Northern Light
Real Name: Ian Davis
Identity/Class: Human mutate
Occupation: Architect
Affiliations: The Lone Guardian, Alert, Lana (girlfriend)
Enemies: Naxor, Conquermind
Known Relatives: Unnamed wife and son (both deceased)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Canada
First Appearance: Orb #2 (Orb Publications, July 1974)
Powers/Abilities: The alien experiments gave Ian the ability to use light in a number of ways - he can become invisible (by "becoming one with light"), fly at light-speed by riding light beams, and emit a bright burst of light at will. He also displayed superhuman strength and telepathic abilities.
History: Ian Davis had been a top architect, winning numerous prizes for his work, but tired of modernist architecture he decided to give up the rat race and take his family back to a simpler life. He took his wife and son and moved away from the cities and out into a remote part of the Canadian wilderness. Unfortunately, when a group of aliens led by Naxor wanted some humans to experiment on, being that isolated made the Davis family prime candidates. Ian's wife and son died painfully, but before Ian could suffer the same fate, agents of Alert, a Canadian security agency, managed to rescue him. In the aftermath of this, Ian learned that he had gained superhuman abilities. Wanting to spare others the kind of physical and emotional pain he had suffered, Ian Davis created the heroic costumed persona of the Northern Light.
Comments: The first serious Canadian national superhero of the seventies was the Northern Light, who made his debut in the second issue of the alternative comic Orb. The Northern Light disappeared from comic books following his 1977 appearance in Power Comics. He was created and written by T. Casey Brennan (fan site for the author here)
His original costume was made up of red-and-white tights with a red cowl, long, flowing cape, and white gloves. He lost the cape a few issues later. When he returned in Power Comics No. 4 the costume had changed to the one on the right - cowl opened at top, with battle armour and a leather belt
He lives in a secret fortress in Northern Canada and is the prime operative of the security agency Alert. One of his allies is Mars' Lone Guardian.
CLARIFICATIONS: Not to be confused with
Northern Magus, a different Canadian hero
Northguard, another patriotically dressed Canadian hero
Northstar, Canadian speedster who can also release flashes of light
Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.
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