Adam Rubinstein
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Adam Rubinstein
Current Occupation: College Student
Parents: Unnamed
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: Heroes of the People
Place of Birth: Hadenville, OH
Current Place of Residence: Amherst, MA
First Appearance: Powerman # 263, September 2010
Biography:
Adam Rubinstein has been called the John Barstaman of his time.
Adam's grandfather was the villainious Dr. Rubinstein who was the chief enemy of Captain Hero during World War II. Dr. Rubinstein also menaced the Mystery Men, All-Star Squadron, and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen during that period.
Adam himself grew up with a super-intellect, just like his grandfather. However, Adam chose early on that he would use his brains in the opposite ways of his grandfather. (The one exception was that Adam had no problems using his brains to gain access to money if he needed it for the "greater good.")
When Adam turned 18, he went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where his roommate was fellow freshman Jonathon Stanford (who was secretly Powerman, minus the powers).
Shortly after arriving on campus, Adam recruited several new and young heroes to form a team called the Heroes of the People, who would have a more proactive mission than the Heroes of Earth. The two teams would clash often.
Adam recruited Jonathon to work with team. At the time, Jonathon had become well known in the area for solving mysteries, but Adam had also deduced Jonathon's true identity and sought out his experience.
Adam currently is the brains behind the team, although ironically a new Captain Hero had been handpicked by Adam to be the face of the team.
Comments:
See my comments for Pretty Gal II.
Adam is in a way a remaking of an 80s hero in that he very much filling the role that John Barstaman held with the Heroes of Earth. Dr. Rubinstein (and the original Captain Hero) are retcons added in recent Powerman stories.
It should be noted that the Heroes of the People do not have their own title. They appear frequently in the pages of Powerman, Heroes of Earth, and Justice.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Pretty Gal II
Pretty Gal II
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Sheryl Carlson
Current Occupation: Owner of her own public relations and marketing firm
Parents: Unknown
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Place of Birth: Arkansas
Current Place of Residence: Orange City
First Appearance: Powerman # 263 (September 2010)
Biography:
Sheryl Carlson is a mutant who has the ability to manipulate any straight male or gay female with her abilities. Sheryl's power manifests itself in several ways to create this ability. First, she emits a chemical which causes a submissive reaction in those exposed. Second, he emits radiation that causes an aura which seemingly invisible can actually be seen subliminally causing a hypnotic state. Finally, her voice emits a hidden sound that affects the brain.
Sheryl discovered this power early on and used it to get whatever she wanted. Within a matter of months after graduation, she became the most successful marketing and PR person in Orange City. However, after discovering the evils of one of her clients, Michael Bossman, and the role she played in helping him cover it up, she vowed to find a way to use her powers for good.
Taking a cue from a hero of the 1980s with a similar power, she took the name Pretty Gal, and became a hero, soon being recruited by Adam Rubinstein to join his new team, the Heroes of the People, a role she currently fills.
Comments:
All of the Heroes of the People are based on friends of mine from my time on the UMass Mock Trial team. Their fictional counterparts have mostly taken names of classic Super Comics characters from the 1980s, putting a new modern spin on them.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Sheryl Carlson
Current Occupation: Owner of her own public relations and marketing firm
Parents: Unknown
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Place of Birth: Arkansas
Current Place of Residence: Orange City
First Appearance: Powerman # 263 (September 2010)
Biography:
Sheryl Carlson is a mutant who has the ability to manipulate any straight male or gay female with her abilities. Sheryl's power manifests itself in several ways to create this ability. First, she emits a chemical which causes a submissive reaction in those exposed. Second, he emits radiation that causes an aura which seemingly invisible can actually be seen subliminally causing a hypnotic state. Finally, her voice emits a hidden sound that affects the brain.
Sheryl discovered this power early on and used it to get whatever she wanted. Within a matter of months after graduation, she became the most successful marketing and PR person in Orange City. However, after discovering the evils of one of her clients, Michael Bossman, and the role she played in helping him cover it up, she vowed to find a way to use her powers for good.
Taking a cue from a hero of the 1980s with a similar power, she took the name Pretty Gal, and became a hero, soon being recruited by Adam Rubinstein to join his new team, the Heroes of the People, a role she currently fills.
Comments:
All of the Heroes of the People are based on friends of mine from my time on the UMass Mock Trial team. Their fictional counterparts have mostly taken names of classic Super Comics characters from the 1980s, putting a new modern spin on them.
Superman III
Superman III
Created by Jerry Seigel, Joe Shuster, John Byrne, and Dennis E. Power
Real Name: Samuel Kent
Current Occupation: Deceased; former reporter
Parents: Joel and Mei-Lei Kent
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: Justice League America, Heroes of Earth
Place of Birth: Smallville, Kansas
Place of Death: Metropolis
First Appearance: Man of Steel # 1, October 1986
Biography:
The original Superman, Clark Kent (actually Kal-L of Krypton) and his wife Lois had a son, named Joel, who was born without powers. In Vietnam, Joel (who had become a very bad person) was nearly killed by his own unit when he tried to burn down a village. They left him for dead, but one of the villagers, Mei-Lei, nursed him back to health.
