Obsidian later degenerates into an egg consisting purely of darkness. It is later revealed that this state was caused by an attack by Kid Karnevil, who gave Obsidian to a shadowy female villain. In "Justice Society of America" (vol. 3) #37, Obsidian re-appears as a power source for the Darkness Engine, causing all super-powered beings on earth to lose their powers. After Mister Terrific manages to travel back in time, he tells the others that they must hatch the Obsidian egg or they will all die and Obsidian's father agrees that this must happen. Able to now use this information to change events, while Kid Karnevil is looking for the black egg in the ruins of the JSA Brownstone, he is confronted by the restored Obsidian, who takes him out and rejoins his teammates in the combat against the villains.