Alter Ego: Clayton "Clay" Stoner Occupation: Private Investigator Known Relatives: None Team Affiliation: None Base of Operations: River City First Appearance: Cancelled Comic Cavalcade #2 (Fall 1978), Detective
Comics #487 (Dec 1979 - Jan 1980) Height: ~ 6 ft. Weight: ~ 180 lbs. Eyes: (as Clay) Blue; (as Odd Man) Wears mask with one red eye and one
yellow Hair: (as Clay) Bronze; (as Odd Man) Black
History: "He came from nowhere, garbed in a confused costume that
would make a carnival clown blush with embarassment. His weapons were absurd
— impossible! But somehow he became the terror of criminals, and everyone
began to wonder ... who is the Odd Man?". This is how the Odd Man was introduced
in his only recorded adventure to date. This story chronicled one of the
character's earliest cases in which he battled and defeated the supposed
reincarnation of the first Nile Queen and her Pharoah consort.
The Odd Man is really private investigator Clay Stoner who utilizes a rubber
mask, an outlandish suit, and many elaborate gadgets in order to aid in the
fight against crime. In the aforementioned story, we learn that Stoner is
good friends with a River City official named Judge Brass. In one panel it
appears that the Judge may be aware of Clay's dual identity however this
is never made clear.
The Odd Man has a very bizzare hideout ... at any given time one could
simultaneously find a desk resting on the ceiling, an end table and lamp
on a wall, and a door on the floor ... however this could always change since
this room could be made to tilt! All this was intended to disorient any person
that the Odd Man might bring there for interrogation (not to mention it made
for a pretty wild headquarters). At the story's beginning the Odd Man is
shown interrogating the city's biggest jewelry fence in the hero's secret
hideout. The Odd Man had somehow caused the fence to black out while sitting
in his car and later would cause him to black out once again so that he could
be returned to his car.
Presumably, the Odd Man is still active in River City.
Weapons and Powers: The Odd Man depends only upon his sharp wits,
bizarre appearance, and oddball gadgets in his fight against crime. Among
the Odd Man's many devices are his weighted extended tie, a spray he developed
which melts certain plastics, powder and smoke gloves which he activates
by clapping his hands together, and a slippery oil spray. He also has some
unrevealed method of rendering a person unconscious (most likely through
use of another spray).
Comments: The Odd Man was originally slated to appear as a back-up
feature starting in Shade the Changing Man (first series) #9 (Sep-Oct 1978).
The first story was completed however Shade's book was pulled from the DC
line-up, along with other books, when DC made major cutbacks during the 1978 "DC
Implosion". For copyright purposes, this story was included in Cancelled
Comic Cavalcade #2 (Fall 1978), the second of two B&W comics which were never
intended for public distribution (only 35 copies were made). The tale finally
made it to the newsstand in Detective Comics #487 (Dec 1979 - Jan 1980).
The Odd Man would not appear again for another twenty years, in Superboy
[third series] #65 (Aug 1999).
Profile #2
Steve Ditko character from the 1970s. His name is Clay Stoner
and he first appeared in CANCELLED COMICS CAVALCADE #2 (Aut 78) (and later
appeared for the public audience in DETECTIVE COMICS #487 (Dec 79-Jan 80.
He last appeared in SUPERBOY.
In the darkness, Ike Loges felt the floor give way and grabbed at something
— anything — to keep from falling. Blinking as the lights flashed to life,
Loges gasped when he realized that he was dangling from a window where the
ceiling used to be — a window with a view of a nearly upside-down River City
skyline. Seated comfortably on a desk on the wall was a stranger in a garish
patchwork three-piece suit and tie with clashing designs and bright colors(mostly
red, blue and yellow). Completing the clown effect was a rubber mask with
blank eyes (one red, one yellow), a frozen white smile and close-cropped black
hair.
"He came from nowhere, garbed in a confused costume that would make
a carnival clown blush with embarrassment. His weapons were absurd — impossible!
But somehow he became the terror of criminals, and everyone began to wonder
... who is ... The Odd Man?" — 1979's DETECTIVE COMICS #487
(text by Paul Levitz?).