Joel learned the errors of his ways. He took Mei-Lei as his wife, and they moved back to the Kent farm. Eventually, they had a son, Sam, who did inherit the Kryptonian powers.
Sam moved to Metropolis as an adult, and took up the role of Superman, at one point rivaling the popularity of Powerman. Tragically, though, this Superman was killed by a monster dubbed Doomsday.
Comments:
As I've said before, Superman I (Kal-L/Clark Kent) was my response to the inclusion of Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World in the Wronskiverse. Superman II (Mon-El/Bob Kent) was my response to the Super Friends' inclusion, and Superman III (Sam Kent) was in response to the integration of the post-crisis DCU into the Super Comics Universe.
There's still one more left. Or there will be I should say. Once we move beyond.
Created by Jerry Seigel, Joe Shuster, John Byrne, and Dennis E. Power
Real Name: Samuel Kent
Current Occupation: Deceased; former reporter
Parents: Joel and Mei-Lei Kent
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: Justice League America, Heroes of Earth
Place of Birth: Smallville, Kansas
Place of Death: Metropolis
First Appearance: Man of Steel # 1, October 1986
Biography:
The original Superman, Clark Kent (actually Kal-L of Krypton) and his wife Lois had a son, named Joel, who was born without powers. In Vietnam, Joel (who had become a very bad person) was nearly killed by his own unit when he tried to burn down a village. They left him for dead, but one of the villagers, Mei-Lei, nursed him back to health.
Joel learned the errors of his ways. He took Mei-Lei as his wife, and they moved back to the Kent farm. Eventually, they had a son, Sam, who did inherit the Kryptonian powers.
Sam moved to Metropolis as an adult, and took up the role of Superman, at one point rivaling the popularity of Powerman. Tragically, though, this Superman was killed by a monster dubbed Doomsday.
Comments:
As I've said before, Superman I (Kal-L/Clark Kent) was my response to the inclusion of Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World in the Wronskiverse. Superman II (Mon-El/Bob Kent) was my response to the Super Friends' inclusion, and Superman III (Sam Kent) was in response to the integration of the post-crisis DCU into the Super Comics Universe.
There's still one more left. Or there will be I should say. Once we move beyond.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Hell Child
Hell Child
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Amy (Last Name Unrevealed)
Current Occupation: Agent of the New Power Organization
Parents: Unnamed
Siblings: Jill (Last Name Unrevealed)
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: Champions, Heroes of Earth, New Power Organization
Place of Birth: Somewhere in the deep South
Current Place of Residence: An undisclosed location
First Appearance: Blackbirds # 6, July 1991
Biography:
Amy was the oldest of two daughters living in the deep south. When she was 14, she began to develop mental powers. She was able to read minds, move objects with her mind, and even make people do her bidding. Her parents thought she was a witch, and kicked her out, calling her a hell child.
Amy decided to head north, towards Orange City, where people with unique abilities were celebrated as heroes. She instead ended up in Greenfield, where agents of Project: Franklin tried to abduct her because of her abilities and age, but she was rescued by the Blackbirds, a team of young heroes who were in constant conflict with Project: Franklin.
Amy was invited to join the team, and seeing the irony, chose the code name Hell Child to use for a heroic identity.
Amy's powers were rapidly growing stronger and stronger, and the power was corrupting her. In fact, one evening, when only her and War Child, the team leader, were at headquarters, Amy used her powers to rape him. Even though War Child was traumatized by the experience, he felt Amy could not be blamed for not being able to keep her powers in control, and they kept her on the team in order to help her.
A few months later, Amy's younger sister Jill showed up, having developed the same powers and also been kicked out of the house. Jill took up the identity of Devil's Daughter. Jill's powers weren't as strong as Amy's and thus did not cause the same problems.
In late 1992, it seemed that the team had been killed on Metor, but indeed they had survived and been captured by the Project, who had experimented on them. The team escaped and based on advice from Powerman, changed their name to the Champions.
In 1995, a mutant named Adam used his powers to take over the Earth. He mind controlled every metahuman on Earth to serve as his honor guard, the Heroes of Earth. However, when the spell was broken, it was discovered that some metas, like Hell Child, were willingly serving Adam's cause, believing in a world where super beings ruled. Hell Child was defeated along with Adam, and her powers were then stripped by Allorin Vonski, along with her memories of ever having powers. In fact, the whole world forget, and because of this, Amy and Jill returned home, their parents having believe the children had just ran away for a few years and were so relieved to have their normal children back.
Thirteen years later, a spell cast by the New Power Organization restored the powers and memories of all super-villains, brought dead ones back to life, and upgrades all of their powers. Amy had her powers back. She had her memories back. She was even more powerful. And she was more evil than ever.
First, she killed her parents and Jill. Then she willingly served as one of two of the New Power's top agents (the other being Powerlord). Hell Child was feared by heroes as she had no problems with killing, and liked to make sure it was going to hurt...physically and emotionally.
The New Power's scheme to reshape Earth as a world of evil failed, however, and Hell Child had to escape and go into hiding. However, not long after, she was abducted along with several other villains and heroes and transported to an alternate dimension by the Protector. They were to do battle for his amusement.
