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The Strangers (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Strangers is the title of a comic book
series created and written by Steve Englehart
. It was originally drawn by Rick Hoberg
, for Malibu Comics
’ Ultraverse
imprint
.
The Strangers consisted of a group of random passengers on a cable car
who were struck by what they believed to be a bolt of lightning
, but was actually a "jumpstart": one of the bursts of energy emitted by the Entity
from the Moon, which transformed them into "Ultras".
. The passengers all develop super-powers to a various degree.
The six who would become the Strangers later gather at the spot of the crash site and come into conflict with the sorceress Yrial. This continues into the next issue; which also has the first appearance of recurring adversaries, TNTNT.
It was at one of Elana's shows where the villain Rafferty
attacks. Despite threats to kill one of the heroes, Rafferty only murders an old lady, right in front of the group.
. On the way to the successful moon encounter, they destroy a monstrous infestation of a Russian space station.
Upon return to Earth, they are rescued from the consequences of stealing the craft by base commander Captain Christopher Dugan. Night Man
had solved murders on Dugan's base, making him more receptive to the efforts of super-humans. Even when informed one of the Strangers was gay, Dugan indicates it matters little. In the same issue, Yrial's people force her to come home.
The Strangers get a clue as to where Yrial is being held and follow. They end up fighting super-powered pirates, these people were some of the cable car passengers.
Grenade and Electrocute later become a romantic couple. The team helps Hardcase
and his partner Choice invade the Groom Lake facility of the mysterious organization known as Aladdin
. Spectral reveals he is gay, to the acceptance of all his friends. Around this time they confront J.D Hunt's personal enforcers, TNTNT.
Grenade gets into deep trouble when his girlfriend is re-programmed by her original makers, Nu-Ware. With the additional help of the mystical Teknight, he believes he will be able to defeat TNTNT. Electrocute attacks also, defeating the two heroes.
At the time of this incident, Len and Yrial are in Europe in an attempt to help Atom Bob. They encounter dangers on a mysterious mountain.
Frustrated to be unable to his powers effectively and corrupted by demonic magic, Atom Bob ends up a villain. Night Man exposes him.
animated series. According to Steve Englehart
, via his personal website, this was supposed to be a back door pilot for a Strangers animated series, but plans were cancelled following Marvel's purchase of Malibu.
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...
series created and written by Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart is an American novelist. In his earlier career he was a comic book writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics, particularly in the 1970s...
. It was originally drawn by Rick Hoberg
Rick Hoberg
Rick Hoberg is an award-winning American comic book artist and animator.-Newspaper Strips:Hoberg began his career in the mid-1970s, working in newspaper strips, assisting Russ Manning on Tarzan and Star Wars , and Fred Kida on the daily Spider-Man strip .-Comic books:Between 1977 and 1979, Hoberg...
, for Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. The company's headquarters was in Calabasas, California. Malibu imprints included Aircel Comics and Eternity Comics...
’ Ultraverse
Ultraverse
The Ultraverse was the name given to a comic book imprint published by the American company Malibu Comics. The Ultraverse was a shared universe in which a variety of characters — known within the comics as "Ultras" — acquired super-human abilities.-History:...
imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
.
The Strangers consisted of a group of random passengers on a cable car
Cable car (railway)
A cable car or cable railway is a mass transit system using rail cars that are hauled by a continuously moving cable running at a constant speed. Individual cars stop and start by releasing and gripping this cable as required...
who were struck by what they believed to be a bolt of lightning
Lightning
Lightning is an atmospheric electrostatic discharge accompanied by thunder, which typically occurs during thunderstorms, and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or dust storms...
, but was actually a "jumpstart": one of the bursts of energy emitted by the Entity
The Entity (comics)
The Entity was a fictional device from Malibu Comics' Ultraverse. It first appeared in The Strangers #1; its origins were detailed in Ultraverse Future Shock, Phoenix: Resurrection, Ultraverse: Year Zero, and Break-Thru.Four billion years ago, an alien spacecraft exploded in our solar system...
from the Moon, which transformed them into "Ultras".
History
On June 24, 1993 San Francisco cable car goes out of control and crashes into a car driven by Johnny Domino. This drives a piece of metal into his brain. This accident causes Johnny to no longer need sleep and to develop the ability to hear evil thoughts, which led to his becoming the Ultra-Hero, Night ManNight Man
Night Man is an American action/adventure/sci-fi series that aired in syndication from September 15, 1997 to May 17, 1999. The series is loosely based on a comic book published by Malibu Comics and was created by Steve Englehart and developed for television by Glen A...
. The passengers all develop super-powers to a various degree.
The six who would become the Strangers later gather at the spot of the crash site and come into conflict with the sorceress Yrial. This continues into the next issue; which also has the first appearance of recurring adversaries, TNTNT.
Getting established
Elana came to sponsor the team, having developed a fortune in the fashion business. She gives them all pagers, when they are called in to battle the villain named Deathwish. Their adversary turns out to be another cable car passenger; he has killed an entire block of people. He is soon defeated. In this issue, the Strangers develop a working relationship with police officer Captain Jacob Rowe. He had become the San Francisco police department liaison with 'Ultras', super-powered beings.It was at one of Elana's shows where the villain Rafferty
Rafferty (comics)
Rafferty was a fictional assassin from the Malibu Comics' Ultraverse imprint. He was a foe of Firearm , first appearing in Firearm #12 , written by James Robinson.-Fictional biography:...
attacks. Despite threats to kill one of the heroes, Rafferty only murders an old lady, right in front of the group.
