Captain Comet

Origin

Adam Blake was born in 1931 to John and Martha Blake in a mid-western American town. Adam Blake was named after his grandfather. His birth coincided with the passing of a comet in the night sky, which Johnathan Blake jokingly noted as a sign of good fortune. The comet’s radiation activated Adam’s meta-gene, and he began to exhibit various powers at a very young age.

Creation

The character of Captain Comet was created by Julius Schwartz, John Broome and Carmine Infantino for use in DC Comics. His first appearance is in Strange Adventures #9 which was released in June, 1951. One notable fact is that Captain Comet was the first official superhero mutant in mainstream comic books. He appeared 12 years before the X-Men debuted, and Namor was only officially classified as a mutant during the X-Men’s revival in the 1990s.

Major Story Arcs

Pre-Crisis History

Adam’s mental powers developed very early in his childhood. By the time he was four years old, Adam demonstrated acute powers of observation, possibly the emergence of the sensory centers that grant him clairvoyance or early indicators of his photographic memory. On one occasion, he mentally located his mother’s missing wedding band beneath a pile of discarded wood. When questioned, he claimed that he simply knew where it was. By the time he was eight, he possessed a photographic memory and was able to memorize and comprehend all of the information that he had read from an entire volume of encyclopedias. He excelled at every sport and activity he tried: he could play musical instruments without lessons and performed athletic feats comparable to Olympic participants. When Blake became a teenager, his superhuman durability and strength began to manifest, and he exhibited signs of telekinesis and telepathy. He even saved the life of a fellow college student by catching her with his telekinetic abilities.

Despite this, Adam felt isolated because he was wildly different and had to suppress his powers from being known by the public. He went to Professor Emery Zackro for help in coming to terms with his nature. After many extensive tests, Zackro deducted that Adam was a mutant, the pinnacle of human evolution 100,000 years in the future. He offered Adam a job as his assistant in the science hall.

When criminals attempted to steal Zackro’s solar reducer technology, Adam used his telekinesis to stop their bullets and foil their plans. He and the scientist agreed that Adam should use his powers for good. “Captain Comet” became an international hero by single-handedly stopping the alien Astur from terraforming the Earth. During this battle he also gained the equipment that he would use for many more years (all invented by Professor Zackro): a prototype spaceship which Adam named “The Cometeer”, a stun gun, his trademark costume, and a spacesuit.

For three years Captain Comet acted as a protector of Earth and an explorer of the galaxy, while maintaining his secret identity as an information clerk in a metropolitan library. He fought off dinosaurs, Greek gods, alien invaders, and a super-powered ape several times. He rescued damsels in distress from different worlds and visited alien civilizations. But he could never shake the feeling that he was fundamentally different than his fellow human beings and could never belong without a superhero identity. Adam noticed that while the people in his life aged and changed in appearance, he remained the same; he became frustrated by the limitations of Earth’s knowledge. In 1954 Comet left Earth in the Cometeer, and would not return until 1976.

Upon his return he is tricked by Gorilla Grodd into joining the Secret Society and fights Darkseid and the forces of Apokolips alongside them He eventually figures out the ruse, sparking a long-time crusade against the Society. Adam also became an honorary member of the Justice League and fought Chronos when he time-displaced dinosaurs into the present. Captain Comet disappeared for two years, only contacting Superman when he began to lose control of his powers. He and Superman solved it by finding the comet that originally triggered his mutation. Six years later the villain Brain Storm stole Comet’s mental powers, unwittingly evolving him by 10,000 years. Again Superman was able to fix the problem.

Post-Crisis History/L.E.G.I.O.N/R.E.B.E.L.S.

Over the next few years Comet drifted aimlessly in space. He then encountered the space pirate Dagon-Ra, and although he could defeat his men Comet couldn’t fight Ra’s transmutation powers. He was captured and tortured until Lobo infiltrated Ra’s ship until the commands of Vril Dox. After recuperating at L.E.G.I.O.N headquarters Comet was offered a position on the team by Lyrissa Mallor, although Dox rescinded it. He became a member a year later when Phase made the same offer.

He fell in love with Marij’n Bek, despite her being the wife of Garryn Bek, who monitored his recent explosive headaches. Comet was actually infected by an alien parasite during his capture on Ra’s ship, which had waited until it could make contact with its true target Lady Quark. Dox purged the parasite by tricking it into possessing a container of bio-matter with the same DNA as Lady Quark. This left Captain Comet comatose for months.

