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.

[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.

[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.

[Sutekh]

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

The Legion is great for that, since it was originally designed as a team, and not assembled from a bunch of standalone characters who (often) had multiple powers and could 'solo' most threats. Having anywhere from three to twenty-five people on hand, there was always room for people with just one super-power, and a wonky one like 'draws mass from the stars to make stuff super-heavy' or 'can see the future in her dreams.'

Still the League, Titans and Outsiders have had various characters with only one power, or a power of limited utility, like Jericho or Gypsy or Black Lightning (although that latter's gotten a ton of power-ups, from his original 'dude who can throw lightning' appearances).

Beast Boy/Changeling is pretty low-powered (when he can't freely turn into gigantic dinosaurs, anyway!). Wolfman/Perez era Raven, limited to self-teleportation, some healing, and a soul-self that could incapacitate someone by draining their aggression and leaving them stuporous, as well (cartoon Raven might as well be a Green Lantern or Jean Grey, since she can create darkness 'constructs', fly, throw things around telekinetically, etc.). Pre-Justice League/Mother Box, Cyborg was pretty middle-ground, as well, with Kid Flash and Donna Troy perhaps being the biggest guns on that team (and most of Wally's power lying in his future, after he takes over the Flash mantle after Barry's death).

The All-Star Squadron / Justice Society was an odd mixed bag, there. Lots of two-fisted adventurers like Wildcat, Dr. Midnite, Tarantula, the Atom, the Sandman, etc. who had minimal or no powers, and then some ridiculous powerhouses like Dr. Fate, Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt and the Specter, who could do just about anything. But a few in between, like Air Wave or Amazing Man or Firebrand, who were kind of mid-tier, and not exactly powerhouses.

[Agent Z]

Lorena Marquez aka Aquagirl II



Created by: Will Pfiefer (writer) and Patrick Gleason (artist)

First appearance: Aquaman vol. 6 #16 (May 2004)

Powers and Abilities: Enhanced strength, speed, agility and durability. Good detective skills. Semi-proficient in hand-to-hand combat.