Dial H for 2nd Helping

It's the shuffle-away success of the summer! Yes, Dial H returns for a second week, and will keep on coming, more or less in order from the 1960s onward. Not because you demanded it, but because you allowed it. It's the blog you deserve for you Internet apathy. So let's check back in with young Robby Reed of Littleville, USA. Seems like his little town hasn't yet been freed from the grip of the Thunderbolt organization, despite the fact that 3 new superheroes have apparently moved into town. And soon, 6. And then much more. It's quickly turning into Marvel's New York, only without, you know, the landmarks.

Case 2: House of Mystery #157
Dial Holder: Robby Reed
Dial Type: The Big Dial
Dialing: It seems that Robby has to wait an indeterminate amount of time in between dialings. Even he doesn't know when the Dial will be ready to turn him into a new hero.
Name: The Human Bullet
Costume: I'm getting a real Human Flame vibe from this one, minus the flaming nipples. Either that, or something out of a steampunk comic. The Human Bullet is a big guy with orthopedic boots, chainmail underwear, an amateurish chest emblem, a plate corset and, yes, of course, a pointy bullet head. What a stiff.
Powers: The Human Bullet can fire himself at foes or in an arc through the air, busting through everything in his way. He can ricochet at amazing speeds and has "tracer vision" which allows him to survey the ground and UNDER the ground from the air.
Sighted: In Littleville. Stopped the Thunderbolt gang from robbing a bank with the help of their "boring screw" and stolen "cosmic computer", but could not prevent the vault's flooding.
Possibilities: If DC can't find a place for Bullet-Man and Bullet-Girl (and to some extent, the Bulleteer derived from them), what chance does the goofy Human Bullet have? Not very much, I say. The previously mentioned Bullets already have the Golden Age covered as well, so he can't even play precursor.
Integration Quotient: 1% (off-chance that the Bulleteer needs a silly cousin in her supporting character cast)
Name: Super-Charge
Costume: Trunks and a nice belt. Super-Charge has the look of an alien monster and is consequently taken for one.
Powers: Super-Charge is a mass of strange, crackling energy (which looks a lot like electricity). Metal, including bullets, melts very quickly near his "skin". He can be captured by a magnetic beam.
Sighted: In Whale Harbor. Chased by police, he attempts to stop an armored car robbery by the Thunderbolt gang, but is captured by them instead. Looks like Act 2 heroes get no respect. At least he destroys the cosmic computer.
Possibilities: In the DCU, Super-Charge could act as a roaming, sympathetic monster. A man turned into energy by some strange experiment and solving crimes while running from the authorities. He's just misunderstood! The Hulk is the most obvious parallel, though others have fit this mold in the DCU, such as Man-Bat.
Integration Quotient: 25% (the name and look aren't terribly evocative, but the concept is archetypal enough to fit any superhero universe)
Name: Radar-Sonar Man (wow, terrible)
Costume: Dresses like a blind man, which he is. Trying to combine an R and an S on a radar screen to create his emblem makes for awkward. The high tech belt has an unknown function. And the weird ass head with antennae for eyes, well, that's just crazy.
Powers: Though R-S Man is blind, he can maneuver in flight and underwater using radar and sonar. He can also use his sonar to screw with the navigation systems of torpedoes.
Sighted: In Whale Harbor. He stops the submersible Thunderbolt Island from torpedoing the business district, all of which is caught on tv.
Possibilities: The big science belt and alien look gives the impression that he would be a short-lived future space hero like Space Ranger, Space Cabbie, or (Space) Ultra the Multi-Alien. Except not as popular as those guys. If you get my meaning.
Integration Quotient: 5% (ugly design, lame powers, what do you want from me?)

Next time, we discover what happens when someone dials "V for Villain"!!!

Comments

Matthew E said…
Just like on The Tick! "Fire me, boy!"
Austin Gorton said…
"Sockamagee"???

And I thought I'd heard all of comics "Great Caesar's Ghost!" phrases by now.
Siskoid said…
Oh, I thought that one was pretty well-known!