| The Outsiders | |
|---|---|
The Outsiders from 1st Issue Special #10, artist Jerry Grandenetti |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | 1st Issue Special #10 (January 1976) |
| Created by | Joe Simon (writer) Jerry Grandenetti (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Member(s) | Amazing Ronnie Billy Doc Scary Hairy Larry Lizard Johnny Mighty Mary |
The Outsiders are a fictional group of outcasts, comic book characters published by DC Comics. They debuted in 1st Issue Special #10, (January 1976), and were created by Joe Simon and Jerry Grandenetti.
Contents |
The outsiders are a close knit group of humans with terrifying teratological deformities, very few of which grant any beneficial superhuman abilities. The team is first seen during the rescue of a mutant boy named Billy from a club wielding xenophobic mob; after an overwhelming show of force, the Outsiders are able to rescue Billy. Back at their headquarters and engaging in a bit of metacommentary, the team addresses its origin story directly to the Reader, as if the Outsiders are somehow aware of the Fourth Wall.
Lizard Johnny was found at sea during a storm by a fisherman named Ahab, Doctor Goodie saves Johnny from death at the hands of a colleague and raises the infant humanoid himself. Billy's father a poor tailor from the town of Lynville was murdered by burglars, his tailor's shop was burned down while the criminals and terrified citizens attempt to kill Billy who later jumps into a fountain in order to douse his burning clothes. This incident dovetails with Billy's rescue by the Outsiders at the start of the story.
Doctor Goodie was a NASA technician on a manned probe to the planet Venus, the probe crashes on the planet and Doctor Goodie is rescued by Alien surgeons who repair his broken body transforming him into a cyborg, but because the aliens had no idea what a terran looked like, they gave him alien features similar to their own, alien features which terrify humans. Later Doctor Goodie reveals that he has created elaborate prosthetic makeup which allows him to pass as a normal human doctor at the Ronkite Medical Complex. Deep below the medical complex is the hidden hideout of the Outsiders.
The origins of the three remaining Outsiders were never told. At the end of the issue team members are seen wearing their battle uniforms, black uniforms with a red stylized "O" on the front and their names in red on the back.[1]
The original Outsiders re-appear in Superman #692 (November 2009) as detainees of Department 7734 in Project M.