In 1978, DC had planned an ambitious expansion of their line that would transform
a standard 32 page comic with 17 story pages into a 48 page comic with 25
story pages (with the cover price increasing from 35 cents to 50). In the
case of Steve Ditko's SHADE, THE CHANGING MAN title, the additional eight
pages would be given over a back-up feature of his own creation.
First seen in a house ad for the impending "DC Explosion," the
Odd Man's debut in SHADE #9 was subsequently touted in a Daily Planet coming
attractions page in DC COMICS PRESENTS #2 with a release date of June 19,
1978. Unknown to most readers, however, was the fact that DC had decided in
April to cancel several marginal titles that probably wouldn't survive with
a 50 cent price tag. These included AQUAMAN, MISTER MIRACLE, NEW GODS, THE
SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS and ... SHADE, THE CHANGING MAN. Plans were
quickly made to shift at least some of the material prepared for those books
to other titles. The Odd Man was slated for December's SHADE THE CHANGING
MAN #14, after a Ray three-parter in #11-13 had run its course.
Fate had other plans. In essence, Warner Communications execs decreed that,
to test a new form of distribution, the average DC title should have the same
page count as their competitors. It was announced on June 22 that, effective
with comics on sale in September, all DCs would return to 17 pages of story
content (but with a cover price of 40 cents). To provide consistency to the
DC line, all of the thirty-two page books were promoted to monthly status.
Books whose sales did not justify being a monthly and the new titles whose
sales had not yet been proven were cancelled. Consequently, another twenty-three
comics met their demise, including six that never even saw their first issue
published.
BLACK LIGHTNING's final issue turned out to be #11 and the Odd Man made his
debut in a black and white xeroxed collection known as CANCELLED COMIC CAVALCADE
that was distributed to DC staffers. Fifteen months after his originally scheduled
introduction, Ditko's wildly-dressed hero got a more widely distributed appearance
in DETECTIVE COMICS #487 (with an on-sale date of September 10, 1979).
Ditko had both written and illustrated the story but his friend (and current
publisher) Robin Snyder reports that the dialogue was altered somewhat when
it finally appeared, presumably by 'TEC editor Paul Levitz. The logo box on
the splash page, for instance, originally read simply "The Odd Man in
'The Pharaoh and the Mummies!'". In the 'TEC version, the introductory
text (used in my second paragraph) appeared.
River City, it seemed, had seen a recent string of jewel robberies and related
murders. The Odd Man believed that Ike Loges, "the city's biggest jewelry
fence,"would have details on the crimes and he was correct — to an extent.
Loges had no specifics but he'd heard that an antiques dealer was a target.
"Then the light dims and blacks out — as does Ike Loges. When he awakens,
he will find himself back in his car and will try to convince himself he has
just had a bad dream ... he won't succeed."
The disorienting topsy turvy concealed room was the most ambitious weapon
in the Odd Man's repertoire but it was far from the only one. His polka-dot
clip-on tie had a heavy metal weight at its top that made an effective projectile
or bolo, his white "smoke gloves" released a cloud of disorienting
powder and a small can of oil spray tripped up his foes.
The jewel thief proved to be a madman dressed like an Egyptian Pharaoh but
equipped with a futuristic ray-gun called he Mummifier that encased its victims
in a cocoon of clear plastic that suffocated them instantly. Escaping the
Odd Man, the Pharaoh handed a single Nile jewel that he'd stolen to a Cleopatra
wanna-be.
Elsewhere, the Odd Man had returned to his alter-ego of Clay Stoner, a sandy
blonde-haired private eye. He drafted his friend and confidante Judge Brass
to help him figure out the common link in the thefts. Using his connections,
Brass learned that a Nile gem had been among the items stolen in each theft.
Brass suggested that Clay talk to the River City Museum's Egyptian authority
about "the significance of those gems." Clay, who'd gotten bad vibes
from the museum's Mrs. Nyla, decided that the Odd Man should ask the questions.
A visit to the Nyla home revealed a veritable shrine to Egypt, one whose
curators disliked uninvited guests. Mrs. Nyla and her lover, the Pharaoh,
forced the Odd Man into a sarcophagus, sealing it with the Mummifier. Clay,
however, had done a chemical analysis of the plastic after his last encounter
with it and had devised a solvent to melt it away.
Elsewhere, the Pharaoh and his queen remained on-model as he announced that
he had "restored the Nile necklace."