Comet, Marij’n and Garryn were attacked by the parasite again, which had taken the form of Lady Quark, when they were shipwrecked on the planet Ith’kaa. It seemingly killed him by burying him underground. Comet escaped his grave but was stranded and cut off from any communication with L.E.G.I.O.N. To solve this problem, he befriended the primitive native population and became its ruler. In six months they became technologically advanced to the point where they could built a spaceship for him to escape. He returned to find L.E.G.I.O.N. under the mind control of Lyrl Dox, and was instrumental in deposing him. Vril retired from leadership and Comet became the leader of the organization.

Rann-Thanagar War

At some unspecified point Comet stepped down as the leader of L.E.G.I.O.N. and Vril regained his former position. Adam became a freelance agent for Dox, although he says he owes Dox no allegiance. He is seen accompanying Dox to the planet Ancar, which had been invaded by Khunds. Comet meets Kyle Rayner and decides to help him deal with the Rann-Thanagar War. They travel to the destroyed planet and discover that hundreds of Thanagarians are preserved in suspended animation underneath the planet’s surface. Together they build a protective dome and terraform the land to create a habitable environment for the survivors. Afterwards Comet joins Adam Strange‘s coalition to protect Rann from civil war. He plays an important part in defeating Onimar Synn. Unfortunately, Captain Comet is incinerated by Lady Styx.

Mystery in Space

Captain Comet’s body was later stolen by the Eternal Light Corporation from Hardcore Station‘s morgue. The theft didn’t go as planned and the the thieves disposed of Blake’ body by jettisoning it to the nearest sun but something incredible happened as Blake’s corpse neared the sun. Blake’s corpse still maintained a telepathic link and it connected itself with the telepathic form of the Weird. The process that brought them together was called “Revivification” according to the Weird. However, the connection didn’t last for long. Captain Comet’s revived body lands at the doorstep of his canine companion Tyrone on Hardcore Station.

After Comet’s return, Comet began to investigate why someone would go through all the trouble to steal his corpse. First, Blake pays a visit to Star Hawkins, an old man who keeps himself well informed on operations that take place on Hardcore Station but Hawkins is immediately killed during mid conversation with Blake. Blake could sense a psychic pulse was used to kill Hawkins from inside his mind. As a telekinetic, Blake also has the ability to deliver this deadly blow but he has never been tempted to use it. Afterwards, Blake is attacked by three of Deacon Dark’s telepathic followers but he manages to escape by discovering his new-found ability to teleport.

Blake made his way back to Tyrone’s apartment and he asks Eye, his former girlfriend, to call in every head of each financial district in Hardcore’s meta-community to get answers. Blake informs the representatives of the meta-community that he is alive, Star Hawkins has been murdered and three telepathic thugs tried to place a neural barrier on his head while kidnapping him. Blake brings up the pyramid insignia that he saw on the kidnappers and one of the representatives informs Blake that he must have been attacked by monks of the Eternal Light Corporation. Blake decides to infiltrate the corporation by disguising himself as one of the monks and teleporting to a covert location within the corporation.

As for Comet, Blake enters the church undetected and discovers Deacon Dark’s cloning facility where all of Dark’s telepathic followers are grown. It seems the theft of Blake’s corpse was not a total failure. The thieves managed to make off with some of Blake’s DNA for the cloning process. Deacon Dark immediately senses Comet’s presence so he and his monks go to intercede. Comet. Dark unleashes his pyrokinetic fury on Comet while the monks use their psychic pulses to restrain Blake. Fortunately, Blake takes the upperhand by setting off charges he left in the cloning lab. Dark and his monks are distracted by the explosions while Blake teleports out of the church.

Unfortunately, Comet was attacked by the League of Insect Assassins. After destroying a swarm of insectoids, Blake managed to teleport back to Tyrone’s apartment despite the injuries he sustained. Since Blake was in no condition to surrender himself to the deacon, one section of the city was wiped out by asphyxiation. Deacon Dark used the station’s functions to release the air from one of the financial districts into the vacuum of space. Eye finds Blake being revived by Tyrone’s medi/prime-7/29-79253/cal droids. Eye fills Blake in with the latest developments so Blake takes the initiative by telling Eye to start a distraction at Entreplaneteur’s Inc and Blake will set some charges in key locations while dressed as a monk.

Eye’s distraction worked and Blake was successful at planting the charges. Blake then he calls out to Prime-7 by taunting him that he is a mere lackey of the deacon and as a result of his anger; Prime-7 rallies every telepathic monk to converge on Comet’s location. Comet was playing a huge gambit by counting on Prime-7’s influence over Deacon Dark’s monks but it worked. The remaining battalion of monks attacked Comet but he had an explosive booby trap prepared especially for them. The monks believed they had an advantage over Comet but when he teleported, he set off the booby trap thus killing all of Deacon Dark’s telepathic monks.

