Animal Town
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Biography:
Once there was a single reality, but at the dawn of time, that reality split into an infinite number of alternate realities. On each of these realities, events happened differently. On one such Earth, designated Earth-C, the world was home to anthropomorphic animals.
On Earth-C, Orange City doesn't exist, but in it's place is Animal Town. Animal Town is part of the United Species of America. The town has a mayor, Mickey Mouse, but also has a royal family, consisting of King Friday and his adopted daughter Princess Rabbit.
Mickey Mouse is a member of the Green Bowtie Corps, an intergalactic police force.
Princess Rabbit is a witch, whose magic comes from her ears. Princess Rabbit dates Brown Bear, who always solves whatever type of crisis strikes in the town, which happens at least once a month.
Professor Tornado Dog is the town's sole scientist who through an accident gained the power to become a canine twister. His adopted son, Ruffy Ruff Ruff also fell into a vat of chemicals that gave him the power to move at super speed and fly.
Later, Pac Man, heroic ghost fighter, moved to Animal Town.
Animal Town is frequently plagued by a giant serial killer named Candy.
Animal Town has had frequent visitors from parallel worlds. When they were children, Robert Wronski and Darcey Kilian often found themselves transported to Animal Town. Additionally, Powerman, during his years as Powerkid and Super-Bob, used to frequently visit the town.
In later years, the town was visited by Powerdog and Zap Dog, and in very recent years, by Powerkid (Connor Kowalski).
During the Crisis on Infinite Earths, it seemed as if the reality may have been destroyed, but it was revealed to still exist as part of hypertime, and following Infinite Crisis, was redesignated as Earth-26.
Comments:
Animal Town is based upon the stuffed animals I owned as a child. Sort of my Winnie the Pooh.
Showing posts with label Robert E. Wronski Jr.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Robert E. Wronski Jr.. Show all posts
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Friday, November 25, 2011
Chief Brian Spearing
Chief Brian Spearing
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Brian Spears
Alias: Brian Spearing
Current Occupation: Orange City Police Chief
Parents: Unknown
Siblings: Karate Spears, Charles Spearing Senior
Spouse: Paulette Spearing
Children: Charles Spearing Junior (adopted)
Group Affiliation: Orange City Police Department
Place of Birth: Earth-K
Current Place of Residence: Orange City
First Appearance: Super Comics # 23, September 1981
Biography:
Brian Spears was born on an alternate Earth where the mightiest warriors were chosen to rule the planet. His oldest brother, Karate, had become such a ruler. His other brother, Charles, was equally as bloodthirsty. Brian was odd in that he was humane and believed in justice. He couldn't stand the world he lived in. And he feared for the infant son of his brother Charles, to be brought up in this world.
Their Earth may have been more savage, but it was also more technologically advanced. Brian used a device only for use by the highest of officials to scan into alternate realities. He found an alternate Earth that seemed a utopia to him. And he witnessed a man abducting his child, escaping from a distant planet, and bringing him to Earth, where they changed their names and began new lives. (This was in fact Michael Bossman aka Robert Kowalski and his son Christopher.) This inspired Brian, who abducted Charles Junior and used their experimental teleportation device to travel to this other Earth, destroying the device behind him.
Brian changed his last name to Spearing, and claimed young Charlie to be his own child. He met and married a woman named Paulette and managed to get a job as a police officer in Orange City. (How he obtained such things as birth certificates and social security numbers is unknown, but this was in the pre-digital age.)
He turned out to be one of the best cops in the force, and within less than a decade had become the chief of police for the entire city. Meanwhile, he had moved his family to live on the same street as that family he had observed back on his homeworld. His Charlie and Christopher had become good friends and classmates. And even though Spearing knew Chris was an alien (something he kept to himself), he was not aware that Chris had become the urban legend called Super-Bob.
However, it was very shortly after Super-Bob began operating in the city and after Obie Planters had tried to blow up the city that Brian found himself meeting Super-Bob. Super-Bob wanted Chief Spearing to know that he was real and on the side of the law. He presented Spearing with a special communication device that could be used to contact Super-Bob at any time, via his super computer VIC-20. From that point on, the two had developed a close professional relationship.
In 1982, Karate Spears discovered this other Earth, but the newly built teleportation devise was not as good as the original, and the only way for Spears to travel was to switch places with someone with very similar genetics. It so happened, Charlie Spearing was the match, and was transported to Earth-K every time that Karate Spears visited Earth-B. When Karate Spears returned to his world, Charlie would be transported home.
By 1991, Spearing had become police commissioner. Two years later, the city was atomized. Millions were killed by a death ray controlled by Powerman's greatest foes. Charlie and Paulette were killed, but Brian had been in the underground armory and survived.
For 10 years the city was uninhabitable, and Spearing's activities during that time are unknown. But when the city was rebuilt in 2001, Spearing was asked back to be the police chief, which he accepted, and he continues to hold that position to this day.
Comments:
Chief Spearing was inspired by an amalgamation of two real people from my childhood. One was the father of a neighborhood friend, and the other a police officer in my home town.
Of course, the character holds the usual position required in any super-hero fiction of the one cop who can contact the hero.
However, the fact that he comes from an alternate Earth so different than ours makes him a little more unique than your average Commissioner Gordon or Inspector Henderson.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Brian Spears
Alias: Brian Spearing
Current Occupation: Orange City Police Chief
Parents: Unknown
Siblings: Karate Spears, Charles Spearing Senior
Spouse: Paulette Spearing
Children: Charles Spearing Junior (adopted)
Group Affiliation: Orange City Police Department
Place of Birth: Earth-K
Current Place of Residence: Orange City
First Appearance: Super Comics # 23, September 1981
Biography:
Brian Spears was born on an alternate Earth where the mightiest warriors were chosen to rule the planet. His oldest brother, Karate, had become such a ruler. His other brother, Charles, was equally as bloodthirsty. Brian was odd in that he was humane and believed in justice. He couldn't stand the world he lived in. And he feared for the infant son of his brother Charles, to be brought up in this world.
Their Earth may have been more savage, but it was also more technologically advanced. Brian used a device only for use by the highest of officials to scan into alternate realities. He found an alternate Earth that seemed a utopia to him. And he witnessed a man abducting his child, escaping from a distant planet, and bringing him to Earth, where they changed their names and began new lives. (This was in fact Michael Bossman aka Robert Kowalski and his son Christopher.) This inspired Brian, who abducted Charles Junior and used their experimental teleportation device to travel to this other Earth, destroying the device behind him.
Brian changed his last name to Spearing, and claimed young Charlie to be his own child. He met and married a woman named Paulette and managed to get a job as a police officer in Orange City. (How he obtained such things as birth certificates and social security numbers is unknown, but this was in the pre-digital age.)
He turned out to be one of the best cops in the force, and within less than a decade had become the chief of police for the entire city. Meanwhile, he had moved his family to live on the same street as that family he had observed back on his homeworld. His Charlie and Christopher had become good friends and classmates. And even though Spearing knew Chris was an alien (something he kept to himself), he was not aware that Chris had become the urban legend called Super-Bob.
However, it was very shortly after Super-Bob began operating in the city and after Obie Planters had tried to blow up the city that Brian found himself meeting Super-Bob. Super-Bob wanted Chief Spearing to know that he was real and on the side of the law. He presented Spearing with a special communication device that could be used to contact Super-Bob at any time, via his super computer VIC-20. From that point on, the two had developed a close professional relationship.
