Metamorpho
From Barbelith
Metamorpho, the Element Man, had the ability to turn himself -- his whole body -- into any chemical element. There was some shapeshifting involved as well, since he could become a gas, liquid, or whatever he could dream up, basically.
So he was one of DC's most powerful heroes, but his chalk-white face and garish five-color suit made him one of the least physically attractive guys out there. In civilian life he had been Rex Mason, a freelance adventurer who got over-exposed to the Orb of Ra, a nasty ancient artifact, while trying to "recover" it for his zillionaire boss.
His one-time sidekick, Element Girl, is the heroine of a poignant story in Neil Gaiman's Sandman -- similarly disfigured and no longer fighting crime, she begs Death for, well, death.
In Grant Morrison's series of Justice League of America stories, Metamorpho dies after turning himself into a heatshield to save his teammates, who face burning up on re-entry after things go terribly wrong on the JLA satellite.
He was also a member of The Outsiders, and of one configuration of the Seven Solders.
Read more about Metamorpho at Toonopedia (http://www.toonopedia.com/metamor.htm).
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