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Myriad (Image Comics)
Encyclopedia
Spencer Bridges is a fictional comic book
superhero
, a member of the superhero team Dynamo 5
, which appears in the monthly series of the same name from Image Comics
. Created by writer Jay Faerber
and artist Mahmud A. Asrar
, He first appeared in Dynamo 5 #1 (January 2007). Myriad is a half human, half extraterrestrial hybrid, the child of an alien woman and the Earth superhero, Captain Dynamo
, from whom he inherited superhuman abilities.
For the first 24 issues of the series, the character possessed shapeshifting
abilities and went by the codename Myriad, though for a brief time he masqueraded as a female masked vigilante called Vigil, who exhibited superhuman strength
, speed, and expertise in martial arts and acrobatics. It was later revealed that for some time, he had been taking an illegal drug called Flex, that granted him his elevated strength and speed, powers that remained permanently bonded to his half-alien physiology after he ceased taking the drug. In issue #25 of the series (October 2009), the character, whose shapeshifting powers had been erased in the previous issue, obtained different powers, in addition to his superhuman strength and speed. Now possessing telepathy
, he goes by the name Wraith.
With regard to his reasons for making the identity Vigil a female, Bridges has indicated that he is not gay, though not entirely heterosexual either, and that he chose to make the Vigil identity female as an experiment, as his former shapeshifting abilities presented "opportunities".
, a superhero who first appeared in Noble Causes: Extended Family
#2 (June 2004) was depicted as a womanizing philanderer, and in Dynamo 5
#1 (January 2007), following Captain Dynamo's assassination, his widow, Maddie Warner
, a former government agent posing as now-retired investigative reporter, discovers from his personal effects that he had been unfaithful to her countless times. Despite her devastation at this discovery, Warner realizes that without a full-time protector, Tower City would be vulnerable to Captain Dynamo’s legion of super-villain enemies. She uses her skills to track down five people who could be Dynamo’s illegitimate children.
Spencer Bridges was the third person Warner contacted to be on the team. He agrees to join the team only because Maddie is paying him. Gathering all five of the children together, Warner exposes them to the same unidentified radiation that gave Captain Dynamo his powers forty years earlier, unlocking their powers. Spencer, who manifests his father's shapeshifting
ability, takes on the codename Myriad, and works to protect Tower City with his newly discovered brothers and sisters.
After fighting crime alongside his siblings for less than a year, Spencer, in losing consciousness after swimming from the team's flooded underwater headquarters to the surface, is rendered unconscious, and is revealed to have a bizarre, alien-like appearance. Confronted by his siblings, he reveals that one of the women with whom Captain Dynamo had an affair was an alien whom Dynamo met in deep space when he came to the aid of her starship
, which had broken down far from her home. After aiding in their repairs, he journeyed with her crew to her home planet (the name of which has not been revealed), where they conceived Spencer. Because of the cultural taboo of raising a "half-breed" on her world, she journeyed to Earth after Spencer was born to leave him in Dynamo's custody. Dynamo, however, had no interest in raising Spencer or threatening his marriage, so he left Spencer in the custody of a F.L.A.G. (Foundation for Law and Government) research facility, telling them not that Spencer was his son, but that he found the infant at an alien crash site. Spencer's home for the next few years was the research compound, where scientists subjected him to extensive study and experimentation, including exposing him to the same radiation that gave Captain Dynamo his superhuman abilities, not knowing what effect it would have on Spencer. This exposure activated Spencer's shapeshifting
ability, long before he met Maddie Waner. He learned how to use this power to disguise his alien appearance, and to mimic the appearance of people around him, but one of the scientists in particular, an African-American woman named Dr. Bridges, took a liking to Spencer, and the two formed a rapport. The other scientists were not amenable to their bond, and separated the two. Unable to convince Captain Dynamo to remove Spencer from the facility, Bridges had Spencer use his shapeshifting ability to smuggle him out of the compound. Knowing that she would be discovered by F.L.A.G. if she attempted to raise Spencer on her own, she placed Spencer, who maintained the appearance of a full human, in the care of child services. Because of this, the two never saw each other again. Spencer spent his childhood in an orphanage, and was placed in a succession of less-than-ideal foster homes. He struck out on his own at the age of thirteen. Spencer speculated that Warner found him through a notation in Dynamo's black books about Dr. Bridges. At some point Spencer took on Dr. Bridges' last name, though when he did so is unknown. The origin of his first name, and the point in his life at which he adopted it has also not been specified.