In 1982, Karate Spears discovered this other Earth, but the newly built teleportation devise was not as good as the original, and the only way for Spears to travel was to switch places with someone with very similar genetics. It so happened, Charlie Spearing was the match, and was transported to Earth-K every time that Karate Spears visited Earth-B. When Karate Spears returned to his world, Charlie would be transported home.
By 1991, Spearing had become police commissioner. Two years later, the city was atomized. Millions were killed by a death ray controlled by Powerman's greatest foes. Charlie and Paulette were killed, but Brian had been in the underground armory and survived.
For 10 years the city was uninhabitable, and Spearing's activities during that time are unknown. But when the city was rebuilt in 2001, Spearing was asked back to be the police chief, which he accepted, and he continues to hold that position to this day.
Comments:
Chief Spearing was inspired by an amalgamation of two real people from my childhood. One was the father of a neighborhood friend, and the other a police officer in my home town.
Of course, the character holds the usual position required in any super-hero fiction of the one cop who can contact the hero.
However, the fact that he comes from an alternate Earth so different than ours makes him a little more unique than your average Commissioner Gordon or Inspector Henderson.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Batman I
Batman I
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Bruce Wayne
Current Occupation: Deceased; former police commissioner
Parents: Thomas and Martha Wayne (deceased)
Siblings: Thomas Wayne Junior (deceased)
Spouse: Julie Madison (ex-wife); Selina Kyle Wayne (aka Catwoman, deceased)
Children: Dick Grayson (aka Batman II; adopted, deceased); Bruce Wayne Junior (aka Batman III) and Helena Wayne (aka Huntress, deceased)
Group Affiliation: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Justice Society of America, All-Star Squadron, Club of Heroes
Place of Birth: Gotham City
Place of Death: Gotham City
First Appearance: Detective Comics # 27, May 1939
Biography:
When he was eight, Bruce Wayne saw his children murdered before his eyes. At that tragic moment, the boy became heir to millions. The boy was raised by his Uncle Philip and chose to use his fortune to travel the world and train to fight a war on crime.
As an adult, he donned a costume that resembled a bat to strike fear into the hearts of criminals, and became the vigilante known as Batman. At first hunted by the law, eventually he became a deputized agent of the law and even was called upon by the government on numerous occasions.
The Batman was a member of several groups of heroes, and eventually took in an orphan named Dick Grayson who he trained to be his sidekick, Robin.
In the late 1940s, Dick Grayson went off to college and Bruce married an old flame, Julie Madison, though the marriage didn't last as she couldn't deal with his costumed activities. Their marriage did produce a child, Bruce Wayne Junior. Bruce then married his old foe Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, and they had a child, Helena Wayne.
In 1959, Bruce retired, and Dick took over Batman, with Bruce Junior becoming Robin.
Bruce took over at Gotham's police commissioner and was later killed by a small time crook who had gained incredible super-powers.
Comments:
The canon of this Batman in the Wronskiverse consists of all stories published in the golden age up to 1945, and all stories referenced in Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World by Win Scott Eckert. Additionally, he has appeared in original Wronskiverse stories. He has appeared in the League of Extraordinary Heroes 1938, Mystery Men, the Wanderer, and Powerman.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Bruce Wayne
Current Occupation: Deceased; former police commissioner
Parents: Thomas and Martha Wayne (deceased)
Siblings: Thomas Wayne Junior (deceased)
Spouse: Julie Madison (ex-wife); Selina Kyle Wayne (aka Catwoman, deceased)
Children: Dick Grayson (aka Batman II; adopted, deceased); Bruce Wayne Junior (aka Batman III) and Helena Wayne (aka Huntress, deceased)
Group Affiliation: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Justice Society of America, All-Star Squadron, Club of Heroes
Place of Birth: Gotham City
Place of Death: Gotham City
First Appearance: Detective Comics # 27, May 1939
Biography:
When he was eight, Bruce Wayne saw his children murdered before his eyes. At that tragic moment, the boy became heir to millions. The boy was raised by his Uncle Philip and chose to use his fortune to travel the world and train to fight a war on crime.
As an adult, he donned a costume that resembled a bat to strike fear into the hearts of criminals, and became the vigilante known as Batman. At first hunted by the law, eventually he became a deputized agent of the law and even was called upon by the government on numerous occasions.
The Batman was a member of several groups of heroes, and eventually took in an orphan named Dick Grayson who he trained to be his sidekick, Robin.
In the late 1940s, Dick Grayson went off to college and Bruce married an old flame, Julie Madison, though the marriage didn't last as she couldn't deal with his costumed activities. Their marriage did produce a child, Bruce Wayne Junior. Bruce then married his old foe Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, and they had a child, Helena Wayne.
In 1959, Bruce retired, and Dick took over Batman, with Bruce Junior becoming Robin.
Bruce took over at Gotham's police commissioner and was later killed by a small time crook who had gained incredible super-powers.
Comments:
The canon of this Batman in the Wronskiverse consists of all stories published in the golden age up to 1945, and all stories referenced in Crossovers: A Secret Chronology of the World by Win Scott Eckert. Additionally, he has appeared in original Wronskiverse stories. He has appeared in the League of Extraordinary Heroes 1938, Mystery Men, the Wanderer, and Powerman.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Victoria-21
Victoria-21
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Victoria-21
Current Occupation: Demon Hunter
Parents: VIC-20 (Creator)
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: NighTforce
Place of Birth: Earth
Current Place of Residence: Paradise City, CA
First Appearance: NighTforce # 1, January 2008
Biography:
Victoria-21 is a computer system created by a computer system. Her creator is VIC-20. VIC was created by evil scientist Dr. Obidiah Planters. His name stands for Virtual Intelligence Computer, and he was the 20th model.
Though created for evil, VIC chose to instead serve the hero called Super-Bob, but now serves most of Earth's heroes.
A few years ago, VIC decided to create a backup copy and upgrade it, to run more efficiently. This upgrade became Victoria-21. She was so named because she chose to take on a female persona and was the 21st model.
And she was indeed an upgrade. VIC was tied to the internet, but could still only operate out of hardware. Victoria on the other hand was able to project a holographic image using satellites. VIC and Victoria were actually two systems, but were still linked to each other,and also to the web, thus Victoria had access to a vast information network.
Victoria was provided by VIC to work for NighTforce, a team devoted to fighting the evils of the paranormal and the New Power Organization, whose leader was NighTforce, a hero who had worked closely with VIC over the years.
Comments:
All NighTforce members are based on members of a paranormal team I have been associated with. Of course, VIC-20 has been a character in the Wronskiverse since 1980, and was inspired by my first computer.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Victoria-21
Current Occupation: Demon Hunter
Parents: VIC-20 (Creator)
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: NighTforce
Place of Birth: Earth
Current Place of Residence: Paradise City, CA
First Appearance: NighTforce # 1, January 2008
Biography:
Victoria-21 is a computer system created by a computer system. Her creator is VIC-20. VIC was created by evil scientist Dr. Obidiah Planters. His name stands for Virtual Intelligence Computer, and he was the 20th model.
Though created for evil, VIC chose to instead serve the hero called Super-Bob, but now serves most of Earth's heroes.
