.gif)
Visionary (comics)
Encyclopedia
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. Asrar
, Visionary first appeared in Dynamo 5 #1 (January 2007).
For the first 24 issues of the series, the character possessed laser, telescopic and x-ray vision, and went by the codename Visionary. In issue #25 of the series (October 2009), the character, whose powers had been erased in the previous issue, obtained different powers. Now possessing superhuman strength
and invulnerability, he goes by the name Smasher.
, 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), it was revealed, after he was assassinated, that he had fathered a number of illegitimate children. His widow, former agent of the government superhuman-monitoring agency, F.L.A.G., posing as a now-retired investigative reporter Maddie Warner
, gathered five of these children in order to form a team to protect Tower City in Captain Dynamo's absence. One of these was 15-year-old Vancouver, British Columbia high school geek
Hector Chang. the youngest of the five. Warner exposed Hector and his four half-siblings to the same energy that gave Captain Dynamo his powers 40 years earlier, unlocking their latent powers. Hector developed his father's vision-related powers, and took the codename Visionary as a member of Dynamo 5
.
During the series' first year of publication in 2007, Hector and the other members of Dynamo 5 were shown confronting various threats to Tower City, as well as the U.S. government's superhuman-monitoring agency, F.L.A.G., which disapproved of their activities, while dealing with the personal conflicts that arose as a result of discovering four new half-siblings, as well as the effect that their new lives had on their personal lives at home. Hector in particular, who was conceived during a one-night stand between his mother, Jennifer, and Captain Dynamo (who had used his shapeshifting
powers to disguise himself as a Chinese man), and lacked a strong male role model growing up, came to look up to Dynamo, whom he saw as his "Dad". He also came into conflict with Jennifer when she discovered his superhero life, much to her horror, and who was outraged at the danger in which Maddie Warner had placed her son.
This led into a 2008 storyline in which Warner was rendered into a coma, the team's underwater headquarters, the Aquarium, was flooded, and it was discovered that Visionary's teammate and half-brother, Spencer, was a half-extraterrestrial with an alien physiognomy
who had manifested his shapeshifting
ability years earlier, and not when the members of the team first met. These developments, along with the problems that their superhero lives inflicted on their personal lives, led to the dissolution of the team. Eventually, the siblings reunited, and reformed the team.
In a 2009 storyline 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. Hector found that he and his sister Bridget, had switched their powers. Now possessing superhuman strength
and invulnerability, Hector took the new codename Smasher.
In the 2010 miniseries Dynamo 5: Sins of the Father, the team faced off against the three extraterrestrial sons of Dominex, who threatened the entire planet Earth. The combined might of Dynamo 5 and several other allies failed to defeat them, and after one of the sons impaled Emily with a street sign, Hector borrowed the Winterbourne Insititute's strength-amplifying Strong-Suit, and used it to kill all three of the sons, including the one who injured Emily, who had surrendered. This shocked bystanders and people watching the battle on television, and caused much consternation for his teammates. The team was not reassured by Hector's statements of regret, as the telepathic Spencer related to the others that these statements were not sincere, as Hector held no remorse for the killing the sons. Hector's relationship with Emily was also threatened, as her mother, Rebecca, blamed Hector for allowing her to confront the sons of Dominex, and not only forbade them for seeing each other, but had Emily's powers removed.
and invulnerability, which appear to function exactly as they did for his sister, Scrap, when she possessed them. Although Smasher has not been observed using these powers for long, when his sister employed them, she could lift tanks over her head, throw them the length of a city block, and destroy large powered armor suits by kicking them, without sustaining any injury. She could also shrug off automatic weapons fire, and on one occasion, fell off a skyscraper, was smashed through the street below, and endured further kicks to the abdomen by the superhumanly strong villain Synergy, without more than a moment's incapacitation. On the other hand, electricity
of a sufficient power level could temporarily stun her, and a direct punch from the supervillain Brawn was able to knock her into unconsciousness or semi-consciousness for several moments.
Hector's strength can further be enhanced when wearing the Winterbourne Institute's Strong-Suit, which amplifies the wearer's physical strength.
Whereas the suit can normally grant superhuman strength to a normal human who wears it, it amplifies Hector's already-superhuman strength to such a degree that he can easily defeat opponents who normally cannot be dispatched by even entire teams of superhumans. In Dynamo 5: Sins of the Father #5, he was able to decapitate each of the sons of Dominex with one punch each, despite the fact that they could previously not be defeated by the combined efforts of Dynamo 5, the Primaries (a government team that included a clone of Captain Dynamo
), Invincible
, Emily Reed, and the son and daughter of Savage Dragon
.
In his former identity of Visionary, Hector had abilities related to his eyesight, which included laser vision, telescopic and x-ray vision. His laser vision was used as an offensive weapon, and could be used to neutralize human opponents, and large objects such as armored tanks. His laser vision also possessed a concussive aspect that could batter targets and demolish walls. His x-ray vision allowed him to see through solid objects, and his telescopic vision allowed him to see great distances. The helmet Visionary wore included a visor that focused his later blasts, making them more concentrated.
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....
, Visionary first appeared in Dynamo 5 #1 (January 2007).
For the first 24 issues of the series, the character possessed laser, telescopic and x-ray vision, and went by the codename Visionary. In issue #25 of the series (October 2009), the character, whose powers had been erased in the previous issue, obtained different powers. Now possessing 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...
and invulnerability, he goes by the name Smasher.
Publication history
Captain DynamoCaptain Dynamo
Captain Dynamo may refer to:* Captain Dynamo , a fictional comic book superhero* Captain Dynamo , a platform game that was released for the Commodore Amiga and other platforms in 1993, developed by Codemasters...