His siblings feel betrayed by his having kept his true nature a secret. Spencer sees this as hypocrisy, as all of his siblings have lied to their families about who their real father was, about their lives as superheroes, and allowed a murderer named Lionel Barstow to go free in order to free Neil Lewis, the father of Spencer's sister, Slingshot
, who was being held hostage by Barstow's former employers. This argument does not convince Spencer's siblings, and as a result of both this revelation, Warner's condition, the flooding of the Aquarium, and the need to return to their civilian lives, the team seems to fall apart.
Despite this, Myriad decides to continue fighting crime in Tower City himself. He moves to a Tower City hotel, and uses his shapeshifting abilities to pose as a female masked vigilante named Vigil, relying on his natural speed, martial arts and acrobatic abilities to fight crime. When he encounters Scrap, the only other team member who decided to continue protecting Tower City, Scrap, not knowing that Vigil is her brother, decides to team up with Vigil, who poses as a native of Tower City. The two later recruit three other superheroes, Quake, and the mother-daughter team the Firebirds, into a new Dynamo 5 team. The new team suffers badly against Widowmaker, who assembles a team of supervillain mercenaries to attack them, and during this battle, Vigil is revealed to be Myriad. The team is joined by Slingshot, Scatterbrain
, and Visionary
, who manage to defeat their enemies. Although Quake and the elder Firebird are seriously injured, the Dynamo 5 siblings are reunited as a team.
In issues 22 and 23, it was revealed that in order compensate for the lack of offensive superhuman powers that lent themselves to combat situations that his siblings had, Spencer had been taking Flex, a street drug derived for the serum that turns humans into Whiptail, a monstrous, bipedal lizard. After he was discovered, he led his siblings and F.L.A.G. agent Augie Ford to his dealers, but agreed to stop taking the drug. He subsequently discovered, however, that his elevated strength, speed and endurance remained, which Doc Noble speculated occurred because it bonded to his extraterrestrial DNA
.
In issues 24 and 25 of the series, the team was attacked by their other half-sibling, the supervillain
Synergy, who used a weapon to erase the team's abilities and capture them. The team freed themselves, and used the weapon to restore their powers, but they manifested different abilities than the ones they previously had. Spencer found that he and his brother Gage, had switched their powers. Now possessing telepathy
, Spencer took the new codename Wraith.
In the miniseries Dynamo 5: Sins of the Father #3 (August 2010), Spencer learned, while battling another extraterrestrial who recognized Spencer's race, that his people are called the Khandrians. During this encounter, the telepathic Spencer saw in his opponent's mind an image of a humanoid being held captive by Khandrians who were apparently experimenting on him. It was also during this battle that Dr. Bridges sees Spencer on television.
, who thinks of Captain Dynamo as "Dad", and has a poster of Dynamo over his bed, Spencer, who, having wondered all his life who his father was, is disappointed to learn it was Captain Dynamo, and thinks of the late superhero as "an enormous hypocrite and a horrible husband". Despite Spencer's dismissive statements about his need for family, he undergoes an eye-opening experience when Maddie Warner asks him to impersonate his brother Gage
after Gage falls into a coma, in order to quell suspicion on the part of Gage's family, who are unaware of Gage's superhero life. The experience served to illustrate to Spencer what having a stable family is like, something he had missed all his life, but in getting carried away, he initiates a romantic overture with a schoolmate of Gage's, and when Gage, who discovers he is capable of astral projection
, witnesses the two in a romantic embrace, he sees this as an invasion of privacy, and later comes to blows with Spencer. Spencer wonders if it is motivated by racism
, as the girl in question was black. Spencer apologizes to Gage, but when he confessed how having a family for a small number of days made him feel, Gage, understanding of this, forgives him. Although he initially accepts Warner's offer to join the team because she pays him, he eventually decides to move to Tower City full-time and help protect it for more altruistic reasons.
After losing his shapeshifting abilities, Spencer is isolated by the fact that his extraterrestrial appearance limits his ability to socialize outside the team's headquarters.
ability to appear human, his true appearance is that of a Khandrian, the extraterrestrial race to which his mother belonged. As such, he has been depicted with gray skin, no hair, and a long face that includes a pronounced brow and a small, snout-like nose just under his eyes. The space between his nose and mouth is proportionately greater than that found in a human face. Artist Mahmud A. Asrar
depicted him without a philtrum
, though other artists such as Tim Seeley and Julio Brilha have not. He also has no apparent ears, at least none that resemble those of a human. His hands have a total of three digits, including an opposable thumb, though his other two non-pollical digits are much larger than those of the human. All three of his digits have pointed claws.
