43

Adam Strange


Origins - Strange was an archaeologist who was transported to another planet named Rann by something called the Zeta Beam. He was called upon to save the planet from an alien invasion using Rann's high tech weaponry. Strange grew to care for the planet as well as it's inhabitants especially a blue haired female named Alanna and her father Sardath. The latter being responsible for creating the Zeta Beam that brought Adam to Rann. Eventually, the effects of the beam wore off, automatically returning Strange to Earth at the exact point of departure, but not before Sardath had given him a schedule of beam firings allowing him to periodically return to the planet. During the events of "52" Adam Strange was involved in a Zeta Beam accident where he lost both of his eyeballs but in spite of that he still tries to repair a spaceship in order to get himself, Starfire, and Animal Man back to Earth. Eventually he is saved by members the Green Lantern Corps and is given new eyes that are genetically engineered to see the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

Powers and Abilities - Adam Strange has a keen analytical mind and is a master tactician and strategist. He is an above average hand-to-hand combatant and his experience with the jet pack has made him proficient in aerial combat as well. Adam Strange is knowledgeable of ancient cultures, and has developed an extensive knowledge of Rannian history and technology. With this knowledge Strange has invented several pieces of useful equipment including a ray gun, and a fireproof insulated costume and helmet. The helmet is also equipped with a shield that protects Adam from harmful atmospheric conditions. On Earth Adam has normal strength of a man his age and size. Due to the gravitational difference of Rann his strength is greatly increased.

Weaknesses and Limitations - Aside from the normal limits and weaknesses of a normal man if Adam remains on Rann for more than a year without returning to Earth, he will die.

44

Animal Man

Origin - When Buddy Baker was a teenager he went out hunting and came in contact with an energy referred to as "The Red", "The Lifeweb", or the "Morphogenic Field". This energy, it was explained, is a force that ties all of the living animals on Earth together. Buddy soon discovered he was able to absorb abilities from animals that were near him. Eventually Buddy would become a member of the Justice League Europe. Unlike other characters Animal Man actually discovered he was a comic book character when he exited the pages of a comic and met the writer, Grant Morrison. Later, to explain it away, he fell into a coma and lost all memory of his meeting with Grant. Although having died many times, he has been brought back from death each time. The last time he was resurrected it was by a group of aliens claiming to be responsible for creating "The Red".

Powers and Abilities - The Red Conduit allows Baker to not only adopt the ability of any animal that ever lived on the Earth but it expands to include an immeasurable amount of the universe. He has shown the ability to mimic animals from other planes as well as animals that have long been extinct on Earth. The level of Buddy's abilities are proportional to the size of the animal they are drawn from. Hence, drawing the jumping ability from a flea would allow him to cover great distances. Tapping into the Red, Animal Man can also fire powerful blasts of force or unidentified energy. He can even use the primordial energies to start a new universe. In addition to his mimic abilities, Animal Man can make contact with animals, empathize with, "talk" to, see their thoughts and memories and, to a lesser degree, control them, by entering their minds. He can also transfer his mind to living animals of any kind, using their bodies as long as he wants to. This ability to transfer his life essence has allowed him to survive even when his body has been killed. Among the "animal powers" Buddy has been known to use are:

The strength of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
The flight of a bird.
The swimming ability of a fish.
The speed of an ant.
The wall-crawling of a spider.
The sonic blast of a pistol shrimp.
The sense of smell of a moth.
The stench of a skunk.
The color changing of a chameleon.
The agility of a snake.
The electricity of an electric eel.
A worm's ability to re-grow lost body parts.
The reproduction abilities of protozoa.
The durability of a cockroach.

Weaknesses and Limitations - Buddy has the same weaknesses and limitation of a normal man his age however he can make up for some of these by using his ability. Whichever animal power he uses, he also adopts that animals specific weakness and limits.

45

Barbara Gordon

Origin - At the age of 13 Barbara Gordon's parents were killed in a car accident. After being adopted by her uncle James Gordon, the police commissioner of Gotham City, Barbara became obsessed with the city's legendary phantom of the night - The Batman. Due to her infatuation, she began to study self defense. After graduating college at the young age of 16 she continued her studies of different fighting styles mastering several before she was a legal adult and working as a research assistant in the local library. After being rejected by the FBI, Barbara decided to make her own female version of a Batman costume. After putting on the costume she decided to go to a party where her father was attending but once there she saw Killer Moth attacking the party and taking Bruce Wayne hostage. Her first attempt at fighting crime was almost her last as Killer Moth got the better of her but not before she "rescued" Bruce Wayne who quickly changed into his work clothes and returned the favor after Killer Moth got the better of "Batgirl". At 19 years old Barbara decided it was time to hang up the costume as she was getting bored with playing the part of Batgirl. Shortly thereafter the Joker showed up at her door shooting and paralyzing her. Recognizing she could no longer be the kind of superhero she had been, she instead devoted all her time to developing one of the world's most complex and powerful computer systems and set to work accumulating information, renaming herself "Oracle."

