DOCTOR POLARIS I (Neal Emerson)	BIOGRAPHY
Created by John Broome and Gil Kane

PERSONAL DATA

Real Name: Neal Emerson
Occupation: Professional criminal
Status: Deceased
Citizenship: American
Marital Status: Unknown
Known Relatives: Unnamed father; John (brother, deceased); Katherine (sister-in-law, deceased); Grant Emerson (adopted nephew)
Base of Operation: Formerly Coast City, then the North Magnetic Pole, later mobile
Group Affiliation(s): None
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 1"
Weight: 194 lbs.
Eyes: Blue, later red
Hair: Black, later brown
First Appearance: Green Lantern Vol. 2 #21 (June 1963): "The Man Who Mastered Magnetism!"
Creators: John Broome and Gil Kane

HISTORY

Once a researcher working for the betterment of mankind, Neal Emerson became one of the deadliest metahumans on Earth.

By Polaris' account, he and his brother John were raised by an abusive father. This apparently drove Neal Emerson within himself and led to the creation of the personification of his own dark side. - Damage #9

Even as a medical student, Neal Emerson had a fanatical interest in magnets. While Emerson felt fellow students harrassed him about it, he believed that some day he would prove his superiority to them. - Green Lantern Vol. 2 #21

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 was not around much for his nephew over the years, but he was quite fond of the boy. - Damage #9

As the years went by, Emerson convinced himself exposure to magnetic fields would give him more energy. His daily regime involved standing between two powerful electro-magnets. Emerson plunged deeper into the secrets of magnetism, vowing to keep the results of his studies in secret until he had become absolute master of the subject. Working on his own, Emerson far surpassed modern science in the usage of magnetic power.

When Emerson was finally ready to show the world his work, he held crowd-drawing lectures on "Health via Magnetism." Due to his medical background and belief in magnetism, Emerson adopted the name "Doctor Polaris" after the North Star, Polaris, to which all magnets point.

His vibrant personality and good will won many supporters. Doctor Polaris visited shut-ins and invalids and spoke with people on the street. His mere touch seemed to bring improved health to some.

Doctor Polaris' lectures were well recieved and he extolled the virtues of his magnetism program. He told his listeners they should place their beds so the magnetic lines of force in the Earth would travel along their bodies from head to toe, rather than in a crosswise manner which he believed caused disorderly activity in the body cells. He advised which metals to avoid, metals which draw harmful forms of magnetism to them.

While his success was great, there were still those that scoffed at his work, pointing to the work of medicine as a curitive to ailments. A subject's strong belief in magnetism, they said, could have a powerful effect on himself, creating the illusion of health. Despite their dismissal of his work, even his skeptics would have difficulty believing Doctor Polaris had evil intentions.

Emerson believed he had absorbed too much magnetic energy. Looking in a mirror, he believed a look of evil had settled on his face. He could feel changes inside of him, the drive for power and wealth only for himself. Emerson tried to fight it, tried to drain off the excess magna-energy inside him by reversing the magnets he had exposed himself to for so long. The treatments could not help him.

Polaris felt the need to design a costume and mask which he would wear while performing on stage at a charity show. Emerson hoped to make a public appeal to Green Lantern Hal Jordan, believing Green Lantern's power ring could counteract the evil force that had seized hold of him.

Putting on the costume, Doctor Polaris twisted the purpose of his attendance at the charity show. Instead of performing, Doctor Polaris robbed the box office of the proceeds and disappeared.

Polaris tried to draw a magnetic gun on Green Lantern but the ring wielder's energy beam struck first. Polaris fell and hit his head, rendering himself unconscious.

Later, at the hospital, Green Lantern tried to probe Polaris' mind but found great resistance. Using the power ring, the emerald crusader and the police learned of Emerson's evil side. At a press conference, Green Lantern relayed the events that led to Emerson becoming Doctor Polaris.

Back in the hospital room, Polaris recovered and escaped after attacking his guard. Green Lantern was searching for Polaris when the criminal struck from hiding, increasing the magnetic field around the hero. Green Lantern was apparently overcome by metal girders and other objects attracted to him. To finish off the job, Polaris came out of hiding to fire a fatal burst of "ultra-magnetism" at the downed hero. Green Lantern had anticipated an attack by Doctor Polaris and had in fact let the villain believe he was defeated to draw him out into the open. Doctor Polaris was remanded to police custody, during that time his "good self" resurfaced. - Green Lantern Vol. 2 #21

It appeared Doctor Polaris had returned to battle Green Lantern and the Justice League alongside Killer Moth, Dagon, the Mask and the Pied Piper but it was later revealed the demons Abnegazar, Rath and Ghast had created magical duplicates of the villains. The League even had to battle the villains' costumes before ultimately defeating the demons three. - Justice League of America #35

Apparently, Doctor Polaris was released from imprisonment during one of his "good" periods. When he next appeared, he wore a new costume to reflect his desire for the dark side of his nature to completely take over Emerson's body.

Power hunger drove Doctor Polaris to discover the source of Green Lantern's energy. With that knowledge, Polaris believed he would become the most powerful man who ever lived. A study of newsclippings and photos of Green Lantern's exploits showed a common denominator. One man appeared in numerous stories of the hero. It was Tom Kalmaku.

Using a device powered by an unexplained form of "concentrated ultra-magnetism," Doctor Polaris was able to abduct Kalmaku and take the information from Kalmaku's mind. Unfortunately, the device proved harmful to Kalmaku, and Green Lantern's friend was dying. From the device, Polaris learned Green Lantern's power battery was hidden at Ferris Aircraft and was able to put a magnetic barrier around it.

