Calamity King
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| Calamity King | |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Adventure Comics #342. |
| Created by | Edmond Hamilton (writer), Curt Swan (artist); Possibly based on Jinx Boy, a character suggested by Harvey Pond of Milford, Conn. in the Bits of Legionnaires Business feature in the lettercolumn of Adventure Comics #308.[citation needed] |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | E. Davis Ester |
| Team affiliations | Legion of Super-Heroes |
| Abilities | Causes accidents and disasters, apparently by exploiting minute stress fractures in material objects and causing them to break |
Calamity King, (E. Davis Ester of the planet Touston) is a comic book superhero in the 30th century of DC Comics universe. He has the superhuman ability to cause bad luck wherever he goes. He was a supporting character of the pre-Zero Hour Legion of Super-Heroes, one of the Legion Rejects. He was briefly a member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, though his tenure with the team was during the undepicted Five-Year Gap.
Contents |
[edit] Biography (pre-ZH)
[edit] Early Life/Try-Out For the Legion
Little is known of the origin or early life of E. Davis Ester. He grew up on the planet Touston, where his ability to cause accidents apparently manifested itself at an early age. At first it made him rather popular with his school-mates, as his power caused the computer-based school system to break down regularly, resulting in frequent vacations for his class-mates. Soon, the novelty wore off, however, and E. Davis's power began to be viewed more as a nuisance than anything else. Despite his intention of only using his abilities for good-natured practical jokes, more often than not he'd end up breaking random things unintentionally. Hearing that Legion of Super-Heroes, headquartered on Earth, frequently held open tryouts for superhuman teens to join their ranks, E. Davis figured he would offer his services to them. Calling himself "Calamity King", he boarded a ship to Earth in 2977 to show off his stuff. Due to his lack of control over his abilities, however, he was quickly rejected as being as great a danger to his potential teammates as he would be to his enemies.
[edit] Post-Tryout
Most of Calamity King's activities between being rejected by the Legion and eventually joining the team are unrevealed. It is somewhat mysterious that he never applied to join the Legion of Substitute-Heroes, a team for Legion rejects, despite the fact that Color Kid, an applicant rejected at the same time, and Star Boy, a Legionnaire whom he befriended during his tryout, both soon became members of the latter team.
Star Boy briefly considered Calamity King responsible for the unfortunate series of events that led to his expulsion from the Legion, so perhaps that soured his chances with the Subs. Apparently he wandered from job to job, unable to maintain any occupation for long because of his tendency to cause spontaneous equipment failure. Eventually, in the early 2990s, he heard that the Legion of Super-Heroes was desperate for members, and was inviting for rejects to join. So he decided to try-out once again and was quickly accepted.
[edit] Legion Membership
Calamity King was the last member to join the pre-ZH Legion of Super-Heroes before its dissolution during the Five Year Gap. Little is known about his brief tenure of the team, which ceased to exist due to interference by a hostile Earthgov secretly controlled by the alien Dominators a mere two months after he joined.
[edit] Earthgov Resistance
Calamity King followed a number of his former Legionnaires in joining the Earthgov Resistance. He became a double agent, working for Earthgov but secretly using his powers to interfere with their plans. Eventually, however, he was discovered and became a subject for the Dominators' genetic experiments. Whether he survived the destruction of the underground chambers housing the Dominion's research subjects, or the subsequent destruction of the Earth, is unknown. As the entire Legion continuity in which he existed disappeared during Zero Hour, it is unlikely that his fate will ever be revealed.
[edit] Later Continuities
During the post-ZH ("reboot") era of the Legion, which was published from 1994-2004, Calamity King made no appearances, and so, if he existed in that continuity, his career remains unrevealed. A young boy named Doro, dressed in an outfit somewhat similar to Calamity King's and with a reputation for being a jinx, did appear along with other young people on a tour of the LSH HQ during the Legends of the Legion mini-series.
It remains to be seen whether he will appear in the "reimagined" Legion following the 2004 relaunch of the Legion.
[edit] Powers
Calamity King can exploit tiny stress fractures in material objects, causing them to spontaneous fracture and break. He seems to have limited control over this ability. It is suggested that he has the ability to "curse" others with bad luck, but it is not clear whether this is a genuine power, or simply superstition.
[edit] In other media
Calamity King appeared briefly during the Legion auditions in the season 2 episode of Legion of Super Heroes titled "The Karate Kid." He showed off his bad luck power, but was rejected.