Powers and Abilities - Barbara reads dozens of the world's top newspapers and magazines daily. She's also constantly gathering information from other, less public sources, such as the CIA's mainframe, not to mention the data networks of the FBI, NSA and Interpol (all without their knowledge or consent). Oracle has proven an absolutely invaluable resource to the Batman and his allies, as well as countless other superheroes, few of whom know anything about the person behind the name. As Oracle, Barbara has shown she possesses a photographic memory, a genius-level intellect, and an expert computer hacker. She also is a master detective and even though she is in a wheelchair she is still a master of many martial arts and is still an above average hand to hand combatant.

Weaknesses and Limitations - Understandably, Barbara's mobility is severely limited due to her paralysis. Otherwise she has the same limitations a normal woman in excellent physical shape would have.

46

Wildcat Ted Grant

Origin - Ted Grant, a world-class heavyweight boxer, was falsely accused of killing his mentor "Socker" Smith. It was later revealed that Grant's managers Flint and Skinner were the ones responsible. In an attempt to clear his name, Grant donned the costume of a large black cat and began to fight crime in the disguise calling himself Wildcat. After his name was cleared Ted continued to fight crime as well as continued his boxing career eventually becoming a world champion. Although unspecified, it was later stated that through some sort of magical spell Wildcat was granted "Nine lives" like a cat. It is not clear as to how many lives (or deaths) Ted has gone through. Recently the magician Mordru stated that as long as he did not go through all nine lives in one cycle he would continue to always have nine lives. It is not clear to how much time a "cycle" consists of. Wildcat is the true definition of a "tough guy" with a mild streak of male chauvinism which sometimes gets him in trouble with his female teammates on the Justice Society.

Powers and Abilities - Ted Grant possesses the ability to resurrect from the dead. Although over 75 years old he seems to age slower than a normal human being which enables him to stay in peak physical condition. He also has preternatural eyesight that allows him to see in the dark. He once claimed to have witnessed open heart surgery in total darkness. He is a master combatant and has trained other heroes how to box. His students include Batman, Batgirl, Catwoman, Black Canary, and even Superman. Aside from boxing he has mastered at least four other types of martial arts. He is an expert motorcyclist often seen riding on his Cat-Cycle. He also possesses above average strength able to lift at least twice his body weight and possibly as much as 500 pounds.

Weaknesses and Limitations - Due to his resurrection ability, Wildcat is able to fight with ruthless aggression literally to the very death but he is still limited the same as any normal man would be.

47

Sgt. Rock


Origin - Sgt. Franklin Rock is a non-commissioned officer in charge of his unit, Easy Company, during World War II. There are conflicting stories as to what exactly happened to the hardened military leader. One telling (and the one I subscribe to) says he was killed in the last moments of the war by the very last bullet fired while trying to save a little girl from crossfire.

Powers and Abilities - Rock is a highly trained hand to hand combatant usually mixing street fighting with boxing. He seems to have close to superhuman strength and endurance, surviving several gunshot wounds, grenade shrapnel, exposure to freezing water, and other hazards. He is also a marksman with many different types of weapons. He shot down several German fighter planes with a sub-machine gun. He also is able to throw hand grenades with surprising accuracy. Rocks has a M-1 Garand cartridge belt, 30 caliber ammunition belts slung over shoulder. He claims to wear these for good luck when asked why he carries ammunition for weapons he does not carry. The weapons he does carry are a .45 caliber Thompson sub-machine gun, .45 caliber Colt M1911A1 automatic pistol.

Weaknesses and Limitations - Rock has the same weaknesses and limitations as any normal adult male in excellent physical condition.

48

Black Canary


Origin - Dinah Laurel Lance was born into a crime fighting family. Her father was police officer and her mother Dinah Drake was the original Black Canary during the Golden Age. At 19, against her parents wishes, Dinah decided to become a crime fighter as well. She donned her mother's costume and trained with her mother's former colleague and life-long friend Ted Grant alias Wildcat. In current continuity Dinah's sonic powers are the result of a meta-gene. Black Canary later became a founding member of The Justice League of America.

