In the best superhero concepts, superheroic status comes at a cost — a damaged heart, radiation-induced blindness, the murder of parents or a beloved uncle, the destruction of an entire planet. But though terrible, those are usually one-time costs.
In the case of THUNDER Agent Lightning, that cost was ongoing and fatal.
“Perhaps the most ambitious and successful non-DC or Marvel superhero comics of the Silver Age were published by Tower,” wrote comics historian David W. Tosh. “The company was founded in 1965 as a division of Tower Books (paperback publishers), and lasted throughout the remaining Silver Age, finally ending in 1969.”
Guy Gilbert, a part of the title from the beginning, didn’t get his super speed until the 4th issue.
“The weak sister of an otherwise excellent group of strips, the (THUNDER) Squad was drawn in all four issues by Mike Sekowsky,” wrote Lou Mougin in TwoMorrows’ THUNDER Agents Companion. “It starred a group of five (later four) non-super specialists who cooled off hot spots around the globe. Each one was pretty stereotyped: Guy Gilbert was the squad leader and matinee idol.”
Then, having bravely volunteered for the job, Guy got a makeover in the form of a canary-yellow super-suit and exposure to a speed-inducer beam that would accelerate his movement even as it shortened his life.
“Dynamo was the brawny guy of the group — he had a high-tech belt that could make him invulnerable and super strong,” recalled comics historian Don Markstein of THUNDER’s nod to Superman. “NoMan was a spook type, similar in appearance to a DC character, the Spectre, and with spook-like super powers as well — but again, with high-tech rather than mystical sources for his abilities. Lightning was a knock-off of the Flash, and Raven one of Hawkman.”
If would have been interesting, if grim, if they'd had serial Lightnings as each one died.
Kevin McDougall:
ReplyDeleteIn my head canon, this book was set on Earth-2, where costumed super-agents were deployed to pad out the superhero community due to many (not all, i.e. the JSA) composing the "lost generation" of mystery-persons killed in WW2.
Chris Eberle:
ReplyDeleteReminds me of Kis Psycho from the Legion of Superheroes, he was alien who had incredible telekinesis and other mental powers that included force shield generation but the LSH rejected him because every time he used his powers it shortened his life. When he found out he told the team if they needed his help he would volunteer. Because he was willing to make the sacrifice they made him I reserve since they couldn't admit him under normal circumstances.
Vincent Mariani:
ReplyDeleteI like the post. Dislike Tower.
To me, everything Tower published had a sterile, antiseptic feel to it, with Reed Crandall's artwork being the one exception.
There was nothing original in the series that could match the creativity at Marvel and DC. For all his talent, Wood wasn't infallible, and superheroes were probably least appropriate for his style of drawing.
Even Gil Kane's and Steve Ditko's Tower work was lackluster, and Sekowsky is not a favorite of mine. The general tone of Tower Comics was drained of any earthiness or soul.
Philip Portelli:
ReplyDeleteIt would be one thing if Lightning was only used in dire emergencies, but he appeared in every issue plus all the reboots.
Ellis L Rose:
ReplyDeleteI loved the Tower Comics characters! Even Lightning who I considered to be one more speedster. But that was okay. His character seemed original even if his super power was not.
Philip Rushton:
ReplyDeleteLightning's 'Achilles heel' was the fact that his speed aged him at an accelerated rate. I always wondered if that idea was influenced by the Marvel story "I Was The Invisible Man" in which the hero ended up as an old man after performing all sorts of astonishing feats at high speed.
Whitney Weston:
ReplyDeleteTHUNDER Agents is on my list of superhero stories I want to see made into live-action movie or TV series.
James Collier:
ReplyDeleteThey had serial Menthors. A serial Lightning would have made the series into a "who dies next" affair.