Justice League America #77

The Ray has mastered sufficient control of his powers to enable himself to enter the Blood Gem by focussing himself into a single ray of light. Here, he attacks Rott, which is exactly what the being wanted, as it enables him to escape the gem and to fight the Martian Manhunter (the gem is embedded in the hero's chest) on the outside. As the fight, Atom and Ray encounter the true Bloodwynd inside the gem, and he is able to explain what's going on. Rott is the soul of Jacob Whitney, a particularly brutal slaver of the 18th century. He was imprisoned in the Blood Gem by his slaves, including one of Bloodwynd's ancestors. The family has passed the powerful gem down and each bearer, as he uses it, has somehow fed Whitney with the darker aspects of his character, transforming him from human to the monstrous form that J'onn is battling. Recently, he gained enough power to trap Bloodwynd inside with him and use J'onn to do his bidding. Using insights gained from this explanation, the Ray draws some of the gem's power into himself, which weakens Rott and imprisons him once more in the gem. Taking Weapons Master captive, Atom and the Ray escape the gem with Bloodwynd, who re-assumes control of it from Martian Manhunter. However, with the League seriously low on power, they wonder how the team can go on.

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