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==Fictional character biography==
==Fictional character biography==
In 1839, an alien starliner malfunctioned and exploded; jettisoning a life-pod in the middle of a cotton field in the [[American South]].<ref name=Icon1>''Icon'' #1 (May 1993)</ref><ref name=Icon8>''Icon'' #8 (December 1993)</ref> The pod automatically altered the appearance of its passenger named '''Arnus''' to mimic the first sentient life-form who discovered him. That life-form was a slave woman named Miriam, who saw the pod crash land.<ref name=Icon1>''Icon'' #1</ref> And so it happened that Miriam found inside a baby boy with her mother's eyes.
In 1839, an alien starliner malfunctioned and exploded; jettisoning a life-pod in the middle of a cotton field in the [[American South]].<ref name=Icon1>''Icon'' #1 (May 1993)</ref><ref name=Icon8>''Icon'' #8 (December 1993)</ref> The pod automatically altered the appearance of its passenger named '''Arnus''' to mimic the first sentient life-form who discovered him. That life-form was a slave woman named Miriam, who saw the pod crash land.<ref name=Icon1>''Icon'' #1</ref>


In the present, Arnus is still with us. He did not age visibly beyond adulthood; to disguise this fact, he periodically assumed the identity of his own son.<ref name=Icon8>''Icon'' #8</ref> By the late 20th century, he was posing as '''Augustus Freeman IV''', the great-grandson of his original human identity. Still marooned, Augustus waits for [[Earth]]'s technology to catch up to his lifepod's.<ref name=Icon8>''Icon'' #8</ref> Secretly possessing superpowers that belie his human appearance, he has always performed quiet acts of charity.<ref name=Icon8>''Icon'' #8</ref><ref name=Icon25>''Icon'' #25 (May 1995)</ref> But one night, Augustus' house is broken into, and he uses his powers for the first time in decades, an action witnessed by Raquel Ervin.<ref>''Icon #1 http://worldofblackheroes.com/2010/11/11/icon-1-review-2/</ref>
In the present, Arnus is still with us. He did not age visibly beyond adulthood; to disguise this fact, he periodically assumed the identity of his own son.<ref name=Icon8>''Icon'' #8</ref> By the late 20th century, he was posing as '''Augustus Freeman IV''', the great-grandson of his original human identity. Still marooned, Augustus waits for [[Earth]]'s technology to catch up to his lifepod's.<ref name=Icon8>''Icon'' #8</ref> Secretly possessing superpowers that belie his human appearance, he has always performed quiet acts of charity.<ref name=Icon8>''Icon'' #8</ref><ref name=Icon25>''Icon'' #25 (May 1995)</ref> But one night, Augustus' house is broken into, and he uses his powers for the first time in decades, an action witnessed by Raquel Ervin.<ref>''Icon #1 http://worldofblackheroes.com/2010/11/11/icon-1-review-2/</ref>

Revision as of 00:39, 18 July 2012

For the Marvel Comics imprint, see Icon Comics.
Icon
Icon and Rocket from Icon #41
Art by Wilfred Santiago.
Publication information
PublisherMilestone Media
Publication date1993–1997
No. of issues42
Creative team
Written byDwayne McDuffie
Artist(s)M. D. Bright
Penciller(s)M. D. Bright
Inker(s)Mike Gustovich
Letterer(s)Steve Dutro
Icon
Publication information
PublisherMilestone Media
First appearanceIcon #1 (May 1993)
Created byDwayne McDuffie (writer)
M. D. Bright (artist)
In-story information
Alter egoArnus
SpeciesTerminan mutate (disguised as human)
Place of originTerminus, The Cooperative
Team affiliationsUnderground Railroad
Union Army
United States Armed Forces
Shadow Cabinet
PartnershipsRocket
Notable aliasesAugustus Freeman, Augustus Freeman, Jr., Augustus Freeman III, Augustus Freeman IV, Hero of Dakota, Arnus Prime
AbilitiesFlight, invulnerability, massive superhuman-strength, super-speed, super-reflexes, super-stamina, enhance-mental perception, enhance-senses, regenerative-healing factor, longevity, ability to generate and project positron energy blasts.

Icon is a fictional superhero, a comic book character distributed by DC Comics. An original character from Milestone Comics, he first appeared in Icon #1 (May 1993), and was created by Dwayne McDuffie and M. D. Bright.