Hell Child killed the heroes Truth and Powergirl during this "secret war", and even killed her teammate Nicole Barstaman. Nicole had very similar powers as Amy. When Amy was mortally wounded, she absorbed Nicole's powers, her memories, and her life force into her, restoring her life and doubling her power. The side effect was that now there are two separate beings residing in one body, though Amy remains dominant.
When the heroes and villains returned to Earth, Hell Child returned to service for the New Power, that had rebuilt itself in her absence. She currently serves as one of the organization's number one agents.
Comments:
This character is actually inspired by one of the nicest, most innocent girls I knew in high school, based on the premise of what those types of powers could do even to the best of people.
Though I never expected when I created this character as a member of the Blackbirds that I would one day maker her one of the most dangerous villains in the Wronskiverse.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Amy (Last Name Unrevealed)
Current Occupation: Agent of the New Power Organization
Parents: Unnamed
Siblings: Jill (Last Name Unrevealed)
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: Champions, Heroes of Earth, New Power Organization
Place of Birth: Somewhere in the deep South
Current Place of Residence: An undisclosed location
First Appearance: Blackbirds # 6, July 1991
Biography:
Amy was the oldest of two daughters living in the deep south. When she was 14, she began to develop mental powers. She was able to read minds, move objects with her mind, and even make people do her bidding. Her parents thought she was a witch, and kicked her out, calling her a hell child.
Amy decided to head north, towards Orange City, where people with unique abilities were celebrated as heroes. She instead ended up in Greenfield, where agents of Project: Franklin tried to abduct her because of her abilities and age, but she was rescued by the Blackbirds, a team of young heroes who were in constant conflict with Project: Franklin.
Amy was invited to join the team, and seeing the irony, chose the code name Hell Child to use for a heroic identity.
Amy's powers were rapidly growing stronger and stronger, and the power was corrupting her. In fact, one evening, when only her and War Child, the team leader, were at headquarters, Amy used her powers to rape him. Even though War Child was traumatized by the experience, he felt Amy could not be blamed for not being able to keep her powers in control, and they kept her on the team in order to help her.
A few months later, Amy's younger sister Jill showed up, having developed the same powers and also been kicked out of the house. Jill took up the identity of Devil's Daughter. Jill's powers weren't as strong as Amy's and thus did not cause the same problems.
In late 1992, it seemed that the team had been killed on Metor, but indeed they had survived and been captured by the Project, who had experimented on them. The team escaped and based on advice from Powerman, changed their name to the Champions.
In 1995, a mutant named Adam used his powers to take over the Earth. He mind controlled every metahuman on Earth to serve as his honor guard, the Heroes of Earth. However, when the spell was broken, it was discovered that some metas, like Hell Child, were willingly serving Adam's cause, believing in a world where super beings ruled. Hell Child was defeated along with Adam, and her powers were then stripped by Allorin Vonski, along with her memories of ever having powers. In fact, the whole world forget, and because of this, Amy and Jill returned home, their parents having believe the children had just ran away for a few years and were so relieved to have their normal children back.
Thirteen years later, a spell cast by the New Power Organization restored the powers and memories of all super-villains, brought dead ones back to life, and upgrades all of their powers. Amy had her powers back. She had her memories back. She was even more powerful. And she was more evil than ever.
First, she killed her parents and Jill. Then she willingly served as one of two of the New Power's top agents (the other being Powerlord). Hell Child was feared by heroes as she had no problems with killing, and liked to make sure it was going to hurt...physically and emotionally.
The New Power's scheme to reshape Earth as a world of evil failed, however, and Hell Child had to escape and go into hiding. However, not long after, she was abducted along with several other villains and heroes and transported to an alternate dimension by the Protector. They were to do battle for his amusement.
Hell Child killed the heroes Truth and Powergirl during this "secret war", and even killed her teammate Nicole Barstaman. Nicole had very similar powers as Amy. When Amy was mortally wounded, she absorbed Nicole's powers, her memories, and her life force into her, restoring her life and doubling her power. The side effect was that now there are two separate beings residing in one body, though Amy remains dominant.
When the heroes and villains returned to Earth, Hell Child returned to service for the New Power, that had rebuilt itself in her absence. She currently serves as one of the organization's number one agents.
Comments:
This character is actually inspired by one of the nicest, most innocent girls I knew in high school, based on the premise of what those types of powers could do even to the best of people.
Though I never expected when I created this character as a member of the Blackbirds that I would one day maker her one of the most dangerous villains in the Wronskiverse.
Truth II
Truth II
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: George Banner
Current Occupation: Deceased; former Investigative Journalist
Parents: Unnamed
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: None
Place of Birth: Worcester
Place of Death: An unnamed alternate dimension
First Appearance: Justice (2nd series) # 1, July 2005
Biography:
George Banner was an investigative reporter for the Worcester Telegram. When a new female vigilante appeared calling herself Justice, George felt discovering her identity would be his big break. While investigating, he met Michelle Wrigley, who used to be the publicly known super-hero Powerkid before she gave up her powers for good.
George and Michelle started dating, and eventually he discovered that she was in fact Justice. Rather than exposing her, he instead kept her secret, and helped her in her battle against crime using his own investigative skills. Eventually, he chose to himself don a costume and be called Truth. (Previously, during the 1990s, there had been a previous Justice and Truth team, who had been brother and sister.)
