Obsidian apparently inherited a potential for mental illness from his mother, Thorn. Corrupted by Ian Karkull, Obsidian turned evil, using his shadow powers to first steal all the shadows from an entire city before spreading darkness over the entire world. During this time as a villain Rice attacks his foster father. Ultimately, his biological father Alan Scott, fighting as Green Lantern and with the aid of other JSA members, defeats him. Obsidian retreats to the Shadowlands, the otherdimensional plane from which he derives his powers. Obsidian later joins the mystical villains Mordru and Eclipso in an unsuccessful attempt to get revenge on Green Lantern and the JSA. Following this defeat by the heroes of the JSA, Obsidian is cured of his mental imbalance.