"Praise Ra!" she cheered. "After three thousand years, I will
wear it again!"
The Odd Man disrupted the ceremony and the latter-day King Tut vowed that
the hero "would join the others — in sacred mummification!" Instead,
the Pharaoh slipped on an oil slick created by the Odd Man and sealed his
lover in plastic. In shock, he cried, "my queen — my love — my reason
for living. You were the true reincarnation of the first Nile queen. And I
have robbed you of this life. There is but one thing left for me to do now
— to join you!" Before Clay could act, the Pharaoh turned the Mummifier
on himself.
Ditko drew the Odd Man on two further occasions, the first of which, ironically,
was in another comic book scuttled by the DC Implosion — SHOWCASE #106, a
25 page Creeper story originally slated for publication in August of 1978.
In a cameo with intriguing implications, the Odd Man was present on the set
of a TV pilot being filmed at Gotham City's WHAM-TV when the Creeper and the
evil Doctor Storme burst in. Was the Odd Man/Pharaoh story merely an episode
of a DCU TV series?
The other appearance was a line-up of Ditko's DC creations seen in the "DC
Profiles" entry in 1980's BATMAN #322 and LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #262.
Looking at the heroes depicted there, one can't help but be depressed by the
fact that five of the seven (Hawk, Dove, Stalker, Creeper, Starman) have been
killed outright (though the latter two got better) and Shade was altered beyond
recognition in the Vertigo series. A far cry from the veneration given Jack
Kirby's contributions to the DCU.
NOTE: As were Captain Atom and The Question, two more Ditko creations, in
their post-Crisis series. Hawk, of course, was turned into Monarch in the
badly-received ARMAGEDDON 2001 series (published seven years early IIRC);
a role originally planned, according to reports, for Captain Atom. What did
DC have against Ditko characters, anyway?
The Odd Man remains unscathed although that's largely because his obscurity
places him below the radar of all but the most hardcore fans-turned-pro. He
popped up in one panel of 1989's HERO HOTLINE #5, suggesting a possible connection
with the Bob Rozakis & Stephen DeStefano-created team. A decade later,
the Odd Man — and Hero Hotline — returned as one of several candidates for
a position at Project Cadmus (1999's SUPERBOY #65, by Karl Kesel, Tom Grummett
and Dan Davis). In the wake of a brawl initiated by old Ditko villains Punch
and Jewelee, the fashion-challenged hero made his goodbyes to Superboy, noting
that he'd had "more fun than fish on bicycles. No — I CAN'T stay! Don't
ASK, don't TELL!"
Watching him walk away sideways across a wall, Superboy could only think
of one thing to say: "What an ODD MAN — !"
O.G.R.E.
In 1966, the Organization for General Revenge and Enslavement threatened
to collapse before it could even get off the ground. It seems there was a
henchmen deficit. The proliferation of organizations like S.P.E.C.T.R.E.,
T.H.R.U.S.H., C.A.W., C.Y.C.L.O.P.S. and V.U.L.T.U.R.E. had nearly exhausted
the supply of working class hoods that start-up world-beaters like O.G.R.E.
needed to prosper. What O.G.R.E. lacked in manpower, it more than made up
for in nerve. By early 1966, the group had acquired enough notoriety to induce
the U.S. government to recruit Atlantis' sovereigns, Aquaman and Mera, to
investigate the villains' interest in an island resort in the Caribbean. Stalking
the aquatic duo was another romantic couple, a rough-hewn muscleman known
as Typhoon and an attractive brunette called the Huntress who wielded a spear
gun.
Capturing the Huntress, Aquaman and Mera learned that she and her lover were
pawns of O.G.R.E., forced to their bidding because of the threat of an explosive
"liquidation cell" implanted in their bodies. Believing he finally
had the upper hand on O.G.R.E.'s Supreme One (clad in a black hood and robe),
Aquaman invaded his crab-like saucer and dismantled the liquidation switch
— but was taken captive.
Aquaman learned that O.G.R.E. had been contracted by a foreign government
to retrieve a forgotten cache of nuclear missiles beneath the island, an arsenal
that they'd use to blackmail the United States. The Supreme One had reckoned
without Mera, who drafted the Huntress, Typhoon and divers from the U.S. Navy
to take on the Supreme One and his partners. The case was closed when the
Huntress led Aquaman to the Supreme One's headquarters within the island's
resort. The removal of the black hood revealed the hotel manager, who'd been
kidnapping guests and forcing them to act on his behalf under penalty of death
(AQUAMAN #26, by Bob Haney and Nick Cardy).