Just over a year ago, several heroes and villains were abducted from Earth by the Protector and forced to do battle in some pocket dimension. During the battle, Truth was slain by Hell Child. This tragedy was the final straw that caused Michelle Wrigley to give up adventuring upon her return to Earth.
A new Justice and Truth team has began operating out of Amherst. This time they are two college students.
Comments:
This character's personality and appearance is based upon my brother in law, but that has no connection whatsoever to my killing him off. The fact of the matter was that in the Justice strip, Michelle Wrigley was suffering an emotional rollar coaster. Her ex-boyfriend had become one of the most powerful super-villains on Earth. Her brother was possessed and killed the President of the United States. Her mother died of cancer. Then she inherited a company and billions of dollars from her brother's father, who turned out to be an evil mastermind trying to take over the world. George's death was the final straw to make her quit, and the emotional drama made for a very great story.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: George Banner
Current Occupation: Deceased; former Investigative Journalist
Parents: Unnamed
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: None
Place of Birth: Worcester
Place of Death: An unnamed alternate dimension
First Appearance: Justice (2nd series) # 1, July 2005
Biography:
George Banner was an investigative reporter for the Worcester Telegram. When a new female vigilante appeared calling herself Justice, George felt discovering her identity would be his big break. While investigating, he met Michelle Wrigley, who used to be the publicly known super-hero Powerkid before she gave up her powers for good.
George and Michelle started dating, and eventually he discovered that she was in fact Justice. Rather than exposing her, he instead kept her secret, and helped her in her battle against crime using his own investigative skills. Eventually, he chose to himself don a costume and be called Truth. (Previously, during the 1990s, there had been a previous Justice and Truth team, who had been brother and sister.)
Just over a year ago, several heroes and villains were abducted from Earth by the Protector and forced to do battle in some pocket dimension. During the battle, Truth was slain by Hell Child. This tragedy was the final straw that caused Michelle Wrigley to give up adventuring upon her return to Earth.
A new Justice and Truth team has began operating out of Amherst. This time they are two college students.
Comments:
This character's personality and appearance is based upon my brother in law, but that has no connection whatsoever to my killing him off. The fact of the matter was that in the Justice strip, Michelle Wrigley was suffering an emotional rollar coaster. Her ex-boyfriend had become one of the most powerful super-villains on Earth. Her brother was possessed and killed the President of the United States. Her mother died of cancer. Then she inherited a company and billions of dollars from her brother's father, who turned out to be an evil mastermind trying to take over the world. George's death was the final straw to make her quit, and the emotional drama made for a very great story.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Superman II
Superman II
Created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp; Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster; Don Cameron; Vernon E. Clark and Whitney Ellsworth
Real Name: Mon-El
Alias: Bob Kent, Superboy I
Current Occupation: Construction Worker
Parents: Jor-El and Lara (natural; deceased); Jonathon and Martha Kent (Adoptive; deceased)
Siblings: None
Spouse: Lucy Lane Kent
Children: An unnamed child.
Group Affiliation: Justice League of America
Place of Birth: Daxam
Current Place of Residence: Metropolis
First Appearance: The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, 1966
Biography:
When Krypton exploded, it's effects created environmental damage to neighboring Daxam, which led scientist Jor-El to send his son Mon-El to Earth before Daxam met its end.
Mon-El landed on Earth, in Smallville, much later than Kal-L of Krypton. Coincidentally, as Kal-L was and adopted by Ebin Kent, Mon-El was found by Ebin's cousin, Jonathon. Mon-El was named Bob Kent. Clark and Bob were adopted cousins who for many years were unaware that each other were both heroes named Superman.
Unlike Clark, Bob operated as a hero named Superboy in his youth, and transitioned to becoming Superman and moving to Metropolis as an adult. As Superman, Bob was a member of the Justice League of America for many years.
Following his time with the League, he disappeared. There have been many contradictory accounts of how Superman's career ended. However, when Powerman was once asked by Powerkid whatever happened to the man of tomorrow, Powerman, who is probably the most connected in the super-hero community, mentioned that around the same time the Powerkid Police disbanded, shortly after the Great Crisis of 1985, the Super Powers Team had disbanded, having stopped Darkseid, or so they thought. Superman had also thought his mission was over, but that was when all of his greatest enemies came at him at once. In this great battle, there were losses on both sides, but in the end, it seemed the hero won, but at a cost. He seemed to disappear from the world. Powerman paused, then added that the funny thing was that just soon after, Lucy Lane, the woman Superman loved but would never marry because of his mission, married a construction worker who she had just met. They had a baby in 1987, named Conner. He'd be an adult now. I heard he'd become a journalist in Metropolis now.
Comments:
As I've stated in a few of my blogs, in the Wronskiverse, there were three Superman, one for each of the comic book ages. The silver age Superman is that represented in Super Friends. In order to explain the two versions (golden age vs. silver age), I used Mon-El as the silver age version. Since the silver age comics aren't in the Wronskiverse, but only the animated Super Friends, this actually works out well. Note that Lar Gand is also part of the Wronskiverse because of the incorporation of DCU continuity for 1986 to 1992. Lar Gand and Mon-El are separate people in the Wronskiverse.
