Icon (comics)
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Icon (also known as Augustus Freeman, Augustus Freeman Jr, Augustus Freeman III, and Augustus Freeman IV) is a Milestone Comics superhero. Created by Dwayne McDuffie, he first appeared in Icon #1 (1993).
In 1839, an alien starliner malfunctioned and exploded. A jettisoned life pod crashed -- in the middle of a cotton field, in the American South in 1839. The pod was equipped with a unique survival mechanism, which reconfigured the genetic structure of its passenger to resemble whatever life form it first encountered. And so it happened that Miriam, the slave woman who discovered the pod, found inside a baby boy with her mother's eyes.
In the present, the alien is still with us. He did not age visibly beyond adulthood, and to disguise this fact, he periodically assumed the identity of his own son. By the late 20th century, he was posing as Augustus Freeman IV, the great-grandson of his original human identity. Still marooned, he waits for Earth's technology to catch up to his life pod's. Secretly possessing superpowers that belie his human appearance, he has always performed quiet acts of charity. But one night his house was broken into, and he used his powers for the first time in decades -- an action was witnessed by Raquel Ervin.
Raquel was an idealistic teenage girl who was born in Paris Island, the poorest, most gang-ridden neighborhood in Dakota. 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.
[edit] Characters
- Augustus Freeman IV/Arnus/Icon - is actually Augustus Freeman I, II, III and IV; the alien Arnus came to Earth aboard a life-pod after the starliner (an interstellar cruise ship) he was aboard was damaged. He used the life-pod's equipment to mimic the first lifeform who discovered him: a slave woman named Miriam.
- Raquel Ervin/Rocket - Icon's sidekick and the one who inspired him to become a hero (after breaking into his house with friends). After seeing him fly and not show any effects from a point-blank range gunshot, Raquel returned to his house, this time with ideas for two costumes. Augustus soon accepted her suggestion and presented her with her costume and the Inertia Belt which enabled her to manipulate kinetic energy. After their first adventure though, Icon asked her to retire, having used his alien senses to discover that she was pregnant.
- Darnice/Rocket II - Raquel Ervin's best friend Darnice took on the role of Rocket while she was on maternity leave (one insisted upon by both Icon and her close friends).
- Amistad Augustus Ervin - Raquel Ervin's infant son, named for the Spanish slave ship, and her partner, Icon.
- 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, he 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. His time as Icon II was short-lived when he gave his life in order to stop a villain from Icon's homeworld. While working with the Patriot, he wore a winged costume allowing him to fly. He also experimented with wearing some sort of wrist apparatus which generated lightning bolts. During his brief resurrection, the legendary Ruby Begonia 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 parody, Buck's later powers reflected Black Goliath, Falcon, Black Lightning and Brother Voodoo.)
[edit] Trivia
- Icon held conservative views on economic and social issues, which often put him in conflict with more liberal Dakota superheroes, including his sidekick. Under Rocket's influence, he eventually began re-evaluating his views.
- Icon #1 announced a contest, where readers answered the question "Is this comic book about Augustus Freeman IV, marooned space alien, or Raquel Ervin, budding writer in a tough neighborhood, or both?" The winning letter, printed in Icon #9, was selected because it "captured the essence of the book. The ICON series is about both characters as seen through the eyes and told through the voice of Rocket."
- Because of the superficial similarity of his powers and origin story, Icon was sometimes referred to as the "black Superman". The letters page in Icon #2 includes three letters making this reference. The dismissive editorial response begins, "I think the resemblance doesn't go much beyond Augustus being a 'strange visitor from another planet'." In conclusion, "If the Hero of Dakota was in any way inspired by the Superman mythos, it was because RAQUEL was inspired, not any of US!".
- Icon was nominated for three Eisners and is a three-time winner of Parents' Choice Award honors.
