Snapper Carr

Snapper Carr

Snapper Carr, art by George Pérez
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance The Brave and the Bold #28 (February–March 1960)
Created by Gardner Fox (writer)
Mike Sekowsky (artist)
In-story information
Full name Lucas "Snapper" Carr
Team affiliations Checkmate
Blasters
Justice League
Young Justice
Abilities Teleportation

Lucas "Snapper" Carr is a fictional comic book character appearing in books published by DC Comics, usually as a supporting character to the superhero team the Justice League of America.[1] He has often been referred to as the team's mascot.[2] Snapper Carr, along with the Justice League, first appears in The Brave and the Bold #28, written by Gardner Fox and drawn by Mike Sekowsky.

Inspiration

The character was included in the JLA's first appearance at the suggestion of DC executive Whitney Ellsworth who, believing a reader identification character for young readers was needed, directed that a "hip-talking" teenager modeled after teen idol Edd Byrnes' character Kookie on 77 Sunset Strip be added to the story.[3]

Fictional character history

Origin

When the Justice League of America faces the threat of Starro, a giant alien starfish with mind-control powers, young Lucas Carr — called "Snapper" for his penchant for snapping his fingers — is immune to Starro's attacks, by the good fortune of his just having put lime on the lawn. It is Green Lantern who recalls that various sea invertebrates are susceptible to lime, and by these means, Starro is defeated.[4]

Snapper's uncle Simon Carr approaches the new JLA[5] on behalf of Oliver Queen[6] and provides them with the resources to set up headquarters in Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. This becomes the site of the JLA's Secret Sanctuary. Snapper quickly becomes a fixture around JLA headquarters.[4] During this time, Simon Carr becomes the host for an Appelaxian alien;[7] he then founds the organization called Locus. Eventually, it is Snapper who uncovers his uncle's betrayal, just in time to warn the JLA. Locus is defeated and Simon returns to normal.[6]

Snapper's first year of association with the JLA coincides with his senior year of high school, and he is present for most of the League's early adventures. Three League members even dedicate humanitarian hours to help Snapper write a paper about brotherhood.[8] During this period, Snapper is portrayed as a stereotypical beatnik, down to his lingo and rhyming dialogue. His girlfriend's name is Midge. Snapper's time with the JLA ends, however, in tragedy. Snapper is manipulated by the Joker into betraying the location of the Secret Sanctuary. After this, Carr resigns his honorary membership;[2] the shame of this failure still haunts him.[9]

The JLA rescues Snapper Carr and his family when they are kidnapped by Anakronus,[10] but he suffers further humiliation when the Key bestows him with the powers of the Star-Tsar and sets him against the JLA again.[1] It is revealed Snapper was one of three Star-Tsars, the others being Mark Shaw (a former Manhunter) and the Key himself.[11] Carr aids the League once more when Thorak (a villain who was the product of an experiment by the Locus Organization) turns the JLA into giants; he and Superman return them to normal size.[12]

Invasion!

During the Invasion! storyline, Carr (in his first non-flashback appearance in six years) is among a number of prisoners of the alien Dominators. The Dominators seek human test subjects to discover how prevalent the "metagene" is in the human genome. To this end, they line up 50 humans and initiate their "blaster field". Six humans, including Snapper, survive the carnage by developing latent metahuman powers. Another is thought to be critically injured but later recovers and allies herself with Snapper.[13] Snapper gains the ability to teleport by snapping his fingers.

Blasters

Soon afterward, the Dominators and their allies are driven from Earth and the captives are freed. Snapper and the other five survivors dub themselves the Blasters and join the struggle to reverse the effects of the Dominators' gene bomb.[1][14] Snapper becomes the group's leader and they travel with the Omega Men for an unspecified period of time. Snapper becomes separated from the others and a foul-up with his powers temporarily drives him insane. He had kept his eyes open during transport and had perceived an eternity of time passing while teleporting. He ends up meeting Churljenkins, a green-furred cat-woman, who helps stabilize his reality. He manages to reunite the team and develops a romance with Churl. The Blasters stop an alien-controlled weapons smuggling operation and decide to travel through space together. The team includes, but isn't limited to, a children's novelist, a young wind-generator and his power-less mother. Snapper also allies himself with a regretful Dominator scientist.[15]

They later encounter Valor and fight Kanjar Ru and the Unimaginable. At the end of these adventures, the Blasters are trapped inside a crumbling prison,[16] and Snapper is again separated from his teammates. While searching for them, he is captured by a group of Khunds, who cut off his hands, thus destroying his ability to teleport. He is subsequently rescued by the L.E.G.I.O.N., but knows nothing about the fate of the Blasters. Vril Dox restores Snapper's hands and returns him to Earth.[17]

