The Human Bomb

The Original Human Bomb (Quality Comics)

“The Human Bomb” was a popular feature created by Paul Gustavson, who created a number of successful super-heroes for Quality.

Roy Lincoln was the son of a gifted scientist who invented a super-explosive called 27-QRX—five times more powerful than nitroglycerin. When spies arrived to steal the formula, they killed Roy’s father. To keep it from falling into their hands, Roy took drastic measures and swallowed the capsule. His body began to glow and he was imbued with deadly explosive power, centered in his hands. Roy’s first fight ended with a punch that brought down the entire building. To protect the world from his touch, Roy built a full-body suit laced with the same sort of “fibro-wax” used to contain the original explosive. As the Human Bomb, Roy waited for the thugs to return and learned the whereabouts of their boss, an Axis diplomat. When the rat fired on Roy, the bullets exploded on contact, leaving the hero unharmed. With no one as witness, Roy delivered another blow to kill the spy. (Police #1)

Roy gathered up what notes he could from his father’s lab and took them to Major Adams at the War Department. In everyday life, Roy was now forced to cover his hands. Again he was attacked for the formula and pursued the thieves to an underwater lair (his suit was also equipped with oxygen for self-contained use). This German “suicide squadron” was bent on destroying eastern seaports. (#2)

Roy was called away from his fiancé, Jean Caldwell, to the White House by the President himself, who asked Roy to oversee a new lab. He hadn’t time for such an endeavor but while he was there, he noticed a note mentioning a deadly purple mist—the same mist he’d witnessed on his way in. He flushed out a spy in possession of purple glasses which, when worn, revealed Nazi assassins hiding within the mists. (#3)

Roy was an accomplished chemist in his own right. He invented another explosive that scared his co-workers so much that he moved the experiment to his own private lab. It was formulated into a substance that was harmless on its own, but detonated when it came into contact with Roy’s hot hands. The Human Bomb used it to take down a Nazi vessel that he encountered en route to Havana. (#4)

Jean was present during most of the Human Bomb’s early adventures (before his sidekick debuted). In Police #6 her last name was changed to “Adams.” She was a petulant sort who grew increasingly impatient with Roy’s disappearances. She nearly saw Lincoln’s face when he changed to fight the Nazi Black Vanguards. Instead of his powers, the Bomb used a standalone chemical to take them down. (#6) Roy might not have revealed his identity to Jean, but he did so to a newspaper boy who helped him find an impostor Human Bomb. (#7)

Nazis were everywhere; he even found them in Argentina, where they seized an aluminum mine. (#9) Roy stayed on there to clean out even more “Rats.” (#10) 

His first “super-villain” was Hoiman Schtrugmeyer, a master of physics who played a destructive flute. (#11) The Living Dead of Skull Valley turned out to be Nazis and were felled by a paralyzing gas. (#13) And Roy’s former chemistry teacher, Prof. Thorndike, went mad and invented an invisibility cloak and a disintegrating light gun. He attacked the Bomb as the Chameleon, and died when he accidentally touched Roy’s bare skin. (#14)

Hustace Throckmorton: The “Human Booby-Trap”

In a desperate situation one day at a hospital, Roy was called upon to donate blood for one Hustace Throckmorton. Afterwards Lincoln kept tabs on the man—and for good reason. The transfusion gave Hustace similar powers, but instead of explosive hands, he found that his feet produced charges! Roy was forced to reveal his secret to Throckmorton and loaned him a pair of his own asbestos gloves to use as slippers. Hustace’s girlfriend, Honeybun, was a hulk of a woman who taught fighting tactics to military men. (Note: This story made mention of the Black Condor.) (#15) Throckmorton continued to cause trouble, especially when a shoe flew off and his powers began causing chaos. (#16) When newsmen Olaf Olson and Lars Larson got a picture of the Human Bomb taking off his costume, Hustace threw them o ff the trail by donning the suit and pretending that he was the Human Bomb (and destroying property in the process). (#17)

Jean had a couple more appearances in her. She got the invention bug and hired an engineer to create a dynamite propelled rocket-car for her. Roy foresaw the problem with this but Jean insisted on taking it for a test drive. To convince her to give it up, the Human Bomb substituted his own powers for the dynamite and caused the car to blast around uncontrollably. She was sufficiently cowed and vowed never to use her brains for science again. (#18) In Jean’s last appearance, Roy helped her aunt Sophie, who’d feared she’d bought a haunted house. Roy discovered that Sophie’s husband, Henry, was behind the haunting and wanted to prevent her from buying the house. (#19)

