Quarmer
Encyclopedia
Quarmer, a.k.a Sand Superman, is a fictional character from DC Comics
. He was a living sand
doppelganger
of Superman
and first appeared in Superman (first series) # 233, created by Denny O'Neil and Curt Swan
.
. When a powerful nuclear meltdown
happened Superman himself was there to attempt to stop it. He failed, however, and a powerful kryptonite-based explosion that rendered Superman unconscious resulted. Although he apparently had succeeded in stopping most of the deadly radiation
to reach humanity a strange fission
wave reached around the world and changed all kryptonite into pure iron
. Miraculously, it seemed, Superman now had no vulnerabilities anymore, a fact that was seen in papers world-wide.
On the spot Superman had been lying in the desert unconscious after the explosion was formed the imprint of the Man of Steel. The explosion had mysteriously opened up a portal into another dimension called the Quarrm Dimension. In that dimension beings existed as non-corporeal spirits and like most spirits they wanted a physical form to accompany them. One of the beings of that dimension gained access to the ordinary DC Earth by attaching itself to the psychic and physical imprint of Superman left in the sand. Many hours after the explosion an uncanny version of Superman, made of sand, rose from the imprint.
This being would in the months that followed meet Superman seemingly randomly and drain power from him in an attempt to create an identity for itself. Superman was left near powerless after each such encounter while the Sand Superman grew more and more powerful and humanoid. Its presence became more and more of an annoyance to Superman who wanted to know what it was. It could, however not speak, and mostly left more mysterious than it had been before the encounter. Superman, powerless at those occasions, was unable to follow it.
During one of these encounters it saved the life of Superman by destroying the magic weapon called the Devil's Harp, an artifact that was being used by a man named Ferlin Nyxly aka Pan. Pan had nearly killed Superman when the Sand Superman sneaked by and destroyed the weapon that had allowed Pan to steal all of Superman's powers. Reasonably, the Sand Superman saved Superman's life in order to maintain its own existence (he had a life-giving mental link to Superman and thus it couldn't survive without Superman being alive). Later it gained the ability to speak, but that didn't help Superman much. The being didn't follow human emotions and didn't care for humanity ; thus Superman couldn't convince it to agree on anything.
When the situation got even worse, Superman was left completely without powers. Seeking help from one of Wonder Woman
's old friends, the Asian mystic called I-Ching, Superman hoped to cure his situation. I-Ching sent away Superman's soul
to regain all the powers he had lost, which it did, leaving the Sand Superman powerless and near dead. Attempting to return home to Quarrm in order to survive the Sand Superman opened up a dimensional portage in a park in Metropolis
. To weak to enter the portage, the portage remained open. Superman had, unfortunately, been given a brain damage by a powerful blow to his head while unpowered. When his powers had now returned he retained the brain damage which made him act rashly and unreasonbly. Superman had now become an irresponsible and potentially lethal superbeing.
With kryptonite no longer available I-Ching and Wonder Woman had to decide on a risky plan to help Superman; they tracked down the Sand Superman and made an agreement with Superman to meet him so that the Sand Superman could ambush it draining all his powers. Powerless, Superman would then recover as a normal man. Before the Sand Superman could steal Superman's powers it was spotted and Superman escaped the scene. Meanwhile, another being from Quarrm had entered the Earth Dimension via the portage in the park. This being fused itself with a giant Chinese statue of a monster and began rampaging the streets. Superman accidentally flew over this creature and was completely drained of power, leaving him unconscious and powerless. Some street punk
s found Superman, gave him a real beating and allied themselves with the Chinese monster Quarrmian. The monster seeking advice did everything the punks asked of it. They wanted to finish off Superman, who was now residing in a hospital, and thus went there sitting on the back of the monster.
