Dial H for the Second Half of Big Supervillain Army

Are you ready for round two? Same big battle from New Adventures #47 and 48, but with 10 supervillains (14 if you count the advance guard from #46), it's taken us - and the Dial heroes - to get through them. This second half isn't all great, or perhaps some of the villains just weren't given their due. You'll see.

Case 54: New Adventures of Superboy #47-48
Dial Holders: Chris and Vicki
Dial Type: Watch and Pendant Dials
Dialing: Nothing new to report as we're still on the same "dial-up".

Only Supervillains!
Name: Solar Dynamo (bit of a mouthful)
Created by: Robert C. Morrison, of Huntington, WV
Costume: Bad haircut, but the black and white costume, with yellow, orange and red stripes looks pretty cool and fits his radiation theme. He has a red face indicating some kid of alien origin perhaps, though he could just as easily have been mutated by his powers.
Powers: He generates solar energy and fires it into a beam; heat, certainly, but perhaps other wavelengths.
Sighted: Part of the Master's supervillain army, one of three villains who didn't get to use their powers so fired on a defeated Trouble Clef. Their powers are turned against them by Venus.
Possibilities: Though his powers are generic, "solar" powers are a useful suite. This very issue of Superboy involves one such villain, Sunburst. I like Sunburst, but he hardly showed up after this. Solar Dynamo, not so much. He's got the face of a one-shot alien invader who can nevertheless take on the Justice League, but is promptly sent home and forgotten.
Integration Quotient: 30% (yes, sure, but has little lasting power)
Name: Darkstar (I know a Soviet superheroine who'd be mighty pissed)
Created by: William Huffman, of Albany, GA
Costume: A black one-piece with corrugated almost-gloves (do not actually cover the hands) and boots, a blue visor and antennaed ear muffs, and a gray and blue chest emblem that crosses two boomerang shapes into a makeshift star. Looks pretty retro, but kind of sharp nonetheless.
Powers: Darkstar fires some kind of energy from his hands, presumably "dark energy" à la Blackout and Marvel's own Darkstar.
Sighted: Part of the Master's supervillain army, one of three villains who didn't get to use their powers so fired on a defeated Trouble Clef. Their powers are turned against them by Venus. He's the one who whines about it.
Possibilities: Like Solar Dynamo, the full application of the implied power suite would make him a good foe to go up even against a team. Some scientist powered by a black hole, perhaps. Wouldn't appear very often, but he's no worse than a guy like Bolt.
Integration Quotient: 35% (a better look gets him 5% than his buddy)
Name: Trojan (not sure how it fits, but good for a chuckle today)
Created by: Bryan Smith, of Boring, OR
Costume: The Grecian helmet, gold bracers and shin guards are enough to give Trojan an ancient look, but the rest of his costume, red sleeveless spandex with a metal belt/jock strap combo and a radioactive hazard emblem, bring him to the 20th Century.
Powers: Trojan can evidently fire some type of radiation from his hands. That's all we know.
Sighted: Part of the Master's supervillain army, the last of three villains who didn't get to use their powers so fired on a defeated Trouble Clef (his idea, so we know he's petty). Their powers are turned against them by Venus.
Possibilities: Good name, good look, it's just not clear why a radioactive man would call himself Trojan. Let's say he's a Turk of Greek descent. Let's say he got his powers when some nuclear reactor blew. Let's further say he was tailor-made to become a Wonder Woman villain, at once "old world" and new. If she represents peace, he's the threat of nuclear war. There's something to it.
Integration Quotient: 60% (Diana needs all the villains she can get)
Name: Titaness (fine, but doesn't sound as good as Titania might, though I realize it was taken)
Created by: Angela Finch, of Chicago, IL
Costume: A yellow tunic (which may not be the safest costume for a giantess) with jeweled gold boots, belt, bracers and tiara.
Powers: Titaness can grow to a great height, a full-grown hero shorter than one of her fingers. (Sorry, I'm not very good at estimating sizes.)
Sighted: Part of the Master's supervillain army, her size and bulk become a disadvantage as she crushes several of her team mates when downed.
Possibilities: If we didn't have the superior Giganta, Titaness would be a good Wonder Woman villain. She has the appropriate "ancient world" look and we know Diana can fight giants. Though a poor man's Giganta, he could still operate in some JLA-fighting team, an Amazon gone bad who copied Giganta's origin and so on.
Integration Quotient: 40% (can be integrated, but will seem redundant)
Name: Blue Damsel Fly (on the long side)
Created by: Brett Kinner, of Wellsburg, NY
Costume: Blue spandex with black lines running through to mimic insect segmentation perhaps? Yellow gloves and boots complete the costume. Most notably, she has four diphanous insect wings on her back.
Powers: A non-shrinking Wasp, Blue Damsel Fly can, of course, fly, and fires an electric "sting" from her hands.
Sighted: Part of the Master's supervillain army, she is smashed against a wall by one of Venus' traps, after her powers are bounced off Titaness' head.
Possibilities: A Queen Bee type who might give heroes like Hawk and Dove some trouble, but not for long. Someone might use her to make a faux-Avengers team (if the Heroes of Angor hadn't already gone there), but the name has got to go.
Integration Quotient: 15% (a big step down from the character she's derivative of)

Next: Nick steps up to the plate!

Comments

NES Boy said…
Hey, Siskoid. I've caught up with your Dial H series, and I've noticed you lost count of the case files at one point. Specifically, during the last three issues of the Robby Era. You've labeled House of Mystery #171, House of Mystery #172, and House of Mystery #173 all as "Case 16", so all the case numbers since then are two numbers behind. In other words, what we're currently on is actually Case 56.
Siskoid said…
Nice catch. Since it's been so long and that would mean way too many corrections, how about I just tag those last two as 16.1 and 16.2 ;)