Mister 8

Our first unveiled silhouette above is NoMan, my favorite member of a superhero group called THUNDER Agents. The Higher United Nations Defense Enforcement Reserves Agents were published by Tower Comics, and created by Wallace Wood, a creator overlooked by many, perhaps because of his general lack of work for the big two (Marvel and DC). Wood was a notoriously troubled, but incredibly talented artist and writer, and many consider his work on THUNDER Agents to be his best.

THUNDER Agents represented the junction of the two great pop culture fads of the 60s, super-heroes and secret agents. During it’s initial run, the book featured not only the work of Wood, but of other giants of silver age comic art like Gil Kane and Steve Ditko. From the super-hero genre, the book took spandex and powers, from the world of spy-fi, gadgets, femme fatales, globetrotting adventures and government backing. The Agents organization was made up of a number of characters whose powers came from devices left behind by a murdered United Nations scientist, a series of androids containing the brain of another scientist, a team of adventurers, and occasional help from the Undersea Agent.

The core of the team was made up of Dynamo, NoMan and Menthor (animated versions created by HyperDave @ DataJunkie — check this site out for a plethora of THUNDER Agents goodness):

Leonard Brown was a large, strong man…not a super-hero by trade, but a pencil pusher with a rather weak personality working in the office of THUNDER, when his employer called upon him to wear a belt found in the laboratory of the late genius Professor Jennings, murdered by the villain Warlord. The belt made him super strong and near invulnerable, and he took on the identity of Dynamo. There was a catch, however — using the belt’s powers for more than a few minutes at a time endangered Brown’s life, as it granted its powers by reconfiguring his body’s atomic structure. THUNDER often sent him into battle to protect the world from the likes of armored villainess The Iron Maiden, who had somewhat of a crush on Dynamo.

NoMan was, in your humble author’s opinion, the most interesting of the THUNDER Agents. In reality, NoMan was (sort of) a scientist named Anthony Dunn who, faced with a deteriorating body, transferred his being into an android form. If the android were ever to be destroyed, Dunn would cease to exist, and so he kept a series of spare bodies in his laboratory. When the body was damaged, Dunn would transfer to a new body. This seems spectacular enough, but Dunn, as NoMan, also received a cloak designed by Jennings that would allow him to become invisible. This often became a bit of trouble, because the cloak, unlike Dunn’s mind, was not transferable.

Menthor was John Janus, a hero that was secretly a villain who was sometimes forced to be a hero. Confused? Janus worked for THUNDER, but was in reality an agent of enemy organization SPIDER. However, when wearing his Jennings-created device, a helmet that endowed the user with telepathic and telekinetic abilities, his double agent personality was overridden and he became a force of good again. Eventually, the effect of the helmet began to grow more permanent. While trying to warn his fellow THUNDER Agents of an ambush, Menthor (SPOILER ALERT!) was gunned down by henchmen of his former boss, Warlord. Menthor’s death, now that Captain America’s sidekick Bucky is revived, is one of the longest lasting in comics.

Raven was, essentially, a replacement for Menthor, debuting in issue 8, the issue after Menthor’s death. Raven was Craig Lawson, a gymnast and sky-diver whom THUNDER brought in to assist in testing a new jetpack with wings prototype. Though at first, he thinks of stealing the suit and profiting from the technology, he eventually becomes a trusted member of THUNDER Agents.

The last member of THUNDER Agents is Lightning, who was promoted from the ranks of THUNDER Squad (see below). Guy Gilbert received from THUNDER the Lightning suit, which gives its wearer the ability to perceive time at a much slower pace, quickening reflexes and granting superspeed. As with the other devices, there’s a catch — every use of the supersuit speeds Gilbert’s metabolism, shortening his life.

As seen here, Gilbert started his THUNDER career as the leader of THUNDER Squad, a team of specialists who were the sort of IMF to THUNDER’s UNCLE, if you can follow the acronyms.

Though THUNDER Agents was the brainchild of Wood, their continued prominence in comics owes much to the late John Carbonaro, who passed away at age 58 this February. Carbonaro got the rights to the THUNDER Agents in 1981, and took personal responsibility in ensuring that every subsequent version of the Agents (they bounced from publisher from publisher, after a lengthy rights lawsuit — this history is expounded upon at THUNDERAgents.com) lived up to the standard set by Wood.

For more information, please do visit THUNDERAgents.com, and Data Junkie’s look at THUNDER Agents Phase 1 and Phase 2. I am indebted to these sites for the information they provide.

Here’s a short bit that features all of the THUNDER Agents plus the THUNDER Squad (Gilbert out of his Lightning suit), from THUNDER Agents #5. Story by Steve Skeates, art by Wally Wood. Enjoy!