Here’s another Public Domain character makeover. This time, Comics on the Brain turns to Lash Lightning from Ace Comics! Lash began his crime-fighting career in the 1940s where he displayed a number of powers including super-strength, flight, super-speed and the ability to toss lightning. Later on he was joined by Lightning Girl, a girlfriend who acquired the same powers through Lash’s help. The key to their super powers was their armbands that carried a lightning motif.
For our redesign, we changed their powers a bit, as well as the source of their powers. Let’s check out their changes …
Lash Lightning: Super-powers from the Old Man of the Pyramids
When Robert Morgan activates the mystical amulet given to him by the Old Man of the Pyramids, the amulet wraps his arms in metal gauntlets and he becomes Lash Lightning, the super-charged superhero! Endowed with super strength, the ability to hurl lightning and the power of flight, Lash Lightning serves as the protector of New Cairo, Florida, a bustling metropolis gripped by crime and corruption!
When he’s not Lash Lightning, Robert Morgan works for the American Revant Corp. (ARC), an international business consortium that’s based in New Cairo. For ARC, Morgan is a Special Projects Agent, which often sends him across the globe to help ARC projects when they encounter trouble. This travel also leads him into many adventures as Lash Lightning!
In his spare time, Rob is a physical fitness fanatic and deeply interested in ancient cultures, another interest that helps him on his missions as Lash Lightning.
Dash Lightning: A partner, not a sidekick
Reporter Isobel Blake was assigned to cover a project that Robert Morgan was running. Things got out of control when a super villain attacked, leaving her severely injured. Lash discovered her at the brink of death, and recalled something the Old Man of the Pyramid had said: He called upon the Old Man and pleaded with him to save the girl’s life.
The Old Man agreed that the woman was worthy of a gift similar to Lash’s, and presented her with a mystic anklet. The Old Man then disappeared, only saying that it was now Lash’s turn to help her. Lash thought about this and then tried something he had never considered before — using his electric powers to heal. Exercising the most careful application of energy, he channeled his electricity through the anklets and healed Isobel’s wounds!
The electric jolt from Lash also gifted her with super-speed, the power of flight and the ability to blast blinding electric sparks. Her mystic anklet harnessed these powers, which, when activated, turns into a pair of golden greaves (legging armor). Now she goes by the name of Dash Lightning, and serves as Lash’s partner in his mission to make New Cairo, Florida, safe for its citizens.
Isobel has a taste for extreme adventure and is incredibly daring. Aside from being a reporter, she’s almost always the smartest person in the room and often finds herself leading the teams she’s joined.
Beyond Lash Lightning and Dash Lightning
The Lightning Armor: Lash and Dash now theorize that Lash’s super-powered armband and Dash’s anklet are just two parts of a set of mystic Lightning Armor that the Old Man of the Pyramids is slowly doling out. What else is there left? Perhaps a chest piece, a tunic, a belt and a helmet? Is there a shield and sword also associated with the Lightning Armor? It could be!
New Cairo, Florida: New Cairo sits on the Gulf Coast of Florida, just south of St. Petersburg. Its a hotbed of tourist activity and also one of the best places to live in the region. It has a large industrial base, plenty of people and, as a result, a lot of trouble with crime! And the sunny, beachside climate is also the perfect place for superheroes that basically wear swimsuits!
The Greater Alligator: One crime boss who’s always causing trouble for Lash Lightning and Dash Lightning is the Greater Alligator! This green-skinned man-monster is practically invulnerable, super strong and a vicious criminal who has a habit of escaping from Lash and Dash.
The Old Man of the Pyramid: This magical wizard sometimes appears when Dash or Lash ask for his guidance, but sometimes does not. He’s wise and highly skilled in magic, but also quite mysterious. No one really knows who he is, or why he’s helping Lash and Dash.
The New Cairo Eye: Isobel works for the New Cairo Eye, a newspaper and website with an international appeal. Beyond its normal reporting, it also has a strong focus on “News of the Weird,” and it actively seeks out these sensational story because more and more, they turn out to be true!
The American Aces: When the threats are big enough, Lash and Dash join together with other U.S. based heroes to form — The American Aces! This super team has helped defend the nation and the Earth from powerful threats deriving from distant galaxies and dimensions untold!
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