Created by Robert Bernstein and George Papp; Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster; Don Cameron; Vernon E. Clark and Whitney Ellsworth
Real Name: Mon-El
Alias: Bob Kent, Superboy I
Current Occupation: Construction Worker
Parents: Jor-El and Lara (natural; deceased); Jonathon and Martha Kent (Adoptive; deceased)
Siblings: None
Spouse: Lucy Lane Kent
Children: An unnamed child.
Group Affiliation: Justice League of America
Place of Birth: Daxam
Current Place of Residence: Metropolis
First Appearance: The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, 1966
Biography:
When Krypton exploded, it's effects created environmental damage to neighboring Daxam, which led scientist Jor-El to send his son Mon-El to Earth before Daxam met its end.
Mon-El landed on Earth, in Smallville, much later than Kal-L of Krypton. Coincidentally, as Kal-L was and adopted by Ebin Kent, Mon-El was found by Ebin's cousin, Jonathon. Mon-El was named Bob Kent. Clark and Bob were adopted cousins who for many years were unaware that each other were both heroes named Superman.
Unlike Clark, Bob operated as a hero named Superboy in his youth, and transitioned to becoming Superman and moving to Metropolis as an adult. As Superman, Bob was a member of the Justice League of America for many years.
Following his time with the League, he disappeared. There have been many contradictory accounts of how Superman's career ended. However, when Powerman was once asked by Powerkid whatever happened to the man of tomorrow, Powerman, who is probably the most connected in the super-hero community, mentioned that around the same time the Powerkid Police disbanded, shortly after the Great Crisis of 1985, the Super Powers Team had disbanded, having stopped Darkseid, or so they thought. Superman had also thought his mission was over, but that was when all of his greatest enemies came at him at once. In this great battle, there were losses on both sides, but in the end, it seemed the hero won, but at a cost. He seemed to disappear from the world. Powerman paused, then added that the funny thing was that just soon after, Lucy Lane, the woman Superman loved but would never marry because of his mission, married a construction worker who she had just met. They had a baby in 1987, named Conner. He'd be an adult now. I heard he'd become a journalist in Metropolis now.
Comments:
As I've stated in a few of my blogs, in the Wronskiverse, there were three Superman, one for each of the comic book ages. The silver age Superman is that represented in Super Friends. In order to explain the two versions (golden age vs. silver age), I used Mon-El as the silver age version. Since the silver age comics aren't in the Wronskiverse, but only the animated Super Friends, this actually works out well. Note that Lar Gand is also part of the Wronskiverse because of the incorporation of DCU continuity for 1986 to 1992. Lar Gand and Mon-El are separate people in the Wronskiverse.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Ken Maxwell
Ken Maxwell
Ken Maxwell (March 1973 – ), born Kenneth Earl Maxwell, was an American comic book writer and editor. Growing up in Orange, Maxwell entered the comics industry in the 1980s. In 1984, Maxwell and writers Robert E. Wronski, Jr. and Phil Sheridan created the highly successful supervillain character Krusher for Super Comics. During the 1980s, Maxwell would create a number of stories for various publishers, often teaming with Wronski.
After high school, Maxwell returned to comics and worked in a variety of genres. He contributed to a number of publishers, including Super Comics. In the 1990s, Maxwell co-created many of Super Comics' major characters, including the Dragon, and the New Power Organization, along with writer-editor Robert E. Wronski, Jr. Despite the success of the Wronski-Maxwell titles, Maxwell left the company in 1995.
| Ken Maxwell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kenneth Earl Maxwell March 1973 Massachusetts, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer, Editor |
| Pseudonym(s) | Mad Dog Maxwell |
| Notable works | Powerman, Justice, Heroes of Earth, Powerkid, Powerkid Police |
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Krusher I
Krusher I
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr, Phil Sheridan, and Ken Maxwell
Real Name: Ken Madison
Alias: Mad Dog Madison (his high school nick name)
Current Occupation: Mercenary
Parents: Unnamed
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: Olive Madison
Group Affiliation: Powerkid Haters, Seven Deadly Sins, Bad Guys
Place of Birth: Orange City
Current Place of Residence: Orange City
First Appearance: Powerkid # 25, September 1984
Biography:
Ken Madison enlisted into the Marines in 1984 at the age of 18 immediately after graduation. After Boot Camp, he ended up being assigned to an installation in Greenfield, where he had the misfortune of walking in on Colonel Peterson murdering a man. Peterson arranged for Private Madison to be framed for the murder, but then offered his charges to be erased if he took part in an experiment. The experiment was part of Project: Franklin, which was a super-soldier program.
Madison was irradiated with some mysterious energy (which may have been of alien origin). The result was that Madison gained the ability to absorb power and energy, making him stronger and invulnerable. In some cases, he could even absorb super-powers, draining the super-powered being and being able to temporarily use those powers himself. Unfortunately, the more power Madison contained, the more his mind degraded to a savage state of being.
Madison broke free and began rampaging through Greenfield on his way back to Orange City. It was in Orange City where it took the combination of Powerkid, Zap, and Speed Demon to stop Krusher, as Madison was calling himself.