Spencer has the power of telepathy
, and can read other people’s minds, which was formerly the power possessed by his brother, Gage Reinhart. His power is both voluntary and passive; While he can use his power to deliberately read someone's mind, he can also involuntarily pick up the thoughts of those around him, even when he does not wish it. Although he has not yet been observed utilizing all the applications of his telepathy that his brother Gage exhibited, it has been otherwise observed that his powers function exactly as Gage's did.
As a result of previously taking a street drug called Flex, Spencer has superhuman strength, speed and endurance. The extent of these powers have not been explicitly given, but they enable him to break several lines of chain tied around him as a restraint, and leap dozens of feet into the air and across rooftops. Combined with his knowledge of martial arts
and acrobatics, Spencer has successfully taken on opponents such as Anchor, Chain Reaction and Blue Blaster single-handedly, and held his own against Widowmaker, Optima and a human who wore the strength-amplifying Strong-Suit.
Spencer formerly had shapeshifting
powers with which he could alter the form of his body, his facial features, and even the clothes he wore, in order to disguise himself as anyone he chose. He sometimes practiced his impersonations of certain people, and used reference materials in order to perfect his disguises. Like his father, Spencer could alter the apparent size of his body, enabling him to disguise himself, for example, as an obese person. Spencer used this ability to disguise himself as people who appear to have greater mass than he does, as when he impersonates Captain Dynamo. How he was able to do this, in light of the law of conservation of mass, has not been explained. When engaged in superheroics, Myriad did not wear a mask or helmet like his siblings, but instead disguised himself by erasing all of his facial features. How he was able to see, breathe, hear, and speak without them was also not explained. Spencer's ability to maintain a disguise was dependent upon his concentration; being punched in the face while disguised, for example, would cause that disguise to falter, and being rendered unconscious would cause him to revert to his true, alien appearance.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
, a member of the superhero team Dynamo 5
Dynamo 5
Dynamo 5 is a fictional comic book superhero team created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Mahmud A. Asrar, which appears in an eponymous series published by Image Comics. The team first appeared in Dynamo 5 #1 . The monthly series ended with issue #25...
, which appears in the monthly series of the same name from Image Comics
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
. Created by writer Jay Faerber
Jay Faerber
Jay Faerber is an American comic book and television writer. Faerber is known for his work on Generation X and New Warriors for Marvel Comics, and The Titans and Connor: Spotlight for DC Comics. He later wrote his own creator-owned titles for Image Comics, including Noble Causes, Dynamo 5 and Near...
and artist Mahmud A. Asrar
Mahmud A. Asrar
Mahmud Anjum Asrar is a Turkish-born comic book artist of Pakistani and Austrian ethnicity, who is known for his work on American and non-American comic books....
, He first appeared in Dynamo 5 #1 (January 2007). Myriad is a half human, half extraterrestrial hybrid, the child of an alien woman and the Earth superhero, Captain Dynamo
Captain Dynamo (comics)
Captain Dynamo is a fictional comic book superhero, created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Fran Bueno, who first appeared as a supporting character in Noble Causes: Extended Family #2 by Image Comics....
, from whom he inherited superhuman abilities.
For the first 24 issues of the series, the character possessed shapeshifting
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
abilities and went by the codename Myriad, though for a brief time he masqueraded as a female masked vigilante called Vigil, who exhibited superhuman strength
Superhuman strength
Superhuman strength, also called superstrength, super-strength, or super strength, is an ability commonly employed in fiction. It is the ability for a character to be stronger than humanly possible...
, speed, and expertise in martial arts and acrobatics. It was later revealed that for some time, he had been taking an illegal drug called Flex, that granted him his elevated strength and speed, powers that remained permanently bonded to his half-alien physiology after he ceased taking the drug. In issue #25 of the series (October 2009), the character, whose shapeshifting powers had been erased in the previous issue, obtained different powers, in addition to his superhuman strength and speed. Now possessing telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
, he goes by the name Wraith.
With regard to his reasons for making the identity Vigil a female, Bridges has indicated that he is not gay, though not entirely heterosexual either, and that he chose to make the Vigil identity female as an experiment, as his former shapeshifting abilities presented "opportunities".