Publication history

At the 2008 Comic-Con, DC Comics executive editor Dan DiDio announced that the Milestone Universe and characters would be revived and merged into the DC Universe proper. This was the result of a complex publication/distribution agreement drawn up between the two independent companies. The merger treated the characters as new to the universe, ignoring the "Worlds Collide" crossover of 1994. Icon, along with Shadow Cabinet, appeared in Justice League of America (vol. 2) #27, written by Dwayne McDuffie.

Fictional character biography

In 1839, an alien starliner malfunctioned and exploded; jettisoning a life-pod in the middle of a cotton field in the American South.[1][2] The pod automatically altered the appearance of its passenger named Arnus to mimic the first sentient life-form who discovered him. That life-form was a slave woman named Miriam, who saw the pod crash land.[1]

In the present, Arnus is still with us. He did not age visibly beyond adulthood; to disguise this fact, he periodically assumed the identity of his own son.[2] By the late 20th century, he was posing as Augustus Freeman IV, the great-grandson of his original human identity. Still marooned, Augustus waits for Earth's technology to catch up to his lifepod's.[2] Secretly possessing superpowers that belie his human appearance, he has always performed quiet acts of charity.[2][3] But one night, Augustus' house is broken into, and he uses his powers for the first time in decades, an action witnessed by Raquel Ervin.[4]

Raquel is an idealistic teenage girl who was born in Paris Island, the poorest, most gang-ridden neighborhood in Dakota City. Her prospects seemed fairly bleak until a chance encounter with Augustus Freeman IV. After seeing him use his powers, Raquel persuaded Augustus to become a superhero named Icon, with herself as his sidekick, Rocket.[5]

Personality

Icon is portrayed as a very intelligent, somewhat stiff kind of person. Due to his upper-class job as a corporate lawyer and "proper" way of speaking, he is often criticized as being a "sell out" or "white washed". Icon usually prefers to do everything by the book instead of acting on instinct.[6] During the majority of his series, he mostly fought plain street criminals and those who gained powers from Dakota's Big Bang.

DC Universe

Following the death of Darkseid (as chronicled in Final Crisis), the space-time continuum was torn asunder, threatening the existence of both the Dakotaverse and the mainstream DC universe. The being known as Dharma was able to use energies that he harnessed from Rift (upon that being's defeat in Worlds Collide) to merge the two universes, creating an entirely new continuity. Only Dharma, Icon and Superman are aware that Dakota and its inhabitants ever existed in a parallel universe.[7]

In the revised continuity, Icon and the other Milestone characters have apparently always existed in the DC Universe. Augustus appears to have an existing friendship with Superman and to be a member of the Shadow Cabinet. He also claims that, due to his status as a citizen of the Cooperative, he is exempt from prosecution at the hands of the Green Lantern Corps.[8] Icon later plays a crucial role in the JLA's battle with the planet eating villain Starbreaker.

After the events of New Krypton lead to Kryptonians being banned from Earth, it is shown that the General Sam Lane is keeping tabs on Icon. It is unclear whether Lane believes Icon is a Kryptonian, or if he is merely watching him due to his friendship with Superman.[9]

Supporting characters

  • Raquel Ervin/Rocket – Saw Augustus Freeman IV use his powers when his home was being robbed, and convinced him to become a super hero, as well as take her on as sidekick. All of Rocket's superhuman powers derive from her inertia belt, based on tech from Icon's ship.
  • Darnice/Rocket II – Raquel's best friend. Darnice took on the role of Rocket while Racquel was on maternity leave (one insisted upon by both Icon and her close friends).
  • Amistad Augustus Ervin – Raquel's infant son, named for the Spanish slave ship and her partner, Icon.
Buck Wild Mercenary Man, artist Mark Bright
  • Rufus T. Wild/"Buck Wild, Mercenary Man" – First appeared in Icon #13 "It's Always Christmas" (May 1994); Buck Wild possessed "belief defyin' strength" and "tungsten hard skin." He once used an experimental growth serum which turned him into the gigantic "Buck Goliath." After some time, Buck wore a replica of Icon's costume in order to take Icon's place when Icon returned to his home planet. Rocket (Darnice) was able to use her Inertia Belt to carry him, making him appear to fly. Buck's time as Icon II was short-lived when he gave his life in order to stop Oblivion, a mass murdering alien foe of Icon. While working with the Patriot, he called himself "Jim Crow" and wore a winged costume allowing him to fly. As "Buck Lightning," Buck experimented with wearing wrist apparatus that generated lightning bolts. Following Buck's death the legendary Ruby Begonia briefly brought him back to life, and allowed him to generate green smoke, the sound of drums tolling doom, and a ghost-like double which could possess others and make them do his bidding. (An obvious Luke Cage pastiche, Buck's later powers reflected Black Goliath, Falcon, Black Lightning and Brother Voodoo).