As Doctor Polaris had surmised, Green Lantern returned to the battery and believed he had charged the power ring. The hero tracked Kalmaku to Polaris' lair as his power ring ran out of energy. Green Lantern's tremendous will enabled him to use the power ring's emergency reserve energy that would have saved his life to enclose Kalmaku in a protective sheath of green energy. Polaris turned his weapon on the helpless Green Lantern, apparently killing him. The emerald gladiator's body disappeared. Still, the matter of the green glow surrounding Kalmaku was yet to be solved. Polaris intended to retrieve any and all information regarding Green Lantern before Kalmaku died.

What Doctor Polaris did not know was that the ring wielder was taken to Oa, home of the Guardians of the Universe, the masters of the Green Lantern Corps. Due to the magnetic effect of Polaris' weapon, they believed Jordan was dead. Even their advanced devices were unable to detect a faint glimmer of life in their servant. To complicate matters further, Jordan was taken into the 58th Century where he battled a threat to the Earth in the ficitonal identity of Pol Manning, space explorer.

Returning to the 20th Century, Green Lantern headed straight to Earth and defeated a surprised Doctor Polaris. After reviving him, Jordan revealed to Kalmaku the "good" nature of Neal Emerson had lessened the effect of Doctor Polaris' weapon, thereby saving the ring wielder. - Green Lantern Vol. 2 #46 -47

Emerson later renewed his research by challenging himself to calculate the direction and angle of drift of the Earth's magnetic North pole. He believed he could learn the location before the shift occured.

Emerson was roughly one thousand miles away from the geographic North Pole when he reached the point where the lines of magnetic force converged. A sudden quake plunged him into a deep crevice. At the bottom of the crevice lay a glowing blue blob possibly of extraterrestrial origin. The strange radiation from the blue blob somehow altered Emerson's perceptions. He somehow understood the threat the blue blob meant to Earth. Unless action was taken, the blue blob would eventually dehydrate the entire Earth. As he laid there, Emerson could feel the effect as the blob drew off the water in his body.

Though weak, Emerson was able to subconciously influence Hal Jordan into becoming Green Lantern, but he was not strong enough to bring the ring wielder to his side. In pain, Emerson used the power of the magnetic North Pole coupled with the glowing glob to create a mental duplicate of his evil alter ego.

Doctor Polaris took advantage of the situation by fighting Green Lantern, rather than enlisting his assistance. A magnetic barrier around Green Lantern's power ring easily brought down the emerald hero.

Doctor Polaris planned to destroy all life on Earth and create a new race in his image by using his vast mental powers. While in Earth's orbit, Polaris sought to increase the solar radiation reaching the planet.

As he left the Earth's magnetic field, the barrier around the power ring faded, allowing Green Lantern to recover and bring the battle to his foe. Predicting another barrier would be placed around his power ring, the Emerald Warrior gathered micrometeorites and formed a solid iron mask around Polaris' head, blocking of his vision. Green Lantern then used a magnet of his own to capture his enemy.

Back on Earth, Emerson was able to use telepathy to warn Green Lantern of the threat of planetary dehydration. Once Green Lantern disintegrated the alien substance, the mental image of the evil Doctor Polaris faded away. - Green Lantern Vol. 2 #65

Years later, Emerson's dark side returned. Returning to his old costume, Polaris took the guise of Baxter Timmons and moved to Metroplis' Suicide Slum. From his apartment, Polaris stole advanced technology from warehouses throughout the city. Polaris integrated the revolutionary new magnetic circuits into his costume, claiming his powers were now virtually inseparable from himself and the costume. Once his upgrades were completed, Doctor Polaris planned to gain revenge on Green Lantern.

Before he could fight the ring wielder, a confrontation ensued between Doctor Polaris and Black Lightning. The villain's magnetic field reacted with Black Lightning's electrical field allowing Doctor Polaris to escape.

Jackie Parrish, the nephew of the real Baxter Timmons, appeared at Timmons' doorstep. Jackie had run away from home, trying to escape his abusive father, Timmons' brother-in-law, Harry Parrish. Timmons allowed the boy to stay with him on the condition he stayed out of his way.

Black Lightning was prepared for his next encounter with Doctor Polaris. By throwing thin metal strips at the magnetic villain, Doctor Polaris was tightly wrapped by the twisting metal. Black Lightning believed he had bested his foe but the villain crashed a fire escape upon the hero. Talking later with the police, Black Lightning learned Polaris was behind the rash of warehouse thefts.

Jackie Parrish stumbled on to his "uncle's" secret identity as Doctor Polaris, but was too late to tell anyone what he'd learned. He managed to throw a lamp through a window before Polaris caught him. Attempting to escape in a van with Jackie as a hostage, Doctor Polaris once again crossed paths with Black Lightning.

A third fight with Black Lightning culminated in an auto junkyard. Doctor Polaris had been toying with the hero before he would kill him, but a diversion created by Jackie gave Black Lightning the opening to throw one knockout punch. - World's Finest #260

Some time afterwards, Doctor Polaris returned to the magnetic North Pole to engage in further experiments. As he had before, Polaris fell vicitm to a greater power. He was trapped beneath the arctic tundra, a victim of his own insatiable quest for greater power.

BLACK LANTERN: DOCTOR POLARIS

During the event known as the Blackest Night, a black ring descended upon his remains, downloaded all of his memories and created a duplicate of his body that rose from the grave as a member of the Black Lantern Corps.

Black Lantern Doctor Polaris reportedly killed his sucessor, John Nichol the second Doctor Polaris. - Blackest Night #6

CHRONOLOGY

For a definitive list of appearances of Doctor Polaris in chronological order click here

PROFILE REFERENCES

Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #6 (August 1985)

Who's Who in the DC Universe #2 (September 1990)
Green Lantern Secret Files #1 (July 1998)