Hero of the Week- X Rider

 From Wiki- Robotics scientist Keitaro Jin and his son Keisuke become caught up in a campaign of terror by an evil organization known as "G.O.D.". They are attacked and the professor's technology gets stolen, but before Keitaro dies, he performs surgery on his son, using the last of his robotics technology to transform Keisuke into the “X-Rider.”^[2] To avenge his father's death and ensure the safety of the entire world, Keisuke uses this technology as he battles the monstrous minions of G.O.D.’s Japan branch. 

Hero of the Week- Maciste

 From Wiki- Maciste (Italian pronunciation: [maˈtʃiste]) is one of the oldest recurring characters of cinema, created by Gabriele d'Annunzio and Giovanni Pastrone. He is featured throughout the history of the cinema of Italy from the 1910s to the mid-1960s.

He is usually depicted as a Hercules-like figure, utilizing his massive strength to achieve heroic feats that ordinary men cannot. Many of the 1960s Italian movies featuring Maciste were retitled in other countries, substituting more popular names in the titles (such as Hercules, Goliath or Samson). Back to me:

HOTW- Buck Rogers (and RIP Gil Gerard)

From Wiki-  The first three frames of the series set the scene for Buck's "leap" 500 years into Earth's future:

I was 20 years old when they stopped the world war and mustered me out of the air service. I got a job surveying the lower levels of an abandoned mine near Pittsburgh, in which the atmosphere had a peculiar pungent tang and the crumbling rock glowed strangely. I was examining it when suddenly the roof behind me caved in and…

Buck is rendered unconscious, and a strange gas preserves him in a suspended animation or coma state. He awakens and emerges from the mine in 2429 AD, in the midst of another war.^[6]

After rescuing future freedom fighter Wilma Deering from attackers armed with anti-gravity belts and rocket guns, he proves his identity by showing her his American Legion button. She then explains how the Red Mongols emerged from the Gobi desert to conquer Asia and Europe and then attacked America starting with that "big idol holding a torch" (the Statue of Liberty). Back to me:

HOTW- Deathlok (I guess?)

 From Wiki- Colonel Luther Manning is an American soldier from Detroit, Michigan, who, after being fatally injured, is reanimated as a cyborg by Simon Ryker in a post-apocalyptic future. He verbally communicates with his symbiotic computer, to which he refers as the abbreviated "'Puter".^[8] He escapes from Ryker's control,^[9] although he dreams he has regained his humanity.^[10] He battles the evil corporate and military regimes that have taken over the US, while simultaneously struggling not to lose his humanity. He battles Simon Ryker and the first Warwolf, and he encounters his wife and son for the first time after becoming a cyborg.^[11] He battles Simon Ryker's Super-Tank,^[12] and then begins a hunt for a "cyborg doctor".^[13] He battles Simon Ryker as the Savior Machine, and his mind is ultimately transferred into a Luther Manning clone.^[14] He battles mutants alongside a time-traveling Spider-Man.^[15] He begins working for the CIA, encounters Godwulf for the first time, and is then finally sent back in time to the modern era.^[16] Back to me:

Hero of the Week- Platinum

From DC Fandom.com- Platinum is a liquid metal robot made of platinum with almost limitless shape shifting abilities. She was designed by Dr. William Magnus a brilliant robotic expert along with along with five other robots: Gold, Mercury, Iron, Tin, and Lead. These robots were known as the Metal Men.  Platinum was often referred to as "Tina" and was infatuated with Dr. Magnus, who never reciprocated her affections. Dr. Magnus tells her she has a faulty Responsometer which he believes makes her act like a real human woman. Her personality is very fiery and tempestuous and she gets very jealous whenever Doc has a date and will happily try to split them up and get his attention back to her. She has a personality clash with Mercury, the other hot head of the Metal Men. Back to me:

Hero of the Week: Steve Austin, the original

From Wiki- When NASA astronaut USAF Colonel Steve Austin is severely injured in the crash of an experimental lifting body aircraft, he is "rebuilt" in an operation that costs $6 million (equivalent to $41.6 million in 2024).^[3] His right arm, both legs and left eye are replaced with "bionic" implants that enhance his strength, speed and vision far above human norms: he can run at speeds of over 60 mph (97 km/h), and his eye has a 20:1 zoom lens and infrared capabilities, while his bionic limbs all have the equivalent power of a bulldozer. He uses his enhanced abilities to work for the OSI (Office of Scientific Intelligence) as a secret agent.  And now returning to me!

HOTW- The Diehard

 From Comics Vine-  Chosen in the 1940s to become the first of the government's genetic experiments, the super-soldier known as Diehard is one of Youngblood's most mysterious members.