Publication history
Captain DynamoCaptain Dynamo (comics)
Captain Dynamo is a fictional comic book superhero, created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Fran Bueno, who first appeared as a supporting character in Noble Causes: Extended Family #2 by Image Comics....
, a superhero who first appeared in Noble Causes: Extended Family
Noble Causes
Noble Causes is an American comic book series created and written by Jay Faerber, illustrated by a variety of artists and published by Image Comics....
#2 (June 2004) was depicted as a womanizing philanderer, and in Dynamo 5
Dynamo 5
Dynamo 5 is a fictional comic book superhero team created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Mahmud A. Asrar, which appears in an eponymous series published by Image Comics. The team first appeared in Dynamo 5 #1 . The monthly series ended with issue #25...
#1 (January 2007), following Captain Dynamo's assassination, his widow, Maddie Warner
Maddie Warner
Madeline “Maddie” Warner is a fictional comic book character, the mentor and leader of the superhero team Dynamo 5, who appears in the monthly series of the same name by Image Comics. Created by writer Jay Faerber, Warner first appeared in Dynamo 5 #1 .-Character history:Madeline Warner was born...
, a former government agent posing as now-retired investigative reporter, discovers from his personal effects that he had been unfaithful to her countless times. Despite her devastation at this discovery, Warner realizes that without a full-time protector, Tower City would be vulnerable to Captain Dynamo’s legion of super-villain enemies. She uses her skills to track down five people who could be Dynamo’s illegitimate children.
Spencer Bridges was the third person Warner contacted to be on the team. He agrees to join the team only because Maddie is paying him. Gathering all five of the children together, Warner exposes them to the same unidentified radiation that gave Captain Dynamo his powers forty years earlier, unlocking their powers. Spencer, who manifests his father's shapeshifting
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
ability, takes on the codename Myriad, and works to protect Tower City with his newly discovered brothers and sisters.
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
, which had broken down far from her home. After aiding in their repairs, he journeyed with her crew to her home planet (the name of which has not been revealed), where they conceived Spencer. Because of the cultural taboo of raising a "half-breed" on her world, she journeyed to Earth after Spencer was born to leave him in Dynamo's custody. Dynamo, however, had no interest in raising Spencer or threatening his marriage, so he left Spencer in the custody of a F.L.A.G. (Foundation for Law and Government) research facility, telling them not that Spencer was his son, but that he found the infant at an alien crash site. Spencer's home for the next few years was the research compound, where scientists subjected him to extensive study and experimentation, including exposing him to the same radiation that gave Captain Dynamo his superhuman abilities, not knowing what effect it would have on Spencer. This exposure activated Spencer's shapeshifting
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
ability, long before he met Maddie Waner. He learned how to use this power to disguise his alien appearance, and to mimic the appearance of people around him, but one of the scientists in particular, an African-American woman named Dr. Bridges, took a liking to Spencer, and the two formed a rapport. The other scientists were not amenable to their bond, and separated the two. Unable to convince Captain Dynamo to remove Spencer from the facility, Bridges had Spencer use his shapeshifting ability to smuggle him out of the compound. Knowing that she would be discovered by F.L.A.G. if she attempted to raise Spencer on her own, she placed Spencer, who maintained the appearance of a full human, in the care of child services. Because of this, the two never saw each other again. Spencer spent his childhood in an orphanage, and was placed in a succession of less-than-ideal foster homes. He struck out on his own at the age of thirteen. Spencer speculated that Warner found him through a notation in Dynamo's black books about Dr. Bridges. At some point Spencer took on Dr. Bridges' last name, though when he did so is unknown. The origin of his first name, and the point in his life at which he adopted it has also not been specified.
His siblings feel betrayed by his having kept his true nature a secret. Spencer sees this as hypocrisy, as all of his siblings have lied to their families about who their real father was, about their lives as superheroes, and allowed a murderer named Lionel Barstow to go free in order to free Neil Lewis, the father of Spencer's sister, Slingshot
Slingshot (comics)
Olivia “Livvie” Lewis) is a fictional comic book superhero, a member of the superhero team Dynamo 5, which appears in the monthly series of the same name from Image Comics. Created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Mahmud A...
, who was being held hostage by Barstow's former employers. This argument does not convince Spencer's siblings, and as a result of both this revelation, Warner's condition, the flooding of the Aquarium, and the need to return to their civilian lives, the team seems to fall apart.