The punks were, however, too bullying and the enraged monster killed both of them crushing them in its hands. The monster still wanted to finish Superman (to which he also seemed to have a mental link), but by the time it reached the hospital Superman awoke repowered. The Sand Superman showed up and teamed with Superman. Together they both attacked the monster who terrified escaped back into the park and left Earth via the dimensional port. Alone again with Superman, the Sand Superman announced that he was going to kill Superman so that he could be the only Man of Steel (see Quote). I-Ching, fortunately, arrived on the scene and magically hypnotized both into seeing how a fight between the two might turn out. Both saw the fight destroying the Earth and Superman, believing that he had really destroyed the Earth, was devastated. The Sand Superman realized that it had no right to claim Superman's soul or body and thus agreed on returning home to Quarrm. It left through the portage with half of Superman's powers (Superman refused to take them back after having seen the destruction of the Earth during the hypnotism) and closed the port from the Quarrm side.
Long after that he was seen in an issue of DC Collector's Edition Superman vs Shazam. The Sand Superman was impersonating the real Man of Steel and attacked Captain Marvel
, while Black Adam
pretended to be Marvel and ambushed Superman. All to bring about a battle between the two heroes. Presumably the Sand Superman returned to the Quarrm Dimension after the matter was settled. He has probably not been seen since...
After this history, more kryptonite rained down on Earth later on, so the effect was only temporary.
The Sand Superman's personality is very strange and alien. Its main driving force seemed to be pure survival for which it would do anything. In time it had also gotten some of Superman's own personality including the desire to help humans and be a hero. It desired uniqueness nearly as much as survival itself, and would in the end kill Superman (something Superman wouldn't do) to take his place. In speech it was sometimes very aggressive, intimidating, while other times it could be filled with self-pitying (particularly if powerless). It was very stoic and never showed any human emotion. Its logic was non-human and uncomprehensive.
While claiming that it wanted to take Superman's place it didn't really care about what happened to humans or the Earth. Only the final realization of what was right and what was wrong led it to leave Earth and its claims to be Superman. Since it hasn't gotten back from Quarrm it has also shown a great belief in its judgement and a great persistence.
The result of the fight between Superman and Quarmer implies that the Man of Steel was devoid of a half of his power, but later writers didn't respected it; to these, the Superman powers was infinite, and a half of the infinite is, well... infinite. This falacy could imply other kryptonian characters, as Krypto
and Supergirl
, could have also infinite power, and not similar but minor power levels in relation to Superman.
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
. He was a living sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
doppelganger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
of Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
and first appeared in Superman (first series) # 233, created by Denny O'Neil and Curt Swan
Curt Swan
Douglas Curtis Swan was an American comic book artist. The artist most associated with Superman during the period fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books, Swan produced hundreds of covers and stories from the 1950s through the 1980s.-Early life and career:Curt Swan, whose Swedish...
.
Fictional origin
Somewhere in the deserts of the USA used to be an experimental reactor in which experiments were conducted upon pieces of KryptoniteKryptonite
Kryptonite is a fictional material from the Superman mythos —the ore form of a radioactive element from Superman's home planet of Krypton. It is famous for being the ultimate physical weakness of Superman, and the word kryptonite has since become synonymous with an Achilles' heel —the one weakness...
. When a powerful nuclear meltdown
Nuclear meltdown
Nuclear meltdown is an informal term for a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission...
happened Superman himself was there to attempt to stop it. He failed, however, and a powerful kryptonite-based explosion that rendered Superman unconscious resulted. Although he apparently had succeeded in stopping most of the deadly radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
to reach humanity a strange fission
Nuclear fission
In nuclear physics and nuclear chemistry, nuclear fission is a nuclear reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts , often producing free neutrons and photons , and releasing a tremendous amount of energy...
wave reached around the world and changed all kryptonite into pure iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
. Miraculously, it seemed, Superman now had no vulnerabilities anymore, a fact that was seen in papers world-wide.