Rumors abound that the reformation of O.G.R.E.'s initial pair of agents didn't
take. One report identified them as the Huntress and Sportsmaster who fought
Batgirl and Robin in BATMAN FAMILY #7. Another suggests that the latter-day
Huntress was Artemis Crock, daughter of the 1940s villainess and a future
foe of Infinity, Inc. (INFINITY, INC. #34-36) and the JSA (JSA #9-10). None
of this has been confirmed.
In November, Aquaman was contacted again by his government liason, the Tall
Man, who had been alerted to a new threat by O.G.R.E. to encase the United
Nations building in a force field. Liquid would counteract the effect and
Aquaman followed through by insulating the U.N. in a cocoon of water. In fact,
the Tall Man had been impersonated by an O.G.R.E. leader named Krako and water
— far from being a failsafe — was a crucial ingredient in the CREATION of
the force field. Once again, O.G.R.E. had overcome its lack of resources.
The imprisonment of the U.N. representatives by the leader of Atlantis made
Aquaman an international fugitive, pursued not only by law enforement agencies
but O.G.R.E. themselves, whose warriors were clad in brown shirts, white pants
and red, ant-like helmets that matched their boots and gloves. In the end,
Aquaman managed to get inside the U.N. dome and assist the real Tall Man in
defeating the kidnappers while Mera used her hard water power to make the
watery force field brittle and easily shattered (AQUAMAN #31, by Haney and
Cardy).
Feeling the pinch of its dwindling revenue, most of the remaining O.G.R.E.
cells threw in their lot with agents of S.P.E.C.T.R.E., T.H.R.U.S.H. and C.Y.C.L.O.P.S.
as part of the European-based Empire of Evil. The amalgamation's assaults
on the Blackhawks proved no more successful than O.G.R.E.'s own encounters
with Aquaman and Mera had been (BLACKHAWK #229 and 231, by Haney, Dick Dillin
and Chuck Cuidera).
By 1970, the sun was setting on the era of the abbreviated criminal group
but O.G.R.E. still had one last scheme up its sleeve. A pair of agents approached
California tycoon Eliot Harlanson and related a fanciful tale in which they
claimed that the impending rise of Atlantis would cause California to sink
into the ocean. The dire fate could be prevented if Harlanson would bankroll
an atomic bomb to destroy the undersea continent. To ensure that Aquaman was
in Atlantis at the time of the explosion, O.G.R.E. hired another dupe to attack
the city — Black Manta.
Government agents caught up with the O.G.R.E. duo in Florida but they were
too late to stop the bomb. As it turned out, that angle had already been taken
care of — the a-bomb bounced harmlessly into the soil outside of Atlantis.
The government had planted a lovely blonde agent named Honey James alongside
Harlanson and she arranged for the bomb to be a dud.
"Oh, by the way," one G-man told Aquaman and Aqualad, "From
now on you won't be having any more trouble with O.G.R.E. We've finally located
O.G.R.E.'s secret headquarters. We'll be moving in and mopping up shortly.
They'll be having so much trouble with us, they simply won't have TIME to
bother you!" (AQUAMAN #53, by Steve Skeates and Jim Aparo).
Onyx
AN Onyx (an Oriental mobster with a child, who worked for the Sensei)
was in the recent DEADMAN series, but she is NOT the Onyx of Green Arrow DETECTIVE
COMICS back-ups... (who most recently appeared in WONDER WOMAN #175.)
Oracle
The Oracle, a robed man with long hair and beard and cosmic-looking
eyes, who appeared in JLA #100, was a mystic being who was conjured up by
Dr. Fate, Zatanna, and Johnny Thunder's T-Bolt to find the missing Seven Soldiers
of Victory.
Dr. Fate described him as a being who knew almost everything. He was pretty
much a plot device to get the story moving and had little motivation or background,
unlike the Watcher.
When he was conjured up, he remarked that he might punish those who summon
him too casually, but he would help the heroes because he heard good things
about Dr. Fate. He didn't ask anything in return but he was selective about
the information he revealed, so that the writer of the comic could surprise
us.
