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| TNT | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Star-Spangled Comics #7 (April 1942) |
| Created by | Mort Weisinger |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Thomas N. "Tex" Thomas |
| Team affiliations | All-Star Squadron Seven Soldiers of Victory |
| Partnerships | Dan the Dyna-Mite |
| Abilities | After coming in contact with Dan the Dyna-Mite: Enhanced strength, speed and resistance to injury Heat generation |
TNT is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byDC Comics. TNT and his sidekickDan the Dyna-Mite were created byMort Weisinger for DC Comics, and made their debut inStar Spangled Comics #7 (April 1942).[1]
The "human hand grenades" had a short lived career during theGolden Age of Comic Books, reappearing occasionally in reprint form during the 1970s, returning inSuper Friends #12, and appearing from time to time inAll-Star Squadron and its Post-Crisis sequel,Young All-Stars.
TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite are the secret identities of chemistry teacher and track coach Thomas N. "Tex" Thomas and his student Daniel Dunbar.[2] While working with "radioactive salts", they discover they are charged with atomic energy.[3] Thomas is charged with positive energy, while Dunbar is charged with negative energy. Thomas makes a pair of rings which keeps the energy dormant until they are touched together, at which point the pair gains enhanced strength, speed, and resistance to injury, and the ability to generate different forms of energy. Thomas generates heat, while Dan can generate bursts of electricity.[4] The series ran throughStar-Spangled Comics #23 (August 1943).
TNT was revived as part ofRoy Thomas'sAll-Star Squadron, and its spin-off,The Young All-Stars. After TNT and Dyna-Mite had been active for a few months, they are summoned by the All-Star Squadron to participate in their first general meeting. Their participation seems to have been limited to attending meetings and little else until April 1942, whenLiberty Belle, as chairperson of the All-Stars, asks TNT and Dyna-Mite to look into Axis espionage activity in Colorado. Here, they meet future All-Star memberIron Munro, but TNT is killed by Gudra the Valkyrie, a supernatural agent ofAdolf Hitler.[5] TNT is posthumously awarded theMedal of Honor, leaving Dyna-Mite to work with Munro and other members of the Young All-Stars. Keeping Thomas' ring, Dan finds he can activate his powers by slamming both rings together.
In 2010'sDCU: Legacies #2, TNT and Dyna-Mite are revealed to have been founding members of theSeven Soldiers of Victory.[6][7][8] How this retcon affects their histories, such as the previously established death of TNT and Dyna-Mite's Young All-Stars stint, has not yet been revealed.
The latest version of the character is featured inGrant Morrison'sSeven Soldiers project. Calling himselfDyno-Mite Dan, Harris D. Ledbetter makes an online purchase of what he believes are TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite's rings, and joins five other heroes inSeven Soldiers #0. Later, he is killed with the rest of his team. His rings are actually working fakes made byCassandra Craft.
InDark Nights: Death Metal, TNT is revealed to have died some time prior beforeBatman resurrects him with aBlack Lantern ring.[9]
When his powers are unleashed, TNT possesses super-strength, enhanced speed, and resistance to injuries. He can also do energy blasts.
TNT possesses a special ring that helps contain his powers when in his civilian form. When his ring touches Dan the Dyna-Mite's ring, their powers are unleashed.
TNT had his own rogues gallery:[10]
American Comic Book Chronicles says that the TNT and Dan the Dyna-Mite series "had potential, but consistently fell flat, limited space and unimaginative writing its chief problems".[3]
TNT is mentioned in the 1993 four issue mini-seriesThe Golden Age, written byJames Robinson and drawn byPaul Smith. This series is set during the period ofMcCarthyism and, much as he did inThe Young All-Stars, TNT is said to have died during World War II.