As in House of Mystery #160, in which Giantboy returned, Robby has a second chance at a hero he's incarnated before. This time, it's House of Mystery #157's Radar-Sonar Man. Truthfully, I never thought we'd see THIS guy again, as his 5% integration quotient can attest. Does he get any better? Well, once again he comes in last to mop up the mess left by other heroes, so despite his terrible name and look, he caught up with the villain in Valleyville and put a stop to his crime spree. He showed off a new power - a super sonar wave that acts as a telekinetic beam - not that it makes any sense. So no more viable, in my opinion. What about the newer heroes on tap?Case 12: House of Mystery #167
Dial Holder: Robby Reed
Dial Type: The Big Dial
Dialing: For the second time, Robby dials up a hero he's been before - Radar-Sonar Man. This cements the impression that these heroes exist and aren't all the same guy.
Name: Balloon Boy (fun and alliterative)Costume: A simple, but classic green and yellow number that reminds one at once of Bouncing Boy and the Blimp. The nipple Bs have got to go, however, and Balloon Boy doesn't look quite right when he's not fully inflated.
Powers: Balloon Boy can make himself weightless and fly. By "deflating", he can drop on his enemies "like a ton of bricks", which speaks to some measure of invulnerability.
Sighted: On King Highway, somewhere between Montvale and Oakdale. Balloon Boy attempted to apprehend the Rainbow Raider and his goons, but failed.
Possibilities: The Legion of Super-Heroes already has Bouncing Boy, so this character might serve better as the son of the Inferior 5's Blimp. Same color scheme, same lame powers, and that would make Balloon Boy a fun little legacy hero to fit into some iteration of the Teen Titans. Of course, the way things are going for that group lately, it probably means he dies a gruesome, meaningless death. Such is the life of an inflatable hero.
Integration Quotient: 25% (loser heroes who aren't TOO silly are relatively easy to fit into continuity)
Name: Muscle Man (a classic-sounding name, if a bit cheesy)Costume: The caveman duds and sensible sandals aren't very iconic. Drop it down to furry shorts and we might have something, but the pelt toga is rather weak.
Powers: Muscle Man can "throw" his punches at a short distance as a ball of kinetic energy. There is a limit to his power supply.
Sighted: In Riverton. Muscle Man attempted to stop the theft of a million-dollar stamp collection, but was trounced by the Rainbow Raider.
Possibilities: He makes me think of Flex Mentallo in a way. Just flex and boom, stuff happens. So truth be told, I'd rather have Flex running around than Muscle Man. His look might make me want to make him a super-powered contemporary of Anthro and Kong, but the powers feel too science-based for it. As a contemporary of Superman et al., he just seems under-dressed and underdeveloped. I'm perplexed. It seems like I should come up with a role for this character, but I just can't.
Integration Quotient: 5% (there's something off about him even if I can't quite put my finger on it)
Bonus Lame Villain
Before lame-ass Roy G. Bivolo was the Rainbow Raider, Doctor Quin started the lame-ass Rainbow Raider legacy.
This human mood ring better not turn up in Geoff Johns' Green Lantern comics as an avatar of lights...
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