Told from the time he was a child that he was light-hypersensitive and exposure to sunlight would kill him, Ray Terrill didn't learn about his powers until his late teens. Inheriting the ability to absorb sunlight and rearrange its molecules that originated when his father, "Happy" Terrill -- the Golden Age hero known as The Ray -- was exposed to an experimental genetic "light bomb" years before, Ray was reluctantly drawn into the "family business." Learning more about his abilities at the hands of both his father, who Ray had originally believed was dead, and the Martian Manhunter, as a member of the Justice League Task Force, Ray has become a hero in his own right. Now, if he could just hold down a job and get a girlfriend, life would be perfect...

The Ray's body absorbs and stores solar energy, allowing him to redirecting the power and transform molecules into any chosen form. Smaller forms, such as his costume, require only minimal power and subliminal thought, while larger constructs need extended concentration and substantial power. He is also able to use this stored energy to fly at the speed of light and emits energy pulses of varying power and magnitude.