Byth

Byth
Publication information
Publisher	DC Comics
First appearance	The Brave and the Bold #34 (February/March 1961)
Created by	Gardner Fox Joe Kubert
In-story information
Full name	Byth Rok
Abilities	Shape-shifting

Byth Rok is a DC Comics supervillain who is the archenemy of the Silver Age Hawkman. He was created by Gardner Fox and Joe Kubert, and first appeared in The Brave and the Bold #34 (February/March 1961), titled "Creature of a Thousand Shapes".

On the alien planet Thanagar, a scientist named Krotan developed a pill that would empower the mind to control the molecular formation of the body. Just as he was about to swallow it, a thief named Byth assaulted him and swallowed the pill. Byth first transformed into a bird and left (via spaceship) to commit crimes on other planets. Katar Hol and his wife, Shayera, tracked his rocket to Earth.

For many years, Byth would escape on several occasions only to be captured again by Hawkman and Hawkwoman.

In the Hawkworld mini-series, Byth is a corrupt Wingman commander and Katar Hol's superior. He manipulated a drug-induced Katar into killing his father, aiding his rise to power. Now Administrator of Protection, he gains his shape-shifting powers from a new drug called Krotan. Katar Hol, with the help of Shayera Thal, uncover his schemes and Byth escapes arrest. He flees to Earth and ran some criminal operations in Chicago. He supplied Carl Sands with a shadow generator. He is later captured, and returned to Thanagar.

Byth was apparently defeated for good by the then recently resurrected Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders.

In The New 52 (a reboot of the DC Comics universe), Lord Byth is shown to be responsible for the creation of Ultra the Multi-Alien where he had combined the DNA of the alien prisoners in order to make Ultra the Multi-Alien the Slayer of Worlds.

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