polaris attacks Poseidonis. At that same time, Maxima is in the city trying to force Aquaman to marry her. Using her mental abilities, Maxima compels Polaris into believing that his alternate personality has reemerged, forcing him into a catatonic state. ^[6]

In "Last Laugh", Polaris attempts to take control of the magnetic south pole and battles the Justice League. He is defeated by Plastic Man, who is unaffected by his powers. The Slab prison is moved to Antarctica, as Polaris is the magnetic pole and cannot be moved.

Shortly thereafter, Polaris appears in San Francisco, allied with the Cadre. Convinced that civilization and humanity's free will are obstacles for creating a better Earth, he plans to use the Controller's power and stolen S.T.A.R. Labs equipment to focus his powers and "cleanse the world". The Power Company defeat Polaris by turning Black Mass against his master and using him to drain Polaris' power.

Shortly before "Infinite Crisis", Dr. Polaris appears in Metropolis, seeking Superman's help in battling a more powerful and ruthless magnetism manipulator called Repulse. Repulse is later revealed to be a manifestation of his personality disorder and is defeated after Polaris accepts that she is not real.

During "Villains United", Polaris joins Lex Luthor's Secret Society of Super Villains before being killed by the Human Bomb. ^{[3] [7]}

In Blackest Night , Emerson is temporarily revived as a Black Lantern.

Following "The New 52" and "DC Rebirth" relaunches, Neal Emerson appears as a member of Maxwell Lord's supervillain team and a former member of the Suicide Squad. ^{[8] [9]}

John Nichol

The second Doctor Polaris, John Nichol, is introduced in Justice League of America (vol. 2). ^{[10] [11]} He is a member of Libra's Secret Society before being killed by Neal Emerson in Blackest Night. ^[12]

Powers and abilities

Both versions of Doctor Polaris possess the power to generate and channel electromagnetism naturally or artificially. They can lift heavy metallic objects, control ferrous particles in the atmosphere, alter Earth's electromagnetic field, fly at subsonic speeds, and project forms of energy related to magnetism. They are able to manipulate the metals within the Earth to create earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, or other disasters. They can also sense metals around them, determine on the distance. ^{[13] [14]} The John Nichol incarnation can create localized magnetic storms in people's brains, killing them instantly. ^[15]

In other media

• The Neal Emerson incarnation of Doctor Polaris appears in Justice League Unlimited , voiced by an uncredited Michael Rosenbaum. ^[16] This version is a member of Gorilla Grodd's Secret Society who received augmented powers from Lex Luthor, who also included failsafes to override the latter's powers and prevent him from betraying the former.
• An unidentified Doctor Polaris appears in Batman: The Brave and the Bold , voiced by Lex Lang. ^[16] Additionally, an unnamed, heroic, alternate universe counterpart makes a non-speaking appearance in the episode "Deep Cover for Batman!".
• An unidentified Doctor Polaris appears in the "Thunder and Lightning" segments of DC Nation Shorts . ^[16]
• Doctor Polaris appears as a character summon in Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure . ^[17]

References

1. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Korte, Steve; Manning, Matt; Wiacek, Win; Wilson, Sven (2016). The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe. DK Publishing. p. 94. ISBN   978-1-4654-5357-0.
2. Wells, John (2015). American Comic Book Chronicles: 1960-64. TwoMorrows Publishing. p. 125. ISBN   978-1605490458.
3. Jimenez, Phil (2008), "Doctor Polaris", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.), The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 105, ISBN   978-0-7566-4119-1, OCLC   213309017
4. Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 102. ISBN   0-8160-1356-X.
5. Cowsill, Alan; Irvine, Alex; Manning, Matthew K.; McAvennie, Michael; Wallace, Daniel (2019). DC Comics Year By Year: A Visual Chronicle. DK Publishing. p. 255. ISBN   978-1-4654-8578-6.
6. • Green Lantern (vol. 3) #96 (March 1998)
   • Green Arrow (vol. 2) #130 (March 1998)
   • The Flash (vol. 2) #135 (March 1998)
7. Infinite Crisis #1 (December 2005)
8. Justice League vs. Suicide Squad #1 (February 2017)
9. Suicide Squad (vol. 5) #9 (March 2017)
10. Justice League of America (vol. 2) #11 (September 2007)
11. Justice League of America vol. 2 #17 (March 2008)
12. • Justice League of America (vol. 2) #21 (July 2008)
    • Blue Beetle (vol. 7) #32 (December 2008)
    • Justice Society of America (vol. 3) #29 (September 2009)
    • Blackest Night #4 (December 2009)
13. Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #6 (August 1985)
14. Green Lantern (vol. 2) #21 (June 1963)
15. Blue Beetle (vol. 7) #32 (December 2008)
16. "Dr. Polaris Voices (DC Universe)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved July 27, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
17. Eisen, Andrew (October 2, 2013). "DC Characters and Objects - Scribblenauts Unmasked Guide". IGN. Retrieved July 27, 2024.