However, the Super-Trio didn't use their physical powers to stop him, as that was impossible. Any powers they used were just absorbed and used against them. Powerkid, Zap, and Speed Demon had to combine their mental powers to give Madison amnesia. The government, wishing to not be linked to this, left the amnesiac alone, and Madison got a job working as a janitor at Mahar High School, where Powerkid could keep an eye on him.
A few months later, however, Ken's memories were restored by Doctor Deadly, who was putting a team together of Powerkid's greatest foes, in a plot to destroy Powerkid. The team was defeated, and Madison's mental blocks were put back in place.
In 1991, the blocks wore off, and Powerman (formerly Powerkid), Zap, and Volt-Man attempted to stop Krusher again, now rampaging in the Nevada desert. The three knew that their power wasn't effective, and even hypnotism wouldn't work any longer. Scientific genius John Barstaman devised the only solution, by creating a portal to some unknown other dimension, in which the three heroes lured the crazed villain and trapped him in.
What the heroes didn't know was this unknown dimension was actually the dark dimension of Doctor Deadly. Deadly once again recruited Krusher for a new team to capture Powerman for him.
A year later, it appeared that Krusher had been killed by Powerman, after he and his former teammates completely destroyed Orange City, killing the millions of inhabitants. However, in 2001, it was revealed the Krusher had indeed survived, due to his power, and even though in 1998 Allorin Vonski had taken away his powers and memories, they came back over time.
But in 2001, Madison had somehow managed to control his power, and his sanity, and retired. A few years later, he had a daughter, whose mother died shortly after a very slow and painful death.
In 2009, Krusher was recruited by Michael Bossman to join a team of reformed villains called the Bad Guys to perform missions around the globe where governments are unable to.
Even though Bossman himself turned out to be less than reformed, the team continued on without him.
In the year 2019, Ken's daughter Olive Madison will have inherited her father's powers to become Krusher II, a founding member of the Power Police.
Comments:
Krusher was a character co-created by myself, Phil Sheridan, and Ken Madison (who is also the inspiration) in 1984 on the playground of Butterfield School.
Despite the fact that he was considered one of Powerkid's greatest foes, he only appeared in two story arcs in 1984 then only appeared briefly in cameo in scenes at Mahar where he was an amnesiac janitor. Occasionally Chris Kowalski would worry about what would happen if Madison's memories were restored.
And indeed in 1991 when I made a major revision of the Super Universe, one of the first things I did was see what would happen if his memories returned. But again he only appeared in three major story arcs from 1991 - 1992.
He resurfaced for one story arc in 2001 which was about Chris' class reunion, bringing back many characters from the high school era including Krusher, and showing that Orange City was being rebuilt.
Since 2009, Krusher has appeared monthly as a member of the Bad Guys.
His daughter Olive Madison was first introduced in 1991 in Justice League 2019 and again in Power Police 2020 the next year.
And Kenny has been very upset that I turned his villain into a good guy. All I can say is to be patient. The future isn't what it used to be. I have plans in the works. There are alternate realities and not all of them turned out the same way. Somewhere out there, there's a really, really, really scary version of Krusher whose story has yet to be told, but is coming soon.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr, Phil Sheridan, and Ken Maxwell
Real Name: Ken Madison
Alias: Mad Dog Madison (his high school nick name)
Current Occupation: Mercenary
Parents: Unnamed
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: Olive Madison
Group Affiliation: Powerkid Haters, Seven Deadly Sins, Bad Guys
Place of Birth: Orange City
Current Place of Residence: Orange City
First Appearance: Powerkid # 25, September 1984
Biography:
Ken Madison enlisted into the Marines in 1984 at the age of 18 immediately after graduation. After Boot Camp, he ended up being assigned to an installation in Greenfield, where he had the misfortune of walking in on Colonel Peterson murdering a man. Peterson arranged for Private Madison to be framed for the murder, but then offered his charges to be erased if he took part in an experiment. The experiment was part of Project: Franklin, which was a super-soldier program.
Madison was irradiated with some mysterious energy (which may have been of alien origin). The result was that Madison gained the ability to absorb power and energy, making him stronger and invulnerable. In some cases, he could even absorb super-powers, draining the super-powered being and being able to temporarily use those powers himself. Unfortunately, the more power Madison contained, the more his mind degraded to a savage state of being.
Madison broke free and began rampaging through Greenfield on his way back to Orange City. It was in Orange City where it took the combination of Powerkid, Zap, and Speed Demon to stop Krusher, as Madison was calling himself.
However, the Super-Trio didn't use their physical powers to stop him, as that was impossible. Any powers they used were just absorbed and used against them. Powerkid, Zap, and Speed Demon had to combine their mental powers to give Madison amnesia. The government, wishing to not be linked to this, left the amnesiac alone, and Madison got a job working as a janitor at Mahar High School, where Powerkid could keep an eye on him.
A few months later, however, Ken's memories were restored by Doctor Deadly, who was putting a team together of Powerkid's greatest foes, in a plot to destroy Powerkid. The team was defeated, and Madison's mental blocks were put back in place.
In 1991, the blocks wore off, and Powerman (formerly Powerkid), Zap, and Volt-Man attempted to stop Krusher again, now rampaging in the Nevada desert. The three knew that their power wasn't effective, and even hypnotism wouldn't work any longer. Scientific genius John Barstaman devised the only solution, by creating a portal to some unknown other dimension, in which the three heroes lured the crazed villain and trapped him in.
