THE LEAGUE OF CHALLENGER-HATERS

Updated On: March 18, 1999

Who? Who? Who are the League of Challenger-Haters?

Strangely enough, the League of Challenger-Haters failed to make an appearance in DC's Who's Who series, despite having appeared at least four times as a group (one of these times was even a three-issue story that crossed over into Doom Patrol!) as well as having appeared in stories by themselves before joining the League. This, then, is their history.

That up there is Volcano Man. We'll get to him in a minute.

But before we deal with the League's lesser lights, let's first turn our attention to the most well-known member of the League: Multi-Man!

No, no, not *that* Multi-Man. I refer, instead, to the Multi-Man who later went on to such great feats as being a member of the Injustice League and Justice League Antarctica. That Multi-Man! Remember him?

Yes, that's him on the right. Now, let me tell you a story, a story about a man who has the power to come back from the dead, each time with a new power. Does this sound familiar?

Aaaargh! No, not Resurrection Man! Decades before Resurrection Man, there was another character with this power. There are those that like to think that Resurrection Man has a unique and unusual power; fewer know that his power is not unique, not original.

MULTI-MAN

Selected quotes: "World, meet your master! Ya Ha Ha!!"

"I don't play second fiddle to anybody--not when it comes to fighting the Challengers!"

"Boo! Ha, ha, ha!"

"Second rate? Losers? We'll see about that!"

"Yes! Yes! Yes! I see it! On another world, with a simpler, friendlier people--I could be king! So I'm free to blow Earth to pieces! Who cares--for we'll be watching the whole thing from an orchestra seat in space! Ha! Ha! We'll do it!"

"The Challengers! Okay, okay! So you caught us! But you wouldn't have if it hadn't been for that fool, Villo!" [or those meddling kids! :) ]

"Nevertheless, we shall be out of here in precisely 23 minutes! Correction-- 22 minutes and 45 seconds!"

"Goodbye, old foes! I--I'll miss you!"

"You have angered me-- a folly that will shortly prove fatal!"

"Dear friends-- We've just lost a loyal comrade I ask a minute's silence for his evil soul!"

Note that at first, Multi-Man was not the bald, pointy-eared fellow that most people think of when they think of Multi-Man. Originally, he had black hair and looked like a normal person. However, after transforming into his "big brain" form, that is how he would remain for most of his career. The comics of which I'm aware of him appearing in include: COTU#14,15, 24, 30?, 34, 40, 42, 45, 48, 55, 81, 84, (and possibly some others in the 80's) as well as Doom Patrol #102, Super-Team Family #10, and other modern comics of the Justice League variety, as well as the COTU miniseries and the DCU Holiday Bash III. If someone would like to fill in any missing issues, I'd appreciate it.

First appearing in Challengers of the Unknown (first series) #14, Duncan Pramble discovered and stole the secret of "liquid light". Jumping off a cliff, he "died", and gained powers. First, he gained powers with which he "could rule the sea", or so I'm told. Then he swam into a depth charge, and "died", gaining flight (and feathers). Eventually, he was imprisoned, after having his powers removed; this was a staple plot element of the Challengers' battles with Multi-Man: they always seemed able to remove the powers that he gained after dying, but of course they never removed his ability to gain new powers when he died.

In COTU #15, we catch up with Duncan Pramble in jail. With the help of a smuggled bomb, he dies again, and escapes from jail with his newfound powers (and costume!). He now has super-strength and invulnerability. His costume (where do these costumes come from?) now consists of a green sleeveless shirt and green briefs.The shirt has a yellow-flame design (as if his belt were on fire), and this design is on the back of his shirt as well, where it extends onto the rear of his briefs as well. His shoes are hard to make out, but seem to be greyish shoes and socks or else very short boots with horizontal stripes. Multi-Man easily escapes from jail, bending bars and bouncing bullets off his chest. He smashes through the main gates, only to run into the Challengers who were planning to check up on him. He rips off the front portion (the jointed beams connected to the scoop) of a steam shovel and uses it as a weapon against the Challs who manage to survive, but fail to track him as he escapes to meet up with his secret benefactor (who smuggled in the bomb). This benefactor seeks Multi-Man's help in stealing all the parts of a golden turtle statue which is a clue to the location of a great treasure. To steal one part, Multi-Man rips through an electric fence which causes him to feel nothing more than a mere tickling. He then rips through a wall to get a safe containing one of the turtle parts.

To obtain the final part of the turtle statue, Multi-Man and his benefactor (the only name he is given is Gurk) fly to a temple of a tribe "far south of here". With Multi-Man's strength, Gurk easily gains the last piece of the statue and sneaks away (to avoid paying Multi-Man). The Challs then show up and use the last of their antidote to remove his powers (which also restores his clothing to his normal white T-shirt and blue pants). The Challs split up, two seeking Gurk while the others guard Multi-Man.