The Oracle never appeared again, sadly. Not even in the re-telling of this
adventure in an issue of STARS & S.T.R.I.P.E.
The Organ Grinder
Ted Grant and Stretch Skinner went to Globe Gems to get a boxing trophy with
real silver fighters on it for a kids' amateur match. The Organ Grinder that
was playing outside followed them in, along with his monkeys. The monkeys
threw powder in the guards' eyes and gas bombs that knocked everyone out except
Ted, who stayed low to the floor and switched into his Wildcat costume amid
the confusion. Several men in gas masks had also entered the store and they
and the monkeys began looting the valuable gems. Wildcat waded into them and
knocked out several, and managed to jump on the rear of the escaping getaway
car as it sped off, leading him to Leo's Health Farm. Wildcat leapt off before
it went inside, planning to return later and capture the crooks.
Inside, Leo the Organ Grinder and the rest of the gang were congratulating
themselves on a big haul when Wildcat leapt into the fray once again. While
Wildcat was fighting the men, the Organ Grinder began playing "The Prisoner's
Song", which caused a monkey to swing in and knock Wildcat out with the
butt of a gun. When the hero awoke, he was tied upside down hanging in a pool
that was slowly filling up with water. The gang left, with the Organ Grinder
saying that they had a date to play 'blind man's bluff', leaving the hero
to drown. Wildcat found he was able to swing about, but couldn't quite reach
a nearby trapeze that he could use to pull himself to safety. He quickly discovered
that by whistling "That Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze",
he could get the monkey that was left to guard (!) him to move the trapeze,
and also managed to get him to untie his hands.
Meanwhile, the Organ Grinder and his gang were set up outside the Gala Benefit
for the Blind at Union Stadium and had again used the monkeys to heist the
proceeds from the guards. Wildcat arrived in the nick of time, but the Organ
Grinder, tired of the hero's interference, bashed him over the head with his
organ. As the gang closed in with their guns on Wildcat, he started playing
a tune on the organ, which was the same one the Organ Grinder played to tell
the monkeys to attack anyone with guns. The gang was disarmed and Wildcat
finished them off easily. Ted Grant then returned to Globe Gems to pick up
Stretch and the trophy.
Appearances:
Sensation Comics #84
O-Sensei
The O-Sensei's story began in Manchuria in 1895 when a Japanese army
captain faced a Chinese captive in unarmed combat. A soldier "helped"
by gunning down the Chinese man and the horrified captain condemned him for
his actions, asserting that he had brought disgrace on himself and the entire
army. To attone, the captain agreed to the victim's dying request: "I
will take his place" (DETECTIVE COMICS ANNUAL #1).
And so, he began "studying the ancient scriptures, practicing the ancient
disciplines, becoming many kinds of a master. Living a life perfect in its
austerity, its discipline and, finally, in its harmony." He refused his
wife's 1900 plea to return to Japan but agreed to her last request: "Promise
your bones will rest with mine" (THE QUESTION ANNUAL #1).
Decades later, the O-Sensei encountered Benjamin Turner (SUICIDE SQUAD #38)
and Richard Dragon (RICHARD DRAGON, KUNG FU FIGHTER #1), sensing the innate
goodness that lay beneath their surface rage. Over six years, he transformed
the men into two of the finest martial artists in the world (#1) and, having
done so, declared that there was nothing more he could teach them (#2). Before
leaving, he gave Richard a jade dragon's necklace (#3).
Months later, Richard and Lady Shiva sought out O-Sensei for his aid in helping
a dying Ben. They discovered that his meditations had been disrupted by Doctor
Moon, who sought the master's knowledge for evil purposes (RD #14).
After "more than a hundred and fifty winters," the O-Sensei finally
decided that his life had run its course. With Shiva at his side, he sought
out the Batman (DETECTIVE ANNUAL #1), Green Arrow (GREEN ARROW ANNUAL #1)
and the Question (QUESTION ANNUAL #1), individuals that he believed could
help him honor his vow to his wife. For his heirs, feeling that he had brought
disgrace on the house, were violently opposed to his presence at the burial
grounds.