Despite this, Myriad decides to continue fighting crime in Tower City himself. He moves to a Tower City hotel, and uses his shapeshifting abilities to pose as a female masked vigilante named Vigil, relying on his natural speed, martial arts and acrobatic abilities to fight crime. When he encounters Scrap, the only other team member who decided to continue protecting Tower City, Scrap, not knowing that Vigil is her brother, decides to team up with Vigil, who poses as a native of Tower City. The two later recruit three other superheroes, Quake, and the mother-daughter team the Firebirds, into a new Dynamo 5 team. The new team suffers badly against Widowmaker, who assembles a team of supervillain mercenaries to attack them, and during this battle, Vigil is revealed to be Myriad. The team is joined by Slingshot, Scatterbrain
Scatterbrain (comics)
Gage Reinhart is a fictional comic book superhero, a member of the superhero team Dynamo 5, which appears in the monthly series of the same name from Image Comics. Created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Mahmud A...
, and Visionary
Visionary (comics)
Hector Chang is a fictional comic book superhero, a member of the superhero team Dynamo 5, which appears in the monthly series of the same name from Image Comics. Created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Mahmud A...
, who manage to defeat their enemies. Although Quake and the elder Firebird are seriously injured, the Dynamo 5 siblings are reunited as a team.
In issues 22 and 23, it was revealed that in order compensate for the lack of offensive superhuman powers that lent themselves to combat situations that his siblings had, Spencer had been taking Flex, a street drug derived for the serum that turns humans into Whiptail, a monstrous, bipedal lizard. After he was discovered, he led his siblings and F.L.A.G. agent Augie Ford to his dealers, but agreed to stop taking the drug. He subsequently discovered, however, that his elevated strength, speed and endurance remained, which Doc Noble speculated occurred because it bonded to his extraterrestrial DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
.
In issues 24 and 25 of the series, the team was attacked by their other half-sibling, the supervillain
Supervillain
A supervillain or supervillainess is a variant of the villain character type, commonly found in comic books, action movies and science fiction in various media.They are sometimes used as foils to superheroes and other fictional heroes...
Synergy, who used a weapon to erase the team's abilities and capture them. The team freed themselves, and used the weapon to restore their powers, but they manifested different abilities than the ones they previously had. Spencer found that he and his brother Gage, had switched their powers. Now possessing telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
, Spencer took the new codename Wraith.
In the miniseries Dynamo 5: Sins of the Father #3 (August 2010), Spencer learned, while battling another extraterrestrial who recognized Spencer's race, that his people are called the Khandrians. During this encounter, the telepathic Spencer saw in his opponent's mind an image of a humanoid being held captive by Khandrians who were apparently experimenting on him. It was also during this battle that Dr. Bridges sees Spencer on television.
Personality
Spencer Bridges is depicted as a promiscuous womanizer in his late teens who has never held a job for more than two weeks, though he never seems to be without financial means. Dynamo 5 creator Jay Faerber indicated upon the series' debut that his shapeshifting ability would tie into his lack of direction in life, saying, "He inherited Cap's shape-shifting powers, and he can now become anyone he chooses. Maybe one day he'll figure out who he wants to be." Shortly after meeting his siblings, Spencer tells them that the people who took him and other children in did so only to receive a government check, and while he can remember all their faces, he cannot remember half their names, and feels that today he doesn't need a family. Unlike his brother HectorVisionary (comics)
Hector Chang is a fictional comic book superhero, a member of the superhero team Dynamo 5, which appears in the monthly series of the same name from Image Comics. Created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Mahmud A...
, who thinks of Captain Dynamo as "Dad", and has a poster of Dynamo over his bed, Spencer, who, having wondered all his life who his father was, is disappointed to learn it was Captain Dynamo, and thinks of the late superhero as "an enormous hypocrite and a horrible husband". Despite Spencer's dismissive statements about his need for family, he undergoes an eye-opening experience when Maddie Warner asks him to impersonate his brother Gage
Scatterbrain (comics)
Gage Reinhart is a fictional comic book superhero, a member of the superhero team Dynamo 5, which appears in the monthly series of the same name from Image Comics. Created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Mahmud A...
after Gage falls into a coma, in order to quell suspicion on the part of Gage's family, who are unaware of Gage's superhero life. The experience served to illustrate to Spencer what having a stable family is like, something he had missed all his life, but in getting carried away, he initiates a romantic overture with a schoolmate of Gage's, and when Gage, who discovers he is capable of astral projection
Astral projection
Astral projection is an interpretation of out-of-body experience that assumes the existence of an "astral body" separate from the physical body and capable of traveling outside it...