Well, Multi-Man makes a break for it and the natives bring him down with a spear. Big Mistake! He dies and is reborn. He now has his familiar "big brain" form, and is wearing a pale blue T-shirt and red shorts. As Multi-Man later tells Gurk, "It is my final change, for no longer is the odd, tingling sensation with me-- the sensation that always informed me I had another life in store! But I now possess the greatest of all powers-- BRAIN power!" Multi-Man would turn out to be wrong about not having any more lives, but it is true that he would (generally) remain in "big brain" form the rest of his days. After the Challs capture him again, Prof laments, "The antidote we used was the last! Does that mean Multi-Man will retain his current form and never change?" to which Ace replies, "Yes-- but it houses a brain, I'm afraid, that is going to cause plenty of trouble in the future!" This too would turn out to be reversed; the Challs would later have plenty of antidote (depending on the story, sometimes it might require hard (but possible) to gain components), but the antidote would never undo the "big brain" form. Possibly there was a time limit with each form, requiring that the antidote be delivered before it "stuck"; of course, this is mere speculation.

We see him in this big-brain form in COTU#24, where he has developed pellets (which he carries in a bag) which allow him to change to new forms at will. The red pellet changes him into a being of pure energy. A black pellet changed him back into the big-brain form. A green pellet changed him into his anti-gravity form (his head and torso both look like round moons, while his arms and legs are made of the same stuff), which he says could fly to the moon. He later also becomes a sponge creature. Using a mineral from a certain mountain, he is able to combine the big-brain, energy being, and anti-gravity forms. He also has a device that increases the range on his blast so that it can hit the moon. His plan is to go to the moon and threaten the Earth. However, Prof designed an antidote to the pellets, which he splashes onto Multi-Man, causing him to lose all these powers (except the big-brain ones), and plummet to this "death". He survives (still in big-brain form), but with amnesia.

In COTU #34, Multi-Man has launched a rocket out into space which can fire iron-destroying rays down onto Earth. The Challs find his hideout and battle him and Multi-Woman, until M-W turns on M-M. M-M escapes with the help of a smoke bomb, but she still manages to capture him. He attempts to destroy her with a built-in explosive charge, only to find that she had removed it. M-M escapes as the Challs destroy M-W. However, the Challs blow up his hideout and finish his iron disintegrator. During this story, he drinks his liquid light serum in order to change forms.

Then in COTU#40, he disguises himself as "Mr. Voodoo". At this point, he has become dwarf-sized as well as having the big-brain appearance. He has created a swarm of robot insects: a spider with a camera, several bees, some fireflies (with blinding light), and some flying catepillars which are capable of spinning cocoons of steel as well as creating webs with powerful glue on them.

Mr. Voodoo (he has a torso-covering face mask and his limbs are clad in white) has a handgun and a Ray-Gun (which emits a blinding light). As Multi-Man, he drinks a potion (different from the pellets?) to become the King of the Robot Insects, a weird looking insectoid form which can fly and which allows him to communicate mentally with his robot insects.

Then, in COTU#42, he joins the LoCH. When Multi-Man uses liquid light to become a giant, he is a gigantic version of his wimpy self, rather than the normal-physiqued giant that he became in #34. However, an electrical attack disrupts his molecular structure, causing him to shrink. Then, in COTU #45, he has shrunk even more, becoming superscrawny.

Then comes the trilogy of Doom Patrol #101, COTU #48, and Doom Patrol #102. Thanks to Lou Mougin at http://www.rpi.edu/~bulloj/Doom_Patrol/dp101.html for some of this info. Doom Patrol #101 merely leads into COTU #48, with a teaser featuring Ace calling the Patrol at the end of a story.

In COTU #48, the League is set free by the Challs in order to save Rocky from a "chemo-zooid" which is an ariticial life form in the shape of a rabbit that Multi-Man invented. After being freed, Multi-Man unleashes a horde of these rabbits upon the poor Challs, thereby giving the League a chance to really escape. Prof saves the Challs from this threat, but they pretend to be dead in order to find out what the Chall-Haters are up to. Multi-Man (after repairing Multi-Woman and creating a temporary immunity to water for Kra) leads the League in a plan to build an undersea base. When the Challs attack, Multi-Man uses his form-changing abilities (which seemed to have become more like Beast Boy's powers...I presume this is so that the battle(s) will have characters with similar abilities doing battle) to take on the form of a giant jellyfish (after becoming a green octopus), which stings the Challs, poisoning them mortally. Ace merely manages to get off a call to the Doom Patrol before collapsing; this is where the DP #101 teaser starts. Robotman (with help from Negative Man for transportation) attacks the League, first neutralizing Kra's water immunity, followed by battling Multi-Man who takes on the forms of a giant fish, a giant anenome, and finally the giant jellyfish. Robotman gets a sample of Multi-Man's jellyfish stinger so that the Chief can analyze an antidote. With the Challengers back to full strength and teamed with the Doom Patrol, all looks hopeless for our villains, until Multi-Man takes the Chief hostage and bargains for the League's freedom.