Paul Gustavson was poised to move from “Human Bomb” and take over the popular feature “Midnight” from Jack Cole. His last two Human Bomb stories introduced an entirely new supporting cast called the Bombadiers. Roy Lincoln tried and was denied enlistment in the U.S. armed forces. He was rejected, however, on the grounds that his services were too valuable domestically (as was the case with Plastic Man). Still itching to get his licks in, Roy threw in with two other rejects, Montague T. McGurk (a.k.a. Curley) and Swordo the sword swallower. They were overheard by the scrappy young female pilot, Red Rogers, whose brother Tommy was a prisoner of the Japanese. To ensure their success, Roy boldly revealed his secret identity and furnished his new allies with their own capsules of 27-QRX! The Bombadiers managed to fly undetected into Japan and rescued a bunch of P.O.W.s, but Red’s brother died. (#21) They touched down next in Japanese-occupied China where they busted up an enemy nest and freed another prisoner. (#22)

Someone decided that this new direction was ill-timed, because after Gustavson moved on, the new (unsigned) creators shifted the feature back to its roots. Hustace returned, but Jean did not. (#23) The Bomb helped Hustace win back his girl, Honeybun, by pitting the weakling against his rival, a boxer. A little of Roy’s formula applied to Hustace’s glove produced a punch impressive enough to regain Honeybun’s favor. (#24)

Hustace wasn’t as altruistic as Roy. When one case led to lost treasure, Hustace was greedy while Roy preferred to donate the money to charity. (#27) For better or worse, Hustace became Roy’s assistant in the new Lincoln-Throckmorton Laboratory. His two careers were so time-consuming that Roy proclaimed he had no time for romance. Hustace, on the other hand, was easily distracted by femme fatales such as the killer, Nola (#29) and Miss Walpurga, the would-be vampire lady. (#30)

For the duration of the “Human Bomb” feature, Hustace was the character who drove the most engaging stories. The Bomb encountered relatively few super-villains. One was Patch-Eye, an evil genius roboticist. (#26) Another was Mustapho the stage magician, who kidnapped Hustace. It turned out that Mustapho was under external mental influences, so his sentence was commuted and he took to charitable work. (#31)

A couple of stories reflected unique aspects of their time, like when Roy invented a soft drink that required no sugar. This was useful because of sugar rationing. (#33) Another case was cracked when the boys witnessed a murder via “television telephone.” (#57)

In time, Roy began to lament his situation. His suit rendered him more of a monster than the (as he put it) “glamorous” heroes like the Spirit and Blackhawk. As fate would have it, he met a pretty young inventor named Lucille. She’d invented a robot that looked just like the Human Bomb. But after Roy destroyed her robot, she wanted nothing to do with him. (#35) Another inventor produced a mechanical sea serpent that launched cannonballs. (#44)

Paul Gustavson returned to the Human Bomb with Police #37 (Dec. 1944), sporting a fresh drawing style that appears inspired by Jack Cole’s. His byline didn’t reappear until #43, but his signature facial construction shows before that. Gustavson saw the feature through to its end. Those final features were fun enough, but not generally noteworthy. In that time, Hustace became an inventor, too, creating a perfume that made men crazy for Honeybun. This was good because Hustace was interested in a new gal. (#54) Just before the end, a potential arch-villain appeared. The scientist Yarboe recreated Roy’s explosive formula and the Bomb responded by destroying his lair—with Yarboe still in it. (#56)

The strip ended quietly, with a typical tale of the Human Bomb once again pulling Hustace’s fat out of the fire. (#58) “The Human Bomb” feature was replaced by “Honeybun” in Police Comics #59. This was also created by Paul Gustavson, but it was a male character—not Hustace’s girlfriend of the same name.

DC 

The Human Bomb next appeared in 1973’s Justice League of America #107-108. Roy was reintroduced to readers along with other former Quality heroes as the Freedom Fighters. This story and the successive Freedom Fighters series are no longer in DC continuity. For the details on this series and summary of events, see “The Freedom Fighters” on page 41. 