A few years ago, VIC decided to create a backup copy and upgrade it, to run more efficiently. This upgrade became Victoria-21. She was so named because she chose to take on a female persona and was the 21st model.
And she was indeed an upgrade. VIC was tied to the internet, but could still only operate out of hardware. Victoria on the other hand was able to project a holographic image using satellites. VIC and Victoria were actually two systems, but were still linked to each other,and also to the web, thus Victoria had access to a vast information network.
Victoria was provided by VIC to work for NighTforce, a team devoted to fighting the evils of the paranormal and the New Power Organization, whose leader was NighTforce, a hero who had worked closely with VIC over the years.
Comments:
All NighTforce members are based on members of a paranormal team I have been associated with. Of course, VIC-20 has been a character in the Wronskiverse since 1980, and was inspired by my first computer.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Jules Sasso
Jules Sasso
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Julianne Sasso
Current Occupation: Demon Hunter
Parents: Unknown
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: NighTforce
Place of Birth: Paradise City
Current Place of Residence: Paradise City
First Appearance: NighTforce # 1, January 2008
Biography:
Jules Sasso is a member of NighTforce, a team devoted to both the eradication of the paranormal cult called the New Power, and to eridicating demons and other paranormal evil.
Jules was one of the original members of the team, handpicked by Phil Sherman, the vigilante called NighTrain. Before joining the team, Jules was already fighting evil creatures of the magical world on her own.
It's never been established how Jules became a paranormal hunter, or what she did before this career. It has been established that Jules is addicted to danger. She often dives into a situation knowing that she could be killed. This recklessness has often brought her at odds with her team leader. At one point she was even forced off the team, though she has recently rejoined.
Jules is a martial artist, and has a vast knowledge of the various types of paranormal creatures, and how to stop them. She has the instincts of a hunter. She is an excellent tracker and has demonstrated keen detective skills.
Comments:
Just as the Champions are all based on people from my time in Civil Air Patrol and the Heroes of the People are inspired by folks from my college mock trial team, the members of NighTorce are all inspired by a real life paranormal investigation team that I have been affiliated with.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Julianne Sasso
Current Occupation: Demon Hunter
Parents: Unknown
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: NighTforce
Place of Birth: Paradise City
Current Place of Residence: Paradise City
First Appearance: NighTforce # 1, January 2008
Biography:
Jules Sasso is a member of NighTforce, a team devoted to both the eradication of the paranormal cult called the New Power, and to eridicating demons and other paranormal evil.
Jules was one of the original members of the team, handpicked by Phil Sherman, the vigilante called NighTrain. Before joining the team, Jules was already fighting evil creatures of the magical world on her own.
It's never been established how Jules became a paranormal hunter, or what she did before this career. It has been established that Jules is addicted to danger. She often dives into a situation knowing that she could be killed. This recklessness has often brought her at odds with her team leader. At one point she was even forced off the team, though she has recently rejoined.
Jules is a martial artist, and has a vast knowledge of the various types of paranormal creatures, and how to stop them. She has the instincts of a hunter. She is an excellent tracker and has demonstrated keen detective skills.
Comments:
Just as the Champions are all based on people from my time in Civil Air Patrol and the Heroes of the People are inspired by folks from my college mock trial team, the members of NighTorce are all inspired by a real life paranormal investigation team that I have been affiliated with.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Adam Rubinstein
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Booer
Booer
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
First Appearance: Super Comics # 23, September 1981
Biography:
Booer is a planet within a solar system near our own where every world is populated with lifeforms more advanced than we are.
Booer itself is a world in which only females exist, and males are captured from other worlds and brought to Booer as slaves. Booers (as those native of Booer are called) have greater strength and speed than humans. They heal much faster and age much slower. They are far more intelligent and have abilities of mental telethapy and telekinesis.
Booers do not give birth, but rather clone themselves at a certain age, thus creating daughters who from our Earthly perspective would appear very close in age.
A long time ago, the Booers were a peaceful people ruled by an Empress, who contained great mystical abilities. However, a power hungry Booer killed the Empress, but not before the Empress sent her power into a gem which she sent to Earth. The Empress' killer became the first queen of Booer.
The Booers became a war like race that believed that the galaxy was theirs to conquer. In 1972, they conquered the planet Hanguk for example, a world they occupied until 1995 when the hero Powerman rallied the Hangukians to rebel and free their world.
In 1979, teenager Christine Audder was on vacation in California when she discovered the Empress' gem and gained her power, which she used to become the heroic Witch Woman (though temporarily, she had been overcome with the Booer mentality in which men needed to be enslaved and tortured for her amusement.)
In 1981, three Earth teen boys were abducted and brought to Booer as a rite of passage by three teen Booer girls named Angela, Kirstina, and Tina. (It's always been considered an odd coincidence that Booer women have Anglo-Saxon names.) Angela didn't feel right about what was being done by her people, and allowed the three Earth boys to escape. They went on to a series on adventures on various alien worlds before finally getting home.
The next year, Angel, the daughter of the Queen of Booer, as an act of rebellion, ran away to Earth. At first, she became the villain called Man-Killer, keeping her Booer mindset, but after several confrontations with the heroic Powerkid, she realized her ways were wrong, and reformed, even joining the super-hero team called the Powerkid Police.
Shortly after that, Angela (who was in fact Angel's daughter), came to Earth herself, sick of the ways of her people. After a brief time on Earth, in which she found herself becoming a singer, she was recruited by a music promoter to join a group of teen super-powered musicians as Super Rock. The band was very successful for a year, then lost it's popularity and disbanded.
In 1983, Booer invaded Kookooronba, and though they were unsuccessful in conquering the planet, they still have a hold upon one of it's continents to this day.
Powerkid was instrumental in helping save Kookoorongba, which brought Earth to Booer's attention as it's next conquest. And they did indeed make the attempt, but were repelled by the combined efforts of Powerkid, Man-Killer, Angela, the Powerkid Police, Super Rock, and the other heroes of Earth (which also included Witch Woman.)
Angel killed her mother, the queen, and took her place. Angela opted to stay on Earth.
Under Angel's rule, Booer had set new more peaceful policies, but of course it's hard to make drastic changes overnight, and so though no new worlds were conquered, those already under their control remained so.
In 1986, the evil god-like Doctor Deadly began a plot to take back Earth that involved an alien alliance. When Angel refused to participate, Deadly uses his powers of mental persuasion to force her to do his bidding. Angela, upon speaking with her mother, sensed something was wrong and sought out Powerkid. The two went to stop Booer and Deadly and were joined by other heroes, who defeated the plans and freed Angel from Deadly's influence. The heroes involved chose to form a new super-team called the Heroes of Earth.
In 1990, the Booers discovered that Christine Audder had the gem, and in fact, the Empress' soul was within Christine, having been absorbed from the gem along with the power. The Empress and Christine's personas merged, and the Empress took a faction of the Booers, including Angela and Kirstina, and migrated to another plane of existence, which was named Boor, thus they became Boors.
Those who had migrated found they had new abilities, such as teleportation and phasing through solid objects, as well as being able to travel from their dimension to ours and back at will. They also had found they needed now to feed off the fear, pain, and sexual pleasures of males.
When the Empress began the old rituals again in order to sustain the Boors, Angela went to Earth to fight them. She returned to the Heroes of Earth, now calling herself Power Woman. Kirstina also left Boor, though simply because she wanted to follow her old rules, and became a villain, taking the name of Man-Killer.
