Nth metal

Nth metal
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
In story information
Type	Metal
Element of stories featuring	Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Hawkwoman

Nth metal is a fictional metal in the DC Comics Universe.

Publication history

Fictional history

It is native to Thanagar, the home planet of Katar Hol and Shayera Thal, the Silver Age Hawkman and Hawkwoman. Among the unusual properties of Nth metal is the ability to negate gravity, allowing a person wearing an object made of Nth metal, such as a belt, to fly. In addition, Nth metal also protects the wearer from the elements and speeds the healing of wounds,^[1] increases their strength, and protects them from extremes in temperature. It has many other properties that have yet to be revealed in full. It has been implied that the apparently "magical" abilities of the Thanagarian supervillain, Onimar Synn, all stem from his unique mastery of the properties of Nth metal. These powers are augmented to a god-like level in the Rann-Thanagar war when he builds himself an artificial body made of the substance.

In ancient Egypt a Thanagarian spaceship made of Nth metal crash-landed, only to be discovered by Prince Khufu and his betrothed, Chay-ara. Constant exposure to Nth metal forced Khufu and Chay-ara into a cycle of reincarnation. In the 20th century, they were incarnated as Carter Hall and Shiera Saunders, the original Hawkman and Hawkgirl. As Hawkman and Hawkgirl, they wore Nth metal belts, made with the help of the Thanagarian Paran Katar, father of Katar Hol, when he was visiting Earth.

Many years later, Carter and Shiera's son, Hector Hall, made a suit of armor made of Nth metal and took the name Silver Scarab as a founding member of Infinity Inc. The suit provided him with protection from attacks, let him lift great weights, and allowed him to fly and project solar energy blasts.

The current Hawkman and Hawkgirl continue to wear Nth metal.

In the future, members of the Legion of Super Heroes wear flight rings made of an alloy of Nth metal called Valorium.

In other media

Justice League

In the Justice League animated series, Nth metal has a somewhat different history. Nth metal is transuranic iron with an atomic number of 676, possesses innate anti-magical properties, is hyperconductive and is able to invert mesons and gravitons.^[2]

The Thanagarians had used the Nth metal to drive off Ichthulthu, a Lovecraftian entity that had dominated Thanagar for generations. Also, Hawkgirl was able to use her Nth metal mace to deflect the spells of Doctor Fate, and her mace was the only weapon that could put down a rampaging Solomon Grundy that was under the influence of chaos magic.

Hawkman, who appears later in the DCAU, also carries an axe and a net made out of Nth metal. He uses the net to capture Gentleman Ghost, claiming that the properties of Nth metal interfere with dimensional shifting.

The Batman

In The Batman, Nth metal is renamed "Nth Element" and is portrayed as an alien mineral found within meteors. The mineral causes whatever it is irradiated with to float and defy gravity, like in the comics. The Nth Element is used in Hawkman's equipment, and Black Mask attempts to use it for a bank heist.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold

In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Batman uses Nth metal brass knuckles and handcuffs to fight and capture Gentleman Ghost, as well as batarangs. Green Arrow is shown to have Nth metal tipped arrows. As shown in the animated Justice League, Nth metal can be used against supernatural beings, but is vulnerable to direct magical spells, as is seen when Equinox mystically melts Batman's Nth metal handcuffs.

See also

• Upsidaisium

References

1. ^ "Hawkman" (Vol. 4) #21
2. ^ Justice League: Starcrossed