DC's Low Level Powered Heroes Appreciation

[Agent Z]

Often there are two types of DC heroes which get attention; the high level, physical gods like Superman, Wonder Woman and Captain Atom and the non-powered vigilantes like Batman. This a thread for the middle ground. The type of superpowered heroes who are above human but not on the same level as the likes of Superman.

To start with:

Acrata aka Andrea Rojas




Created by: Oscar Pinto, Francisco Haghenbeck (writer). Giovanni Barberi (artist).

First appearance: Superman Annual (vol.) 2 #12 (August 2000).

Powers and Abilities: Acrata's powers came from an ancient Mayan symbol which represents the shadows in the night, which allows her to teleport whenever in shadow. It is unknown how Andrea came into possession of the symbol. She is also a talented hand-to-hand fighter.

[Vakanai]

Oh, I love me some more middle-powered guys and gals, but I don't really know much about them from DC's side (Marvel's mid-tier heroes like Spider-Man seem much more known). Definitely going to keep my eyes open on this thread in the hopes of discovering some more of these characters.

[Shockingjustice]

RCO040.jpg
I started reading the power company, and a lot of the cast has some unique powersets. This guy isn't necessarily one of them be he is still pretty cool.

[Korath]

How do we define "middle-ground" ? Are low-level meta powers who doesn't affect the physical abilities of the character (like The Silencer Zone of Silence or The Signal ability to see past and future light) in this category or are they still "non-powered" since their physical abilities are not enhanced ?

In any case, I'll nominate Sideways (Derek James) :



Enhanced strength and durability plus ability to open portals between places and dimensions (such as the Dark Multiverse).

[Agent Z]

How do we define "middle-ground" ? Are low-level meta powers who doesn't affect the physical abilities of the character (like The Silencer Zone of Silence or The Signal ability to see past and future light) in this category or are they still "non-powered" since their physical abilities are not enhanced ?

In any case, I'll nominate Sideways (Derek James) :



Enhanced strength and durability plus ability to open portals between places and dimensions (such as the Dark Multiverse).

When I say middle ground I mean stuff like low level super strength, invisibility or metal skin.

I feel Sideways is too powerful to qualify but Silencer would.

[Vakanai]

When I say middle ground I mean stuff like low level super strength, invisibility or metal skin.

I feel Sideways is too powerful to qualify but Silencer would.

I don't know, I feel like despite having powers people like Silencer are still more street level. So not non-powered, but low-powered as opposed to middle-powered. I'd consider Spider-Man from Marvel as like the icon for middle-tiered guys, and Sideways feels more in that league to me maybe (just as an outsider, haven't read Sideways books). But that's just me.

[Agent Z]

I don't know, I feel like despite having powers people like Silencer are still more street level. So not non-powered, but low-powered as opposed to middle-powered. I'd consider Spider-Man from Marvel as like the icon for middle-tiered guys, and Sideways feels more in that league to me maybe (just as an outsider, haven't read Sideways books). But that's just me.

I did say in my comment that Silencer qualifies as street level.

[Tzigone]

Does Elongated Man count? His powers don't sound that impressive, and it's been a while since he got any consistent attention, and he certainly never had his own title. I love old-school Ralph. Not so much the post-COIE or even later pre-COIE era when people (including his previously loving wife) started treating him like a joke, and he sometimes acted like a pathetic idiot (as, to be fair, did quite a number of characters on that Justice League team roster).

[j9ac9k]

RCO040.jpg
I started reading the power company, and a lot of the cast has some unique powersets. This guy isn't necessarily one of them be he is still pretty cool.

I think pretty much everyone in Power Company qualifies for this thread.

There are a bunch of Legionnaires that totally qualify, but amongst my favs are:
-- Dawnstar
-- Timberwolf
-- Princess Projectra
-- Phantom Girl

Okay, I will stop or I'm just going to name almost every Legionnaire

[lemonpeace]

Duke Thomas; Signal

Created by: Scott Snyder (writer). Greg Capullo (artist).

First appearance: Batman Vol 2 #21 (August 2013).

Powers and Abilities: Duke is a metahuman with photo-kinetic vision, his eyes can absorb light faster than normal humans and he can then manipulate the way he processes light. He can see beyond the visible light spectrum, detecting changes and variations in light that other people can't, he can see a few minutes into the past by looking at the "ghosts" of where light has hit the objects in his vicinity, and he can glimpse into the future by seeing where light will be. This plus his training with Batman and the former Robins makes Duke a pretty formidable hand-to-hand fighter; or well, they should. His ability makes him just about superhuman but soundly street/low level.

[lemonpeace]

When I say middle ground I mean stuff like low level super strength, invisibility or metal skin.

I feel Sideways is too powerful to qualify but Silencer would.

not really, he and Silencer both about have the same level of strength, Sideways is probably more durable, but they are pretty even physically. Sideways' only really "high-level" ability is his rifts but I wouldn't say they make him more than lower-mid tier. He's more or less if Miles Morales got cloak's cloak instead of his invisibility and venom blast.

[Agent Z]

Tula aka Aquagirl



Created by: Bob Hany and Nick Cardy.

First Appearance: Aquaman vol. 1 #33 (May–June 1967).

Powers and abilities: Adapted for breathing underwater and resisting deep-sea-level pressure. Possesses super strength, speed, agility and toughness.

[Agent Z]

Cynthia Reynolds (They really need to come up with a better, non-racist code name).

First Appearance: Justice League of America Annual #2 (October 1984)

Created by: Gerry Conway and Chuck Patton

Powers and abilities: Illusion casting, precognition, expert in armed and unarmed combat.

[titanfan]

Gypsy was a character that's slowly been up-powered as she's gained popularity.

The Projectionist from Stormwatch (media control/manipulation) for me is one of my faves.

Bumblebee as well.

[Kaijudo]

The Swashbuckler - Only appeared one time but I dug him. He was the Golden Age Vigilante's nephew.

Vigilante-Batman-DC-Comics-Houston-h1.jpg