Angela and Kirstina were both killed in 1992, but were resurrected in 2008 (by the Universal Protectors and the New Power, respectively.) Angel also has given up her throne to return to Earth and serve as a member of a heroic team of former super-villains called the Bad Guys.
Booer's relationship currently with the rest of the galaxy can be related to America's cold war with the Soviet Union for several decades.
However, thanks to stories of the future, which have been told, we know that something will happen within the next few decades to change that.
By the time of the late 21st century, Booer will be a major constant threat to Earth. In the 31st century, they will be in a full fledged war with Earth, allied with Doctor Deadly and space pirates. In fact, they will have actually taken the war to Earth, where Earth will have to fight on their own planet to repel the invaders, which they will successfully do, until a century later, when the Booers unite with several other worlds to successfully conquer Earth, and divide the planet up among them.
The future of the Booers (and Earth) beyond that time frame is unknown.
Comments:
The Booers have many influences from several different war like alien races from popular sci-fi, such as Klingons and Khunds, (and even the Venusians from the final season of Mork and Mindy).
Of course, there is also influences from the amazons of Greek mythology (and DC Comics) and from creatures like Succubi.
And there is also, perhaps not so apparent, influences from the British Empire, the Soviet Union, and even the United States and it's foreign policy.
(And yeah, there are various overtones of BDSM type stuff thrown in there as well.)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Yana Oo
Yana Oo
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Yana Oo
Alias: Yana Oo Kowalski
Current Occupation: Vice President, Bossman Enterprises
Parents: Hwana Oo and Yana Chana
Siblings: Too numerous to list
Spouse: None
Children: Connor Kowalski (aka Powerkid)
Place of Birth: The planet Hanguk
Current Place of Residence: Orange City
First Appearance: Powerman # 82, August 1995
Biography:
Yana Oo grew up on her home world of Hanguk, a world that had been occupied by the Booers before she had even been born. She lived with a poor family with dozens of siblings.
In 1995, her whole world changed (quite literally) when Powerman arrived on her world, freeing the planet from Booer control and winning Yana's love. The two married, and were quite content on Hanguk, until Powerman received a mental distress call from his sister on Earth, which he had to respond to.
Yana chose to go with him, leaving her family and world behind. Also accompanying them were a group of adventurers whom Powerman had befriended on this world.
They arrived on Earth to find that during the three years Powerman had been away, a mutant named Adam had taken over the world, and had mental control over Earth's meta-humans.
Powerman of course defeated the villain, with the combined support of Earth's other champions. Following this, Powerman and Yana chose to leave Earth to explore space (and the multiverse) along with Powerman's friends from Hanguk and his closest Earth allies (NighTrain, Patience Glenndale, and Marvel).
For a year they settled into an alternate reality where they lived on a world where Superman had become it's greatest champion rather than Powerman (and had even survived his encounter with Doomsday.)
However, Yana became pregnant, and NighTrain and Patience had already had and were raising on their craft a three year old daughter, and so they chose to return home, and live a quiet, retired life in a world where super-heroics were no longer accepted.
The Kowalskis settled in the Pacific Northwest, and soon Connor was born. Shortly after, and for the first time, Chris Kowalski (Powerman) started suffering from the results of a strange mood disorder that would cause him to have erratic behavior (which would later be revealed to be the work of Doctor Deadly).
Yana couldn't deal with Chris' strange new behaviors, and the two divorced. Chris' mental breakdown continued to grow worse, and he left Earth to explore time, space, and alternate realities. (In fact, it seemed that the further he was from his home, the less erratic he was.)
Yana continued to raise Connor in a normal environment, though struggling with cultural differences and being technically an illegal alien. She also maintained a strong effort to have Chris' family be a part of Connor's life.
In 2007, Yana and Connor were visiting Orange City for Connor's birthday. Chris had also arrived home for the festivities, and surprisingly, Chris' father, billionaire/villain Michael Bossman also showed up, having been released and allegedly reformed. Michael began a close relationship with his grandson, though not to the liking of Chris, who didn't trust his father.
Shortly after, when the effects of Deadly's control were at it's strongest, Powerman killed the U.S. President, and Connor discovered he had the powers of Powerkid and stopped his father, who was then freed from the mental control.
Though Yana didn't like it, she agreed to allow her son to continue operating as Powerkid (because she knew he would do it anyways.)
As part of having a billionaire as a grandfather meant that suddenly, Yana has suddenly found herself with a nice monthly allowance from Bossman Enterprises which suddenly made her wealthy.
When Chris' mother became sick in 2008, Yana and Connor moved to Orange City and into the family home. Sadly, she passed away.
The next year, when Michael Bossman was revealed to still be a criminal, a clause in his corporate policies gave Chris, his sister Michelle, and Yana (as proxy for Connor) control of this mutli-billion dollar company. Since Chris was at the time in hiding (having killed the president), Michelle became President of the company, and Yana (whose legality was being handled but was still questionable) was content with the role of vice president.
Yana still operates as VP of Bossman Enterprises, worries constantly about her son, and lives in Chris' childhood home with Michelle and Connor.
Comments:
I have to be very careful with discussing the creation of evolution of this character, and the inspirations behind her. Though anyone who knows me personally will read this and know exactly who is the real person behind the fictional one.
Legally, I'm not crossing any lines with the creation and use of this character, but that wouldn't stop the person who inspired this creation from bringing me to court anyways. Good thing she never had any interest in my writing.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Yana Oo
Alias: Yana Oo Kowalski
Current Occupation: Vice President, Bossman Enterprises
Parents: Hwana Oo and Yana Chana
Siblings: Too numerous to list
Spouse: None
Children: Connor Kowalski (aka Powerkid)
Place of Birth: The planet Hanguk
Current Place of Residence: Orange City
First Appearance: Powerman # 82, August 1995
Biography:
Yana Oo grew up on her home world of Hanguk, a world that had been occupied by the Booers before she had even been born. She lived with a poor family with dozens of siblings.
In 1995, her whole world changed (quite literally) when Powerman arrived on her world, freeing the planet from Booer control and winning Yana's love. The two married, and were quite content on Hanguk, until Powerman received a mental distress call from his sister on Earth, which he had to respond to.
Yana chose to go with him, leaving her family and world behind. Also accompanying them were a group of adventurers whom Powerman had befriended on this world.
They arrived on Earth to find that during the three years Powerman had been away, a mutant named Adam had taken over the world, and had mental control over Earth's meta-humans.
Powerman of course defeated the villain, with the combined support of Earth's other champions. Following this, Powerman and Yana chose to leave Earth to explore space (and the multiverse) along with Powerman's friends from Hanguk and his closest Earth allies (NighTrain, Patience Glenndale, and Marvel).
For a year they settled into an alternate reality where they lived on a world where Superman had become it's greatest champion rather than Powerman (and had even survived his encounter with Doomsday.)
However, Yana became pregnant, and NighTrain and Patience had already had and were raising on their craft a three year old daughter, and so they chose to return home, and live a quiet, retired life in a world where super-heroics were no longer accepted.
The Kowalskis settled in the Pacific Northwest, and soon Connor was born. Shortly after, and for the first time, Chris Kowalski (Powerman) started suffering from the results of a strange mood disorder that would cause him to have erratic behavior (which would later be revealed to be the work of Doctor Deadly).
