Maggot (real name Japheth) was one of the X-Men I never got. He's South African and his mutant power is the fact that his digestive system leaves his body in the form of a couple of slugs (hence the name), to consume food. These slugs can apparently eat anything and after feeding they return to his body and provide him with nourishment and some added strength and agility. He actually has to do this to survive because it's the only way he can digest food. Oh yeah, when his strength and agility is enhanced he turns blue. READ MORE...
Everything about this guy's life seems to be pretty terrible. He had trouble digesting food and was always sickly as a child, plus he had to endure stomach pains. When he was one day told it was cancer, he left his village to not be a burden to his parents and to go wander away and die. He encountered Magneto who help him discover his inner maggot, literally. They returned to his village and found out his Father was killed by rebels. Magneto promptly killed them all. Needless to say Maggott didn't join Magneto's gang.
Later in life Maggott sought Magneto out anyway to get help with controlling his powers. Apparently it hurt immensely every time his slugs entered and exited his belly which they seemed to do up to 5 times a day. He ended up with the X-Men but never really bonded with them because of his consumption habits. He was young and was therefore encouraged to join the younger X-team, Generation X.
His adventures were weird at best and not worthy of mention at worst. Tragically he was captured by Weapon X and killed at their mutant concentration camp called Neverland. He gave his slugs to a couple of children in the camp before he died but now they appear to be in the hands of X-Men villain, Mr. Sinister.
There's not much redeemable to say about this character other than the fact that he was a good guy and had a good heart. He really got the bad end of the mutant stick though and a sucky life to boot. I couple of things I forgot to mention were that his digestive system was intelligent and they gave him the power of Psychometric Recall which allowed him to see past events of areas they fed. A lot of good it did him. He did however live long enough to earn an action figure of his likeness.
The currently running 3-D animated Iron Man series called Iron Man: Armored Adventures has been a mixed bag for me. On one hand it's so far out of continuity that it gives me a headache not to mention that Tony Stark is a high school kid. On the other hand the series looks good and the re-imagination of the traditional characters is interesting.
Anyway next season we finally get a Black Superhero in the mix and it's not War Machine (though I think it ought to be). It's the Black Panther. Here's a taste:
I've believe it's important to support writers, artists, etc. that create content I like. Being the writer for the Black Superhero Blog enables me to support Independent creators. I've decided to highlight some of these individuals each month, especially those that make it a point to share their work with me. One such creator is Chris over at HeroesLikeMe.com. He's written a novel that features Black Superheroes. I found the concept interesting and he was kind enough to share a copy with me. The book is entitled: HEROES LIKE ME: THE TALENTED TENTH RETURNS. Here's the synopsis:
"JOIN the Fiery Furnace, Shining Star, The Buffalo Soldier, Black Dove, The Human Pearl, The Maestro and the legendary John Henry-The Steel Driven Man as they uncover a global and evil plot which began during the 1800s and stretches to the PRESENT and the FUTURE. Are they good enough to be Heroes? Can they become The Talented Tenth that will save the world before the Salesman of Doom’s evil plans become reality?"
He's also put together a video to promote the novel. How good is it? Watch the video then head on over to HeroesLikeMe.com. Download the first chapter for free and find out for yourself. Enjoy!
Mr Terrific, Michael Holt, is not the first hero in the DC Comics universe to bear that name. The original Mr Terrific had a photographic memory, was an Olympic athlete, and a martial arts master. That Mr Terrific became a hero because he seemed to have conquered everything else. Michael Holt, the latest Mr Terrific was also an Olympic athlete and is the third smartest man alive. He chose to take on the name of this particular hero after hearing his story while he was dealing with a personal tragedy.
Michael Holt really is a genius in every since of the word but his life was not easy. He had a mentally challenged older brother who died at the age of 15. It devastated him but did not dull his quest for learning. He obtained multiple PH.D's, became a multi-millionaire, and won a gold medal in the Olympic decathlon, all before he became a superhero. Tragedy struck him again as his wife and unborn child died an accidental death. While contemplating suicide he was told about the the original Mr. Terrific and decided to become a hero himself.
Mr Terrific is a black belt in at least 6 martial arts disciplines but his super abilities are derived from his technology. His T-mask, a black letter "T" that covers most of his face, is molecularly bonded to him. Its technology enables him to remain unseen to all forms of electronic detection. The mask has been known to project speaking holograms of himself and even pick up thought-waves. It also protects his face from chemicals and relays his commands to his T-Spheres. The T-Spheres are flying metallic balls that can among other things, be his eyes and ears, interface with other technology, self destruct, fly him around and even hit people like large flying bullets.
Make no mistake, technology, and Olympic ability aside, Mr Terrific's real power is his mind. He specializes in multiple fields of ... well pretty much everything from medicine to political science to physics. He is also multilingual and whatever he doesn't know, he picks up quickly.
One of the biggest revelations about Mr Terrific is that he is an atheist. Comic books don't always place heavy emphasis on religion but Mr Terrific's beliefs have been an issue that has come up more than once. Maybe it was due to the personal tragedies he lived through. Despite having personally witnessed events and entities whose essence speak to there being a heaven and hell, he remains resolute.
This character's appearance was in June of 1997 which makes him relatively new but he has had enough experiences to have an active, if not lackluster, history. He's done a lot in terms of leadership and working behind the scenes. He's been chairman of the JSA (Justice Society of America) and even maintained high ranking positions withing the government covert organization known as Checkmate.
Mr Terrific has made it to television in the Justice League Unlimited animated series but again, his role was minor though it did grow somewhat as he became team coordinator and the one who handed out assignments. He also has an action figure. Mr Terrific is very much a thinker and while he willingly answers any call to action, he hasn't really done anything overly exciting. Unless someone comes up with a new way to write this guy, he's not likely to ever get his own book but he's pretty good in a supporting role. I hope they don't kill him off before they find a way to show how terrific this character really is.
Here's a fan tribute to Mr Terrific that's fairly extensive and definitely worth a look.
Maggot (real name Japheth) was one of the X-Men I never got. He's South African and his mutant power is the fact that his digestive system leaves his body in the form of a couple of slugs (hence the name), to consume food. These slugs can apparently eat anything and after feeding they return to his body and provide him with nourishment and some added strength and agility. He actually has to do this to survive because it's the only way he can digest food. Oh yeah, when his strength and agility is enhanced he turns blue.