Though he has served in nearly every incarnation of the team, none of his teammates know his true identity. Commonly believed to be the first successful fusion of man and machine, Diehard is characterized by those who know him as a man struggling to understand his own identity. With such a long history of membership in the Youngblood program, Diehard is understandably wary of the arrival of new Diehard units, updated models for which he was the template. Regarded more as a combat unit than a man, Diehard is also constantly wary of his selection for assignments regarded to be "suicide missions." Back to me:

Hero of the Week- Robotman

 

From Wiki- Robotman (Robert Crane) is a Golden Age DC Comics superhero. He first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #7 (April 1942) and was created by Jerry Siegel and Leo Nowak.^[100] As his name suggests, Robotman is a cyborg; part robot and part human.

Robert Crane is a scientist whose brain is placed inside a robotic body after he is fatally shot by a criminal named Mason. He assumes the civilian identity of Paul Dennis and joins the All-Star Squadron, accompanied by the robotic dog Robbie.^{[101][102][103][104][105]} His stories are mostly lighthearted in nature, featuring whimsical situations and comic relief (usually provided by Robbie). Despite this, the story remains grounded in Robotman's struggle to adjust to his new existence. At one point, he reveals his identity in court and is declared legally human.^[106]  Robotman was revealed to have been one of several other heroes involved in the first meeting of the charter members of the Justice League of America prior to the official forming of the team, an event which was suppressed from the public record.^[107]  Back to me:

Hero of the Week- Machine Man

 

From Wiki- Machine Man (also known as Aaron Stack, Mister Machine and serial number Z2P45-9-X-51 or X-51 for short) is an android superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Jack Kirby for 2001: A Space Odyssey #8 (July 1977), a comic written and drawn by Kirby featuring concepts based on the eponymous 1968 Stanley Kubrick feature film and Arthur C. Clarke's 1968 novel.^[2] Shortly thereafter, Machine Man spun off into his own Kirby-created series. He is a robot, the only survivor of a series, raised as a human son of scientist Abel Stack, who was killed removing his auto-destruct mechanism, and further evolved to sentience by a Monolith.  Machine Man, whose real name is Z2P45-9-X-51, is the last of a series of sentient robots created at the Broadhurst Center for the Advancement of Mechanized Research in Central City, California, by robotics expert Abel Stack for the US Army. The previous 50 experimental robots went mad as they achieved sentience and became psychotic due to a lack of identity. X-51 was the only survivor, as he was treated as a son by Stack and given a human face mask as well as being exposed to a monolith. After Stack died trying to protect him, X-51 assumed the human name Aaron Stack and escaped confinement, only to be relentlessly pursued by the army. While on the run, the newly christened Machine Man initiated contact with humanity in order to better understand it.^[5]  Back to me:

Hero of the Week- Black Condor (Quality)

From Wiki-  A Golden Age superhero who possesses the power of flight, the Black Condor was created by writer Will Eisner under the pseudonym Kenneth Lewis, and artist Lou Fine in Crack Comics #1 (cover-dated May 1940).^[3] Initially alternating with the Clock as the cover-featured character, he became the solo cover feature from issues #20-26 (Jan.-Nov. 1942). Fine drew the first 24 stories,^[4] and his feature continued to run through issue #31.^[5]   

As an infant traveling with his parents on an archaeological expedition thorough Outer Mongolia, Richard Grey Jr. survives after his family is killed by the bandit Gali Kan and his men. Rescued by a condor who raises him as her own, he learns to fly,^[6] as the origin story states, by "studying the movement of wings, the body motions, air currents, balance and levitation" of his avian siblings. A mountain hermit, Father Pierre, eventually discovers and civilizes the feral child, and teaches him to speak English.^[7] Richard tracks down and kills the Mongolian bandits who killed his parents and then departs for the United States where he uncovers a plot to kill United States Senator Thomas Wright. He is too late to save Wright from assassination, and so begins to use his identity.^[8] He adopts the guise of Black Condor to fight crooked politicians, rum-running bootleggers, and racketeers.^[9]  And now returning to me:

Hero of the Week- Red Tornado

 

