Tag Archives: Australian superheroes

September 17, 2019 · 11:37 am

DOCTOR MENSANA: AUSTRALIAN SUPERHERO

One of Balladeer’s Blog’s biggest hits was my examination of Australian-made comic book heroes like Dark Nebula, Vixen, Crimson Comet, Niteside and the super-team called the Southern Squadron. Here’s another, and for my full look at Aussie super-types click HERE

Doctor Mensana

Dr Mensana in one of his two super-powered forms.

DOCTOR MENSANA 

Debut Year: 1941 

Secret Identity: None. He openly used his real name, but the public often tagged him with nicknames like “the Samson of science” or “the man of Mind Plus.”

Origin: Sporting both an MD and a PhD the good Doctor Mensana used his unrivaled genius to create pills which could make him super-strong AND endow him with telepathic powers in addition to even greater intelligence than he already possessed. 

Powers: When our hero swallowed one of his M-Plus (M+) or Mind-Plus pills his already formidable brilliance was multiplied many times over. His cranium would grow and he would also boast telepathic and psionic powers. When Dr Mensana swallowed one of his S-Plus (S+) or Strength-Plus pills he would instantly bulk up with muscles and possess incredible super-strength. Continue reading →

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October 22, 2016 · 5:37 pm

TOP FOUR SUPERHERO PANTHEONS COVERED AT BALLADEER’S BLOG

australian-superheroesWith superhero Cosplay rivalling monster themes for Halloween these days I figured it was a good time to showcase the various superhero pantheons that Balladeer’s Blog has examined in a style similar to my mythology posts.

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Dark NebulaAUSTRALIAN SUPERHEROES

Sampling: Vixen – She’s part human and part fox … The Jackaroo – Picture a costumed Crocodile Dundee … The Technocrat – She’s a mutant technopath with a flying rocket-skateboard … The Southern Squadron – Australia’s home-made team of superheroes.  

Top Hero On List: Dark Nebula – A cosmic and mystical hero whose adventures combine science fiction and the supernatural, like Doctor Strange meets Green Lantern. 

Comment: For this list I went ONLY with superheroes created by Australian writers and artists and published in Australia.

FOR THE OTHER AUSTRALIAN HEROES CLICK HERE  Continue reading →

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July 30, 2016 · 3:00 pm

DOCTOR MENSANA: AUSTRALIAN SUPERHERO

One of Balladeer’s Blog’s biggest hits of 2015 was my examination of Australian-made comic book heroes like Dark Nebula, Vixen, Crimson Comet, Niteside and the super-team called the Southern Squadron. Here’s another, and for my full look at Aussie super-types click HERE

Doctor Mensana

Dr Mensana in one of his two super-powered forms.

DOCTOR MENSANA 

Debut Year: 1941 

Secret Identity: None. He openly used his real name, but the public often tagged him with nicknames like “the Samson of science” or “the man of Mind Plus.”

Origin: Sporting both an MD and a PhD the good Doctor Mensana used his unrivaled genius to create pills which could make him super-strong AND endow him with telepathic powers in addition to even greater intelligence than he already possessed. 

Powers: When our hero swallowed one of his M-Plus (M+) or Mind-Plus pills his already formidable brilliance was multiplied many times over. His cranium would grow and he would also boast telepathic and psionic powers. When Dr Mensana swallowed one of his S-Plus (S+) or Strength-Plus pills he would instantly bulk up with muscles and possess incredible super-strength. Continue reading →

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October 11, 2015 · 5:34 am

AUSTRALIAN SUPERHERO PANTHEON

With superhero movies dominating the box office and superhero cosplay starting to dominate Halloween there’s no better time for Balladeer’s Blog to examine Australia’s greatest superheroes.    

Dark NebulaDARK NEBULA

Debut Year: 1982

Secret Identity: Mark Medula, an astronaut in Australia’s fictional space program.

Origin: Returning from a flight to Mars, Colonel Mark Medula docked at the Threshold Space Station, which had just been seized by the alien warlord Cerellus.

Medula tried to stop Cerellus and the resulting chaos killed Medula’s body, but, amid all the cosmic energies being unleashed, that body became inhabited by both Cerellus’ soul and Medula’s soul.

Mark Medula’s body gained incredible superpowers and went on to battle Earthly and interplanetary menaces as the superhero called Dark Nebula. Cerellus often challenged Mark for control of their shared body, further complicating Dark Nebula’s adventures. 

Powers: Dark Nebula has super strength and can fly, both in space and in a planet’s atmosphere. He is invulnerable and wields a combination of potent cosmic energy and dark mystical energy. Those combined scientific/ supernatural forces can be used to fire Darkfire energy beams from his hands and employ force fields. He also has psionic abilities like telepathy and ESP.  

Comment: Dark Nebula’s adventures combine the cosmic head-trips of Jim Starlin’s Adam Warlock/ Magus storyline with some of the surreal mysticism of Dr Strange at his best.

Dark Nebula Southern SquadronArguably the greatest Dark Nebula story arc was the one where he was off in deep space having a “deep” adventure while back on Earth his archenemy the Grandstander (Think of the Joker but with powers on Sinestro’s level at least) was impersonating him to ruin his reputation.

It endangered his marriage, too, since his wife had no idea why the man she thought was her husband never came home anymore after his public escapades. When Dark Nebula at last returned to Earth he had to tangle with the Aussie superteam the Southern Squadron who were out to bring him down for the crimes the Grandstander had framed him for.

When the misunderstanding was finally straightened out the Southern Squadron joined forces with Dark Nebula to tackle the Grandstander. This crossover was as much a milestone in Australia as the Avengers/ Defenders War in the 1970s was in the U.S.   Continue reading →

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