Owen Mercer
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| Captain Boomerang | |
 Owen Harkness, the current Captain Boomerang. Panel from Identity Crisis #6 (2004) by Rags Morales |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Identity Crisis # 3 (October 2004) |
| Created by | Brad Meltzer Rags Morales |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Owen Mercer |
| Team affiliations | Suicide Squad Outsiders Rogues The Society |
| Abilities | Uses a wide variety of gimmicked boomerangs; limited superspeed called "speed bursts". |
Owen Mercer is a fictional character existing in the DC Comics Universe. He is the son of the original Captain Boomerang (Digger Harkness) and Meloni Thawne.
Like Bennett Mercer (his cousin), Owen shares many relations to various superheroes and supervillains. His father is supervillain Captain Boomerang; his half-brothers are the Flash, Bart Allen and supervillain Inertia; and two of his ancestors are Professor Zoom and Cobalt Blue, himself the twin brother of Barry Allen.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Origins
During the beginning of the Identity Crisis storyline, Digger Harkness found himself an obsolete villain in the modern world of supervillains. Regularly going up to the supervillain satellite looking for jobs, asking favors from the Calculator, he was at the end of his rope looking for a job to put him on the map again.
During this time he felt it was finally time to reach out to the son he never raised, the previously unheard of Owen Mercer. Before Harkness's death, the two bonded. Taking up his father's legacy, he became the second Captain Boomerang. Captain Cold, brother to Golden Glider (who was believed to be Owen's mother), took Owen in as one of the Rogues.
[edit] Rogues
Though Owen initially had no real attachment to the Rogues (and even voiced various, albeit short, opinions out loud), he grew to enjoy the purpose and sense of family the team offered after finding that his father's body had been stolen for use in a lab (which was later revealed to be part of a plan to get memories from Harkness).
Around this time the Rogue War began, in which the "reformed" Rogues fought the Rogues under Captain Cold. Ashley Zolomon is told by Harkness himself (before he permanently dies) that Golden Glider is not Owen's real mother.
[edit] The Society
During the Infinite Crisis, Owen was part of Luthor's group of villains. He, Captain Cold, and Mirror Master were sent to guard a factory against the Outsiders, under the command of Deathstroke (who was actually Arsenal in disguise). When the ensuing battle between Outsiders and Rogues destroyed the machinery in the factory, the Rogues and other villains wouldn't help in the fight at all and then at the explosion, he is saved by the Outsiders, while the Rogues left them at the base to blow up.
[edit] 52
During the 52 series, Owen is part of a Suicide Squad sent by Amanda Waller to attack Black Adam.
[edit] Outsiders
- See also: One Year Later
Following Owen's run-in with the Outsiders, he is turned over to authorities, where he is then placed in a Metahuman prison. There he finds himself being the cellmate of Black Lightning, who was arrested for a murder that Deathstroke the Terminator committed. It is soon discovered that the other inmates have learned of Black Lightning's identity and are planning to murder him. The Outsiders become aware of this and attempt to break Pierce out of jail. Unfortunately it goes terribly wrong. As they escape, Black Lightning asks that they take Owen with them, which they grudgingly agree. As they escape, the Outsiders' jet, the Pequod, is shot down, and while the team escapes, the world believes them dead.
Because of this event and the Freedom of Power Treaty, the team now works covertly. Most of the current Outsiders were believed dead until a botched mission revealed their presence to the world. His history as a Rogue has been exploited several times by team leader Nightwing from torturing dictators to taking down a cloned Jay Garrick. However, it is revealed that his desire to join the Outsiders comes from his desire for a family. Nightwing allowed him to join his team partially because Arsenal felt he would be worthy, and because Owen has been striving to find a family since the death of his father and the outbreak of the Rogue War.
Owen has also begun searching for the current Robin. It is believed that he is aware of the connection the two boys have, as their fathers killed one another. While Robin originally believed Owen was searching for him in order to finish the fight his father started, in Robin #152, Owen revealed that he wished to make amends with the younger hero, and has offered his assistance to help Robin destroy a bomb created by the Joker. The two later spend the following night spreading out old hideouts of several villains. Afterward, Robin gained a bit of civil respect for Boomerang despite what their fathers did to another. Boomerang attempted to shake hands with Robin, but Robin refused the gesture feeling unready to make that step.