What the heroes didn't know was this unknown dimension was actually the dark dimension of Doctor Deadly. Deadly once again recruited Krusher for a new team to capture Powerman for him.
A year later, it appeared that Krusher had been killed by Powerman, after he and his former teammates completely destroyed Orange City, killing the millions of inhabitants. However, in 2001, it was revealed the Krusher had indeed survived, due to his power, and even though in 1998 Allorin Vonski had taken away his powers and memories, they came back over time.
But in 2001, Madison had somehow managed to control his power, and his sanity, and retired. A few years later, he had a daughter, whose mother died shortly after a very slow and painful death.
In 2009, Krusher was recruited by Michael Bossman to join a team of reformed villains called the Bad Guys to perform missions around the globe where governments are unable to.
Even though Bossman himself turned out to be less than reformed, the team continued on without him.
In the year 2019, Ken's daughter Olive Madison will have inherited her father's powers to become Krusher II, a founding member of the Power Police.
Comments:
Krusher was a character co-created by myself, Phil Sheridan, and Ken Madison (who is also the inspiration) in 1984 on the playground of Butterfield School.
Despite the fact that he was considered one of Powerkid's greatest foes, he only appeared in two story arcs in 1984 then only appeared briefly in cameo in scenes at Mahar where he was an amnesiac janitor. Occasionally Chris Kowalski would worry about what would happen if Madison's memories were restored.
And indeed in 1991 when I made a major revision of the Super Universe, one of the first things I did was see what would happen if his memories returned. But again he only appeared in three major story arcs from 1991 - 1992.
He resurfaced for one story arc in 2001 which was about Chris' class reunion, bringing back many characters from the high school era including Krusher, and showing that Orange City was being rebuilt.
Since 2009, Krusher has appeared monthly as a member of the Bad Guys.
His daughter Olive Madison was first introduced in 1991 in Justice League 2019 and again in Power Police 2020 the next year.
And Kenny has been very upset that I turned his villain into a good guy. All I can say is to be patient. The future isn't what it used to be. I have plans in the works. There are alternate realities and not all of them turned out the same way. Somewhere out there, there's a really, really, really scary version of Krusher whose story has yet to be told, but is coming soon.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Superman I
Superman I
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Kal-L
Alias: Clark Kent
Current Occupation: Adventurer
Parents: Jor-L and Lora (natural parents, deceased); Ebin and Sarah Clark Kent (adoptive parents, deceased)
Siblings: None
Spouse: Lois Lane Kent (deceased)
Children: Joel Kent
Group Affiliation: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Justice Society of America, All-Star Squadron, Club of Heroes
Place of Birth: Krypton
Current Place of Residence: A space craft which serves as a mobile "Fortress of Solitude"
First Appearance: Action Comics # 1, June 1938
Biography:
When he was just an infant, Kal-L was rocketed to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton by his scientist father Jor-L. On Earth, Kal-L grew was adopted by the Kents and named Clark. As he grew older, he found that he had powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men.
His parents asked that he keep his powers a secret. As a teen, Clark was visited by a boy from the future called Superboy, who helped train him to use his powers.
After his parents died, he moved to Metropolis, where he became a reporter, pretending to be a weak and timid coward while operating secretly as the urban legend that would be dubbed by fellow reporter Lois Lane as "the Superman".
Clark did remain a secret to the world, though his appearances did get enough attention for rumors to abound of his existence and even for comics, movies, radio dramas and the like to be made based on these stories. The government became aware of "the Superman" in reality and recruited him to join three different top secret teams. First he served in the 1930s with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Then became a reserve member of the Justice Society of America, and finally during World War II he was recruited to join the All-Star Squadron.
After the war, Clark went into semi-retirement. After a spell by the evil Wizard made him forget he was Superman, he grew braver as Clark, and proposed to Lois. It was her then that learned his secret and helped him restore his memory.
The couple married and had a son named Joel. Because Lex Luthor exposed Lois to gold kryptonite while she was pregnant, her child was born with no super-powers, something he came to resent once he learned his father was Superman. Eventually he came to terms with this.
Though Clark was retired, occasionally he would resurface to aid other heroes such as Spider-Man, or to take on threats like the Hulk.
He eventually found that he was needed less and less as his legacy was being continued.
A Daxamite named Mon-El came to Earth and became Superman II. Clark's cousin Kara Zor-L came to Earth and began operating as Power Girl.
Then, in 1982, super-heroes were revealed to the world with the debut of Powerkid, which caused a "Super Explosion". This plus the loss of Lois to cancer were the catalysts that caused Clark to make the decision to leave Earth behind and seek adventure in the stars.
Not long after Clark's departure, his grandson Sam took on the role as the third Superman, though Sam would only operate a few years before being killed by Doomsday.
In the mid 21st century, a Superman will appear as a member of Justice League Unlimited. It could be that this is Mon-El, but very likely it is confirmation of rumors that following Sam's death, a clone had been created.
Comments:
There are three versions of Superman in the Wronskiverse which can be confusing since they contradict each other, unless someone like me can be creative enough.
