Dr. Polaris

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

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).

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. 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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

John Nichol

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

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. The John Nichol incarnation can create localized magnetic storms in people's brains, killing them instantly.

In other media

* The Neal Emerson incarnation of Doctor Polaris appears in ''Justice League Unlimited'', voiced by an uncredited Michael Rosenbaum. 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. 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. 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''.
* Doctor Polaris appears as a character summon in '' Scribblenauts Unmasked: A DC Comics Adventure''.

References

{{Flash
Characters created by Brad Meltzer
Characters created by Gil Kane
Characters created by John Broome
Comics characters introduced in 1962
Comics characters introduced in 2008
DC Comics businesspeople
DC Comics male supervillains
DC Comics metahumans
DC Comics scientists
Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities
Fictional characters with metal abilities
Fictional medical specialists
Fictional physicists