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| Son of Vulcan | |
|---|---|
 Son of Vulcan's debut, cover art byDick Giordano. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Charlton Comics, later byDC Comics |
| First appearance | Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #46 (May 1965) |
| Created by | Pat Masulli andBill Fraccio |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Johnny Mann |
| Species | demigodby adoption |
| Team affiliations | Roman gods |
| Notable aliases | Halciber Filius |
| Abilities | Can transform intodemigod possessing superhuman strength, speed & senses, flight, invulnerability to fire, & indestructible armor who can summon both fireballs & powerful ancient weapons from theforge of his adopted fatherVulcan; later bestowed with all the powers of the entire Olympian pantheon (War of the Gods). |
Son of Vulcan is the name of twocomic bookcharacters, one created byCharlton Comics in 1965, the other byDC Comics in August 2005. Son of Vulcan was one of the charactersDC Comics purchased from defunctCharlton Comics in 1983.
The Johnny Mann version of Son of Vulcan first appeared in the Charlton Comics seriesMysteries of Unexplored Worlds #46 (May 1965), retitledSon of Vulcan with issue #49, and was created by writerPat Masulli and artistBill Fraccio.[1] Charlton staff writerJoe Gill would write most of his stories. Predating the Charlton "Action Heroes" line, Son of Vulcan is not properly part of that group. His final Charlton story, "The Second Trojan War" inSon of Vulcan #50 (Jan. 1966, the last issue, after which the title becamePeter Cannon, Thunderbolt for another ten issues), was the first professional work of writer and futureMarvel Comics editor-in-chiefRoy Thomas, with the previous issue having seen the character being given a new and more ornate costume designed by a young, cover-creditedDave Cockrum. DC has made very little use of Son of Vulcan. He appeared briefly inDC Challenge #9 where he was introduced into the DC universe by the aforementioned Roy Thomas and returned to take a more pivotal part in theWar of the Godsminiseries that followed theCrisis on Infinite Earths crossover only to be killed off in the last issue. In 2005, DC published a newSon of Vulcan miniseries whose title character and series premise was unrelated to the original.
The original Charlton character was Johnny Mann, a scrawny but courageous reporter for an international news syndicate who had lost a leg while serving during theKorean War. Covering a bloody civil war on theMediterranean island of Cyprete, he complained aloud while standing in the ruins of an ancient temple that the gods play with men's lives while leaving them defenseless against the forces of war and crime.
Taking offense, theRoman gods transported him toMount Olympus where he was put on trial beforeJupiter, all-powerful king of the gods, for his impudence. The war godMars argued for his immediate destruction, butVulcan, lame-legged god of fire andforge, spoke up in his defense, and Venus, goddess of love, agreed with Vulcan. In the end, bonding with the orphaned newsman over their similar disabilities, Vulcan agreed to adopt Johnny and share with him god-like powers that would help him fight injustice in the mortal world.[2]
By calling on Vulcan's aid, Johnny would transform into a superhumandemigod, whole again and mightily muscled and clad in indestructible Roman-style armor and shield with the power to summon both fire and powerful ancient weapons from his adopted father's forge. However, it was the judgment of Jupiter that his powers could be removed from him at any time if the gods ever decided he was unworthy of them. Mars often plots against him to make him lose favor with Jupiter or destroy him and was exiled fromOlympus for this.
As the Son of Vulcan, Johnny had several adventures where he battled both a jealous Mars and the Asian arch-criminal Dr. Kong (the so-called "meanest man alive" who resembled a cross betweenFu Manchu andDracula) but remained a little-known hero.
During the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" storyline, Son of Vulcan was seen on New Earth fighting theAnti-Monitor's Shadow Demons alongsideCyborg,Peacemaker of Earth-One,Vigilante, andWildcat. He vanished from existence after the Anti-Monitor was defeated.[3]
During theWar of the Gods, the Roman gods wanted Son of Vulcan (now known on Olympus as Halciber Filius, aLatinized version of his name, and endowed with all their divine powers rather than just those of Vulcan) to be their champion against theGreek gods' champion,Wonder Woman, but he refused, so they choseCaptain Marvel in his stead. Son of Vulcan investigated the cause of the war and metHarmonia, daughter of the Greek godAres, who was also investigating it, and they learned the war was part of a plan by the sorceressCirce to gain absolute divine power. Son of Vulcan and Harmonia fell in love, but the two eventually died in battle and their souls were personally escorted by Vulcan himself to the eternal paradise ofElysium.
OrphanMiguel "Mikey" Devante, age 14, is taken hostage byFloronic Man at theBig Belly Burger in Miguel's hometown ofCharlton's Point. A relatively unknown hero named Vulcan tells Mikey to free the other hostages while he battles the Floronic Man. Miguel stays back after freeing the other hostages to ensure Vulcan is safe. Miguel saves Vulcan from danger by chopping off Floronic Man's arm with Vulcan's sword. Vulcan chooses Miguel to be his successor.
After their adventures, Miguel and the android Pandora later go to San Francisco, where Miguel is seen talking toBeast Boy of theTeen Titans and presenting himself as simplyVulcan. While he evidently did not join the Titans during the One Year, he does appear in the line-up for the newTitans East one-shot, released in November 2007.
Son of Vulcan was left badly injured, seemingly dead at the end of theTitans East one-shot.Titans #1 revealed that he was still alive, but in a coma.