Vulcan, My Legal Guardian

Today's Weekly Z-Lister is a two-for-one sale! Buy one Son of Vulcan, you'll get another Son of Vulcan free! Preorder now and we'll throw in a missing leg and anti-martian disinfectant! Lets take a look as two characters built off one concept. Introducing, the Sons of Vulcan.

Johnny Mann (created in 1965) was a journalist who had lost a leg in the Korean War. As he was covering a war on the island of Cyprete he complained about the Gods letting mortals slaughter each other. He was teleported to Mount Olympus by The Roman Gods who took offense to Johnny's complaints and held him in trail before Jupiter. Although Mars the God of War wanted Johnny destroyed, the lame-legged God of Fire known as Vulcan defended Johnny. The two forged a bond and Vulcan took Johnny in as a son. Vulcan allowed Johnny to become a demigod anytime he called Vulcan's name. By doing this Johnny became the superhero known as The Son of Vulcan. He was given indestructible armor and the ability to magically forge any weapon he desired. He could cast fireballs, become immune to flame, fly through the air and had the strength, speed and endurance of a God. His adventures usually dealt with him battling the super villain Dr. Kong and the jealous god Mars. Johnny Mann was killed in the "War of the Gods" storyline in 1991. The next Son of Vulcan was created in 2005 as a completely separate character from the previous. Miguel Devante was a teenage orphan living in Charlton's Point (a reference to Johnny Man's original distributor, Charlton Comics). Miguel was taken hostage by a villain known as The Floronic Man at a fast food place when a little-known hero named Vulcan showed up to save the hostages. After helping Vulcan defeat The Floronic Man, Miguel is chosen to be Vulcan's sidekick and joins him at his home base, Vulcan's Forge. They are informed of The Floronic Man's escape, so Vulcan and Miguel set out to catch the villain. As it turns out, this Floronic Man was actually a White Martian in disguise who kills Vulcan. Miguel learns that the White Martians-shapeshifting inhabitants of Mars-created a meta-virus that resulted in Vulcan's empowerment and that the Vulcan lineage had been battling the White Martians for years. After his death, Vulcan passed his meta-virus powers on to Miguel. After taking his mentor's powers, weapons and equipment, Miguel became the new Vulcan. Capable of controlling flames, generating force fields and wielding a sword that could cut through anything. He also uses the "Encyclopedae Vulcanis" to study every previous Vulcan. Vulcan adopted many of his mentor's villains, as well as The White Martians. He also fought human/white martian hybrids who were based off known villains like Poison Ivy, Reverse-Flash and many more. Vulcan was a member of the Teen Titans for a short time, but the last time he was seen was when he was put into a coma after a mission.

Both of these characters represent the theme of lineage. Johnny Man was clearly a human trying to prove mortals are just as powerful as The Gods. Miguel Devante comes off more as a rare case of adoption. Not the typical adoption of family, but the adoption of responsibility. Imagine being a child and meeting a superhero, then being offered the position of sidekick to said hero. Now imagine witnessing that hero die and taking on the mantle the hero left behind. Both of these Z-List characters offer a lot more than forges and flame, they offer a commentary on the relationships between children and adults, students and mentors, fathers and sons. Thanks for reading.