Dial C for Cosplay

Another issue of New Adventures that DOESN'T announce the Dial H strip on the cover? For shame.

A lot of interesting bits though. Chief among them, and this has got to be disappointing for the readers whose designs were selected for the issue, there's the matter of 10 costumes showing up in a costume party held at the local comic book store (in fact, a costume contest with an appearance in Marv Wolfman's New Teen Titans on the line), all worn by the Fairfax High extended cast (some make their first and only appearance and basically have their creators' names), INCLUDING Chris and Vicki. In the story, all the cosplay was designed by Nick, but only two are used as Dial identities. I've decided to cover the rest in bulk with very little to go on but the names and looks.

Case 49: New Adventures of Superboy #42
Dial Holders: Chris and Vicki
Dial Type: Watch and Pendant Dials
Dialing: Not only do the Dials offer up more of Nick's designs, but the heroes Chris and Vicki become are dead ringers for the students wearing them at the store event. Good thing they didn't turn into the heroes THEY were cosplaying at, or they'd have been outed. The Master, watching the proceedings remotely, intimates the Dials "tune in on the thoughts of one of their closest friends", a secret he's stumbled onto, but they haven't.

Name: X-Rayder (anything with X- at the front will sell)
Created by: Tico Lopez, of Irving, TX
Costume: A green and orange jumpsuit with what might be an asymmetrical orange lightning bolt coming off one shoulder and making a right turn at the squarish open collar. Generic and uninformative, I'm afraid.
Powers: Nothing about X-rays, but rather the ability to siphon energy, as he does with the Fire Devil's heat in this story, though there does seem to be a limit to how much power he can absorb, threatening to burn out at any time, and doesn't seem at all able to release or reuse the energy he takes in.
Sighted: In Fairfax, protecting a comic book store from the Fire Devil. The hero is a dead ringer for Fairfax High's jocky Brad.
Possibilities: Shows up once as an X-Men parody, absorbs energies of some time, blows up. The end. But even such a small and silly role I would want to give to a more interesting looking character.
Integration Quotient: 5% (too generic, but I do wonder if the reader's design was really given its due)

Name: Lavender Sky-Writer (that's a descriptive mouthful!)
Created by: Martin Rios, of Biola, CA
Costume: In purple tones (lavender, actually), this heroine wears fishnets (Ryan Daly, take note!) and a sexy Phantom Lady-type top with choker. The cape is a tell-tale sign that she can fly (kid logic). And she wears bracelets that evoke butterflies and a thin tiara.
Powers: The Lavender Sky-Writer flies and spells words in the sky with some kind of lavender-colored smoke that comes out of her bracelets. Once it has settled, it can be molded into the thing signified by the word. So in the story's example, "FIREHOSE" becomes a veritable hose in LSW's hands which can spray actual water.
Sighted: In Fairfax, extinguishing a fire set at the local comic book shop, and dousing Fire Devil to death. She is a dead ringer for Fairfax High's fashionable Glenda.
Possibilities: A rather silly power, but since it seems to be linked to the bracelets, it's easy enough to call it magic. But given the color, the tiara design, and the use of color, how about making her a Star Sapphire who simply uses her powers oddly? Maybe she needs to see words to properly visualize objects. Maybe she's not neurotypical. Who knows?
Integration Quotient: 50% (working around the power's innate silliness actually could make her an interesting character, the costume being an amalgam of Black Canary and Phantom Lady is probably not a deal breaker for most readers)

As for the 8 remaining heroes, none of which we can see in action since they're just costumes, what might we do with them?
Molecular Master: By Chris Lewis of Bloomfield, CT. DC already has one, a robotic villain who tried to join the Legion under false pretenses to steal the Miracle Machine. And he didn't wear a male version of 2980s Phantom Girl either. A new try-out wanting to redeem the name? Integration Quotient: 25%
Magneta: By Erika Andrade of Bridgeport, CT. Feels like what Wolfman actually wanted to call Magenta. Frannie sports a similar color scheme, but is more overtly magnetic. Keeping the librarian look might make for a fun superheroine of the weekends. Integration Quotient: 35%
Silk: By Joann Webank of Jackson, MI. Marvel has its own Silk these days, but this butterfly girl has a pretty good design. A Mantis-like addition to a DC team? Integration Quotient: 50%
Granule Girl: By Tim Wahowske of Emmett, MI. I wonder what she looked like as not-Vicki? I mean, there's no way someone sent in a hero with Vicki's exact haircut, right? The costume, not really seen here, is a strange one, full of open lines and an unforgiving color. Not sure what the logo on the front is supposed to be (a "G"?). Anyway, with a name like that, I'm guessing her power is either animate granular matter, make it swarm, create objects, or else to make things like grains of sand grow to enormous size. Either way, little to go on, not even her true appearance. Integration Quotient: 0%
Blue Blazes: By Troy Wilson of Jolo, WV. Nick sports one of his own designs here, a cold fire look with blue and white Bs on the chest and a flaming domino mask. He might be able to fire cool flame, perhaps even fire that freezes instead of burns (and then burns in the other sense). He'd fit Young Heroes in Love or something like that. Integration Quotient: 50%
Copycat: By Joey Ammeter of Starbuck, Manitoba. The white tunic is very plain and the jaguar helmet sits awkwardly on Robert's head, but I'd rather think his powers are to copy a person's moves and fight them with cat-like grace than have him be a shape-shifter. I mean, the costume just doesn't evoke that. A Black Panther wannabe relegated to the Global Guardians? Integration Quotient: 20%
Electric Lad: By Ben Dunn of San Antonio, TX. When you've got a name like that, you're from the 30th Century. And you can't get into the Legion because Lightning Lad and Lightning Lass have the electric market cornered. Integration Quotient: 10%
Taragon: By James A. Turoczy of Pittsburgh, PA. What is a "Taragon"? The disco ball of a neck collar doesn't yield any clues. Integration Quotient: 0%

If any of these designs were yours, let us know what you actually sent in so we can better evaluate it!

Bonus Supervillain

Name: Fire Devil (an entity like this should have more of a surname, not a code name, but he does say he also goes by Satan, Lucifer and Old Nick, which is just bluster, as we'll see)
Created by: Charles L. Cutting, of Middleham, England
Look: An animated skeleton on fire (rather than made OF fire; when doused, he turns into a charcoal collection of bones), with flaming red eyes. A striking demonic shape.
Powers: Fire Devil only fakes being the Devil, complete with the contracts for people's souls (which he must materialize from this air, perhaps the same way he teleports in a puff of smoke), but he's really one of the Master's creations/stooges, and so can only act as an agent of destruction. He radiates intense heat, able to melt concrete and fire balls of flame. Water is his weakness however, and once doused, disintegrates into ash.
Sighted: In Fairfax, destroying a comic book store as part of a contract with an old millionaire who hates all media, from the printing press on, but comics most of all. He is destroyed by Lavender Sky-Writer.
Possibilities: Loose from the Master's chains, Fire Devil would make a fine demon who went around conning people out of their souls and ever really delivering on his promises, until Lucifer took an actual interest in decided to destroy or torture him. A fun idea that, over time, would make him a laughing stock in DC's mystical realm, and there's definitely room for that.
Integration Quotient: 90% (only the lackluster name keeps him from a perfect score)

Next: The Master makes his move!