Blake’s victory was short lived because the deacon homed in on Comet’s location and opened a portal that unleashed the Weird. Unbeknownst to Blake, Deacon Dark made another attempt to manipulate the Weird into serving him which was successful this time. The Weird and Comet fought for a brief moment until Comet telepathically reached out to the Weird thus allowing Blake to destroy the corruption that Deacon Dark placed inside of the Weird’s mind. The Weird and Blake make amends then they divide up their efforts to put an end to Deacon Dark. As for Blake, he detonated the charges he left after Eye’s brilliant distraction. Both Prime-7 and the Eternal Light Corporation were sucked into the vacuum of space.

Rann-Thanagar Holy War: Countdown to Adventure

Only a select few believed Lady Styx was destroyed but it seems Lady Styx has regenerated. Lady Styx wants to exact her revenge on Earth as well as Rann so she infects a Hollywood movie star named Steven “The Champ” Hazard. Styx’s reason for infecting Hazard is because she learned that Sardath had chosen the celebrity to be Adam Strange’s replacement as the protector of Rann since Strange was beginning to fail in his duties. Sardath transported Hazard during the shooting of his latest action flick. Adam of course, wasn’t happy with Sardath’s decision but at the same time, Strange could see that Sardath was not acting like his usual self. Sardath asks Strange to counsel Hazard on what to expect from Rann. However, Hazard’s egocentric nature causes him to underestimate a Sandswarmer in the Desert of Tears and Hazard’s face ends up getting scarred.

Strange confronts Hazard for his reckless behavior and Hazard reacts like a rabid dog. Hazard threatens Strange that if he ever chastises him in front of the Rannians again then Strange will end up dead. Sardath calms Hazard and tells Strange to go home to his family since he is no longer needed. Strange decides to spy on Sardath and Hazard to figure out why they are acting out of character. Strange soon realizes that Sardath has abandoned his faith in science and has accepted Lady Styx’s philosophy as his religion.

From what he has gathered, Strange believes that Lady Styx is infecting key individuals on Rann with some sort of virus in order to bring Rann crumbling down from the inside. Strange also theorizes on how the effects of the virus differ between Sardath and Hazard. Sardath is now a devout yet still lucid follower of Lady Styx while Hazard is becoming a blood thirsty crusader for Lady Styx. Hazard instills marshal law on Rann with Sardath’s unquestioned approval. Hazard also deputizes the majority of Rann’s population who believe in Lady Styx as a savior. Strange calls out for outside assistance on Earth while Hazard’s vigilantes hunted down the supposed enemies of Lady Styx on Rann.

Strange’s out going cry for help gains the attention of a group of intergalactic healers. These healers are dedicated to cleansing of plagues that might infect the balance of the universe. The healers were on Earth at the time because they could sense a bacterial disturbance in Animal Man’s son Cliff Baker. Cliff was infected by the Lady Styx virus because Cliff had shook Hazard’s hand during the shooting of his picture. The healers could tell from their readings that Cliff’s viral infection has already begun to spread throughout his neighborhood. The healers quarantine the area with a force field and unleash a swarm of robotic nanites called sterilizers in order to wipe out the virus as well as the infected.

Starfire tries to protect Cliff from the sterilizers while trying to restrain him since the virus has made him insane. Cliff uses a kitchen knife to cut Starfire and Starfire becomes so agitated with Cliff that she uses her solar energy bolts to disarm him. Starfire’s quick thinking not only subdued Cliff but it also eradicated the virus within his body. This is the reason why Lady Styx hates Starfire above anyone else. Starfire gains her abilities by absorbing the solar rays from the sun and her powers can eradicate Styx’s viral influence rather than incubating it. Starfire uses her abilities to cure Cliff’s neighborhood before the sterilizers could complete their purpose.

Meanwhile, Adam did all he could to find out if anyone on Earth had received his message. Adam used a remote terminal to silently access one of Rann’s satellites to send his message but now he can use it to view anything taking place on Earth. Adam could see what was happening on Earth but he was interrupted by Hazard who has been monitoring Adam’s movements. Adam puts an end to Hazard by using Sardath’s zeta beam. The zeta beam teleports Hazard to the healers’ quarantine zone on Earth and the sterilizers zone in on Hazard’s location. The sterilizers practically devour Hazard from the inside thus putting an end to the pregeniator of Lady Styx’s virus.

