Jade

Origin

Jade is the daughter of the Golden Age Green Lantern Alan Scott and Rose Canton. After giving birth to Jade and her brother Todd (who would later become Obsidian), the two were given up for adoption as Rose (at times a dangerous vigilante) was afraid she would harm them. It was under these circumstances that Jade became Jennifer Lynn Hayden, adopted by a couple from. As she grew she came to realize she was different, and upon realizing why she had a star shaped birthmark on her left hand, she was surrounded by the Starheart power, and her hair and skin changed to the colour green (this occurred as a defensive reaction after being sexually abused). She did not know about her twin brother until later in her teenage years, and shortly thereafter the two set out on careers as crimefighters.

They quickly surmised they were Alan Scott’s children and thus applied for positions with the Justice Society. They were however rejected but undaunted teamed with other young heroes and formed Infinity Inc.

Creation

The character was created as an attempted reboot of the Justice Society into Infinity Inc. At the time younger characters were popular in comics (in Marvel X-Men was the leader in sales, at DC the Teen Titans were the leaders). This led to a many titles trying to revitalize themselves, including the Justice Society or the Justice League (in its version.) Infinity Inc. proved relatively successful lasting 53 issues, which was long enough that many of its young heroes became established members of the DC Universe.

Character Evolution

Jade represents a second generation superhero and in many respects readers how watched her grow up from precocious teenaged hero to experienced veteran. Jade’s history is as convoluted as her father’s is at times. She has no direct ties to the powers of a Green Lantern (except for the brief period when she had a ring) rather she channels the powers of the Starheart, however the similarities and her background have tied her history and development to both the Justice Society and to the Green Lantern Corps. Her relationship with Kyle Rayner is one of the defining aspects of her character, and when Miri Riam confronted both Kyle and Soranik Natu and allowed them to see who they loved, Kyle saw Jade but lied and said he saw Soranik, as he wanted to put his relationship with Jade behind him.

Major Story Arcs

Most of her early story arc occurred while a member of Infinity Inc. and while her background was developed further it was usually done parallel to the team. The most significant relationship of her adult life is with Kyle Rayner, her former boyfriend. After having lost the power of the Starheart Kyle briefly made her Green Lantern for sector 2184 (including Earth). During his time as Ion he restored her to full power. The two left Earth for some time, upset with humanity’s direction after one of Kyle’s friend, Terry, was beating by homophobes. After returning to Earth Jade ended their relationship.

Jade joined the Outsiders, and after some time she eventually assumed leadership after she confronted Nightwing over problems with his emotional state. Jade later joined the team that went into space with Donna Troy during Infinite Crisis. She was killed while trying to stop Alexander Luthor Jr. from fracturing the universe into the multiverse. Her powers and consciousness remained until combined with Kyle once more to return him to his Ion persona. Jade would later appear to her father to say goodbye and to grant him part of her power.

Jade was resurrected as a Black Lantern during Blackest Night. She appeared on Oa and surprised Kyle Rayner by attacking him. During the final battle of Blackest Night, several heroes became White Lanterns to sever themselves from the Black spectrum. This brought many of those who were dead back to life, one of whom was Jade. Upon her resurrection she displayed affection for Kyle, although he was now romantically linked with Soranik Natu.

During Brightest Day she and Soranik discussed her feeling and she acknowledged they were a thing of the past. She is soon after mysteriously attacked. She is later found on Earth as the Starheart is possessing metahumans. She joined the Justice League and Justice Society in battling this threat. Eventually Jade is forced to fuse with her brother to stop this threat, which was revealed to be part of her father’s Starheart. Due to these events though she is no longer able to be in close proximity to her brother.

Powers and Abilities

Jade controls the power of the Starheart. This provides energy manipulation powers such that she can affect the entire spectrum including gravitation, light, heat and radiation. She also has the ability to create solid light constructs in essentially anything she can devise (and thus is limited only by her will.) These ability have been used to do such feats as flight, intangibility, invisibility and produce force fields. The Starheart also granted her certain mental abilities such as hypnotism, some astral projection (in which she can tacks ghosts) and limited telepathy. Later in life Jade developed chlorokinetic abilities, in that she can synthesize sunlight as a source of energy (due to the presence of chlorophyll in her system). She has also been shown to cause roses to attack a mugger. She is also a gifted photographer and her skills in this regard occasionally prove useful in her superheroics. The Starheart has a weakness to objects made out of wood.

Characteristics

• Height: 5' 8"
• Weight: 145 lbs
• Hair: Green
• Eyes: Green
• Skin: Green

Weapons and Equipment

For a time Jade was a member of the Green Lantern Corps and thus wielded a green power ring.