The first Superman to be brought in was the Super Friends version, via the 1984 He-Man/Super Friends crossover in Super-Heroes that featured the Sword of Power. Thus all his Super Friends and 1960s animated stories were in.
Then following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the post-crisis DCU was incorporated into the Wronskiverse, which brought that Superman in, up until December 1992 when I phased them out.
Then in 2004, I incorporated Win Scott Eckert's Crossover Chronology, which brought in the golden age Superman.
So with the golden age Superman, the canon is all stories published up to December 1945, and post-golden age stories that occur in the 1930s and 1940s up to the end of the war. And then also any appearances in Crossovers. This of course also includes his appearances in Powerman and Mystery Men.
The silver age version (Mon-El/Bob Kent) is the New Adventures of Superman and all incarnations of Super Friends.
Then the modern version (Sam Kent) is all post-crisis stories published from Man of Steel to Death of Superman.
Note that in the Wronskiverse, the first two Supermen operated in secret, and the third was actually considered a second stringer, as Powerman had the honor of being considered Earth's primary protector. (This is a concept my son laughs at.) From 1979 to 1985, many of the stories that were in DC attributed to Superman actually happened to Super-Bob/Powerkid instead.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Kal-L
Alias: Clark Kent
Current Occupation: Adventurer
Parents: Jor-L and Lora (natural parents, deceased); Ebin and Sarah Clark Kent (adoptive parents, deceased)
Siblings: None
Spouse: Lois Lane Kent (deceased)
Children: Joel Kent
Group Affiliation: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Justice Society of America, All-Star Squadron, Club of Heroes
Place of Birth: Krypton
Current Place of Residence: A space craft which serves as a mobile "Fortress of Solitude"
First Appearance: Action Comics # 1, June 1938
Biography:
When he was just an infant, Kal-L was rocketed to Earth from the doomed planet Krypton by his scientist father Jor-L. On Earth, Kal-L grew was adopted by the Kents and named Clark. As he grew older, he found that he had powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men.
His parents asked that he keep his powers a secret. As a teen, Clark was visited by a boy from the future called Superboy, who helped train him to use his powers.
After his parents died, he moved to Metropolis, where he became a reporter, pretending to be a weak and timid coward while operating secretly as the urban legend that would be dubbed by fellow reporter Lois Lane as "the Superman".
Clark did remain a secret to the world, though his appearances did get enough attention for rumors to abound of his existence and even for comics, movies, radio dramas and the like to be made based on these stories. The government became aware of "the Superman" in reality and recruited him to join three different top secret teams. First he served in the 1930s with the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Then became a reserve member of the Justice Society of America, and finally during World War II he was recruited to join the All-Star Squadron.
After the war, Clark went into semi-retirement. After a spell by the evil Wizard made him forget he was Superman, he grew braver as Clark, and proposed to Lois. It was her then that learned his secret and helped him restore his memory.
The couple married and had a son named Joel. Because Lex Luthor exposed Lois to gold kryptonite while she was pregnant, her child was born with no super-powers, something he came to resent once he learned his father was Superman. Eventually he came to terms with this.
Though Clark was retired, occasionally he would resurface to aid other heroes such as Spider-Man, or to take on threats like the Hulk.
He eventually found that he was needed less and less as his legacy was being continued.
A Daxamite named Mon-El came to Earth and became Superman II. Clark's cousin Kara Zor-L came to Earth and began operating as Power Girl.
Then, in 1982, super-heroes were revealed to the world with the debut of Powerkid, which caused a "Super Explosion". This plus the loss of Lois to cancer were the catalysts that caused Clark to make the decision to leave Earth behind and seek adventure in the stars.
Not long after Clark's departure, his grandson Sam took on the role as the third Superman, though Sam would only operate a few years before being killed by Doomsday.
In the mid 21st century, a Superman will appear as a member of Justice League Unlimited. It could be that this is Mon-El, but very likely it is confirmation of rumors that following Sam's death, a clone had been created.
Comments:
There are three versions of Superman in the Wronskiverse which can be confusing since they contradict each other, unless someone like me can be creative enough.
The first Superman to be brought in was the Super Friends version, via the 1984 He-Man/Super Friends crossover in Super-Heroes that featured the Sword of Power. Thus all his Super Friends and 1960s animated stories were in.
Then following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the post-crisis DCU was incorporated into the Wronskiverse, which brought that Superman in, up until December 1992 when I phased them out.
Then in 2004, I incorporated Win Scott Eckert's Crossover Chronology, which brought in the golden age Superman.
So with the golden age Superman, the canon is all stories published up to December 1945, and post-golden age stories that occur in the 1930s and 1940s up to the end of the war. And then also any appearances in Crossovers. This of course also includes his appearances in Powerman and Mystery Men.
The silver age version (Mon-El/Bob Kent) is the New Adventures of Superman and all incarnations of Super Friends.
Then the modern version (Sam Kent) is all post-crisis stories published from Man of Steel to Death of Superman.
Note that in the Wronskiverse, the first two Supermen operated in secret, and the third was actually considered a second stringer, as Powerman had the honor of being considered Earth's primary protector. (This is a concept my son laughs at.) From 1979 to 1985, many of the stories that were in DC attributed to Superman actually happened to Super-Bob/Powerkid instead.
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