The Human Bomb’s origin was supposed to have been retold in the pages of Secret Society of Super-Villains #17, which never went to press. Instead the title was canceled amid the so-called “DC Implosion.” The story’s pencils were printed in 1978’s Canceled Comics Cavalcade #2 (an ultra-rare photocopy printed by DC for copyright purposes only). There is one other astonishing recreation of the Human Bomb’s origin that was drawn for Cartoonist Profiles #36 in 1977 by C. C. Beck (of “Captain Marvel” fame). Beck’s version was a tribute to Paul Gustavson, who died that year. This was reprinted in AC’s Golden Age Men of Mystery #12 (1999). 

The Human Bomb’s current DC continuity picks up just after the U.S. entrance into World War II, when the hero decided to enlist his services with the All-Star Squadron. At his first meeting, he met Uncle Sam and joined his Freedom Fighters. They moved to stop Baron Blitzkrieg’s invasion of Santa Barbara, California. (All-Star Squadron #31) For the remainder of the war, Roy stayed with this group, which separated from the All-Star Squadron and were based in Washington D.C. (Who’s Who ‘87 #5)

After the war, Roy Lincoln stayed in touch with Phantom Lady, and he was one of the few people who knew that she survived her disappearance in the 1960s. Roy Lincoln eventually retired to a boat in Florida and also remained longtime friends with Phantom Lady’s husband, Iron Munro. Roy eventually helped Munro find his wife. (Damage #8, 10, 11)

Roy could still be coaxed out of retirement in times of crisis. He occasionally reteamed with Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters. (JSA #49-51) Roy Lincoln’s distinguished career came to an end when he was killed by Bizarro alongside other new Freedom Fighters. (Infinite Crisis #1)

Notes

The Super DC Calendar 1976 gave Human Bomb's birthday as January 18.

The Human Bomb also appeared in the mini-series Enginehead. In issue #6, he blew himself up, but that series is generally considered to be out-of-continuity. It also used irreconcilable versions of other heroes.

The Human Bomb was the inspiration for the character of the same name in John Arcudi’s 2002 Elseworlds series, JLA: Destiny.

Powers

The Human Bomb possessed enough explosive power in his hands to level an entire building. To prevent accidents in his civilian life, he had to wear gloves. These and his costume were made with a special “fibro-wax” that was also used to encase explosives. Bullets and knives would explode on contact with his body, giving the effect of invulnerability (described as “invulnerable armor”). The suit was also airtight and waterproof; he once remained underwater in it. By putting his hands on the ground, he could propel himself into the air. Roy also invented an explosive chemical that he used as a projectile.

Human Bomb II Andrew Franklin

Soon after Roy Lincoln’s death, his successor was borne among the toxic rubble of the city of Blüdhaven. This city had been destroyed by the Society, the same group responsible for Roy’s death. Many died but some like Andy Franklin were transformed. Franklin was working as a researcher in the city when it was bombed, and his girlfriend was one of the first to die. When Franklin’s metagene was activated, he destroyed even more of his facility. (Uncle Sam & the Freedom Fighters #5)

As the second Human Bomb, he was enlisted by Father Time to join the covert ops organization, S.H.A.D.E. (Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Blüdhaven #1) S.H.A.D.E. made for Franklin a suit that would protect the world from his destructive touch. (#2) Even a sliver of Franklin’s fingernail was powerfully deadly. (#3)

During his time with S.H.A.D.E., Andy became isolated. His temper resulted in the destruction of an entire neighborhood. (#4) His moral compass was still strong, though, demonstrated by his refusal to fight a Green Lantern. By this time, some of the members of S.H.A.D.E. were starting to realize that the organization’s motives were often less than altruistic. The team fractured and began to question Father Time’s leadership. (#5-6)

His teammates were leery of Andy, even after he began taking nano-pills to slowly release his energy, and stabilize him for 24 hours. S.H.A.D.E.’s next mission was to bring down Uncle Sam himself. (Uncle Sam & the F.F. vol. 1 #1) In the course of this battle, however, Human Bomb and most of the others were actually persuaded into joining Sam’s cause: the Freedom Fighters. When they returned to Washington D.C., Andy was forced to kill his former S.H.A.D.E. teammate, Bigfoot, for which he felt great remorse. (#2) He had little time to grieve as the F.F. discovered that the very presidency itself had been overrun by the alien called Gonzo. (#4) After routing Gonzo, the team accepted the new President’s invitation to take over S.H.A.D.E. and act as an American security force. (#8)

