Surprising Heroes

I have decided over the next little bit to make people aware of some little known heroes. So for my first entry I give you 3-D Man

The 3-D Man was a 1950's hero who came about through the unique merger of two brothers, Hal and Chuck Chandler. Chuck was a test pilot who was abducted by alien Skrulls during an important test flight. Earth was seen as a strategic location in the ongoing conflict between the alien Kree and Skrull Empires, so the Skrulls were seeking information on Earth's space program and had captured Chuck to interrogate him. Chuck resisted and escaped, accidentally causing the explosion of the Skrull spacecraft in the process. While his brother Hal watched, the radiation from the explosion seemingly disintegrated Chuck, who disappeared in a burst of light. Hal later discovered, however, that the light burst had imprinted an image of Chuck on each lens of Hal's eyeglasses. Through concentration, Hal could merge the images and cause Chuck to reappear as a three-dimensional man. Chuck become the costumed adventurer known as the 3-D Man and single-handedly subverted the Skrulls' early attempts to undermine Earthly civilization.
Hal would remain comatose whenever the 3-D Man was active but remained aware of the 3-D Man's activities through a mental link. Later, a Skrull's ray weapon altered the transformation so that Hal was the 3-D Man's dominant consciousness for some time. Both brothers' minds seemed to be present in the 3-D Man at all times, but only one of them (usually Chuck) would be in conscious control of the 3-D Man's form on any given occasion.
After a brief career as a costumed adventurer, Hal decided to retire the 3-D Man, partly because he was thinking about starting a family, and partly because he was afraid his brother's consciousness might somehow be lost during periods when Hal was the 3-D Man's dominant consciousness. Hal settled down into a career as a research scientist, got married to Chuck's former girlfriend, and raised two sons. He had only activated the 3-D Man twice in recent years, once to fight a rampaging Hulk. During this time as 3-D Man, Chuck seemed to be its dominant consciousness again.
More recently, Hal began to feel a strange impulse to travel to the Himalayan Mountains of India. Unbeknownst to him, the presence of a powerful mystical artifact was calling to him. The artifact was a pyramid-shaped shard of light, one of three such shards that were created by the universe in reaction to the presence of pure evil that was cast adrift in this dimension by the extradimensional gods known as the Trion. One of these shards was captured by the Skrulls who had abducted Chuck Chandler, and its energies had merged with Chuck in creating the 3-D Man.

Chandler also heard the call of the other shard and mounted an expedition to find it. He was betrayed, however, by Jonathan Tremont, one of the expedition's guides, who claimed the shard for himself. Hal was held captive by Tremont for many years, and Tremont used the power of his shard to create the religious organization called the Triune Understanding. Tremont had discovered the true origin of the shards and hoped to use the Understanding to end the threat of the Trion's cast-off evil, which he termed the "Triple-Evil."
Tremont also sought out alternate weapons against the Triple-Evil. He used the power of the shard that was internalized in Hal Chandler to release the powers within a new follower, Delroy Garrett Junior, creating the superhuman champion Triathlon. Triathlon unknowingly held the essence of both Hal and Chuck within himself.
Ultimately, Tremont and the hero team Avengers (which now included Triathlon among their members) fought the Triple-Evil and the aliens it had corrupted. Tremont sensed that he might overwhelm the power of the Triple-Evil, to use it for himself to become as a god, and then to reward himself with dominion over all the Earth. Instead, Triathlon found the remaining third shard and, coupling it with the power within him as personified in the 3-D Man, he wrested control of the shard used by Tremont. Using all three shards, a Triathlon/Hal Chandler/Chuck Chandler amalgamation emerged and was able to destroy the Triple-Evil.
Triathlon/3-D Man used the pyramid that once housed the Triple-Evil to return the Avengers to Earth, which had since been conquered by the time-traveling Kang. They used the power of the pyramid, channeling the energies of all those fall to its assault for millennia, to fight back and ultimately Kang was defeated.
Triathlon returned to Peggy Chandler, separating himself from Hal and Chuck and restoring both of them to physical form. Triathlon found his triple-powers had remained, although Hal and Chuck no longer possessed the power to transform into 3-D Man. Note: In at least one timeline, a team of adventurers known as the Avengers briefly formed in the 1950's before disbanding at the request of the President, who felt the public wasn't ready to learn of them and their exploits. The 3-D Man was part of that short-lived Avengers team, and their rescue of the President from Yellow Claw helped dispel the 3-D Man's reputation as a dangerous outlaw thanks to the President's influence.

