Captain Incredible

Revision as of 15:10, 30 June 2005

A "half-pint Hercules" who despite his short stature and unimpressive physique "can out-fly, out-speed and out-punch the Man of Steel at every turn!"

Captain Incredible appears from nowhere in September 1967 to save Superman from a super-powered, tentacled alien monster on the streets of Metropolis. Short, bespectacled and scrawny-limbed, Captain Incredible's milksop looks are topped off by an "absurd" crime-fighting costume; high-top sneakers, a drooping leather belt, a bright yellow towel for a cape and a green tunic tucked into a pair of blue and white boxer shorts worn over red longjohns. Nonetheless, he possesses all of Superman's powers plus a few extras, including "atomic breath" and "paralysis vision."

At first Captain Incredible works as a hero, trying to help Superman but more often simply stealing his thunder. Eventually he turns against the Man of Steel and the two engage in battle, with Superman on the losing end. On a hunch, Superman travels to the year 2600, where he learns Captain Incredible is actually a robot created by a future scientist to lend aid to Superman in the past. In the act of breaking the time barrier, however, the robot's programming was altered, causing him to hate Superman. Staging another battle with the "peewee powerhouse," Superman tricks Captain Incredible into following him forward in time again to the 27th century, where his programming is fixed and he becomes the protector of Earth in his own era. (Act No. 354/1, "Captain Incredible!")