, witnesses the two in a romantic embrace, he sees this as an invasion of privacy, and later comes to blows with Spencer. Spencer wonders if it is motivated by racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, as the girl in question was black. Spencer apologizes to Gage, but when he confessed how having a family for a small number of days made him feel, Gage, understanding of this, forgives him. Although he initially accepts Warner's offer to join the team because she pays him, he eventually decides to move to Tower City full-time and help protect it for more altruistic reasons.
After losing his shapeshifting abilities, Spencer is isolated by the fact that his extraterrestrial appearance limits his ability to socialize outside the team's headquarters.
Powers and abilities
Spencer Bridges is a half human, half extraterrestrial hybrid. Although he formerly used his shapeshiftingShapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
ability to appear human, his true appearance is that of a Khandrian, the extraterrestrial race to which his mother belonged. As such, he has been depicted with gray skin, no hair, and a long face that includes a pronounced brow and a small, snout-like nose just under his eyes. The space between his nose and mouth is proportionately greater than that found in a human face. Artist Mahmud A. Asrar
Mahmud A. Asrar
Mahmud Anjum Asrar is a Turkish-born comic book artist of Pakistani and Austrian ethnicity, who is known for his work on American and non-American comic books....
depicted him without a philtrum
Philtrum
The philtrum , is a medial cleft common to many mammals, extending from the nose to the upper lip, and, together with a glandular rhinarium and slit-like nostrils, is believed to constitute the primitive condition for mammals in general...
, though other artists such as Tim Seeley and Julio Brilha have not. He also has no apparent ears, at least none that resemble those of a human. His hands have a total of three digits, including an opposable thumb, though his other two non-pollical digits are much larger than those of the human. All three of his digits have pointed claws.
Spencer has the power of telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
, and can read other people’s minds, which was formerly the power possessed by his brother, Gage Reinhart. His power is both voluntary and passive; While he can use his power to deliberately read someone's mind, he can also involuntarily pick up the thoughts of those around him, even when he does not wish it. Although he has not yet been observed utilizing all the applications of his telepathy that his brother Gage exhibited, it has been otherwise observed that his powers function exactly as Gage's did.
As a result of previously taking a street drug called Flex, Spencer has superhuman strength, speed and endurance. The extent of these powers have not been explicitly given, but they enable him to break several lines of chain tied around him as a restraint, and leap dozens of feet into the air and across rooftops. Combined with his knowledge of martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
and acrobatics, Spencer has successfully taken on opponents such as Anchor, Chain Reaction and Blue Blaster single-handedly, and held his own against Widowmaker, Optima and a human who wore the strength-amplifying Strong-Suit.
Spencer formerly had shapeshifting
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
powers with which he could alter the form of his body, his facial features, and even the clothes he wore, in order to disguise himself as anyone he chose. He sometimes practiced his impersonations of certain people, and used reference materials in order to perfect his disguises. Like his father, Spencer could alter the apparent size of his body, enabling him to disguise himself, for example, as an obese person. Spencer used this ability to disguise himself as people who appear to have greater mass than he does, as when he impersonates Captain Dynamo. How he was able to do this, in light of the law of conservation of mass, has not been explained. When engaged in superheroics, Myriad did not wear a mask or helmet like his siblings, but instead disguised himself by erasing all of his facial features. How he was able to see, breathe, hear, and speak without them was also not explained. Spencer's ability to maintain a disguise was dependent upon his concentration; being punched in the face while disguised, for example, would cause that disguise to falter, and being rendered unconscious would cause him to revert to his true, alien appearance.
See also
- Dynamo 5Dynamo 5Dynamo 5 is a fictional comic book superhero team created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Mahmud A. Asrar, which appears in an eponymous series published by Image Comics. The team first appeared in Dynamo 5 #1 . The monthly series ended with issue #25...
- Smasher
- Ramjet
- Menagerie
- Supervision
- Captain DynamoCaptain Dynamo (comics)Captain Dynamo is a fictional comic book superhero, created by writer Jay Faerber and artist Fran Bueno, who first appeared as a supporting character in Noble Causes: Extended Family #2 by Image Comics....
- Maddie WarnerMaddie WarnerMadeline “Maddie” Warner is a fictional comic book character, the mentor and leader of the superhero team Dynamo 5, who appears in the monthly series of the same name by Image Comics. Created by writer Jay Faerber, Warner first appeared in Dynamo 5 #1 .-Character history:Madeline Warner was born...