Solar (comics) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Solar |
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Michael Komarck's cover art for
Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #1 (July 2010) from Dark Horse Comics |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Gold Key Comics Valiant Comics Acclaim Comics Dark Horse Comics Dynamite Entertainment |
| First appearance | Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom #1 (Oct. 1962) |
| Created by | Paul S. Newman (writer, concept co-creator) Matt Murphy (editor, concept co-creator), Bob Fujitani (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | (Dr.) Raymond Solar Phil Seleski Frank and Helena Seleski Philip Solar |
| Notable aliases | Doctor Solar Man of the Atom |
| Abilities | Super-Genius Level Intelligence Since the accident that turned him into a godlike being whose body was transformed into pure energy, Solar gained a vast array of powers including:
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Solar is a cool American comic book superhero. He was created by writer Paul S. Newman, editor Matt Murphy, and artist Bob Fujitani. Solar first appeared in Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #1 way back in 1962. This was published by Gold Key Comics.
Since then, Solar has appeared in comics from other companies. These include Valiant Comics in the 1990s, Dark Horse Comics in the 2000s, and Dynamite Entertainment in the 2010s.
Contents
Who is Solar? His Comic Book Story
Solar's First Adventures: Gold Key Comics
The very first Doctor Solar was a physicist named Dr. Phillip Solar. He worked at a nuclear power plant. One day, he tried to help his friend, Dr. Bently, stop the plant from melting down. An evil mastermind named Nuro had sabotaged it.
Dr. Bently sadly lost his life. But Dr. Solar absorbed a huge amount of radiation. He survived and found he could turn his body into any type of nuclear energy!
With his amazing new powers, Solar started looking for Nuro. Nuro became his main enemy. Nuro even put his mind into a robot double and called himself King Cybernoid.
At first, Doctor Solar didn't wear a superhero costume. But readers wrote in and asked for one! So, in the fifth comic issue, Doctor Solar put on a superhero outfit. He became known as "The Man of the Atom."
When he used his powers, his skin would turn green. Around this time, Gold Key Comics also changed his first name from Phillip to Raymond.
Solar's New Beginning: Valiant Comics
This version of Solar was a physicist named Phil Seleski. He was a big fan of the old Doctor Solar comics. One day, Phil and his team were testing a new type of fusion reactor. It was in a town called Muskogee.
The reactor accidentally broke, threatening to destroy the whole city. Phil rushed to shut it down. He succeeded, but he was exposed to a deadly amount of radiation.
However, this didn't kill him! Instead, it gave him the power to control all forms of matter and energy. Phil tried to use his powers to help people. He wanted to destroy all the nuclear weapons in the world.
The U.S. government tried to stop him. Their efforts made Phil lose control of his powers. This caused Earth to fall into a giant black hole!
Phil was sent back in time by several weeks. He felt so guilty about destroying his world. This guilt made him split into two beings. One was Doctor Solar, who thought he was Phil's childhood hero. The other was Phil Seleski, who remembered everything.
Phil wanted to stop the accident that gave him powers. But Doctor Solar thought Phil was a dangerous criminal. Eventually, Phil convinced his other self that they needed to work together. They combined with the past version of Phil and stopped the accident.
They learned that the fusion reactor was actually a "wish machine." It let anyone nearby change the universe! Before the accident, Phil had wished to become his childhood superhero. So, the reactor made it seem like the original Doctor Solar's story happened.
Phil also found out he didn't travel to the past. He had actually recreated his whole universe after falling into the black hole. This new universe now had many super-powered beings. Phil was inspired and became Solar, Man of the Atom.
Solar went on many adventures. He fought different threats like the Spider Aliens and evil Harbingers. He lived for many centuries. He even blew himself up in the year 4000 A.D. to stop the Spider Alien invasion of Earth.
Solar's Legacy: Acclaim Comics
In the Acclaim Universe, Phil Seleski left some of his powers to the Seleski twins, Frank and Helena. They then became the new Solar.
Solar's Amazing Powers
Dr. Solar is a very smart scientist. He specializes in nuclear physics. Because he was exposed to radiation, he is like a living nuclear battery!
He doesn't need food or water anymore. He also doesn't have a heartbeat or a normal human body. He gets his energy by absorbing nuclear radiation.
When he absorbs a lot of radiation, his skin turns green. It can take hours for his skin to go back to normal. Because of this, he wears special clothes with cadmium and lead. He also wears dark glasses to protect his co-workers from radiation. His superhero uniform also has this special lining.
He often carries a small pouch on his belt. It has radioisotopes in pill form. He can swallow these to get more energy quickly if he needs it.
Just like any battery, Solar gets weaker when he uses his energy. If he uses too much energy too fast, he can become very weak. He has almost died several times when his energy ran out.
Sometimes, Solar absorbs so much energy that he grows to a giant size! Then he shrinks back to normal when he uses up the extra energy.
Solar can use his stored energy however he wants. He can release it and turn it into almost any form. He can also use it to fly! He can make things super cold, down to absolute zero, in seconds.
He can even change matter at the atomic level. This means he can change one element into another! For example, he once changed a huge iron meteorite into titanium. But this used up almost all his energy. He had to fly into the Van Allen radiation belt to recharge.
If his energy level is high enough, he can even travel through time! He has done this many times.
As a scientist at "Atom Valley," a government nuclear research place, Solar is always doing research. His unique powers mean he doesn't need lead shields. He can just absorb the radiation for his own use. As "The Man of the Atom," Solar is always ready to use his powers to help people.
Collected Comic Books
These are some of the collections of Solar's adventures:
- Valiant Comics
- Alpha and Omega hardcover slipcase (March 1994) - This collects the backup stories from issues #1–10. It was written by Jim Shooter, with art by Barry Windsor-Smith and Bob Layton.
- Alpha and Omega trade paperback (March 1994)
- Second Death trade paperback (September 1994) - This collects the main stories from issues #1–4. It was written by Jim Shooter, with art by Don Perlin and Bob Layton.
- Dark Horse
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom (reprints issues #1–7)
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom (reprints issues #8–14)
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom (reprints issues #15–22)
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom (reprints issues #23–31, plus The Occult Files of Dr. Spektor #14)
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom Volume 1 (reprints Free Comic Book Day: Doctor Solar: Man of the Atom/Magnus, Robot Fighter and issues #1-4 of the Dark Horse Comics series Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom)
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom Volume 2 (reprints issues #5-8 of the Dark Horse Comics Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom series)
- Doctor Solar at the Comic Book DB
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom (1962 Gold Key series) at the Comic Book DB
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom (1991 Valiant series) at the Comic Book DB
- Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom (2010 Dark Horse series) at the Comic Book DB
Images for kids
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Valiant Comics' version of Solar by Barry Windsor-Smith
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Writer Jim Shooter and artist Dennis Calero at a signing for Dark Horse Comics' Doctor Solar, Man of the Atom #1, at Midtown Comics Times Square, July 17, 2010
