Forgotten Justice League - Day 4 (Metamorpho)

Day 4 - Forgotten #JusticeLeague

Metamorpho

Forgotten Justice League members:

The cinematic debut of The Justice League is in 4 days, and to countdown let's take a look at members of the Justice League most have forgotten or never knew about.

Metamorpho was created by Bob Haney and Ramona Fradon and first appeared in The Brave and the Bold issue 57 in January of 1965.  

Rex Mason is an adventurer who is hired by Stagg Enterprises CEO, Simon Stagg, to retrieve a rare Egyptian artifact, the Orb of Ra. Shortly after hiring him, Simon Stagg learns that Mason has been dating his daughter, Sapphire Stagg. This and other incidents begin to fuel in Stagg a dislike for Mason that ultimately leads to a plot to kill him.

In an Egyptian pyramid, Rex Mason is knocked out by Simon's brutish bodyguard Java and is eventually exposed to a radioactive meteorite from which the Orb of Ra was fashioned. A tremendous flare-up of its radiation transforms Mason into Metamorpho, the Element Man. He gains the ability to shapeshift and change himself into any element or combination of elements found in the human body. It is also established in his origin story (see: The Brave & The Bold #57) that Metamorpho is virtually invulnerable in his inert (untransformed) state, when Stagg, afraid that Rex is going to kill him, shoots him point-blank without effect. The Orb of Ra, however, has the same effect on Rex that kryptonite has on Superman. Thus Stagg continues to control Metamorpho using the Orb. Later, it is revealed that Mason is but one of many metamorphae, created by the sun god Ra – using the meteorite – to serve as warriors in his battle against the god Apep, "the serpent who never dies."

Metamorpho, unlike most super-humanoids described in DC Comics, cannot assume a normal, fully human appearance, being no longer composed of flesh, blood and bone. As such, he regards his metamorphic powers as a disease and seeks a cure for his condition. Because he considers himself a freak and wishes only to be restored to his former human state, he rejects an offer of membership from the Justice League of America. Green Lantern attempts to change him back using his power ring, but due to a "yellow" component of the meteorite radiation, is unable to make him normal again. 

Metamorpho would later serve in the Justice League of America along with the Justice League Europe and Justice League International teams.