Unfortunately, the healers will not allow anyone to leave the quarantine zone until they are convinced of the virus’ destruction on Earth which means Starfire can’t help Strange in eradicating the virus on Rann. Strange decides to contact Captain Comet because Blake’s telepathic abilities might be able to disrupt Styx’s direct influence over Rann. As Strange tries to make contact with Hardcore Station, Hawkman arrives on Rann with some disturbing news. It seems Deacon Dark has risen once again and he has established a new Eternal Light Corporation on Thanagar.

The deacon preaches to the Thanagarians to ignore their frail peace agreement with Rann and to unleash their fury in the name of Synnar. The Thanagarians are moved by the deacon’s words because Dark presents Synnar as a deity who is worth their worship as compared to Onimar Synn. Hawkman informs Adam that the deacon has convinced a squadron of Thanagarians to pillage the mineral fields in the Valley of Cries on Rann. Both men know this act must be prevented before it sparks another war between Rann and Thanagar. Adam & Hawkman manage to defeat the Thanagarians before any major damage could be recorded.

Unfortunately, they come under attack by a t-rex. This prehistoric creature appeared out of nowhere and began to consume the Thanagarian prisoners until the Weird blew the dinosaur’s head off from the inside. The t-rex appeared on Rann because the deacon has been conducting temporal alterations on Hardcore Station when he is not on Thanagar. This unexpected occurrence would explain the random appearances of extinct creatures on planet Rann. The deacon’s reason behind this temporal interference is because the deacon intends to pinpoint the exact moment Synnar supposedly died on Hardcore Station. The t-rex and the sudden appearance of a Shaggy Man on Rann are nothing more than byproducts that were created during the trial runs of the deacon’s temporal manipulator.

Even though Sardath is concerned about Hazard’s recent disappearance, he allows Strange to return to active duty and Strange asks Sardath figure out the location of the deacon’s temporal manipulator. Sardath agrees to help but he can only triangulate the machine’s temporal energy signature when the deacon uses it again. The deacon eventually perfects the manipulator and he is successful in plucking Synnar from the past but his success also gives away his position. The temporal manipulator caused a volcano to suddenly erupt on Rann which to Rannians, is considered unprecedented. Adam along with his other comrades head to Hardcore Station only to find Chief Justice Max crucified upside down on an Eternal Light Corporation monument. Adam brings Max down from the monument and Captain Comet arrives on the scene. Blake was unable to get in contact with Strange because the deacon had sent a devoted follower/ suicide bomber to kill Blake.

Deacon Dark appears and greets the heroes with his taunts but he is easily dispatched by Captain Comet’s telepathic pulse. Deacon Dark sheds his synthetic disguise in order to meet up with Synnar in a different location. Deacon Dark informs Synnar that he was brought to this exact moment because Synnar’s presence is necessary for the second coming of the Nameless which will take place on the planet Rann. Deacon Dark heads to Thanagar to rally the Grand Mor’s forces in order to launch another assault on Rann. Afterwards, Deacon Dark leads Synnar to a ziggurat within Rann’s Desert of Tears. Deacon Dark begins to invoke an incantation which will transfer the essence of the Nameless into Synnar thus giving the Nameless a physical body.

Meanwhile, Sardath learns of the Grand Mor’s impending invasion and decides to meet the Grand Mor head on then destroy Thanagar in Lady Styx’s name. Adam Strange asks Captain Comet to use his telepathic abilities to echo his voice during the battle between Rann and Thanagar. Comet’s telepathic voice makes both sides believe that their almighty creator is speaking to them. Comet tells both sides to disembark their battle and both sides heed Comet’s demand by retreating.

After learning of Synnar’s merger with the Nameless, Adam Strange decides he must divide his resources to conquer Lady Styx and Synnar. Strange knows Starfire’s powers are the only thing that can put an end to Lady Styx’s occupation on Throneworld. Starfire is accompanied by the Weird while Strange and Comet head to Hardcore Station because they have just been informed by Chief Justice Max that there have been some undisclosed developments on the station’s satellite. Strange and Comet discover the deacon’s latest plot to spread the word of the Nameless. The deacon has been kidnapping telepaths who pass through Hardcore Station and placing them in individual cells within the satellite in order to siphon their powers. With a collective of telepaths hooked to a satellite, Synnar’s word will spread throughout the universe like a brushfire and his will be just as equally difficult to dislodge since the universe can’t afford to lose the revenues that Hardcore Station brings in. Strange decides to make a tough decision which is begin the immediate destruction of Rann in order to put an end to Synnar. Strange is afraid to ask the Weird to use his siphoning abilities in order to trigger a planetary self destruct sequence but the Weird accepts the responsibility because it is not only an heroic act but it is the right thing to do.

Strange leads the Weird to the newly built section of Hardcore Station’s satellite thereby draining the telepathic energy from the satellite and redirecting it toward Synnar. The Weird uses a technique similar to revification called teleportational bonding which will disincorporate Synnar.