Powers and Abilities - By far her most powerful weapon is her "Canary Cry" a high pitched sonic scream that can shatter objects as well as incapacitate humans. Tests have proven were that she can reach ultrasonic frequencies outside of the audible spectrum which render humans unconscious. She is also a skilled hand to hand combatant, mastering at least a dozen different fighting styles, which she prefers to use over her meta-human abilities. She also possesses uncanny reflexes as well as being an expert motorcycle rider. A born leader and a strategic thinker eventually led her to being chairperson of the JLA. Dinah is also a skilled detective although she admits she is not in the same league as Batman. She also plays a mean harmonica.

Weaknesses and Limitations - Other than the Canary Cry, Dinah is a normal human. She is, of course, in great physical shape and is able to lift her own body weight or more, but she is a mortal woman. It has been shown that her sonic ability can be silenced by a piece of tape over her mouth negating her biggest strength.

49

Metamorpho - The Elemental Man

Origin - As an adventurer, Rex Mason was hired by Simon Stagg to retrieve an ancient Egyptian artifact. While searching in a pyramid, Mason was knocked out by Java, one of Stagg's bodyguards. Shortly thereafter, Rex was exposed to the power of the Orb of Ra. The orb turned out to be a radioactive meteorite that turned Rex into Metamorpho. Originally thinking his new found abilities were a disease he sought for a cure. Metamorpho's body appears to be segmented with each part appearing to be made of a different substance. He is one of the founding members of The Outsiders as well as a member of the Justice League of America.

Powers and Abilities - The exposure originally allowed him to take on the attributes of any element, or combination thereof, that is inside of the human body. It appears now that he has formed the ability to take on the form of any element that appears on the elemental table. Rex can take the form of liquid, gas, or solid. When he is in his inert state, he is virtually invulnerable. He has shape changing abilities allowing him to change into many different forms ranging from a tank, a bicycle, to a cloud. He has the ability of elasticity allowing him a high level of elongation or stretching. He has been known to change his limbs into many weapons including an axe, a sword, large hammers, etc. Before he was changed he was also a knowledgeable detective, anthropologist, and martial artist which he continues to hone and use as a hero.

Limitations and Weaknesses - Aside from the normal limitations of each individual element, Metamorpho's only weakness is to the Orb of Ra the meteorite that gave him his ability. Simon Stagg was able to retrieve the orb and has used it to control Metamorpho forcing him to do his bidding.

50

The Demon Etrigan


Origin - Etrigan was summoned by the wizard Merlin to aid in Camelot's fight against the evil witch Morgaine Le Fay. Despite this fact, the fight was already feared lost and Merlin was forced to bond the demon to a human. Jason Blood, a knight in King Arthur's court, was the human he chose. This bonding rendered Blood immortal. While living centuries and not knowing if his fate was a curse or a blessing, Blood became a very widely known demonologist, who eventually takes up residence in Gotham City. Although a demon from hell, Etrigan usually fights on the side of good.

Powers and Abilities - Among all of the demons from hell, Etrigan is believed to be one of the most powerful. He has magically enhanced superhuman strength which has allowed him to stand toe to toe against Wonder Woman and even Superman. He has a high degree of magical knowledge as well as being able to spit hellfire from his mouth. He also possesses a high resistance to physical damage as well as enhanced healing abilities which at times allows him to heal injuries even when large parts of his body are missing. Other powers include mystically enhanced fangs and claws, super speed and agility, enhanced senses, telepathy, energy blasts, and precognition. His sadomasochistic nature allows him to enjoy pain as if it were pleasure, making him fearless in the face of combat and even torture. As Jason Blood he is a skilled hand to hand combatant and a master swordsman. He is adept at magic and has limited precognition and telepathy.

Limitations and weaknesses - Etrigan has all of the usual limitations associated with a demon, these including a weakness to holy items and powers as well as iron. His command of magic, although strong, is not as powerful as his father Belial nor his half-brother Merlin. Those who have magic powers greater than Etrigan, such as Morgaine Le Fay, also have control over the demon. Unfortunately for Jason Blood he shares the same weaknesses as the demon.

Coming Soon

We here at the Man Hole have figured we want to talk about things guys care about no matter how old they get. That's right comic books! Inside those pages we find the greatest superheroes the world has ever known. During the next month or so we will be counting down the top 50 superheroes of the DC Universe. Pretty sure those eleven heroes up there in the picture will place fairly well in the list. Watch This Space!

Final Impresssions Part Deux

Here's another group of final scene screen-caps. This time I didn't give the answers away!

Final Impresssions

Following are some final scene screen-caps from some famous and some not so famous movies. See how many you can figure out.