In their next mission, against alien insectoids, Andy’s teammate the Red Bee was driven mad and attempted to force him to “mate” with her. The attempt unleashed a lethal explosion that was absorbed by Miss America. (US&FF vol. 2 #5) Though the Red Bee was righted, Andy remained bitter towards her. (#8)

Just as Franklin was coming out of his shell, he learned that the Freedom Fighters had lost their government sanction. He fashioned a new, white suit for himself that showed his face, and he looked to the Ray to sponsor him on some other team. On his last mission with the team, his suit was breached again, and he was forcefully taken into custody by a man named Trumont, who cited national safety. Franklin’s fate is unknown. (Freedom Fighters vol. 2 #9) 

New 52

When the DC universe was rebooted in 2010, the Freedom Fighters family of characters were completely reimagined. The Human Bomb was Michael Taylor. He made several appearances but never in the mainstream DC universe of this era.

Rebirth

DC's "Rebirth" (2016) undid much of the New 52 and the previous version of the Freedom Fighters was restored.

Powers

Andy Franklin’s powers could be near-nuclear in strength, and he is capable of destroying entire city blocks. Without the aid of a special drug that siphons away his powers, his whole body is volatile when he’s not inside his uniform.

Human Bomb III (New 52)

Created by Justin Gray, Jimmy Palmiotti and Jerry Ordway

....

The new Human Bomb's story begins three years prior, in Afghanistan, where Sgt. Michael Taylor's troop of Marines was ambushed by men in black body suits and gas masks. Taylor was shocked unconscious and remembered nothing of the incident afterwards.

He was recognized for his accomplishments against Al-Qaeda but returned to civilian life as a construction worker in New York City. One day at work, a series of "human bombs" began detonating around the city — one even killing the mayor — and Taylor recognized these as his Marine buddies. Before detonating, one told Michael, "Remember the C.R.O.W.N." (a terrorist organization). This man caused Taylor's own "Human Bomb" power to go off, but he was apparently an anomaly; he did not die.

At S.H.A.D.E. (Super Human Advanced Defense Executive) in Washington DC, Uncle Sam's people monitored everything. (Human Bomb #1)

Michael was pursued by aliens robots and when he was found and contained by Uncle Sam. Upon waking, he found he had been fitted with a special suit to regulate his abilities. Samuel informed him that he possessed a "metagene," which allowed him to be altered and survive multiple explosions. Sam's aide, S.H.A.D.E. agent Joan (ostensibly 'Miss America') was a telepath who uncovered the truth from Taylor's mind: he had been "created" by C.R.O.W.N. using alien technology in Iraq.

Michael joined forces with S.H.A.D.E. and discovered hundreds more victims laying comatose. (#2)

The Human Bomb and Joan were sent on a mission with another agent known as Neon, who teleported them. Their mission was to save a town that was completely infected by an alien queen and her brood. (#3)

After this, Joan and Michael discovered that the aliens were terraforming the moon. Joan taxed her abilities to sending a mental distress signal into space. Just then, she was struck by a blaster that ripped through her chest. As she died, she transferred all of her memories and knowledge into Michael.

In a rage over her sacrifice, Michael began killing all of the aliens and used his powers to propels himself forward (this ability was something known to the original Human Bomb's sidekick, Hustace Throckmorton). He ultimately threw himself into the alien mine shaft and fell to the center of the moon — destroying it completely. He survived and was rescued by Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner). Note: This raised the question: on which Earth were these 'Freedom Fighters' series take place? The titles were marketed as "outside the New 52" and there was another Ray in use in the mainstream DCU.

When he woke, he found himself in the Heartland (S.H.A.D.E.'s other-dimensional home). Uncle Sam greeted him telepathically and invites him to join his new team: Doll Man, Phantom Lady and the Ray.

No other adventures followed these heroes in the New 52 or afterwards.

Powers

They performed genetic experiments then brainwashed soldiers. Now Michael can weaponize other objects and generate pure explosive force.

When the S.H.A.D.E. forces are overwhelmed by alien troops, Joan is forced to take over Michael's mind in order to use his powers efficiently. She creates a chained explosion that travels between touching objects. As they begin to retreat, he implores her to He can focus the power through his feet to propel himself forward.