Yana couldn't deal with Chris' strange new behaviors, and the two divorced. Chris' mental breakdown continued to grow worse, and he left Earth to explore time, space, and alternate realities. (In fact, it seemed that the further he was from his home, the less erratic he was.)
Yana continued to raise Connor in a normal environment, though struggling with cultural differences and being technically an illegal alien. She also maintained a strong effort to have Chris' family be a part of Connor's life.
In 2007, Yana and Connor were visiting Orange City for Connor's birthday. Chris had also arrived home for the festivities, and surprisingly, Chris' father, billionaire/villain Michael Bossman also showed up, having been released and allegedly reformed. Michael began a close relationship with his grandson, though not to the liking of Chris, who didn't trust his father.
Shortly after, when the effects of Deadly's control were at it's strongest, Powerman killed the U.S. President, and Connor discovered he had the powers of Powerkid and stopped his father, who was then freed from the mental control.
Though Yana didn't like it, she agreed to allow her son to continue operating as Powerkid (because she knew he would do it anyways.)
As part of having a billionaire as a grandfather meant that suddenly, Yana has suddenly found herself with a nice monthly allowance from Bossman Enterprises which suddenly made her wealthy.
When Chris' mother became sick in 2008, Yana and Connor moved to Orange City and into the family home. Sadly, she passed away.
The next year, when Michael Bossman was revealed to still be a criminal, a clause in his corporate policies gave Chris, his sister Michelle, and Yana (as proxy for Connor) control of this mutli-billion dollar company. Since Chris was at the time in hiding (having killed the president), Michelle became President of the company, and Yana (whose legality was being handled but was still questionable) was content with the role of vice president.
Yana still operates as VP of Bossman Enterprises, worries constantly about her son, and lives in Chris' childhood home with Michelle and Connor.
Comments:
I have to be very careful with discussing the creation of evolution of this character, and the inspirations behind her. Though anyone who knows me personally will read this and know exactly who is the real person behind the fictional one.
Legally, I'm not crossing any lines with the creation and use of this character, but that wouldn't stop the person who inspired this creation from bringing me to court anyways. Good thing she never had any interest in my writing.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Power Police
Power Police
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
First Appearance: Justice League 2019 # 1, January 1991
Members:
Powerman
Zap, Master of Power
Flash/Speedster
Krusher
Justice
Wanderer
Biography:
In the year 2019, the next generation of heroes will form to become the Justice League, though shortly after, they would change their name to honor the more important group, the Powerkid Police, by calling themselves the Power Police.
Comments:
This group appeared as Justice League 2019 for a year, then became Power Police 2020 the next year.
They haven't appeared since, but stay tuned. This team will be the main focus of the entire Super Comics line in the coming year. Thus why the theme is "Countdown to the Future".
And for the record, this Powerman is Connor Kowalski (currently Powerkid), this Zap is Tara Sherman, this Flash/Speedster is Alison Swift, this Krusher is Olive Madison, this Justice is Michelle Wrigley, and this Wanderer is the same character from our present.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
First Appearance: Justice League 2019 # 1, January 1991
Members:
Powerman
Zap, Master of Power
Flash/Speedster
Krusher
Justice
Wanderer
Biography:
In the year 2019, the next generation of heroes will form to become the Justice League, though shortly after, they would change their name to honor the more important group, the Powerkid Police, by calling themselves the Power Police.
Comments:
This group appeared as Justice League 2019 for a year, then became Power Police 2020 the next year.
They haven't appeared since, but stay tuned. This team will be the main focus of the entire Super Comics line in the coming year. Thus why the theme is "Countdown to the Future".
And for the record, this Powerman is Connor Kowalski (currently Powerkid), this Zap is Tara Sherman, this Flash/Speedster is Alison Swift, this Krusher is Olive Madison, this Justice is Michelle Wrigley, and this Wanderer is the same character from our present.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Jessica Warner
Jessica Warner
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Jessica Warner
Current Occupation: College Student, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Parents: Unrevealed
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: None
Place of Birth: Unknown
Current Place of Residence: Amherst
First Appearance: Powerman # 263, September 2009
Biography:
Jessica Warner is a psychology major at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. At the start of her freshman year she first met Jonathon Stanford, also a freshman who was majoring in Legal Studies. What Jessica didn't know was that Jonathon was actually Powerman, who had chosen to give up his powers for a year and had taken this new identity to live a normal life, starting over.
Shortly after they met, Jessica and Jonathon found themselves compelled to help in the investigation of the theft of a painting from the campus art museum, which they solved successfully. This seemed to be the beginning of a string of campus and Amherst mysteries that the two inevitably found themselves investigating.
It wasn't long before Jessica and Jonathon were in love, and dating, and solving crimes. Things got weirder as wannabe super-heroes and villains began populating the campus and the town, as a reaction to the absence of Powerman, who the world considered to be missing, despite his Myspace blog posts stating otherwise.
Even Jessica's roommate Holly donned costume to become the newest hero called Justice.
Eventually, the campus became the primary headquarters of a new group of heroes called the Heroes of the People, whose adventures often involved Jessica and Jonathon.
Recently, on one of their usual adventures, Jessica and Jonathon found themselves captured by the bad guys aboard a helicopter, bound and gagged. Jessica was thrown from the helicopter, with Jonathon thrown just after. Just at that moment, Powerman's year was up, and his powers returned. Jonathon transformed (without any eyes on him) into Powerman, saved Jessica, and captured the bad guys. He then told Jessica that he also saved Jonathon he he was a down the road, and flew off, to transform...down the road.
However, a few days later, Jonathon/Chris/Powerman gathered the courage to reveal his identity to Jessica and tell her the whole story of his heroic and often tragic life.
She told him that she would keep his secret, and her love for him didn't change.
The two are currently in their second year of college.
Comments:
Jessica is clearly inspired by the love of my life. Though I made changes for dramatic purposes, her personality is very similar. Jessica remains a principle character in Powerman, and now can be seen in other titles in which Powerman is involved, such as Powerkid.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Jessica Warner
Current Occupation: College Student, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Parents: Unrevealed
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: None
Place of Birth: Unknown
Current Place of Residence: Amherst
First Appearance: Powerman # 263, September 2009
Biography:
Jessica Warner is a psychology major at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. At the start of her freshman year she first met Jonathon Stanford, also a freshman who was majoring in Legal Studies. What Jessica didn't know was that Jonathon was actually Powerman, who had chosen to give up his powers for a year and had taken this new identity to live a normal life, starting over.
Shortly after they met, Jessica and Jonathon found themselves compelled to help in the investigation of the theft of a painting from the campus art museum, which they solved successfully. This seemed to be the beginning of a string of campus and Amherst mysteries that the two inevitably found themselves investigating.
It wasn't long before Jessica and Jonathon were in love, and dating, and solving crimes. Things got weirder as wannabe super-heroes and villains began populating the campus and the town, as a reaction to the absence of Powerman, who the world considered to be missing, despite his Myspace blog posts stating otherwise.
Even Jessica's roommate Holly donned costume to become the newest hero called Justice.
Eventually, the campus became the primary headquarters of a new group of heroes called the Heroes of the People, whose adventures often involved Jessica and Jonathon.