Strange Adventures

Captain Comet soon realizes that his rebirth has caused him to exhibit moments of cowardice rather than bravery as he did in his previous life. Comet also discovers that destiny and fate have brought him back to life to fulfill or destroy Synnar’s conquest of the universe. When Synnar approaches Comet with brute force, he reveals to the captain that Comet is Life’s fool of the Aberrant Six. Comet submits to Synnar’s “conditioning” which meant Comet was subjected to brutal tortures and agrees to serve Synnar as one of the Aberrant Six.

Fortunately, Comet’s girlfriend Eye, sacrifices herself to stop Synnar’s takeover the universe. The Aberrant Six do not join up as a group and the future Synnar leaves after Eye sacrifices herself when Synnar’s supreme god enemy slays her. Comet is entrusted with Eye’s the robot companion Orb until she returns. Synnar will continue his negotiations when she does and leaves with a quote, ” All has changed, but remains as it was.” Comet joins the Vril Dox team of R.E.B.E.L.S. almost immediately once he returns to Hardcore Station. When Vril Dox restarted L.E.G.I.O.N. Captain Comet was initially uninterested until he learned Starfire was joining. He decided to remain with the team to be with her.

New 52

A cloaked character exhibiting similar powers and costume appeared in Action Comics #11 (2012), referring to himself as a “mutant.” He also referenced Earth as his former home, and that his name had been Adam Blake. Superman fought off Captain Comet after he had injured Lois Lane. Superman found out that he was the forgotten Superman that people have never heard of and only Superman knew who he was. Captain Comet told Superman that something will happen here and that he is the one to save them all. Superman got angry and told Captain Comet that we do not kill here and about his life. Superman said that we help people and save them. Captain Comet talked to Lois Lane’s niece and he wanted her to come with him as she was chosen to help him and prepare for what is going to happen to the city of Metropolis. A flashback of his childhood shows the death of his mother as a teenager and his father blaming him for her death. Blake was abandoned from the family and a hard life followed. Back to the present, after suffering defeat at the hands of an enraged Superman, Captain Comet disappeared within the ray of a light from his spaceship.

Captain Comet was seen again in issue Action Comics #18. Captain Comet was with a team of space hero’s helping to fight off the Superdoomsday who looked like Superman and wanted to kill him. Lex Luthor came in and helped Superman in the battle and Captain Comet mind controlled all the people on the streets and told them to say the word backwards of there names to send Mr. Mxyzptlk back to the third dimension. Superman took the alternate Superman in the sky it was going to blow a bomb as big to whip out the city of Metropolis. Superman saved the city by throwing the creature in to space. Captain Comet was seen with Lois Lane’s niece and she said to Captain Comet you came back to help us all and save us all. Captain Comet smiled at her and and said yes child I have come back to help you all and save Superman and save Earth. Captain Comet and his crew, the Wanderers were in their spacecraft and they watched Superman float in space. Captain Comet and his crew headed off to there home in space. Captain Comet smiled and looking at Superman said that “He is going to be all right.”

Powers

According to Professor Emery Zackro, Adam’s existence is the reverse of genetic atavism, the display of physical features possessed by the ancestors of an individual or species. Instead Adam Blake represents what Homo sapiens will evolve into 100,000 years in the future. His origins are one example of the prevailing belief in 1950s pulp science-fiction that mankind would eventually evolve into a state of physical and mental perfection. Whether this is reflected in DC continuity is up for debate. Experimentation on humanity’s ancestors by the White Martians crippled the evolutionary potential of the species, only allowing a few people to develop superhuman powers. The DC One Million storyline shows a mixture of technological and biological development (particularly in processing and distributing information), but superpowers on Adam’s level still seem to be restricted to the superheroes of that era.

The pinnacle of human evolution, his powers range from physical prowess (strength, invulnerability, speed) to mental (genius-level intellect, telepathy, telekinesis, clairvoyance). He also had new senses, allowing him to sense the power and emotions of other people. His telekinesis, his most used power, augments his strength, speed and allows him to fly in space without the need for equipment. Comet’s physical powers can be even further enhanced, but he subconsciously prevents himself from accessing that power.

After his resurrection he has gained several new powers. He can teleport although he requires a rest period in-between jumps: five minutes for a short-range jump, a full hour over interstellar and galactic distances. Adam’s eyes are now golden and he can view the places where he wants to teleport without actually seeing them. His strength has been reduced on account of the relative youth of his body (he comments that his super strength and invulnerability only truly developed in his mid-thirties), but his psionic abilities have been greatly enhanced.