, 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), it was revealed, after he was assassinated, that he had fathered a number of illegitimate children. His widow, former agent of the government superhuman-monitoring agency, F.L.A.G., posing as a now-retired investigative reporter 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...
, gathered five of these children in order to form a team to protect Tower City in Captain Dynamo's absence. One of these was 15-year-old Vancouver, British Columbia high school geek
Geek
The word geek is a slang term, with different meanings ranging from "a computer expert or enthusiast" to "a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts", with a general pejorative meaning of "a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp[ecially] one who is perceived to...
Hector Chang. the youngest of the five. Warner exposed Hector and his four half-siblings to the same energy that gave Captain Dynamo his powers 40 years earlier, unlocking their latent powers. Hector developed his father's vision-related powers, and took the codename Visionary as a member of 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...
.
During the series' first year of publication in 2007, Hector and the other members of Dynamo 5 were shown confronting various threats to Tower City, as well as the U.S. government's superhuman-monitoring agency, F.L.A.G., which disapproved of their activities, while dealing with the personal conflicts that arose as a result of discovering four new half-siblings, as well as the effect that their new lives had on their personal lives at home. Hector in particular, who was conceived during a one-night stand between his mother, Jennifer, and Captain Dynamo (who had used his 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 to disguise himself as a Chinese man), and lacked a strong male role model growing up, came to look up to Dynamo, whom he saw as his "Dad". He also came into conflict with Jennifer when she discovered his superhero life, much to her horror, and who was outraged at the danger in which Maddie Warner had placed her son.
Physiognomy
Physiognomy is the assessment of a person's character or personality from their outer appearance, especially the face...
who had manifested his 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 years earlier, and not when the members of the team first met. These developments, along with the problems that their superhero lives inflicted on their personal lives, led to the dissolution of the team. Eventually, the siblings reunited, and reformed the team.
In a 2009 storyline 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. Hector found that he and his sister Bridget, had switched their powers. Now possessing 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...
and invulnerability, Hector took the new codename Smasher.
In the 2010 miniseries Dynamo 5: Sins of the Father, the team faced off against the three extraterrestrial sons of Dominex, who threatened the entire planet Earth. The combined might of Dynamo 5 and several other allies failed to defeat them, and after one of the sons impaled Emily with a street sign, Hector borrowed the Winterbourne Insititute's strength-amplifying Strong-Suit, and used it to kill all three of the sons, including the one who injured Emily, who had surrendered. This shocked bystanders and people watching the battle on television, and caused much consternation for his teammates. The team was not reassured by Hector's statements of regret, as the telepathic Spencer related to the others that these statements were not sincere, as Hector held no remorse for the killing the sons. Hector's relationship with Emily was also threatened, as her mother, Rebecca, blamed Hector for allowing her to confront the sons of Dominex, and not only forbade them for seeing each other, but had Emily's powers removed.
Powers
Hector Chang has superhuman strengthSuperhuman 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...
and invulnerability, which appear to function exactly as they did for his sister, Scrap, when she possessed them. Although Smasher has not been observed using these powers for long, when his sister employed them, she could lift tanks over her head, throw them the length of a city block, and destroy large powered armor suits by kicking them, without sustaining any injury. She could also shrug off automatic weapons fire, and on one occasion, fell off a skyscraper, was smashed through the street below, and endured further kicks to the abdomen by the superhumanly strong villain Synergy, without more than a moment's incapacitation. On the other hand, electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
of a sufficient power level could temporarily stun her, and a direct punch from the supervillain Brawn was able to knock her into unconsciousness or semi-consciousness for several moments.
Hector's strength can further be enhanced when wearing the Winterbourne Institute's Strong-Suit, which amplifies the wearer's physical strength.
Whereas the suit can normally grant superhuman strength to a normal human who wears it, it amplifies Hector's already-superhuman strength to such a degree that he can easily defeat opponents who normally cannot be dispatched by even entire teams of superhumans. In Dynamo 5: Sins of the Father #5, he was able to decapitate each of the sons of Dominex with one punch each, despite the fact that they could previously not be defeated by the combined efforts of Dynamo 5, the Primaries (a government team that included a clone of Captain Dynamo
Captain Dynamo
Captain Dynamo may refer to:* Captain Dynamo , a fictional comic book superhero* Captain Dynamo , a platform game that was released for the Commodore Amiga and other platforms in 1993, developed by Codemasters...
), Invincible
Invincible (comics)
Invincible is a superhero in the . Created by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Cory Walker, the character first appeared in Tech Jacket #1 , before graduating to his own self-titled regular series in 2003, as a title in Image's then-new superhero line.Invincible is the teenaged son of Omni-Man, an...
, Emily Reed, and the son and daughter of Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon
Savage Dragon is an ongoing American comic book series created by Erik Larsen, published by Image Comics and taking place in the Image Universe. The comic features the adventures of a superheroic police officer named the Dragon...
.
In his former identity of Visionary, Hector had abilities related to his eyesight, which included laser vision, telescopic and x-ray vision. His laser vision was used as an offensive weapon, and could be used to neutralize human opponents, and large objects such as armored tanks. His laser vision also possessed a concussive aspect that could batter targets and demolish walls. His x-ray vision allowed him to see through solid objects, and his telescopic vision allowed him to see great distances. The helmet Visionary wore included a visor that focused his later blasts, making them more concentrated.
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...
- Supervision
- Wraith
- Menagerie
- Ramjet
- Captain DynamoCaptain DynamoCaptain Dynamo may refer to:* Captain Dynamo , a fictional comic book superhero* Captain Dynamo , a platform game that was released for the Commodore Amiga and other platforms in 1993, developed by Codemasters...
- 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...