Recently, on one of their usual adventures, Jessica and Jonathon found themselves captured by the bad guys aboard a helicopter, bound and gagged. Jessica was thrown from the helicopter, with Jonathon thrown just after. Just at that moment, Powerman's year was up, and his powers returned. Jonathon transformed (without any eyes on him) into Powerman, saved Jessica, and captured the bad guys. He then told Jessica that he also saved Jonathon he he was a down the road, and flew off, to transform...down the road.
However, a few days later, Jonathon/Chris/Powerman gathered the courage to reveal his identity to Jessica and tell her the whole story of his heroic and often tragic life.
She told him that she would keep his secret, and her love for him didn't change.
The two are currently in their second year of college.
Comments:
Jessica is clearly inspired by the love of my life. Though I made changes for dramatic purposes, her personality is very similar. Jessica remains a principle character in Powerman, and now can be seen in other titles in which Powerman is involved, such as Powerkid.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Powerkid Police
Powerkid Police
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr. and Phil Sheridan
First Appearance: Powerkid Police # 1, September 1982
Members:
Powerkid
Zap, Master of Power
Speedy/Speedster/Speed Demon
Vic-20
Unknown
Man-Killer
Space Hero
Waterman
Avenger
Toy/Shrinker
Birdboy/Birdman
Birdgirl/Birdwoman
Screamer
Tornado Man
Stretch
Witch Woman
Fire Man
Kitten Girl
Powergirl
Chris "the Whale" Whaler
Biography:
In 1982, there was an explosion in the number of people who developed super-powers on the planet, mostly in the United States, particularly in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. The reason for this was related to the plans of three cosmic beings, and the location of the Universal Transponder, a device whose mystery is only exceeded by its power, which was in the Forbidden Forest just outside Orange City. Many of these people who gained powers donned costumes, and became crime fighters.
In late 1982, a cosmic entity called Morgoth came to Earth to claim it as his and reshape it in his image, but was defeated by three of these new heroes: Powerkid, Zap, and Speedy. After the success of their collaboration, they decided that a team of heroes is needed to protect Earth from situations like this.
So they put an ad in the newspaper looking for new members of this team, that would be called the Powerkid Police, since Powerkid was the first of the many heroes to appear, and thus was an inspiration to the others.
And heroes did join. the majority of the members of this team all joined in the initial recruitment, with only Kitten Girl, Powerkid, and Chris Whaler becoming members later in 1984.
The team's tenure is considered the golden age of heroes by most historians, and it was short lived. In 1985, there was a cosmic crisis that threatened to destroy the multiverse. During this crisis, Powergirl was killed (or so it seemed). This seemed to end an age of innocence. Shortly after, a wave of anti-super-hero hysteria swept the nation as the crisis was blamed on Earth's super-beings, who were largely unaware of the true cause nor cared.
The team decided to disband and retire.
Two new teams emerged not that long later. One was the Heroes of Earth, whose members would include Powerkid, Zap, the Speed Demon, Space Hero, and Fire Man. This team would operate until 1992, then return from 1995 to 1998, then re-emerge in 2008 where it continues today.
The other team to emerge after the PKP's disbanding was the Mystery Men. This team including former PKP members Unknown, Shrinker, and Stretch. Sadly this team was killed by robot Time Lords in 1988.
In 2019, a new team will be gathered calling itself the Power Police in tribute to the original "golden age" team.
Comments:
First, I'll discuss the team's name. In 1982, when Phil Sheridan and I were in 4th grade and trying to create a club, I wanted it to be a super-hero club, as in Powerkid, Zap, ect. He wanted it to be a military club (as in G.I. Joe, MASH, and military police.) He suggested we combine them, particularly Powerkid + military police = Powerkid Police. Thus Phil gets co-creator credits for coming up with this name of our club that I would then apply to my stories.
If you see the roster, you can see the membership of the Powerkid Police greatly resembles the line-up of the Justice League of America of that era. That is definitely intentional, and meant to be an homage. The actual stories didn't resemble the JLA's adventures as much. The PKP operated in an underground headquarters that was created by a super-villain but seized by Powerkid. Their access to the headquarters was through an entrance in a treehouse in Powerkid's backyard.
The team mostly fought the big threats that were too big for Powerkid alone. They fought Doctor Deadly a lot, and the Powerkid Haters. They also fought alien invaders like the Booers.
The team's demise was part of my growing up process I think, as the replacement team, the Heroes of Earth, had a much more original team make-up and storylines.
The original roster of the PKP were restored in 2008 to both life and power to fight the New Power. They are now all back to active duty, but the team has not reformed (nor will it, based on my future projections for stories at this time.) However, they will always be remembered in the Wronskiverse as the models of heroism in a simpler time. Powerman himself often acts embarrassed by the name of the team, but still thinks fondly of those days before he lost his innocence.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr. and Phil Sheridan
First Appearance: Powerkid Police # 1, September 1982
Members:
Powerkid
Zap, Master of Power
Speedy/Speedster/Speed Demon
Vic-20
Unknown
Man-Killer
Space Hero
Waterman
Avenger
Toy/Shrinker
Birdboy/Birdman
Birdgirl/Birdwoman
Screamer
Tornado Man
Stretch
Witch Woman
Fire Man
Kitten Girl
Powergirl
Chris "the Whale" Whaler
Biography:
In 1982, there was an explosion in the number of people who developed super-powers on the planet, mostly in the United States, particularly in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. The reason for this was related to the plans of three cosmic beings, and the location of the Universal Transponder, a device whose mystery is only exceeded by its power, which was in the Forbidden Forest just outside Orange City. Many of these people who gained powers donned costumes, and became crime fighters.
In late 1982, a cosmic entity called Morgoth came to Earth to claim it as his and reshape it in his image, but was defeated by three of these new heroes: Powerkid, Zap, and Speedy. After the success of their collaboration, they decided that a team of heroes is needed to protect Earth from situations like this.
So they put an ad in the newspaper looking for new members of this team, that would be called the Powerkid Police, since Powerkid was the first of the many heroes to appear, and thus was an inspiration to the others.
And heroes did join. the majority of the members of this team all joined in the initial recruitment, with only Kitten Girl, Powerkid, and Chris Whaler becoming members later in 1984.
The team's tenure is considered the golden age of heroes by most historians, and it was short lived. In 1985, there was a cosmic crisis that threatened to destroy the multiverse. During this crisis, Powergirl was killed (or so it seemed). This seemed to end an age of innocence. Shortly after, a wave of anti-super-hero hysteria swept the nation as the crisis was blamed on Earth's super-beings, who were largely unaware of the true cause nor cared.
The team decided to disband and retire.
Two new teams emerged not that long later. One was the Heroes of Earth, whose members would include Powerkid, Zap, the Speed Demon, Space Hero, and Fire Man. This team would operate until 1992, then return from 1995 to 1998, then re-emerge in 2008 where it continues today.
The other team to emerge after the PKP's disbanding was the Mystery Men. This team including former PKP members Unknown, Shrinker, and Stretch. Sadly this team was killed by robot Time Lords in 1988.
In 2019, a new team will be gathered calling itself the Power Police in tribute to the original "golden age" team.
Comments:
First, I'll discuss the team's name. In 1982, when Phil Sheridan and I were in 4th grade and trying to create a club, I wanted it to be a super-hero club, as in Powerkid, Zap, ect. He wanted it to be a military club (as in G.I. Joe, MASH, and military police.) He suggested we combine them, particularly Powerkid + military police = Powerkid Police. Thus Phil gets co-creator credits for coming up with this name of our club that I would then apply to my stories.