Powers and abilities

Powers

Icon's lifepod altered his DNA so he would resemble a normal human being, thus enabling him to blend among Earth's natives. A side effect of this process was the maximization of his now human/alien genetic structure. Thus, Icon possesses a variety of superhuman abilities that are unusual even for a Terminan.[3]

  • Superhuman Strength: Icon possesses vast superhuman strength that is nearly on par with Superman's.[10]
  • Superhuman Speed and Reflexes: Icon possesses the ability to think, move, and react at superhuman speeds.[1]
  • Superhuman Stamina: Icon possesses highly efficient musculature which produces almost no fatigue toxins, granting him almost limitless stamina in all physical activities.
  • Flight: Icon flies by manipulation of gravitons, manipulation of magnetic fields, control of his absolute molecular movement, and utilizing his superhuman speed. Icon can fly far beyond supersonic speeds, but it is unknown if he can achieve nearly the speed of light.[1]
  • Superhuman Senses: Icon possesses superhuman senses of sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.[11]
  • Enhanced Mental Perception: Icon possesses the ability to sense & comprehend things on levels that far exceed human capabilities.
  • Invulnerability: Icon seems to possess nigh-invulnerability & durability, being capable of withstanding tremendous impact forces, high caliber bullets,[12] exposure to temperature and pressure extremes,[13] and powerful energy blasts without sustaining injury.[14] He is even capable of surviving in the vacuum of space unaided.[8] Icon's invulnerability has not been portrayed consistently. If he is not expecting an attack, he can be injured more easily. For example, in Icon #2, he sustains a bloody nose from getting hit in the face with the butt of a rifle that surprised him. After being injured by Payback,[11] Icon began wearing alien body armor to grant him further protection.[15] However, in a fight with Superman, he took numerous blows from the Man of Steel and was able to match his endurance.[16]
  • Regenerative Healing Factor: Despite his nigh invulnerability to injury, it is possible to injure Icon. If injured, his body is capable of quickly repairing damaged tissue with much greater speed and efficiency than the normal human body.[11]
  • Energy Generation: Icon has the ability to generate and control a radiant energy based on positrons.[17] He can manipulate this energy for various effects.
  • Concussive Force Bolts: Icon can release positron energy from his hands as bolts of concussive force.[17] A low power force bolt can flick on a light switch[18] while a force bolt at maximum power can stagger Superman.[10]
  • Stun Bolts: Icon can project low-energy bolts that render human beings unconscious by disrupting the electrical impulses in their nervous systems.[19] Icon can also use these bolts like an electromagnetic pulse to overload electronic devices.[20]
  • Energy Enhanced Punches: Icon can focus positron energy into his fists, which he can then use to shatter virtually any substance.[20]
  • Energy Pulse: Icon can release all of his body's positron energy as a massive omnidirectional pulse of devastating power.[18]
  • Positron Field: Icon can detect the presence of Bang Babies within his vicinity by flooding an area with a field of positrons.[21] The field interacts with the invisible quantum well surrounding a Bang Baby, who then glows as he or she gives off mild gamma particles. Hence, Icon can use these fields to distinguish Bang Babies from other metahumans as well as normal humans
  • According to Icon, he possesses powers that all humans will possess once they evolve past their limitations.[3]
  • In the Worlds Collide crossover with the DC universe; Icon and Superman fight.[16] It is shown that Icon is able to hold his own against Superman. Icon even seemed to have a slight upper hand in the battle. Since Icon rarely fights beings of Superman's magnitude, it is possible that Icon is more powerful than he regularly displays. In Justice League of America (vol. 2) #28, Icon punches Superman through the JLA Watchtower, knocking the Man of Steel hundreds of yards into space with one blow. Although Icon's hand was sore after such a massive punch, Superman later admitted that he has rarely been hit that hard in his life.[8]

