James Robinson has always had a penchant for bringing back forgotten characters, and you might have noticed a character called Code Name: Assassin in the Superman books, working for General Lane. This is a pretty weird superhero name, you'll agree, and don't try looking for him in an old issue of Who's Who. He's not there. So who is he, and where does he come from? I'm gonna have to break open a Time Capsule to find out!
The label says February 1976...
1ST ISSUE SPECIAL #11, DC Comics, February 1976
Those responsible: Gerry Conway, Steve Skeates, the Redondo Studio and Al Milgrom, tough Carmine Infantino designed the costume. Mike Grell did the cover. That's a lot of talent thrown at a character that never appeared again until Robinson decided to give him a cameo in Starman, and a role in Superman!
Assassin (for short) is really Jonathan Drew. Raised by his big sister after his parents' death, he later took part in ESP experiments as extra credit for a failing psych course. The testing equipment blows up and he finds himself with mental powers. As he's released from the hospital, his sister tries to tell him her big secret about working for a gangster and she's gunned down. So he's strongly motivated to bring down the mob.
He can... read minds!
Fly on telekinetic waves!
Fry your brain!
And surprisingly, never kills anyone!
He's also a pretty good hand-to-hand combatant, has nifty gadgets and pistols borrowed from a dead associate, and can even take a bullet.
Don't expect a full story though. The issue ends in the middle of a fight between Assassin and a couple of circus goons with powers. Conway and Skeates were apparently convinced Code Name Assassin would spin off into his own series, or at least another 1st Issue Special, between the cliffhanger and the story's editorial notes.
That was 1976. It took 32 years before he made another appearance, and the years haven't been kind to him. Now a government operative responsible for the murder of the Guardian, the attempted murder of pop culture icon Jimmy Olsen, and part of a conspiracy directed against Superman. Wiki calls him a supervillain. Man, it's all gone wrong.
That's what happens when you put the word Assassin in your Code Name. Choose your superhero name well!
SO HAVE OUR FOREFATHERS SPOKEN!
The label says February 1976...1ST ISSUE SPECIAL #11, DC Comics, February 1976
Those responsible: Gerry Conway, Steve Skeates, the Redondo Studio and Al Milgrom, tough Carmine Infantino designed the costume. Mike Grell did the cover. That's a lot of talent thrown at a character that never appeared again until Robinson decided to give him a cameo in Starman, and a role in Superman!Assassin (for short) is really Jonathan Drew. Raised by his big sister after his parents' death, he later took part in ESP experiments as extra credit for a failing psych course. The testing equipment blows up and he finds himself with mental powers. As he's released from the hospital, his sister tries to tell him her big secret about working for a gangster and she's gunned down. So he's strongly motivated to bring down the mob.
He can... read minds!
Fly on telekinetic waves!
Fry your brain!
And surprisingly, never kills anyone!He's also a pretty good hand-to-hand combatant, has nifty gadgets and pistols borrowed from a dead associate, and can even take a bullet.
Don't expect a full story though. The issue ends in the middle of a fight between Assassin and a couple of circus goons with powers. Conway and Skeates were apparently convinced Code Name Assassin would spin off into his own series, or at least another 1st Issue Special, between the cliffhanger and the story's editorial notes.
That was 1976. It took 32 years before he made another appearance, and the years haven't been kind to him. Now a government operative responsible for the murder of the Guardian, the attempted murder of pop culture icon Jimmy Olsen, and part of a conspiracy directed against Superman. Wiki calls him a supervillain. Man, it's all gone wrong.
That's what happens when you put the word Assassin in your Code Name. Choose your superhero name well!SO HAVE OUR FOREFATHERS SPOKEN!
Comments
Practice, Cod (can I call you Cod?), practice.
Roger
He does it in 20 comics each month.