Dial H for Hipster

I gotta say, Joe Quinones is great at aping the styles of other artists! At this point in the series, not only do the various identities have borrowed art styles (Eastman and Laird on the Geckos, for example), but entire pages of the story might pay tribute to other artists. After Daniel Clowes a couple issues before, Dial H #9 features pages that could have been written (so I give Humphries some of the credit) and drawn by ACME Novelty Library's Chris Ware, which fits because Miguel was feeling useless and pathetic, Ware's over-arcing theme.

Case 109: Dial H for Hero #9
Dial Holders: Miguel Montez, Summer Pickens, the Thunderbolt Club
Dial Type: Cardinal Dials
Dialing: It is confirmed that each colored Dial offers a different transformation - Magenta into a random hero, Cyan into their inner hero, and yellow into two heroes (the K-Dial's effects still unknown) - but it's unclear who Cyan actually works. For example, while SuperMiguel was obviously his "inner hero", when he dials it again, he gets a different hero, albeit one that reflects his current state of mind. So your inner hero can change. And then there's Summer, who has at this point Magenta-Dialed Lo Lo Kick You twice, and dials her AGAIN, but this time with the Cyan Dial. Again she gets an updated look, which is based on Jem of Holograms fame:
So the question is, did the Magenta Dial randomly give her inner hero (twice!), or did her enjoying being Lo Lo make her more likely to adopt it as her inner hero? After Snapper Carr modified Miguel's van, you could place the Cyan Dial on a lit-up pedestal, allowing the vehicle to travel the Multiverse (much as the Magenta Dial did for Robby's capsule). Speaking of the Magenta Dial, if several people grab the its receiver when the number is dialed, their identities might all be part of the same theme (see the Tweenage Irritable Geckos, below).
Name: The Early Adopter (a hero for our times!)
Costume: White wide-bottomed pants, gloves, cape, vest and hair. Black turtle-necked shirt. Powder blue highlights. Accessories are golden yellow, including a Cyclops-type visor, bandoliers, belt, side-bag, leg straps, and shoes.
Powers: He has a knack for adopting the most cutting edge technology. Among his plethora of expensive next-gen devices, we find the Dark Web, a trumpet-like gun that shoots a net that ensnares bad guys; the Privacy Suckerberg, that shows him where criminals have been; the Unsubscribe Button, which must be deadly indeed; and the Away Message, which can banish enemies. Unfortunately, because of Miguel's state of mind, none of these devices work. Even had this not been the case, we can surmise that the Early Adopter would have problems with his equipment from time to time, as most would be in beta-test when he makes them part of his arsenal.
Sighted: In Metropolis at the Daily Planet, ineffectually fighting the Tweenage Irritable Geckos before jumping into a Mayoverse Madness van with Lo Lo Kick You.
Possibilities: According to the included origin, Scott was always gung-ho to have the swingingest tech, and was in line for an upcoming release when the mental friction between enthusiasm and sleep deprivation created a metaphysical tunnel between his brain and his tech. Forced to confront the endless dark void within himself, never satisfied, he became... the Early Adopter, whoc fights crime in the name of consumerism and capitalism! I don't really know what any of that means, but I could imagine a satirical series where E.A. changes gadgets, fashion, and even philosophy to follow the trends. Heck, I'd love to implant him in the DCU way earlier so we could have adventures where he uses brick-sized mobile phones or suddenly does parkour. The perfect hero for influencer insta-culture.
Integration Quotient: 40% (it's a good idea, but is it really INTEGRATED into the DCU? Kind of off on its own, somewhere)
Name: The Tweenage Irritable Geckos (they can't agree on the other epithet, whether Librarian, Gangster, Pirate, or Butcher)
Costume: Humanoid lizards who manifest in black and white, all dressed according to their chosen epithet/job, plus thick domino masks tied at the back like some Turtles I might care to mention.
Powers: Fighting prowess with their chosen weapons (Gatling gun, sword, cleaver, librarian stamp).
Sighted: In Metropolis, at the Daily Planet, fighting the Early Adopter and Lo Lo Kick You.
Possibilities: The DCU also has the Big Fat Freaking Frogs thanks to Ambush Bug, but they lasted exactly one fake cover in an interior. The Geckos are the same kind of parody and would also appear exactly once. But say there were no legal impediment, and DC really, really wanted to build up Earth-C, well, they might be street level heroes there to the Zoo Crew's JLA status.
Integration Quotient: 5% (not only is that last statement a big "if", there ARE legal impediments.

Next: Four Dials on Infinite Earths.

Comments