The Beast is blue. Fearless Flint is bright red. Starfire is a deep orange. But what about those supers in the emerald hues? Welcome to Ten Things: Ten Supers Who Shouted Themselves Green In The Face!
Whooshman-Bicarbonate Films, in conjunction with An Amateur Comics Historian and deuteranomaly, Presents:
TEN THINGS: TEN SUPERS WHO SHOUTED THEMSELVES GREEN IN THE FACE!
10) THE GOLDEN GOBLIN
Best known as the short-lived heroic Green Goblin (and the nephew of Daily Bugle mainstay Ben Urich), Phil Urich’s mainstream counterpart went insane and became a Hobgoblin. In the quasi-future reality of Earth-982, aka The MC2, home of Mayday “Spider-Girl” Parker, he remained heroic, albeit unsuccessfully, eventually taking on a special uniform designed by Norman Osborn’s grandson for his personal use, granting him superhuman abilities to go with his disorienting natural sonic powers.
9) THE MASKED MARVEL
Debuting in 1949, Chet Fairchild’s alter-ego comes well after the first wave of successful superheroes had peaked and Western comics were coming to the fore. In many ways, he’s a prototypical “rich idiot with no day job” hero, but donned a glowing green skull mask to strike fear in the hearts of rustlers and desperadoes. He’ll always be a favorite of mine due to his big floppy-brimmed hat, which seems like it might negate the fear factor of his face. Then again, since he was created and drawn by horror comics genius (and ‘Tales From The Crypt’ mainstay) “Ghastly” Graham Ingels, perhaps not?
8) GREEN LANTERN
Seeking the legendary world-tree Yggdrasil, Len Lewis is shot and killed by agents of the evil Reverend Darrk, left to bleed out on the roots of the tree he sought for so long. Instead of passing on, he communes with the ancient plant and is chosen to be it’s champion in the mortal world. Created by Stan Lee as part of the “Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating” initiative, he has recently (as of this writing, anyway) appeared as a supporting character in the adventures of primary Green Lantern Hal Jordan.
7) NAUTIKA
Almost certainly named for the clothing company, Maya Hansen (née Royko) was a member of the multinational Stormwatch team for several years. When the team was restructured by Henry Bendix, she and her husband Sunburst were relieved of duty, leaving the aquatic heroine to retire to the suburbs and live a normal life. Well, as normal as a lime-green living electric eel with no nose and a wicked sense of humor can live, anyway.
6) THE COLLECTIVE
Hosting a symbiotic alien hive-mind that gives them some degree of telepathic powers, Kim Soon Park was gathered along with the other superhumans of their world to participate in a massive Deathmatch by creatures unknown. Their powers weren’t sufficient to defeat Meridian, their world’s Superman analogue, leading The Collective be taken out in the very first round and to never learn the terrible secret of their captivity.
5) SPIDER WIDOW
Known to her victims as “The Grandmother of Terror”, Quality Comics hero Dianna Grayton is actually a beautiful young socialite who took up fighting crime out of sheer inertia. A skilled combatant with her two fists, her witch makeup and costume also hides her ace-in-the-hole: Trained black widow spiders that she can control, all the better to strike fear in the hearts of criminals. She maintained a rivalry with fellow hero The Phantom Lady, and an on-again/off-again romance with a third hero called The Raven, reminding us that the shared universe is in no way a new trope.
4) PLASTIC MAN
Speaking of Quality Comics, this hero isn’t one of their stable, but was named for and designed to homage their most popular character. Having transferred his mind into a synthetic polymer body, Gunther Ganz joined an underground group called The Secret Six to oppose the evil Dr. Aguades. His body is semi-solid, and can even be torn to pieces without killing him, though he does worry that his mind will degrade if it happens too often or if he uses his ability to project his essence into other plastic vessels.
3) THE VISION
An extra-dimensional Keeper of Law (which is to say, “cop”) in a plane known as Smokeworld, Aarkus pierced the dimensional barriers allowing him to travel to the Marvel Universe circa WWII. Like so many others, he was drawn into fighting crime and staving off the creeping influence of the Axis powers to protect that world. One of the better-known members of the Golden Age Marvel cast, he has a ton of powers, but primarily teleports himself through smoke/vapor, which he can also control. He may or may not be immortal, the stories are a bit unclear on this point.
2) SLEEPWALKER
He knows that talk is cheap and rumors ain’t nice and as such, is waiting for you
EV
RY
SIN
GLE
NIIIIIIGHT!
Another extra-dimensional policeman, this one specifically over dreams, “Sleepy” (whose real name is unpronounceable to the human tongue) lives in the mind of Rick Sheridan, popping out as necessary to fight petty crime and rogue members of his own race. When last seen, he was one of the keys to unraveling the crisis on Warpworld.
1) FRANKENSTEIN
After the events of Mary Shelley’s novel, the creature slept for more than a century in Castle Fronk-En-Steen, until awakened by a stray bolt of lightning in the swingin’ sixties. Adopting the identity of Frank Stone using a lifelike rubber mask, he saves a millionaire, inherits his fortune and uses it to become a crime fighter using all the powers of a sewn-together golem of flesh for good. How his arms remain so pink and lifelike while his face turned green is a mystery for the ages.
(The ages of 6-12. *rimshot*)
This week’s topic is all me, but feel free to follow along @MightyKingCobra for more Ten Things madness on Twitte or to suggest your own topic. You can even check out the full Twitter archive here! As with any set of like items, these aren’t meant to be hard and fast or absolutely complete, if only because Hulk. Either way, the comments section is Below for just such an emergency, but, as always: Please, no wagering!
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Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.