You mean Sandy the Golden Boy? I like his time as leader of the JSA. He seems to struggle with feeling unworthy of the position, but then you watch him grow into the role. I especially liked when he offered the post back to Hawkman who turned it down, and then Carter sees Kendra kissing Sand. Drama…
I’m going to answer the other questions out of order and in segments. I’m going to start with question #3 and then get to the others tomorrow. This is because I love creating legacy characters, and kind of went overboard… Here we go:
Rather than just creating 1 legacy character, I went for a team of 7. I’m going to call them The New All-Stars. We’ll start with the chairman:
Spark 2-X (James Northrup III)
James is the descendant of Sparky (or Spunky as he was later called). Sparky was the kid sidekick of the Golden Age Blue Beetle (Patrolman Dan Garret, not archeologist Dan Garrett). Sparky was really Sparkington J. Northrup who was an American orphan who had been adopted by English Lord Northrup. Sparkington became the Blue Beetle’s sidekick after Dan rescued him from Nazi kidnappers.
From Blue Beetle (Holyoke) #15
James is Sparky’s great grandson. James inherited a great deal of wealth from his family which included majority ownership of Franz Pharmaceuticals. Franz Pharma was founded by Sparky and Abraham Franz who invented Vitamin 2-X. Vitamin 2-X gave the Golden Age Blue Beetle the “super-energy” he needed to fight evil. James has no powers of his own but is addicted to Vitamin 2-X and dons a chain mail costume much like the original Blue Beetle. James suffers from anxiety and guilt over his family’s wealth and history. He used his wealth to found and fund the New All-Stars to make up for what he sees as past wrongs.
*Funny thing about Sparky that sort of relates to @MatthewHecht’s question. There’s a panel in Blue Beetle (Holyoke) #18 that refers to Blue Beetle and Sparky as “Wes and Sandy” (Sandman and The Golden Boy).
I think the art was originally meant for a Sandman story and was repurposed for this Blue Beetle story. I’m taking it as meaning Spark 2-X is my Sand.
The Mistress (Hannah von Gunther)
Hannah is the great granddaughter of reformed Wonder Woman nemesis, Paula von Gunther. Paula’s daughter, Gerta, was taken by the Nazis. This forced Paula to do evil deeds for the Axis and made her the archenemy of Wonder Woman. Paula was eventually captured and sent to Reform Island. She changed her ways and renounced her evil deeds after Princess Diana rescued Gerta from the Nazis. Paula worked hard to do good deeds and redeem her past after that.
From Wonder Woman #3.
Hannah grew up on Paradise Island and developed Amazonian strength, stamina, speed, and durability. She was trained in combat by the finest Amazonian warriors. Hannah also learned the secrets of deception, intrigue, and domination passed down from her great grandmother. Hannah continues Paula’s mission to redeem their family name. Also coming from old, European money, Hannah and James are old friends.
Miss America (Iman Ibrahim)
The original Miss America, Joan Dale, received her magic powers to alter reality from the Statue of Liberty.
From
Military Comics #1
Born in America the daughter of Syrian refugees, Iman Ibrahim made a wish in front of the Statue of Liberty for the power to protect all Americans from the fear of tyranny. As with Joan Dale, the Statue of Liberty responded by granting Iman the power to temporarily alter reality. Iman used these abilities to become the new Miss America. She is the youngest, least experienced member of the All-Stars, but she is possibly the most powerful among them.
The Red Crusher (Jae Ho Lee)
Back during the Korean War, The Red Crusher was known as the most inventive and brutal commander of the North Korean army (from Captain Marvel Adventures #139 which is, unfortunately, not digitized). The Crusher terrorized UN forces with his giant mace weaponry. Lee Jae Ho is the great grandson of The Red Crusher. He inherited his family’s legacy and worked to maintain the oppressive North Korean regime. Jae Ho became disillusioned after being forced to arrest a family who turned to buying food on the black market to survive. Jae Ho rescued the family and defected to South Korea with them. With his shape-changing Nano-Mace, The Red Crusher is a peerless combatant. He works with the New All-Stars in hopes of giving a face to the cause of Korean unification.
The Lady in White (Camilla Winston)
From All-Star Comics #15
Before his death, Detective Jim Corrigan was engaged to Clarice Winston. Shortly after his death and resurrection as The Spectre, Jim broke off the engagement thinking it was for the best. Before this, Jim and Clarice enjoyed one last romantic evening. As a result, Camilla was conceived. Ashamed of being pregnant and tossed aside by Corrigan, Clarice left the city to have the baby in secret. Tragically, Camilla came into this world stillborn, or… so it seemed. In reality, Camilla was born a ghost who could age. Her mother, believing Camilla dead, returned to her life leaving Camilla to grow up alone, half in the world of the living and half in the world of the dead. It took decades for Camilla to learn how to solidify enough to interact with the world around her. All the while, people would occasionally spot her fading in and out of existence. Her appearances turned into ghost stories and rumors. Eventually, Camilla was found by James Northrup III who offered to help her. Accepting James’ offer, Camilla joined the New All-Stars and works hard to hone the cosmic powers that she inherited from her absent father.
Invisible Hood (Joshua Woodley)
When the original Invisible Hood, Kent Thurston, was nearing retirement he began to wonder if he truly made a difference in his years fighting crime as a mystery man. He even began to wonder if he was guilty of ignoring greater injustices in his own country. That’s when he met young, idealistic civil rights activist, Josiah Woodley. Josiah wanted a way to fight back against the racial injustices perpetrated against African Americans while not endangering his family. Josiah needed a way to battle racism in secret. Seeing the opportunity to pass on his legacy and have it mean something, Thurston entrusted the invisibility formula to Josiah just as it had been entrusted to him by Professor Hans Van Dorn.
From Smash Comics #2
Joshua Woodley is Josiah’s grandson. Josh has taken on the role of the Invisible Hood and uses the formula for the power of invisibility. However, Josh is not about to fight racism in secret. He has become a visible, outspoken activist against inequality in America. He reluctantly accepted the offer to join the New All-Stars as a means of spreading his message.
Psy-Cat (Angelica Montez-King)
Taking a nod from the Stargirl series, Angelica is the daughter of Wildcat (Yolanda Montez) and Brainwave Jr. (Henry King, Jr.). She has inherited her father’s telekinetic and psychic abilities. She was also trained in fighting and acrobatics by her mother. Angelica has joined the New All-Stars to prove that she’s worthy of continuing two heroic legacies. She is younger than most of the team, and the burden weighs heavy on her shoulders.
The New All-Stars keep their headquarters in the old Franz Pharmacy building where Dan Garret used to go to transform into the Blue Beetle.
From Mystery Men Comics #1
That is my team! Like I said… I went overboard. I had fun doing this, though. I will get to the rest of the questions tomorrow and may do more with the New All-Stars. Stay tuned.