More villainy
In an attempt to discover the source of their powers, they steal a shuttlecraft from the villain J.D. Hunt, the same man who once had Electrocute as a sexual toy. The shuttle was being stored on a military base. This brings them into conflict with the rookie superhero PrototypePrototype (comics)
Prototype was the name of two characters from Malibu Comics' Ultraverse. The original Prototype was Bob Campbell, who was replaced by the second Prototype, Jimmy Ruiz...
. On the way to the successful moon encounter, they destroy a monstrous infestation of a Russian space station.
Upon return to Earth, they are rescued from the consequences of stealing the craft by base commander Captain Christopher Dugan. Night Man
Night Man
Night Man is an American action/adventure/sci-fi series that aired in syndication from September 15, 1997 to May 17, 1999. The series is loosely based on a comic book published by Malibu Comics and was created by Steve Englehart and developed for television by Glen A...
had solved murders on Dugan's base, making him more receptive to the efforts of super-humans. Even when informed one of the Strangers was gay, Dugan indicates it matters little. In the same issue, Yrial's people force her to come home.
The Strangers get a clue as to where Yrial is being held and follow. They end up fighting super-powered pirates, these people were some of the cable car passengers.
Grenade and Electrocute later become a romantic couple. The team helps Hardcase
Hardcase
Hardcase is a comic book series written by James Hudnall for Malibu Comics’ Ultraverse imprint, which lasted 26 issues. The series was about Tom Hawke, who became one of the first publicly known Ultras ....
and his partner Choice invade the Groom Lake facility of the mysterious organization known as Aladdin
Aladdin (comics)
Aladdin was a fictional government organization from Malibu Comics' Ultraverse imprint.- Overview :Aladdin was a U.S. government agency apparently founded sometime in the 1960s to deal with the growing number of Ultras in their world. 1n 1970, their scientific division, using a synthesis of...
. Spectral reveals he is gay, to the acceptance of all his friends. Around this time they confront J.D Hunt's personal enforcers, TNTNT.
Grenade gets into deep trouble when his girlfriend is re-programmed by her original makers, Nu-Ware. With the additional help of the mystical Teknight, he believes he will be able to defeat TNTNT. Electrocute attacks also, defeating the two heroes.
J.D. Hunt Jr.
J.D. Hunt's son, knowing the Strangers held his father prisoner, visits the hero's headquarters, temporarily located at Labrava Fashions, on Pier 25. He negotiates with the only two Strangers left, Zip-Zap and Spectral. He threatens to have the other heroes sold off unless they make the trade. Despite Grenade and Teknight having rescued themselves from the prison, the two need additional help in escaping. Spectral's mechanically talented friend Mike adjusts Electrocute's systems, preventing them from being overridden in the same manner again.At the time of this incident, Len and Yrial are in Europe in an attempt to help Atom Bob. They encounter dangers on a mysterious mountain.
Frustrated to be unable to his powers effectively and corrupted by demonic magic, Atom Bob ends up a villain. Night Man exposes him.
Membership
The Strangers were an Ultra-hero team consisting of:- Electrocute - a gynoidGynoidA gynoid is anything which resembles or pertains to the female human form. It is also used in American English medical terminology as a shortening of the term Gynecoid ....
(female android) named "Candy", created as an elaborate sex toySex toyA sex toy is an object or device that is primarily used to facilitate human sexual pleasure. The most popular sex toys are designed to resemble human genitals and may be vibrating or non-vibrating...
by billionaire villain J.D. Hunt. She develops sentienceSentienceSentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
after the accident and becomes a superheroSuperheroA 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 —...
with the Strangers. She has the ability to project bolts of electricity, as well as a highly durable body. - Atom Bob (Bob Hardin) - Art student who gains the ability to rearrange matter on the molecularMoleculeA molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
or atomAtomThe atom is a basic unit of matter that consists of a dense central nucleus surrounded by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. The atomic nucleus contains a mix of positively charged protons and electrically neutral neutrons...
ic levels. - Grenade (Hugh Fox) - close friend of Bob, gains the ability to fire explosive blasts.
- Lady Killer (Elena La Brava) - Fashion designer; Has tracking ability. Plus can hit what she aims for.
- Spectral (Dave Castiglone)- Able to envelop himself in different colored flames, each color granting him a different power: Red (enhanced strength and aggression), Orange (fire manipulation), Yellow (flight), Green (healing), Blue (water manipulation), Indigo (space-vacuum survival), Violet (protection). Castiglone later revealed he was gayGayGay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
. - Yrial - Sorceress from a magic flying city.
- Zip-Zap (Leon Balford)- Urban teenager who gained super-speed.
In other media
The Strangers (save for Lady Killer and Yrial) appear in the final two episodes of the UltraforceUltraforce (comics)
The Ultraforce is a fictional superhero group that appears in comic books published by Malibu, and later Marvel, as well as an animated series produced by DIC. Their purpose was to protect the public and keep other Ultras from getting out of line...
animated series. According to Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart is an American novelist. In his earlier career he was a comic book writer best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics, particularly in the 1970s...
, via his personal website, this was supposed to be a back door pilot for a Strangers animated series, but plans were cancelled following Marvel's purchase of Malibu.