Owen has also developed a close friendship with Supergirl, Kara Zor-El. After Supergirl returned from her time away with Power Girl, Kara began looking to start a normal life on Earth and went out a 'date' with Owen, during which they spoke of their past problems. Kara has nicknamed Owen 'Boomer.' Although the pair often flirts with one another, they have never progressed to a romantic relationship. This comes primarily from the fact that Kara continues to show interest in Nightwing, and jokingly says that what she and Owen has is more of a brother-sister relationship, in which he has an unhealthy fixation on his 'little sis'. Still, Mercer has referred to Kara as "his girl".
Feeling rejected after Kara's relationship with Power Boy, Owen goes to a bar where he meets Cassandra Cain (Batgirl), who has been hired to kill Supergirl. Cassandra kidnaps and tortures Owen to lure Supergirl. Unfortunately, this proves unnecessary, as Kara had tracked down Cassandra on her own, without any knowledge of Owen's kidnapping. Batgirl nearly manages to defeat Supergirl, but is defeated when Kara grows Krypton Sunstones which impale her foe. Kara then rushes Owen to the hospital where he is treated. While still in medical care, it is discovered that Power Boy has been stalking Kara.
Following Kara's rather violent break-up with Power Boy, the earth was overtaken by spirits from the Phantom Zone, which began to emerge from within Superman. Kara managed to defeat the Phantoms and return the Earth to normal. Afterwards, in Supergirl #19 Kara begins to make amends with all the people who she has hurt since arriving on earth. Amongst them, Boomer, who she apologies for letting him get hurt and leading him on. During this coversation, the matter of Owen's relationship with Kara is finally clarified. When asked by Kara how he feels about her leading him on, Owen replies, "Well, if I may ... for me to have been 'led on' would presume I thought I had a shot with you ... For me to think I had a shot with a sixteen-year-old girl -- crystal-powered hypersleep whatever junk aside ... that would mean I am a dirtbag with a thing for jailbait. Which I am not." [1]
In Checkmate #13-15, crossover with Outsiders #47-49, Checkmate abducts all members of the Outsiders except Nightwing, allowing him to infiltrate their headquarters offer them a deal: The Outsiders won't be shut down over their actions in Africa in exchange for infiltrating Oolong Island on behalf of Checkmate. After Batman rescues the Outsiders over North Korean territory, and Nightwing hands over the team to him, Owen and Nightwing are pitted against each other in "auditions" for the new line up. Pushed too far, feeling he doesn't need to prove himself anymore, Owen returns to the Suicide Squad although Batman feels he could make a good double agent.
[edit] Suicide Squad
In All Flash #1, Owen as part of the new Suicide Squad captures two of the Rogues that are responsible for Bart Allen's murder, Heat Wave and Weather Wizard, in Louisiana. In Countdown #39, he and the rest of the squad chase after Piper and Trickster in Gotham City after they'd escaped capture from Squad member Deadshot. The Squad however is just as unsuccessful as Deadshot, and the two Rogues escape capture.
[edit] Powers and abilities
The original Captain Boomerang began to train Owen before he died. He has exhibited creativity in his boomerangs by creating "razorangs" and an acid-spewing boomerang.
Owen has also exhibited "speed bursts": short burst of limited super speed over short distances, most notably when throwing boomerangs. These were even possible during the time period that Bart Allen fully contained the Speed Force, possibly implying that Owen's speed is not derived from the Speed Force but rather his meta-gene, somewhat akin to Jay Garrick's speed. However, during Chang Tzu's experiments he claimed he believed Mercer could access the Speed Force, and Mercer denied having super speed at all anymore, but Chang Tzu was able to activate Owen's speed involuntarily, causing him great pain. The exact source of this power remains unrevealed. Regardless, as of Justice Society of America #8, the Speed Force appears to have returned and is accessible to all former speedsters once more.
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