If you see the roster, you can see the membership of the Powerkid Police greatly resembles the line-up of the Justice League of America of that era. That is definitely intentional, and meant to be an homage. The actual stories didn't resemble the JLA's adventures as much. The PKP operated in an underground headquarters that was created by a super-villain but seized by Powerkid. Their access to the headquarters was through an entrance in a treehouse in Powerkid's backyard.
The team mostly fought the big threats that were too big for Powerkid alone. They fought Doctor Deadly a lot, and the Powerkid Haters. They also fought alien invaders like the Booers.
The team's demise was part of my growing up process I think, as the replacement team, the Heroes of Earth, had a much more original team make-up and storylines.
The original roster of the PKP were restored in 2008 to both life and power to fight the New Power. They are now all back to active duty, but the team has not reformed (nor will it, based on my future projections for stories at this time.) However, they will always be remembered in the Wronskiverse as the models of heroism in a simpler time. Powerman himself often acts embarrassed by the name of the team, but still thinks fondly of those days before he lost his innocence.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Elizabeth Hasser
Elizabeth Hasser
created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Elizabeth Hasser (maiden name not revealed)
Current Occupation: Deceased, former dietician
Parents: Unknown
Siblings: None
Spouse: John Hasser (deceased)
Children: Colleen Hasser, Pauline Sherman, Maureen Wrigley
Group Affiliation: None
Place of Birth: Worcester
Place of Death: Worcester
First Appearance: Super Comics # 1, November 1979
History:
Elizabeth Hasser was a strong woman, whose husband left her, leaving her to raise her three daughters alone. These three daughters would become the mothers of three of Earth's greatest champions: Powerman, NighTrain, and Shon Crest.
Elizabeth died sometime during the years that Powerman was out in space.
Comments:
Not much to say. This character is based physically and personality wise on my grandmother, but my grandmother is still very much alive and well and has decades left in her.
created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Elizabeth Hasser (maiden name not revealed)
Current Occupation: Deceased, former dietician
Parents: Unknown
Siblings: None
Spouse: John Hasser (deceased)
Children: Colleen Hasser, Pauline Sherman, Maureen Wrigley
Group Affiliation: None
Place of Birth: Worcester
Place of Death: Worcester
First Appearance: Super Comics # 1, November 1979
History:
Elizabeth Hasser was a strong woman, whose husband left her, leaving her to raise her three daughters alone. These three daughters would become the mothers of three of Earth's greatest champions: Powerman, NighTrain, and Shon Crest.
Elizabeth died sometime during the years that Powerman was out in space.
Comments:
Not much to say. This character is based physically and personality wise on my grandmother, but my grandmother is still very much alive and well and has decades left in her.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Colleen Hasser
Colleen Hasser
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Colleen Hasser
Current Occupation: Deceased, former occupation unknown
Parents: John and Elizabeth Hasser (Both deceased)
Siblings: Maureen (Hasser) Wrigley (deceased) and Pauline (Hasser) Sherman
Spouse: None
Children: Shon Crest Junior
Group Affiliation: None
Place of Birth: Worcester
Place of Death: Orange City
First Appearance: History of the Super Universe # 1, April 1985
Biography:
Colleen was one of three sisters, and the youngest of the three. In the 1960s, these three sisters were chosen by the Universal Protectors to be the mothers of Earth's future champions. Of course, the girls didn't know that.
Colleen was chosen to mother Allorin Vonski's champion. When Colleen was barely 18, she met and ran off with Shon Crest, a nearly unaging adventurer who had the ability of super-speed and super-senses, and who had been the super-heroic Speedster.
Crest died in battle with the Master, but not before he had unknowingly impregnated Colleen. Colleen named her son Shon Crest Junior, but sadly died during labor.
The wizard Allorin Vonski took the child and raised him within the Forbidden Forest, teaching him to use the abilities he inherited from his father.
Comments:
Colleen Hasser is based physically and personality wise on one of my aunts, but of course and thankfully she never died, nor did she have a relationship with a speedster, and her children (none of which are named Shon) became super-heroes.
The character of Colleen was first introduced three years after Shon Crest's debut, in History of the Super Universe, in which the idea regarding the three sisters was first introduced. The idea that the father was the original Speedster though came about years later, in 1991, in the series simply called Crest.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: Colleen Hasser
Current Occupation: Deceased, former occupation unknown
Parents: John and Elizabeth Hasser (Both deceased)
Siblings: Maureen (Hasser) Wrigley (deceased) and Pauline (Hasser) Sherman
Spouse: None
Children: Shon Crest Junior
Group Affiliation: None
Place of Birth: Worcester
Place of Death: Orange City
First Appearance: History of the Super Universe # 1, April 1985
Biography:
Colleen was one of three sisters, and the youngest of the three. In the 1960s, these three sisters were chosen by the Universal Protectors to be the mothers of Earth's future champions. Of course, the girls didn't know that.
Colleen was chosen to mother Allorin Vonski's champion. When Colleen was barely 18, she met and ran off with Shon Crest, a nearly unaging adventurer who had the ability of super-speed and super-senses, and who had been the super-heroic Speedster.
Crest died in battle with the Master, but not before he had unknowingly impregnated Colleen. Colleen named her son Shon Crest Junior, but sadly died during labor.
The wizard Allorin Vonski took the child and raised him within the Forbidden Forest, teaching him to use the abilities he inherited from his father.
Comments:
Colleen Hasser is based physically and personality wise on one of my aunts, but of course and thankfully she never died, nor did she have a relationship with a speedster, and her children (none of which are named Shon) became super-heroes.
The character of Colleen was first introduced three years after Shon Crest's debut, in History of the Super Universe, in which the idea regarding the three sisters was first introduced. The idea that the father was the original Speedster though came about years later, in 1991, in the series simply called Crest.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Jim Wright
Jim Wright
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: James Perfect "Jimmy" Wright
Current Occupation: Government Agent
Parents: Unnamed
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: Impossible Missions Force, International Missions Bureau, National Heroes
Place of Birth: Unknown
Current Place of Residence: Washington D.C.
First Appearance: The Man Who Stole Brains # 1, September 1987
Biography:
Little is known about the early life and background of Jim Wright. What we do know was that in 1987, he was already established as one of the greatest secret agents in the world, and a thorn to enemies of America all over the world. In 1987, he was working for the U.S. Government's International Missions Bureau, though he has stated he once worked for the Impossible Missions Force.
Jim went on special solo missions on operations that the government could deny knowledge of. In his first story arc, he was first seen running from the Wronskovian Army, then later having to rescue a captured scientist and his daughter.
In 1992, Jim was on a mission in Iran with the mercenary known as the Scorpion. The two had a romantic interlude during the mission (not something new for Jim on a mission.) Later, they were captured, and both were executed by firing squad.
Three years later, when the mutant named Adam conquered the world, a resistance army was formed, and Jim Wright was part of the army. Jim never revealed how he survived being shot to death.
In 2009, Jim resurfaced, now working for the government agency called the National Heroes, whose primary mission was to fight the New Power Organization. He still serves in this position today.