Icon possesses extraordinary longevity, enabling him to age at a vastly slower rate than that human beings.[1] Hence, though centuries old, he appears to be no older than forty. Icon's lifespan is typical for a Terminan and the only power that is not the result of his genetic maximization.[22]

Skills

Icon is among the Cooperative’s most celebrated mediators. He has extensive knowledge of the Cooperative legal system as well as decades of experience in his chosen field. Icon is an equally adept corporate lawyer due to his mediator background and a century’s worth of experience in American law.[2][3]

Icon is also a formidable combatant, whose fighting skills rival those of Superman.[3][10] Icon is well trained in unarmed and armed combat, having fought in major conflicts ranging from the Civil War to World War II.[2][3] Some opponents underestimate Icon’s abilities since he tries to peacefully settle disputes before pummeling his foes.

Icon is fluent in English and Galactic Standard, the native language of the Cooperative.[17][20]

Equipment

Costume

Icon wears a costume composed of alien materials that grant him further protection from projectile weaponry, energy beams, and intense heat or cold.[11] On his command, the Info Tool aboardy 1996)</ref> When no longer needed, the costume is disassembled, converted back to energy, and stored in the structural files of his ship's Info Tool.

Transportation

For interstellar journeys, Icon employs his personal starship that is a gift from the Cooperative.[18] Like all Cooperative vessels, Icon's starship has a faster-than-light drive that allows it to shift into the realm called hyperspace. Within hyperspace, the speed of light is not a limiting factor and thus cannot prevent the starship from quickly traversing interstellar distances. Gravity compensators provide artificial gravity that can be adjusted to the comfort level of the ship's passengers.[18]

Icon's starship contains a range of highly advanced Cooperative technology. Two notable items are the Information Tool and the Maker.[23] Icon's starship is equipped with a local access system that links directly with the Information Tool or "Info Tool." The Info Tool is a computerized database of virtually everything anyone within the Cooperative knows. It even contains very detailed files on the cultures, languages, history and technology of Sol III (Earth) thanks to Icon's accounts of his life on the planet. The Info Tool acquires new information from written documents, verbal accounts, and visual data inputs. The database can even scan an item (organic or inorganic) and store its molecular structure within files called "software." Apart from storing and retrieving data, the local access to the Info Tool can also link to and control any computer-operated device or system. This includes Cooperative technology like the starship's Maker to terrestrial technology like phone lines or lights.[24]

Because of all the data it has accumulated over the millennia, the Info Tool is truly self-aware and even has a personality of sorts. The Info Tool relies on verbal inputs to receive commands to perform certain functions.[23] In terms of information retrieval, the Tool can respond either verbally or by displaying its findings via holographic imagers aboard the starship. The Info Tool remains in contact with Icon via a communicator hidden in his costume.[25] The communicator's maximum range is unknown.

The Maker is a molecular factory that can construct any physical item, molecule by molecule, from structural data files stored within the Info Tool. These data files are called "software" while the objects created by the Maker are known as "hardware".[23] The Maker operates by tapping the vast energies of the reactor for Icon's starship and converting them into matter used for the construction of hardware. The Maker can create any item, terrestrial or extraterrestrial, in a matter of seconds as long as its structure is on file within the Info Tool. These include medicines, machinery (e.g., vehicles), clothing, and even food.[23] The Maker can repair or modify constructed hardware by altering its molecular structure according to the whims of its user.

The Maker can also rearrange the molecular structure of items it did not create in order to change their appearance or function.[24] To do so, the Info Tool must first scan the structure of the object to be modified. For example, Icon employed the Maker to build the starship garage beneath his mansion's swimming pool.

Icon's starship has numerous projectors through which the Maker can construct hardware within the vessel.[23] To build an item outside the vessel, the Maker relies on a special probe mounted on the underside of the starship.[24] It is the probe that facilitates the Maker repairing or remodeling Icon's possessions over great distances. Icon has often employed this feature to repair any damage to his costume.[26]

Icon's starship is also equipped with cloaking technology that can render the vessel invisible to both the human eye and all forms of Earthly electronic surveillance.[24] Though unusual for a civilian vessel, the cloak was installed in the ship so Icon could use it on Earth without attracting attention.

When not in use, Icon stores his starship in his "garage," a hangar located beneath his mansion’s swimming pool.[24] The pool slides out of the way to provide easy entry or exit for the ship.

