Slingers

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Slingers

Cover to Slingers #0. Art by Adam Pollina.
Top row: Hornet, Prodigy, Ricochet.
Bottom row: Dusk.

Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Slingers #1 (1998 December)
Created by	Joseph Harris Adam Pollina

Roster
Dusk Hornet Prodigy Ricochet

The Slingers are a group of fictional superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. They starred in their own eponymous short-lived comic book.

[edit] History

The Slingers were four teenage superheroes who had been inspired by Spider-Man. The group first appeared in Slingers #0, a free promotional comic book included in an issue of Wizard. Slingers #1 used a controversial sales gimmick: four versions of the first issue were produced, each telling a fourth of the first issue's story from the point of view of one of the four team members. The series failed to sustain sales, despite a small but loyal fanbase, and the series was cancelled with issue #12.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The team's four members used costumes and codenames that had been used by Spider-Man during the "Identity Crisis" crossover. During "Identity Crisis", Spider-Man was wanted for murder with a million-dollar reward posted for his capture; instead of his normal costumed identity, he adopted four other costumes and created a different crimefighting persona for each suit. After this crisis had ended, he discarded the four costumes, and they subsequently disappeared, reappearing in the possession of the Golden Age superhero called the Black Marvel. The Marvel gave the costumes to four youths, and trained them to become heroes.

Aside from brief cameos in New Warriors and Contest of Champions II, the team made no appearances elsewhere, and in their own series only received a few brief appearances by their inspiration, Spider-Man. When it was revealed that the Black Marvel had received the costumes through a deal with the demon Mephisto, the Slingers broke from him, then returned to free his soul from Mephisto. The Black Marvel died, free from Mephisto's grasp, and the team apparently disbanded. Ricochet has recently made several guest appearances in the Marvel comic Runaways as a member of Excelsior, a group made of other former teenage heroes whose goal is to help fellow teenage superheroes to adjust to mundane lives and dissuade other super-powered teenagers from becoming heroes. They were introduced in "True Believers" the first arc of Runaways Volume Two. Hornet was later found dead after attempting to subdue a brainwashed Wolverine, and Prodigy has only recently resurfaced, fighting against Iron Man during the Civil War event.

[edit] Team members

The four members of the Slingers were:

Dusk (Cassie St. Commons): Died in Slingers #0 and mysteriously returned from the dead in Slingers #1. She was the Goth daughter of a rich socialite couple from Connecticut. Dusk has many supernatural abilities. Her primary power is the ability to teleport herself (or others) anywhere she wishes to be. She can manipulate shadows to form objects or constructs of solid dark energy. She also has the ability to sense the whereabouts of her teammates, and knows if they are in danger. She is aware of Hornet's feelings towards her, but found herself attracted to Johnny Gallo, who was dating someone else during the course of the series. Her whereabouts following the series' conclusion have not been revealed.

Hornet (Eddie McDonough): A freshman at Empire State University and a victim of cerebral palsy, he wore a suit of flight-capable powered armor which enabled him to fly at high speeds. Micro-servos in the armored suit enhanced his strength beyond normal levels and allowed him to use his withered right arm. His gauntlets contained wrist blasters that could fire darts filled with a fast-acting sedative, which he called "Stingers," as well as powerful laser-beams. After the group dissolved, he was apparently killed battling the brainwashed Wolverine, though fans have speculated that it was not Eddie in the Hornet suit, as he gave up his own armor to its demon maker at the end of the Slingers series and lacks the means to make another. The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe #10 has just confirmed the facts in regards to Eddie's death within the Slingers entry. However, the Handbooks serve to make sense of what has been published at their time of writing, not to provide additional details. Therefore future adventures of the Slingers may not be bound by the Handbook's statements.

Prodigy (Ritchie Gilmore): The leader of the group, a wrestler who attended Empire State University. He is an athletic, stubborn loner. Prodigy's costume is mystically infused with power, giving him incredible superhuman strength, and he can actually stop a speeding train with his bare hands. He can leap incredible distances and when he jumps, it appears that he is flying. His golden costume is completely bulletproof, and can withstand most physical assaults. His cape has similar properties, as it alone once protected a child from a burning building, even as the building itself collapsed around him. Prodigy was recently arrested in Civil War: Frontline #2 at the hands of Iron Man for openly defying the Super Hero Registration Act. Prodigy succeeded, however, in sending a message to the people of the Marvel Universe, and his actions are considered the first act of Civil War. Although Prodigy was freed by Captain America's team during the prison break and joined said team against Iron Man and his registered superteam; his status upon whether he survived the final battle in Civil War #7 is unknown. Ritchie is not to be confused with David Alleyne of the New Mutants, who also used the codename "Prodigy."

Ricochet (Johnny Gallo): A mutant with superhuman agility, enabling him to leap great distances. He has incredible reflexes, and when combined with his leaping powers, can seemingly bounce off walls (ricocheting, as it were). His mutant powers also give him a "Danger Sense", that functions much like Spider-Man's "Spider-Sense", allowing Ricochet to sense danger before it happens. His jacket sleeves hold up to eight throwing discs. Originally used to strike at enemies by rebounding off walls, much like Ricochet himself, Hornet later provided Ricochet with special "gimmick" discs, which can return to the thrower after a short time, or even self destruct. His mother was killed by Orphan-Maker when he was in his early teens, though the identity of the killer remained unknown to Johnny until much later in life. He also had a troubled relationship with his cold and uncaring father. After the group dissolved, Johnny joined the Los Angeles-based "teenage superhero recovery group" called Excelsior, where he has formed a bond with fellow former-teenage-hero Julie Power.