On the spot Superman had been lying in the desert unconscious after the explosion was formed the imprint of the Man of Steel. The explosion had mysteriously opened up a portal into another dimension called the Quarrm Dimension. In that dimension beings existed as non-corporeal spirits and like most spirits they wanted a physical form to accompany them. One of the beings of that dimension gained access to the ordinary DC Earth by attaching itself to the psychic and physical imprint of Superman left in the sand. Many hours after the explosion an uncanny version of Superman, made of sand, rose from the imprint.
This being would in the months that followed meet Superman seemingly randomly and drain power from him in an attempt to create an identity for itself. Superman was left near powerless after each such encounter while the Sand Superman grew more and more powerful and humanoid. Its presence became more and more of an annoyance to Superman who wanted to know what it was. It could, however not speak, and mostly left more mysterious than it had been before the encounter. Superman, powerless at those occasions, was unable to follow it.
During one of these encounters it saved the life of Superman by destroying the magic weapon called the Devil's Harp, an artifact that was being used by a man named Ferlin Nyxly aka Pan. Pan had nearly killed Superman when the Sand Superman sneaked by and destroyed the weapon that had allowed Pan to steal all of Superman's powers. Reasonably, the Sand Superman saved Superman's life in order to maintain its own existence (he had a life-giving mental link to Superman and thus it couldn't survive without Superman being alive). Later it gained the ability to speak, but that didn't help Superman much. The being didn't follow human emotions and didn't care for humanity ; thus Superman couldn't convince it to agree on anything.
When the situation got even worse, Superman was left completely without powers. Seeking help from one of Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a DC Comics superheroine created by William Moulton Marston. She first appeared in All Star Comics #8 . The Wonder Woman title has been published by DC Comics almost continuously except for a brief hiatus in 1986....
's old friends, the Asian mystic called I-Ching, Superman hoped to cure his situation. I-Ching sent away Superman's soul
Soul
A soul in certain spiritual, philosophical, and psychological traditions is the incorporeal essence of a person or living thing or object. Many philosophical and spiritual systems teach that humans have souls, and others teach that all living things and even inanimate objects have souls. The...
to regain all the powers he had lost, which it did, leaving the Sand Superman powerless and near dead. Attempting to return home to Quarrm in order to survive the Sand Superman opened up a dimensional portage in a park in Metropolis
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
. To weak to enter the portage, the portage remained open. Superman had, unfortunately, been given a brain damage by a powerful blow to his head while unpowered. When his powers had now returned he retained the brain damage which made him act rashly and unreasonbly. Superman had now become an irresponsible and potentially lethal superbeing.
With kryptonite no longer available I-Ching and Wonder Woman had to decide on a risky plan to help Superman; they tracked down the Sand Superman and made an agreement with Superman to meet him so that the Sand Superman could ambush it draining all his powers. Powerless, Superman would then recover as a normal man. Before the Sand Superman could steal Superman's powers it was spotted and Superman escaped the scene. Meanwhile, another being from Quarrm had entered the Earth Dimension via the portage in the park. This being fused itself with a giant Chinese statue of a monster and began rampaging the streets. Superman accidentally flew over this creature and was completely drained of power, leaving him unconscious and powerless. Some street punk
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
s found Superman, gave him a real beating and allied themselves with the Chinese monster Quarrmian. The monster seeking advice did everything the punks asked of it. They wanted to finish off Superman, who was now residing in a hospital, and thus went there sitting on the back of the monster.
The punks were, however, too bullying and the enraged monster killed both of them crushing them in its hands. The monster still wanted to finish Superman (to which he also seemed to have a mental link), but by the time it reached the hospital Superman awoke repowered. The Sand Superman showed up and teamed with Superman. Together they both attacked the monster who terrified escaped back into the park and left Earth via the dimensional port. Alone again with Superman, the Sand Superman announced that he was going to kill Superman so that he could be the only Man of Steel (see Quote). I-Ching, fortunately, arrived on the scene and magically hypnotized both into seeing how a fight between the two might turn out. Both saw the fight destroying the Earth and Superman, believing that he had really destroyed the Earth, was devastated. The Sand Superman realized that it had no right to claim Superman's soul or body and thus agreed on returning home to Quarrm. It left through the portage with half of Superman's powers (Superman refused to take them back after having seen the destruction of the Earth during the hypnotism) and closed the port from the Quarrm side.