STATS

UniverseMarvel Universe
Real NameHal Chandler and Chuck Chandler
AliasesNone
IdentitySecret
OccupationResearch scientist (Hal Chandler);test pilot, adventurer (Chuck Chandler)
CitizenshipU.S.A.
Place of BirthLos Angeles, California
Known RelativesPeggy Chandler (Hal’s wife)
Group AffiliationNone
EducationHigh school graduate; military training (Chuck Chandler only)
Height6'2"
Weight200 lbs.
Eyes(Hal) Brown, (Chuck) Blue, (3-D Man) Obscured by red/green goggles
Hair(Hal) Gray, (Chuck) Reddish-blonde, (3-D Man) Unrevealed
PowersThrough concentration, Hal could merge the images of his brother imprinted on his glasses and thus cause his brother Chuck to reappear as a three-dimensional man, clad in an altered version of his experimental flight suit and endowed with physical abilities roughly three times greater than those of an ordinary human. Hal would fall into a trance-like state when Chuck appeared, and Chuck could only exist in the three-dimensional world for three hours at a time, after which Hal had to revive.
As the 3-D Man, Chandler possessed roughly three times the physical abilities and sensory acuity of an ordinary human in peak condition and is capable of slightly superhuman strength and speed. His stamina, durability, agility and reflexes are also estimated to be superhuman, namely roughly triple that of a human in peak physical condition. He could also sense Skrulls no matter what form they took.
AbilitiesChuck Chandler was an accomplished U.S. Air Force officer.
WeaponsNone
ParaphernaliaNone
First AppearanceMarvel Premiere # 35 (1977)
OriginMarvel Premiere # 35
Significant IssuesMarvel Premiere #35-37; Incredible Hulk #251-252; Contest of Champions #1-3; Avengers Forever #3-6; Avengers #50, 51-55

Lego Star wars News

DK Plans Out-of-This-World LEGO Star Wars Event
This article originally appeared in PW's Children's Bookshelf. Sign up now!
By Karen Raugust -- Publishers Weekly, 6/18/2009
Should we be worried? A Storm Trooper takes a break in DK's booth at BEA with a copy of Planet Earth (hopefully not in preparation for a surprise visit from the Death Star).DK Publishing, along with Lucasfilm and LEGO, is planning a one-day in-store launch event for its October release LEGO Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary by Simon Beecroft. The book is based on LEGO’s 10-year-old line of toys tied to George Lucas’s Star Wars saga; the characters also have been featured in a series of videogames.
DK is offering participating stores an activity kit with game and trivia contests; giveaways including posters, pins, and tote bags; raffle prizes in the form of limited-edition LEGO Star Wars Chrome Darth Vader figures; and appearances from members of a volunteer group of Star Wars costume enthusiasts called the 501st Legion. DK also plans to donate books in the name of the 501st, which is involved in many charitable activities.
“We’ve never done anything on this scale at all, and neither has the 501st,” says Rachel Kempster, DK’s associate director of publicity. “We didn’t plan this along with the marketing of the book, but when we saw some of the spreads, we realized this needs to be an event.”
According to Kempster, the LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary, which will have a 125,000-copy printing, was DK’s hottest title at BEA. When she mentioned the event opportunity to booksellers at the show, it received a very positive reception; she expected 20 to 30 stores to participate, but 64 stores signed on in just three weeks and she predicts the total will be close to 100. Most will be bookstores, but other outlets, including LEGO stores, toy stores and gift shops, also plan to host events. Publicity for the launch will kick in at Comic Con in July, where DK also will reveal the identity of the exclusive minifigure to be embedded in the book’s jacket, as well as introduce its LEGO Star Wars mini-site.
This is DK’s first LEGO Star Wars title, although it has been a longtime partner on Star Wars, and published LEGO books years ago. This fall it is introducing a new range of LEGO-branded formats, in addition to the Visual Dictionary.


The LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary: From Bricks to BooksJuly 23, 2009
Hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Lucasfilm and LEGO entered into a partnership to feed the world’s astonishing appetite for Star Wars-themed LEGO bricks. When that deal, brokered around the release of The Phantom Menace, came to light, it felt like a natural to many — a match made in collector and kid heaven. But it’s doubtful anyone would have predicted a future filled with smash hit video games, animated shorts and now, a book dedicated to LEGO Star Wars, due out from DK Publishing on October 10, 2009.
Due out in October, the LEGO Star Wars Visual Dictionary may seem like an odd venture at first, given that previous Star Wars Visual Dictionaries have explored the in-universe details of the saga, applying names and histories to the various bit players, widgets, greeblies and what-have-yous of the visually dense props and costumes. This LEGO edition serves a visually rich guide to the fantastic sets and figures produced by LEGO, a sort of plussed out collector’s bible of the past ten years.
On-hand to discuss it at Comic-Con International were Jonathan Rinzler, Executive Editor at LucasBooks; Rob Johnson, Art Director for the LEGO Group, and Simon Beecroft, author of the book and Publishing Manager for DK Publishing.
“I’ve been championing some kind of LEGO book for years,” said Rinzler. “And finally it all came together… Putting it all together was in many ways a puzzle piece.”
Beecroft clarified that the book is not merely a catalog of LEGO products, though every set to date is indeed included. “It does follow along the lines of our Visual Dictionaries, in that it attempts to explain things from the universe it occupies. So this takes the point of view from within the LEGO Star Wars universe of sorts.” This is best expressed through themed spreads within the book that often explore a character or faction and its evolution across multiple LEGO sets.
Rinzler explained the narrative voice does switch gears from in-universe, to our universe, occasionally breaking the wall to explain the history of a set or its features as a product. The book includes a timeline of LEGO works, a look behind-the-scenes on the development of sets and mini-figs, as well as a look at LEGO fans. In fact, it was through the generous contributions of one fan, Jeremy Beckett, that the book ended up being as well illustrated as it is.
“We did get a lot of photos. Many from LEGO, but Jeremy also provided so many as well,” said Beecroft.
Johnson, from LEGO, fielded questions from fans eager to pry any details of future sets, though he remained tight-lipped on specifics. He did say that more Expanded Universe sets — like the Rogue Shadow from The Force Unleashed – were a possibility. He stated that sets dedicated simply to mini-figs were not a possibility due to licensing restrictions — the license to produce Star Wars figures is owned by Hasbro, while LEGO focuses on construction sets. “But, that said, we look to include as many figures as we can in our sets,” he said.


This entry was posted on July 23, 2009 at 1:46 pm and is filed under Comic-Con, LEGO, Publishing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

A bit about IRON MAN

Since there is so much hype about Iron Man currently, I thought I would provide some insight into the history of the character. I hope this is informative and enjoyable.

Before the Iron Mask
Born to Howard Anthony Stark and Maria Collins Carbonell Stark, Anthony Edward "Tony" Stark was born with extremely high intelligence. At the age of 15 Stark entered the undergraduate electrical engineering program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he graduated at the top of his class. At the age of 21 he inherited Stark Enterprises when his parents were killed in a car accident.

A Self-Made Superhero

The Many Armors of Iron ManDuring an East Asian conflict, Stark Enterprises developed mini-transistors that Tony thought would help the war effort. While checking on his plant, which had been plagued by sabotage, Tony was injured by exploding shrapnel and captured by warlord Wong Chu. Chu forced Tony and another captive, famed physicist Ho Yinsen, to create weapons for him. All the while the lethal bit of shrapnel was slowly working towards Tony's heart. Tony and Yinsen created an iron suit that would keep Tony alive and allow them to escape. During the escape Yinsen was killed, sacrificing himself to allow Tony time to change for the first time to Iron Man. Iron Man made short work of Chu and his men.
On his way home Tony met Helicopter pilot James Rhodes - the future armored partner of Tony Stark called War Machine - and returned to America. After he arrived, Tony worked to improve the Iron Man armor and made Iron Man Tony Stark's personal bodyguard to disguise his identity. In his early years Tony Stark became the corporate sponsor of the superhero group the Avengers and as Iron Man help found the group with Thor, Ant-Man, the Wasp, and the Hulk. Notable villains from these early days include Mandarin, Hawkeye, and the Black Widow.

Hero of Iron, Feet of Clay
Although Anthony Stark promotes a rich, playboy persona his life is far from perfect. His biggest personal problem is his lifelong battle with alcoholism. Other problems include repetitive losses of companies by takeover, bankruptcy, and many other business-related threats. His hardest fall left Tony homeless, after which he handed the Iron Man identity over to his friend Rhodes. But our hero Stark has always recovered. He soon started a new company, Circuits Maximus, and swiftly returned as Iron Man. When Stark International's new Chief Executive Officer, Obadiah Stane, tried to take over Stark's new company, Stark retaliated and took back his family's company.
All during this time Tony Stark's health was in rapid decline. Even after a heart transplant that saved his life, Tony still had health issues. His armor's cybernetic interface was causing his nervous system to deteriorate. It became serious enough that he had to fake his own death and enter suspended animation to survive. At this point Rhodes donned the Iron Man identity once more, but this time he equipped himself with a new armor created by Tony called the "Variable Threat Response Battle Suit", later known as the War Machine armor. When Tony awoke Rhodes was so enraged by the deception that he left Tony and made War Machine into its own identity.