Collected Editions

Trade paperbacks

# Title ISBN Release date Collected material
1 Icon: A Hero's Welcome ISBN 1-56389-339-8

ISBN 1-4012-2549-7

1996

(Reprint: October 6, 2009)

Icon #1–8
2 Icon: The Mothership Connection ISBN 1-4012-2711-2 June 8, 2010 Icon #13, 19-22, 24-27, and 30

In other media

Television

  • While he did not appear onscreen, Augustus Freeman was referred to several times in Static Shock through the names of various centers and organizations, notably the Dakota-based Freeman Community Centre.[27]
  • Icon appears in Young Justice voiced by Tony Todd. He first appears in "Revelation," where he and Rocket are shown rescuing civilians from a Plant Creature that the Injustice League had unleashed on Paris. In "Agendas," Icon and Rocket are considered for membership in the Justice League. He officially joins the League in "Usual Suspects," while Rocket joins Young Justice. Alongside the rest of the League, Icon is infected and brainwashed by the Starro spores released by Red Arrow.

Politics

  • Icon held conservative views on economic and social issues, which often put him in conflict with more liberal Milestone Comics superheroes, including his sidekick. Under Rocket's influence, he eventually began to re-evaluate his views.
  • Icon is a former conservative Republican.
  • Icon is a strong believer in the self-reliance philosophy of Booker T. Washington.

Awards

  • Icon was nominated for three Eisners and is a three-time winner of Parents' Choice Award honors.

Crossovers

  • Shadow War - Milestone Company-wide crossover. Involved all comics, including the newly premiered Xombi and Shadow Cabinet.
  • Long Hot Summer - Milestone Company-wide crossover. Three issues of the comic by the same title along with tie-ins in every Milestone title. - July–September 95
  • Worlds Collide - 1 Issue. A postal worker named Fred Bentson unwittingly becomes a portal between two worlds and two cities. A living link between Dakota, home city of the Milestone heroes, and Metropolis, home of Superman. Eventually Bentson loses control of his powers and transforms into Rift, a cosmic being capable of manipulating and reconfiguring matter on a subatomic scale. The heroes of two universe come together to stop him and seal the dangerous rift between their worlds. This crossover with Milestone Universe and DC Universe characters included Blood Syndicate, Hardware, Icon, Static, and DC's Steel, Superman, and Superboy.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Icon #1 (May 1993) Cite error: The named reference "Icon1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d e f Icon #8 (December 1993) Cite error: The named reference "Icon8" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d e f Icon #25 (May 1995) Cite error: The named reference "Icon25" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  4. ^ Icon #1 http://worldofblackheroes.com/2010/11/11/icon-1-review-2/
  5. ^ Icon #2 http://worldofblackheroes.com/2011/02/28/icon-2-review/
  6. ^ Icon #1 http://worldofblackheroes.com/2010/11/11/icon-1-review-2/
  7. ^ Justice League of America (vol. 2) #34 (June 2009)
  8. ^ a b c Justice League of America (vol. 2) #28 (December 2008) Cite error: The named reference "jla28" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  9. ^ Superman#688 (July 2009)
  10. ^ a b c Icon #16 (August 1994) Cite error: The named reference "Icon16" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b c d Icon #3 (July 1993) Cite error: The named reference "Icon3" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  12. ^ Icon #2
  13. ^ Icon #10 (February 1994)
  14. ^ Shadow Cabinet #0 (January 1994)
  15. ^ Icon #5 (September 1993)
  16. ^ a b Icon #15 (July 1994) Cite error: The named reference "Icon15" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  17. ^ a b c Icon #6 (October 1993) Cite error: The named reference "Icon6" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  18. ^ a b c d Icon #36 (April 1996) Cite error: The named reference "Icon36" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  19. ^ Icon #21 (January 1995)
  20. ^ a b c Icon #27 (July 1995) Cite error: The named reference "Icon27" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  21. ^ Icon #20 (December 1994)
  22. ^ Icon #26 (June 1995)
  23. ^ a b c d e Icon #31 (November 1995) Cite error: The named reference "Icon31" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  24. ^ a b c d e Icon #38 (June 1996) Cite error: The named reference "Icon38" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  25. ^ Icon #39
  26. ^ Icon #41 (September 1996)
  27. ^ Beginning with the first season episode "Child's Play"
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