Free Comics Monday: The Bouncer

One of the things I really like about the Golden Age heroes is that because the genre was still new, a wide range of characters were produced who, by today's standards, might be considered too silly or outlandish to get their own book. A good example of this is The Bouncer. His origins and powers are part Superman, part Wonder Woman with a little Plastic Man feel thrown in as well.

From Wikipedia...

The Bouncer was a fictional superhero that appeared in comic books published by Fox Feature Syndicate. Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Louis Ferstadt, the Bouncer first appeared in The Bouncer (no number, September 1944). His final appearance was in The Bouncer #14 (January 1945). The Bouncer holds the distinction of being the first comic book character created by comics legend Kanigher.

The Bouncer had no secret identity, but was in reality a statue of the Greek mythological figure Antaeus (spelled Anteas in the comics). The statue had been sculpted by Adam Anteas, Jr., a descendant of the very same legendary figure. Like his Greek ancestor, Anteas Jr. gained power when in contact with the earth. Anteas Jr.'s power was that he bounced back whenever he struck the ground; the harder he hit, the higher he bounced. Unfortunately, just like his ancestor, he lost his power when out of contact with the ground.




[ The Bouncer 12 ]

More from Wikipedia...

...At first Anteas Jr. had no interest in superheroics, and generally wanted to be left alone with his statues. But whenever he was threatened, the spirit of his ancestor would animate the statue, and drag its creator off on an adventure. Eventually Anteas Jr. begain to seek out criminals, and fight them with the aid of the Bouncer.

The Bouncer was an inanimate statue until animated by the spirit of Anteas. During that time, the Bouncer had superhuman strength and ability to leap great distances. Adam Anteas Jr. has the ability to summon the Bouncer to his current location; when Adam does so, the Bouncer appears in a puff of smoke.




[ The Bouncer 14 ]

Enjoy!