Captain Wonder (Timely Comics)


Captain Wonder is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was first published by Timely Comics, the forerunner of Marvel Comics during the period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. He is a superhero who possesses the power of super strength. He first appeared in Kid Komics #1 and #2.

Publication history

The character appeared on the cover of Kid Komics #1, but by #2 he had faded into the shadow cast by the Young Allies. He disappeared altogether in issue #3.
He returned in The Twelve.

Fictional character biography

Accounts differ on how exactly Captain Wonder got his powers, but the basic story is that Professor Jordan invented a miracle drug that gave the user the strength of twelve men. A young man named Tim Mulrooney somehow ended up at his laboratory, where the Professor was to show him the drug. However, there was an accident in which the vial containing the drug was dropped, causing Tim and Jordan to pass out, with Tim saving Jordan's life. When they awoke, Jordan had superhuman strength, and Tim may or may not have had the same power. Jordan decided to use his powers as a superhero, fighting crime and the Nazis. He took Tim as his sidekick.

The Twelve

Captain Wonder is among the heroes who fought the Nazis at the end of World War II and while searching a base, was captured and put in suspended animation.
When they are awoken 60 years later, Captain Wonder is one of the two who discover that it is the 21st Century. He also discovers that his wife died 20 years earlier and his two sons were killed in the Vietnam War. Later he meets his old sidekick, now an old man who commits suicide rather than die from cancer. Captain Wonder is badly burnt when fighting Dynamic Man.

Powers and abilities

Captain Wonder had, at one time, been described as having "the strength of twelve men." This power level has clearly been revised in modern times, since Captain Wonder has recently demonstrated sufficient strength and flying power to carry a damaged space shuttle, an object with thousands of tons of mass.

Appearances