From Wiki, patched together by me:  Red Tornado was formed with the merger of two entities: an android body created by supervillain T. O. Morrow^[2] and the Tornado Champion from the planet Rann. The Tornado Champion was the morally good part of a sentient tornado on Rann.  In 1968, Red Tornado appears at JSA headquarters on Earth-Two claiming to be the "original" Red Tornado. Although the JSA is suspicious, Red Tornado has all of Hunkel's memories. Morrow has other robots attack a museum and vaporize relics, and the JSA responds. Red Tornado, programmed to appear inept (and keep the JSA from realizing its true nature), exposes the JSA to the dust created by the vaporization and all except Doctor Fate fall into a coma. It then returns to Morrow's lair as programmed. Morrow's computer predicts that keeping Red Tornado active will allow Morrow to continue his criminal activity. Doctor Fate awakens the remaining JSA members from their coma, and Red Tornado betrays his fellow JSA members by telling them to use Morrow's energy weapons. The devices, rigged to explode, put the JSA and Red Tornado into a coma and Morrow returns to Earth-One to attack the Justice League.^[8] He puts the JLA into comas twice: once with energy duplicates and a second time with energy duplicates of their deadliest enemies. Red Tornado (who was not incapacitated by the energy backfire on Earth-Two) travels to Earth-One and revives the JLA members, who capture Morrow. It returns to Earth-Two and revives the JSA, which admits Red Tornado to full membership in gratitude.^[9][10]  Back to me now!

Hero (?) of the Week- Damon Hellstrom

From Wiki-  Daimon Hellstrom was born in the fictional town of Greentown, Massachusetts. He is the son of Satan and a mortal woman named Victoria Wingate (his father was later retconned into a demon named Marduk Kurios).^[12] Daimon and his younger sister, Satana, were trained by their father in the art of magic, tapping into the power granted them by their dark heritage. However, while Satana embraced her heritage, Daimon clung to his humanity.^[13] When their mother discovered who her husband really was, she was driven insane. Daimon and Satana were separated and put in different homes after their mother was institutionalized and their father banished back to Hell. Daimon grew up in a Jesuit-run orphanage, never hearing a word from his father or sister. He became a professor of anthropology at St. Louis University. He then set himself up as an occult investigator and defender of humanity, battling dark arcane forces — primarily those of his father — under the name of the "Son of Satan", as a demonologist and exorcist.  In his first appearance, Daimon battled Satan and the Witch-Woman alongside the Ghost Rider.^[14] Soon after that, he began a long association with the Defenders by helping them battle Asmodeus (the leader of the Sons of Satannish) and Satannish himself.^[15] He also helped the Defenders battle the third incarnation of the Sons of the Serpent.^[16] Later, alongside the Human Torch, he battled Dryminextes.^[17] He then encountered Satana for the first time as an adult.^[18] Alongside the Thing, he battled Kthara.^[19] Alongside the Ghost Rider again, he battled the Challenger.^[20] Hellstrom next battled the Possessor.^[21] and now back to me!

Hero of the Week- The Savage Dragon

From Wiki- The Savage Dragon is the name of two superheroes created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic initially follows the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon. The character first appeared as the Dragon in Graphic Fantasy #1 (June 1982) and first appeared as the "Savage Dragon" in Megaton #3 (February 1986),^[1] before starring as the protagonist of the ongoing comic book series The Savage Dragon.

The Dragon is a large, finned, green-skinned humanoid whose powers include super-strength and an advanced healing factor. He is also an amnesiac: his earliest memory is awakening in a burning field in Chicago, Illinois. Thus, for most of the series, the origins of his powers and appearance are a mystery to readers. At the beginning of the series, he becomes a police officer under the legal name "Savage Dragon" and battles the mutant criminal "superfreaks" that terrorize Chicago. Ultimately, the Dragon is revealed to be the amnesiac Kurr, tyrannical emperor of the known universe. After sacrificing himself in the thirty-ninth volume Merging of Multiple Earths, the Dragon is succeeded by his son Malcolm Dragon as the Savage Dragon, who becomes the new protagonist of The Savage Dragon. Back to me:

HOTW- Dragon, Southern Knights

 From Wiki- Dragon (Moranderin/Mark Dagon) — The last of the dragons (or so he initially believes). After his mate and child were slain by men, he found that he could take on the form of a human male. After having his revenge on the slayer of his family, he wandered the world for a thousand years until meeting up with the Knights. In dragon form he is immensely strong and tough, can fly and breathe fire. In human form he is no tougher or stronger than a normal human. He was eventually featured in his own four-issue limited series, which chronicled several of his adventures from the centuries before the other Southern Knights were born.   Back to me now-

HOTW- Wonder Woman '74

 From Wiki, of course- The film, Wonder Woman's first appearance in live-action television, was made in 1974 for ABC. Written by John D. F. Black, the TV movie resembles the Wonder Woman of the "I Ching" period. Wonder Woman (Cathy Lee Crosby) does not wear the comic book uniform, demonstrates no apparent superhuman powers, and is depicted as blonde (differing from the black hair established in the comic books).  The pilot aired originally on March 12, 1974.^[4] and was repeated on August 21 of that year.^[5] Ratings were described as "respectable but not exactly wondrous".^[2] ABC did not pick up the pilot, although Crosby would later claim she was offered the series that was eventually given to Lynda Carter.^[3] An ABC spokesperson would later acknowledge that the decision to update the character was a mistake.^[2] DC Comics however did make this version canonical in the limited run Infinite Crisis as Wonder Woman of Earth-462.  Back to me: 