In the end, it was not the family's actions that stopped the journey but
a raging typhoon that washed the O-Sensei from their boat. His body was lost
at sea. Arriving at the crypt, Shiva learned that the master's wife was NOT
buried there. She discovered later that "the boat carrying the family's
goods ran into a storm. The cabinet containing the wife's remains was swept
overboard. It rests — at the bottom of the sea" (QUESTION ANNUAL #1).
O-SENSEI (pre-Crisis, Earth-1):
DC Comics Presents #39
Richard Dragon, Kung Fu Fighter #1-3, 4 (mention), 6 (mention), 10 (mention),
13 (mention), 14, 17-18 (mention)
O-SENSEI (post-Crisis):
Detective Comics Annual #1
Green Arrow Annual #1
The Question Annual #1
Suicide Squad #38
Incidentally, the O-Sensei actually first appeared in the novel "Dragon's
Fists" by Jim Dennis (Denny O'Neil and Jim Berry) that was published
in 1974, which served as the basis for the first few issues of the RICHARD
DRAGON, KUNG-FU FIGHTER comic book.
The O-Sensei should not be confused with The League of Assassins leader,
who was only called the Sensei.
The Outsiders
by Joe Simon, Jerry Grandenetti, and Crieg Flessel
First and only appearance: 1st Issue Special #10 (Jan 1976)
The year is 1970. The world press reports that an unmanned U.S. space probe
has been sent to the planet Venus. There is something more remarkable about
the rocket Alpha Zero however. It actually contains a crew of two: Colonel
Markie, a military man, and Doctor Goodie, a renowned surgeon. Their long
journey to Venus is nearly over. Doctor Goodie questions the need for the
secrecy of the mission. He doesn't understand why they are going to such lengths
to investigate mysterious laser signals coming from the planet. Markie explains
that the laser beams could mean the end to cancer and all mankind's ills.
That's the reason the military asked Doctor Goodie to come along. As they
approach orbit, a sudden turbulence pulls them into a spin. They are caught
in a strange magnetic force, which pulls them crashing into the planet's surface.
Mysterious aliens pull Goodie's broken body from the wreckage and begin tending
to his injuries.
Two years later, the military receive reports of an unidentified spacecraft,
which has put down in the desert near their proving grounds. One General (Stagg?)
recognizes the craft as their lost Venus probe, Alpha Zero. There is no sign
of life, so they open the hatch and enter the craft. The General recoils in
horror. He can't be sure, but he believes the misshapen creature lying unconscious
before them is what remains of Doctor Goodie. Later, in a military hospital,
Goodie is finally revived after receiving a dose of phenolbarbotus. The General
explains to Goodie that he arrived in a state of suspended animation. Goodie
feels strange, but strong, and is anxious to get out of the hospital. The
General tells him he can't leave just yet, that something has happened to
him. The General hands Goodie a mirror. The once handsome Doctor Goodie screams
as he views his new, hideous features. The General explains that the military
had undertaken a thorough examination of Goodie while he was unconscious,
and they have concluded that some advanced medical team has put him together
in a miraculous operation. His limbs are functioning through a system of involved
computers. He is plasticized and mechanized... a cybernetic! Goodie doesn't
understand why they left him with such an ugly face. The General surmises
that they didn't feel that appearance was very important. Doctor Goodie has
another theory. He suspects that the beings that operated on him didn't know
what an Earthling looked like, so they made him over in their image!
A few months later, Doctor Goodie has since returned to his job as a surgeon
at the Ronkite Medical Complex, the world's newest and most modern hospital.
Goodie has created a convincing mask of his former face, one so realistic
that it fools all of his coworkers. Both the female patients and nurses swoon
over the handsome doctor, but he must remain distant lest they uncover his
secret. Goodie uses his status as the world's most famous surgeon to establish
private quarters twenty stories below the hospital. One nurse, Donna, who
is particularly fond of him, comments that people are beginning to whisper
that maybe he keeps a beautiful woman down there. Goodie retires to his luxurious
suite, but it is not a beautiful woman that awaits him, but rather a small
group of freaks. Among his grotesque friends, he prefers to be called Doctor
Scary. The group, the Outsiders, work out of Goodie's lair in secret, monitoring
the television for word of other outcasts like themselves.
The very first freak that Doctor Goodie had saved was Johnny. A man named
Ahab Smith was out fishing in his boat. Although he hadn't had much luck all
day, he felt a nibble as he reeled in his line for the last time. Smith gasped
when he heaved his catch into the boat. It was a part lizard, part human creature.
Smith rushed it to the Ronkite Medical Complex, where one of the doctors began
examining it. Two days later, the doctor called in Doctor Goodie to show him
what he had acquired. Goodie was shocked at what he saw. The doctor told him
that the small creature had grown six inches in just the last two days. He
grabbed a knife, and exclaimed that the merciful thing to do would be to kill
it. Doctor Goodie tried to stop him, but the doctor pushed Goodie to the floor
and raised the knife. The creature stung the doctor with his poison tongue,
apparently killing him. Doctor Goodie gently picked up the frightened creature
in a blanket and carried him to safety.
Goodie realized he could do a lot of good for people like Johnny. He created
his Doctor Scary identity, and developed the concept of the Outsiders. Over
the next few weeks, Lizard Johnny was soon joined by others, as Doc Scary
rescued other freaks. The Amazing Ronnie, a one-eyed, four-armed, green-skinned
beast. Hairy Larry, a troll-like man who was grafted to his motorized vehicle.
And Mighty Mary, a woman with a beautiful face, cursed with a hulking body
covered in orange scales and possessing flippers for hands.
The last freak that Goodie had saved was Billy. Old man Lundy lived and worked
alone in his little tailor shop on Main Street. Or so everyone in town thought.
It was rumored that Lundy kept his life savings hidden somewhere in his house.
One night, two men entered the shop and pulled a gun on the old man, demanding
his buried loot. He insisted that he was nothing but a poor working man. When
the thugs spotted a trap door, the old man panicked and frantically tried
to stop them. One of the men shot Lundy dead, then threw the gun out of the
window. The two men descended into the secret basement. The thieves were frozen
in terror as they were confronted by a boy with an enormous head. One of the
men grabbed a piece of timber and repeatedly bashed the bizarre boy on the
skull, with no effect. The men climbed out of the basement, and Billy followed.
The boy saw his father lying dead on the floor, and headed towards the two
men. They grabbed a kerosene lamp and threw it, setting the shop on fire.
When Billy ran out of the burning building, the gathering crowd believed he
was a monster and attacked him. News of the disturbance reached the Outsiders,
and they rushed to Billy's aid. Billy was rescued and joined the Outsiders
as it's newest member.
These aliens were shown to be in the possession of the U.S. Government's Project
M in Superman #692 (11.09).
The Overland Coach
From ALL-AMERICAN WESTERN #103 to 106 (1948-1952), Tony Barrett
delivered mail and packages across the Old West aboard the Overland Coach
which simultaneously thwarting bandits and solving mysteries. She rarely stopped
to accept accolades, though, commenting in AAW #112 that "I'm a working
girl and the Overland Coach is behind schedule now!"
Based out of Laredo, the blonde young woman, who owned as well as drove the
stagecoach, wore a buckskin shirt, blue jeans and gray gloves. Tony's brother
Billy, a few years her junior, appeared in some of the earlier episodes (AAW
#105, 106). Tony fought the Salinas Kid in AAW #118.
Frank Giacoia pencilled "Overland Coach" through AAW #113 and Gil
Kane continued for the duration of the run.
Overman
Overman was the first and most powerful hero on an alternate Earth (in the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths DC Multiverse) in which super-heroes were all a part of a government experiment. Other heroes in that world's Justice League were created as modified clones from Overman's cell scrapings (including a tall African-American Wonder Woman, an apparently Jewish Flash, and a punker Green Lantern).
Unfortunately, Overman's power corrupted him after a sex virus affected his brain. He killed the other members of the Justice League and laid waste to the entire planet, killing everyone. He also had a doomsday bomb in his possession, and planned to set it off, committing suicide and taking everything left with him.
He was also one of the characters who got out of the mind of the Psycho-Pirate during the event known as "Crisis 2". In what was probably the most existential battle in comic book history, Animal Man fought Overman, pulling him outside the panels of the comic he was in to face the "readers", and Animal Man trapped the madman inside a shrinking panel that eventually just disappeared. Animal Man returned to the "regular" world and shut off the doomsday bomb that Overman had activated.
Appearances:
Animal Man #23-24
Original text copyright DC
Comics unless otherwise noted. Used without permission.