Comments:
James Wright would have been my sister's name if she had been a boy. That is where I got the name from. I should note that in my own life, I've suffered from time to time from a sort of dual identity problem, and Jim Wright was my Buddy Love. When I was a teen, I also used the identity as my alter ego during my short wrestling career in the Wagner Wrestling Federation and Wronski Wrestling Federation.
The Man Who Stole Brains was actually a novel I wrote, that I later broke up and serialized as a comic mini-series. It was my first attempt at a spy novel. My previous and first novel was Star Patrol, a rebooted adaptation of Space Patrol, a comic series previously co-written by Phil Sheridan and myself.
The series only lasted a year, as it was only meant to be one story arc. And then I didn't use the character again.
Until my Death of the Super Universe event, in which in one month I killed off every character I ever created. I actually brought back Jim Wright for one story, four years after his last appearance, which was really his first appearance, just to kill him. But it really was a good story, and the story was really about the Scorpion, which was really a story about Allorin Vonski and Shon Crest, who weren't in the story. But it is about them. Really, it is. Trust me. I wrote the story.
Anyways, so...
I killed him in 1992. In 1998, in the mini-series called Timeline, he shows up. Yes, I forgot he was dead. Sometimes writers forget about that when they are dealing with large comic book universes with thousands of characters. By the final issue, I had remembered that he was supposed to be dead, and in fact I address it by not addressing it. At one point, Alison Swift meets Jim Wright. Alison Swift happens to be operating at the time as the hero called Speedy. Just before Alison's first appearance, all the speedsters on Earth had perished, absorbed into the Speed Force. Then when Alison was visiting the Flash Museum in Central City, she was struck by lightning in a recreation of Barry Allen's lab. She not only gained the powers of super speed, but all the memories of every speedster that came before her.
So as I said, she met Jim Wright. And when she saw him, she looked shocked, and asked "How did you survive?" You see, the Scorpion was one of those speedsters. Thus, young Alison had her memories...all those memories. Jim replied "I always survive." Jim had thought she was referring to the recent scrape the heroes in this current adventure had been through. He didn't recognize Alison was the Scorpion.
Or....
Perhaps he did somehow know, and was being coy. Jim has never explained how he survived.
So after that mini-series, Jim Wright again went into obscurity, until he returned in the 2008 - 2009 mini-series called Crisis, where he was seen amongst those trying to take down the New Power. Following that series, the National Heroes, a series from the 1980s, was revived. The National Heroes in the 1980s had been a military group that had one goal: the take down the New Power. They didn't accomplish the goal.
Now, in 2009, the team was reformed. This time, the government had the same mission, but they canned the military guys and recruited the former members of the Champions, all of whom had formerly been hunted by the government. To work with these meta-humans, a few government types joined the team as well, including Jim Wright.
Jim Wright is a very sarcastic guy. He loves danger. He loves the ladies. He hates authority figures. He hates bureaucracy. He hates dictators. Oh, and he happens to sometimes seem to realize that he's a fictional character. He even knows the name of his author. And sometimes the author helps him out when he asks for it.
Created by Robert E. Wronski, Jr.
Real Name: James Perfect "Jimmy" Wright
Current Occupation: Government Agent
Parents: Unnamed
Siblings: None
Spouse: None
Children: None
Group Affiliation: Impossible Missions Force, International Missions Bureau, National Heroes
Place of Birth: Unknown
Current Place of Residence: Washington D.C.
First Appearance: The Man Who Stole Brains # 1, September 1987
Biography:
Little is known about the early life and background of Jim Wright. What we do know was that in 1987, he was already established as one of the greatest secret agents in the world, and a thorn to enemies of America all over the world. In 1987, he was working for the U.S. Government's International Missions Bureau, though he has stated he once worked for the Impossible Missions Force.
Jim went on special solo missions on operations that the government could deny knowledge of. In his first story arc, he was first seen running from the Wronskovian Army, then later having to rescue a captured scientist and his daughter.
In 1992, Jim was on a mission in Iran with the mercenary known as the Scorpion. The two had a romantic interlude during the mission (not something new for Jim on a mission.) Later, they were captured, and both were executed by firing squad.
Three years later, when the mutant named Adam conquered the world, a resistance army was formed, and Jim Wright was part of the army. Jim never revealed how he survived being shot to death.
In 2009, Jim resurfaced, now working for the government agency called the National Heroes, whose primary mission was to fight the New Power Organization. He still serves in this position today.
Comments:
James Wright would have been my sister's name if she had been a boy. That is where I got the name from. I should note that in my own life, I've suffered from time to time from a sort of dual identity problem, and Jim Wright was my Buddy Love. When I was a teen, I also used the identity as my alter ego during my short wrestling career in the Wagner Wrestling Federation and Wronski Wrestling Federation.
The Man Who Stole Brains was actually a novel I wrote, that I later broke up and serialized as a comic mini-series. It was my first attempt at a spy novel. My previous and first novel was Star Patrol, a rebooted adaptation of Space Patrol, a comic series previously co-written by Phil Sheridan and myself.
The series only lasted a year, as it was only meant to be one story arc. And then I didn't use the character again.
Until my Death of the Super Universe event, in which in one month I killed off every character I ever created. I actually brought back Jim Wright for one story, four years after his last appearance, which was really his first appearance, just to kill him. But it really was a good story, and the story was really about the Scorpion, which was really a story about Allorin Vonski and Shon Crest, who weren't in the story. But it is about them. Really, it is. Trust me. I wrote the story.
Anyways, so...
I killed him in 1992. In 1998, in the mini-series called Timeline, he shows up. Yes, I forgot he was dead. Sometimes writers forget about that when they are dealing with large comic book universes with thousands of characters. By the final issue, I had remembered that he was supposed to be dead, and in fact I address it by not addressing it. At one point, Alison Swift meets Jim Wright. Alison Swift happens to be operating at the time as the hero called Speedy. Just before Alison's first appearance, all the speedsters on Earth had perished, absorbed into the Speed Force. Then when Alison was visiting the Flash Museum in Central City, she was struck by lightning in a recreation of Barry Allen's lab. She not only gained the powers of super speed, but all the memories of every speedster that came before her.
So as I said, she met Jim Wright. And when she saw him, she looked shocked, and asked "How did you survive?" You see, the Scorpion was one of those speedsters. Thus, young Alison had her memories...all those memories. Jim replied "I always survive." Jim had thought she was referring to the recent scrape the heroes in this current adventure had been through. He didn't recognize Alison was the Scorpion.
Or....
Perhaps he did somehow know, and was being coy. Jim has never explained how he survived.
So after that mini-series, Jim Wright again went into obscurity, until he returned in the 2008 - 2009 mini-series called Crisis, where he was seen amongst those trying to take down the New Power. Following that series, the National Heroes, a series from the 1980s, was revived. The National Heroes in the 1980s had been a military group that had one goal: the take down the New Power. They didn't accomplish the goal.
Now, in 2009, the team was reformed. This time, the government had the same mission, but they canned the military guys and recruited the former members of the Champions, all of whom had formerly been hunted by the government. To work with these meta-humans, a few government types joined the team as well, including Jim Wright.
Jim Wright is a very sarcastic guy. He loves danger. He loves the ladies. He hates authority figures. He hates bureaucracy. He hates dictators. Oh, and he happens to sometimes seem to realize that he's a fictional character. He even knows the name of his author. And sometimes the author helps him out when he asks for it.
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