HOTW- Young Samson

From Wiki- Samson & Goliath, also known as Young Samson, is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for NBC, where it debuted on September 9, 1967.^[1] Primarily sponsored by General Mills, who controlled the distribution rights through its agency Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, Samson & Goliath was retitled Young Samson in April 1968 to avoid confusion with the stop-motion Christian television series Davey and Goliath.^[1][2]  The show follows the adventures of a teenager named Samson and his dog, Goliath as they ride around the country on a motorbike.^[4] Whenever trouble arises, usually in the form of a menacing mega villain or evil scientist, Samson transforms himself into a superhero version of the biblical Samson by hitting his golden wristbands together.^[5] A second slam transforms Goliath into a superpowered lion.^[6] He can also direct shock waves from his wristbands, and by twisting his bracelets, can increase his and Goliath's powers to far greater levels.  Back to me:

HOTW- Heracles/Hercules

From Wiki- In Roman mythology, although Hercules was seen as the champion of the weak and a great protector, his personal problems started at birth. Juno sent two witches to prevent the birth, but they were tricked by one of Alcmene's servants and sent to another room. Juno then sent serpents to kill him in his cradle, but Hercules strangled them both. In one version of the myth, Alcmene abandoned her baby in the woods in order to protect him from Juno's wrath, but he was found by the goddess Minerva who brought him to Juno, claiming he was an orphan child left in the woods who needed nourishment. Juno suckled Hercules at her own breast until the infant bit her nipple, at which point she pushed him away, spilling her milk across the night sky and so forming the Milky Way. She then gave the infant back to Minerva and told her to take care of the baby herself. In feeding the child from her own breast, the goddess inadvertently imbued him with further strength and power.  Back to me:

HOTW- Glory

From several Wiki notes-  Writer Alan Moore joined Image after leaving DC Comics and spending a period of time working for independent companies. As he did on other Liefeld works like Supreme and Youngblood, Moore relaunched Glory in March 1999 under the Awesome Comics line.^[4] Blending mythology, adventure, and romance to the superheroine much as he would shortly do in his subsequent series for ABC Comics, Promethea.

In the retooling, Glory takes on a human identity by a waitress named "Gloria West", in order to experience humanity. Only one issue was published (#0), but was eventually republished with two additional issues for Avatar Press in 2001. This version also had an extended backstory, once supervising a team called 'Danger Damsels' decades ago.^[5]

 During World War II, Glorianna fights for the Allied forces against the Nazis, alongside Supreme. For a time she works with Die-Hard and SuperPatriot as the team called 'Allies'.^[2] She is part of the second and third Brigade teams with other superheroes.^[3]  Back to me:

HOTW- Zatara

 

From Wiki- Giovanni "John" Zatara, simply called Zatara, is a fictional magician and superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in Action Comics #1 in 1938 during the Golden Age of Comic Books, making him one of DC Comics' oldest characters.  Giovanni Zatara originates from an Italian family with strong magical lineage. His grandfather, Luigi Zatara, is a renowned stage magician who served as a significant inspiration. At a young age, Giovanni receives a magic kit that triggers his passion for illusion and prompts him to pursue a career as a professional magician. However, his early attempts at performing are met with disappointment until he recognizes the importance of honing his showmanship skills. While attempting to translate Leonardo da Vinci's journals, Giovanni learns that he can use magic by speaking words backward. Combining his natural gifts with his stage magic expertise, Giovanni becomes an esteemed stage magician and crime-fighter.^[7]  Back to me:

HOTW- Iron Man

 

From Wiki- Iron Man is the superhero persona of Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark, a businessman and engineer who runs the weapons manufacturing company Stark Industries. When Stark was captured in a war zone and sustained a severe heart wound, he built his Iron Man armor and escaped his captors. Iron Man's suits of armor grant him superhuman strength, flight, energy projection, and other abilities. The character was created in response to the Vietnam War as Lee's attempt to create a likeable pro-war character. Since his creation, Iron Man has been used to explore political themes, with early Iron Man stories being set in the Cold War. The character's role as a weapons manufacturer proved controversial, and Marvel moved away from geopolitics by the 1970s. Instead, the stories began exploring themes such as civil unrest, technological advancement, corporate espionage, alcoholism, and governmental authority. Back to me: