Cosmic Hounds
Cosmic Hounds
The exiled members of a race of "intelligent canines" who accompany Peg-Leg Portia on an endless journey through space.
The Hounds have telekinetic abilities and, when acting as a unit, are able to generate fields of force, manipulate inanimate matter, and regenerate human cells.
The Hounds are forced into exile after they arouse the ire of their fellow dogs by rescuing Peg-Leg Portia, a shipwrecked human, and nursing her back to health.
Superman encounters the Hounds when he is lured to an alien planet by Portia. Thinking that he poses a threat to their adopted human, the dogs attempt to crush Superman by telekinetically manipulating a group of "glowing particles" in the shape a massive dog's head. When Superman is finally able to repel their attack, the dogs are "struck by an energy-overload" from his brain which amplifies the mental powers of the dogs and enables them to communicate telepathically with humans and understand their thoughts. With their new understanding that Superman "is a man of wisdom...and greatness," and that Portia shipwrecked herself "deliberately hoping to die," the Hounds use their new powers to aid her in her quest (S No. 318, Dec 1977: "The Wreck of the Cosmic Hound").