Hourman

Since returning to Earth, Snapper has served as an adviser to aspiring heroes, starting with the time-traveling android Hourman.[18] Snapper takes a time-trip with his ex-wife and the police chief of Happy Harbor.[19] The "Day of Judgment" crossover event occurs during the course of this series. Snapper saves an innocent man from one of the many demons that have crawled out of Hell. Soon after, he and his friends, stuck in a heatwave, begin arguing with each other. Recognizing something is wrong, Snapper performs a mystic spell, which reveals the group was being plagued by demons who helped exacerbate their antagonistic feelings. In the ensuing encounter, Snapper manages to sweet-talk one of the demons into crossing over to the side of good.[20] Snapper's time as a seeming JLA traitor is revisited in the same series.[21] He also becomes an adviser to the teen superhero team Young Justice.[1][22] During his appearances in both series, Snapper wears a succession of t-shirts featuring various superhero logos.

Snapper helps plan the invasion of a country, Zandia, which is dominated by super-villains.[23] A flashback around this time indicates Snapper has attended Green Arrow's funeral.[24]

Snapper maintains his contacts with the current incarnation of the League. He is called upon to take their official group photo when the team's roster is finalized. He is also invited to the wedding of Green Arrow and Black Canary; though his invitation was stolen by several villains, he is seen in the double-page spread of attendees.

Checkmate

Coinciding with the Green Arrow and Black Canary wedding special event, an issue of the miniseries The Four Horsemen has Snapper eavesdropping on Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman using a communications and tracking system. This indicates the involvement of the metahuman policing agency known as Checkmate. Snapper later reveals that he has been deep-cover for Checkmate ever since the incident involving the OMACs. Snapper attempts to assist the heroes in defeating the "Four Horsemen". Batman decides to allow Snapper to continue in this fashion, since Snapper tends to look favorably on the League's activities.[25]

Final Crisis: Resist

In the Final Crisis tie-in Resist, Snapper is still a Checkmate agent, albeit only a low-ranking Pawn. Somehow again in possession of his original teleportation powers, Carr, now known as Pawn 922, is sent on several errands around the world, sabotaging Darkseid installations and searching, without success, for someone free from the Anti-Life Equation to join him and Mister Terrific and the last few members of the resistance in a last stand. Several of these missions, including the destruction of a germ-warfare lab, involve killing brainwashed human slaves.

During his last errand he saves Cheetah, who, in a fit of gratitude and lust, tears away his Hazmat suit to share one last moment of intimacy with one of the last free humans. While relaxing afterwards, they are found by Gorilla Grodd. Snapper risks death by transporting himself and Cheetah back to the resistance hideout. Unfortunately, because of Darkseid's long-term plans, his teleportation powers are now gone. Even with Cheetah's willing help, they are left with little choice. Michael activates every last OMAC unit left, which are designed to attack super-beings. Snapper and the remnants of his cell, Cheetah included, head the counter-attack.[26]

Alternate versions

In other media

Television

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Greenberger, Robert (2008), "Carr, Snapper", in Dougall, Alastair, The DC Comics Encyclopedia, New York: Dorling Kindersley, p. 73, ISBN 0-7566-4119-5, OCLC 213309017
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Justice League of America v1 #77 (December 1969)
  3. ↑ "In a book full of square adults, DC exec Whitney Ellsworth believed that a reader identification [character] was called for and requested a hip-talking character modeled on teen idol Edd Byrnes’ character Kookie on the ‘’77 Sunset Strip’’ TV series.” American Comic Book Chronicles 1960-1964 by John Wells. TwoMorrows Publishing, 2012, Page 17.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brave & Bold #28
  5. ↑ JLA: Year One #2 (February 1998)
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 JLA: Year One #12 (December 1998)
  7. ↑ JLA: Year One #9 (September 1998)
  8. ↑ Justice League of America #57 (November 1967)
  9. ↑ Hourman #16 (July 2000)
  10. ↑ Justice League of America #114 (November 1974)
  11. ↑ Justice League of America #149-150 (December 1977–January 1978)
  12. ↑ Legends of the DC Universe #12-13 (January–February 1999)
  13. ↑ Invasion! #1 (January 1989)
  14. ↑ Invasion! #3 (March 1989)
  15. ↑ Blasters Special #1
  16. ↑ Valor #5-8
  17. ↑ Hourman #20-21 (2000)
  18. ↑ Hourman series
  19. ↑ Hourman #2 (May 1999)
  20. ↑ Hourman #8 (November 1999)
  21. ↑ Hourman #16 (1999)
  22. ↑ Young Justice #38-55
  23. ↑ Young Justice #49 (November 2002)
  24. ↑ Green Arrow vol. 3 #16 (October 2002)
  25. ↑ 52 Aftermath: The Four Horsemen #1-6
  26. ↑ Final Crisis: Resist #1 (December 2008)

External links