Long after that he was seen in an issue of DC Collector's Edition Superman vs Shazam. The Sand Superman was impersonating the real Man of Steel and attacked Captain Marvel
Captain Marvel (DC Comics)
Captain Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero, originally published by Fawcett Comics and later by DC Comics. Created in 1939 by artist C. C. Beck and writer Bill Parker, the character first appeared in Whiz Comics #2...
, while Black Adam
Black Adam
Black Adam is a fictional comic book character, created in 1945 by Otto Binder & C. C. Beck for Fawcett Comics. Originally created as a one-shot villain for Fawcett Comics' Marvel Family team of superheroes, Black Adam was revived as a recurring supervillain after DC Comics began publishing Captain...
pretended to be Marvel and ambushed Superman. All to bring about a battle between the two heroes. Presumably the Sand Superman returned to the Quarrm Dimension after the matter was settled. He has probably not been seen since...
After this history, more kryptonite rained down on Earth later on, so the effect was only temporary.
Description
The Sand Superman resembled Superman himself more and more the more power it absorbed. At first it was a pile of sand with humanoid features, but near the end it had acquired colors in its densely packed sand so it really resembled Superman. The only real difference was that the Sand Superman had a very different and alien body language and that his skin and suit resembled rough sandpaper. Everywhere Superman had colors in his suit, it had too; it even had blue eyes of blue sand and black sand for hair. The entire appearance was quite uncanny and people who saw it often commented how strange 'Superman' looked. All in all, it has the exact appearance of Superman himself, but with a very sand-like composition.The Sand Superman's personality is very strange and alien. Its main driving force seemed to be pure survival for which it would do anything. In time it had also gotten some of Superman's own personality including the desire to help humans and be a hero. It desired uniqueness nearly as much as survival itself, and would in the end kill Superman (something Superman wouldn't do) to take his place. In speech it was sometimes very aggressive, intimidating, while other times it could be filled with self-pitying (particularly if powerless). It was very stoic and never showed any human emotion. Its logic was non-human and uncomprehensive.
While claiming that it wanted to take Superman's place it didn't really care about what happened to humans or the Earth. Only the final realization of what was right and what was wrong led it to leave Earth and its claims to be Superman. Since it hasn't gotten back from Quarrm it has also shown a great belief in its judgement and a great persistence.
Inspiration
Back in 1971, DC heralded a big change coming to the Superman comics, and it was Denny O'Neil who would be penning the newest chapter in the Man of Steel's history. The idea was to strip Superman of some of his power, humanizing him in the process and allowing for a new level of "realistic" (relatively speaking) storytelling. His story, which kicked off with "Kryptonite Nevermore" but has been nicknamed "The Sandman Superman Saga," is about to be published as a hardcover edition by DC.The result of the fight between Superman and Quarmer implies that the Man of Steel was devoid of a half of his power, but later writers didn't respected it; to these, the Superman powers was infinite, and a half of the infinite is, well... infinite. This falacy could imply other kryptonian characters, as Krypto
Krypto
Krypto, also known as Krypto the Superdog, is a fictional character. He is Superman's pet dog in the various Superman comic books published by DC Comics. Krypto's first appearance was in a Superboy story in Adventure Comics #210 in March 1955...
and Supergirl
Supergirl
Supergirl is a female counterpart to the DC Comics Superman. As his cousin, she shares his super powers and vulnerability to Kryptonite. She was created by writer Otto Binder and designed by artist Al Plastino in 1959. She first appeared in the Action Comics comic book series and later branched out...
, could have also infinite power, and not similar but minor power levels in relation to Superman.