The Crossing and Teen Tony

Iron Man with the AvengersSome time later the villain Kang the Conqueror took control of Tony Stark in order to use him against his friends. (Though it was later revealed that it wasn't Kang at all, but Immortus, during the course of the Destiny War.) As a sleeper agent Tony was forced to kill Yellowjacket (Rita DeMara) and Crystal's Nanny, Marilla. To battle the combined forces of Iron Man and Kang, the Avengers were forced to recruit a teenage version of Tony Stark. Teen Tony stole a suit of armor from Stark International and aided the Avengers in battle. When the adult version came face to face with his teenage self he was finally able to overcome Kang's control. The older one sacrificed himself and defeated Kang; he died as a hero.
Teenage Tony Stark continued to fight with the Avengers and managed to take back control of Stark International. Shortly after this, the mutant Onslaught appeared. The young Tony and many of the world's superheroes fought Onslaught in New York City's Central Park. There the young Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor, the Hulk, and other heroes seemingly lost their lives defending the Earth. However, they were actually brought into a pocket universe created by Reed and Sue Richards' son, Franklin. Events soon forced Franklin to choose a world to survive, but instead he restored to life the original, older Anthony Stark, and the heroes to Earth.

Upgrades
Tony's armor eventually grew so sophisticated that it became sentient. At first Tony allowed the armor to do his job as Iron Man, but it became increasingly dangerous. It even committed murder, slaying the villain, Whiplash. When this occurred Tony had no choice but to face the armor. During the confrontation Tony went into cardiac arrest due to an injury he previously sustained battling Whiplash. Proving itself a hero, the armor ripped out its own components and created a cybernetic heart for it's creator, sacrificing itself in the process.
Tony later revealed to the world that he was Iron Man. After this revelation he took the post as the President's Secretary of Defense to monitor the use of his technology by the United States Military. He was subsequently forced to step down from the position when the Scarlet Witch went out of control and killed members of the Avengers, forcing them to disband. Tony publicly stated that he would no longer be Iron Man but that there would always be one. Though of course Tony continued to be Iron Man while maintaining a secret identity. More recently, Tony injected himself with a Nanotech virus that integrated many of his suits functions with his own biological systems. He has also been a member of a secret group known as the Illuminati, along with Professor Charles Xavier, Reed Richards, Blackagar Boltagon, Dr. Stephen Strange, and Namor for many years.

Civil War

Captian America fighting Iron ManRecently, during a televised raid of a house containing select villains that had recently escaped from the super villain facility at Ryker's Island prison called the Raft, the villain Nitro detonated himself and the resulting explosion killed the majority of the New Warriors, as well as the children at a nearby elementary school and the residents of the surrounding neighborhood. In the wake of the tragedy, Capitol Hill proposed the Superhuman Registration Act, a government movement to register all super-powered beings as living weapons of mass destruction, requiring all costumed heroes to unmask themselves before the government and subject themselves to federally mandated standards. This event triggered negative public opinion against the super heroes, in which sole blame from the public was placed. The international organization S.H.I.E.L.D. quickly propositioned Captain America to lead a squad of "cape killer" soldiers, trained to fight super-powered humans. He refused, and after being attacked by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Anti-Superhuman Response Unit, went underground. Iron Man, however, was in full support of the act. After numerous skirmishes and a full out super hero battle in downtown New York, Iron Man emerged victorious; however his former ally Goliath (Bill Foster) had perished combating Iron Man's forces, and Captain America was assassinated on the steps of the courthouse after his surrendering. In the wake of the war, Stark was offered the position as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., and he accepted the offer.

As you can see Iron Man is a complex and interesting character. If you any questions about anything let me know I am always happy to help. Remember now you know and knowing is half the battle.

Through the Ages

Through the ages there have been many great literary works. This isn't one of them. I have been inspired by my lovely wife(rjself.blogspot.com) to take up the pen and let the world in on my thoughts. This blog is going to be mainly a place for me to talk about things I like. This could be anything from movies to comic books to tv shows. Whatever happens to take my fancy. I hope whatever I post will be enjoyable to someone. So as we embark on this journey I thank anyone who wants to come along for the ride. Until next time I am a geek for all seasons.