Side note: the League of Challenger-Haters make a perfect match for the Doom Patrol. Multi-Man vs. Beast Boy. Multi-Woman vs. Elasti-Girl. Kra vs. Robot Man. Drabny vs. Mento. Volcano Man vs. Negative Man. All that's lacking is a Chief character for the League of Challenger-Haters, but Multi-Man plays this role as well.

Later, in Doom Patrol #102, the two hero teams again team-up to stop the League.

Some of the forms that Multi-Man changes into in this issue (DP #102) include: a whale (which oddly enough has a Multi-Man face on the front of its head, as well as having normally-placed whale-eyes), a giant manta (with a Beast Boy-style human-head up front), a giant lobster, a giant rooster fish (the electric eel-thing pictured above), and (improbably enough) a school of fish which swims in a pattern designed to look like Multi-Man's head. Multi-Man surrenders in whale form when Beast Boy immobilizes him by transforming into a mass of barnacles which weigh Multi-Man down so that he can't move.

He later appears in COTU #55, where Kra says "How come you're using that liquid light formula to change your shape, Multi-Man? I thought you didn't need that any more?" to which M-M replies, "True, but my plan's last stage requires the most difficult change of all for me!" Apparently, he managed to do away with the limitation of having to drink the living light serum between #42 and #55. In fact, I don't think he drank it in issue #48 either; this might be the time when he stopped needing the serum.

This suggests that he now can change forms at will, but the liquid light formula makes his new forms even more powerful. He uses it to become an ice being but when he was covered in water, the water froze around him, trapping him.

COTU #55 also features the "death" of Red. When Red resurfaces with Multi-Man's powers, the Challs learn that Red did not die, but had amnesia, and so forth, and met up with Multi-Man who tried to trick Red. Red instead drank the liquid light serum that Multi-Man wanted Red to give him. Multi-Man remained imprisoned.

Multi-Man resurfaces again in Super-Team Family #10, which may be the final appearance of the League of Challenger-Haters. Kra and Volcano Man are still inactive, but Multi-Man has escaped. He travels to an island where a nuclear bomb is being tested. He survives, of course. Now capable of growing to giant size, he laughs in front of the camera and begins to dictate terms to the world. The Challs whip up another batch of antidote and head out to stop him. Unfortunately, it turns out that he also has the power to become insubstantial, capable of walking through walls. When June sprays him with the antidote, he dematerializes and the antidote has no effect. He then defeats the Challengers with a knockout gas which is contained in a Spidey-style sprayer hidden under his glove.

Then, in COTU#81, the Challs learn that he has built devices that let him grow quite large and teleport. When his devices were shut down, he "died" again, returning to his original Duncan Pramble form (i.e., he has hair again.). He seems to have no powers.

Then, in COTU#84, his powers are discovered. He has what Who's Who calls "telepathic powers." To be more specific, he has the ability to see distant sights and take control of the minds of others. He took control of Swamp Thing, and Deadman could not enter Swampy's body while Duncan controlled him. However, Deadman set up a "short circuit" (touching both Swampy and Duncan), causing Multi-Man to collapse. ("He has no brain damage, but his mind's gone.")

Then later in the JL books, he returned to his big-brain form (no explanation), and his only power seems to be manic-depressive mood swings. He showed up as well in the COTU miniseries, where he was not in his big brain form (no explanation); during this series, he was killed. He later reappeared in the JL books (in his usual big brain form), with no mention of his recent death. I hypothesize the true chronology is as follows: COTU#84, COTU mini-series, after his death he gains uncontrollable time travel powers, travels back to the JL book time-period, dies again, joins the Injustice League. He then shows up in the DC Holiday Bash III, in prison.

He would probably do well to kill himself again to get new (or any) powers, but likely has some psychological problems which prevent him from doing so. But he should still at least have his vast scientific knowledge and should be building phenomenally powerful devices, such as the next member of the Challenger-Haters:

MULTI-WOMAN

Multi-Woman was a later-comer to the Challenger-Haters, appearing in their second adventure. However, she, like all the Chall-Haters, had appeared in a previous story...well, sort of.

COTU #34 features the origin of Multi-Woman. Feeling lonely, Multi-Man creates a giant robot female to be his queen, believing that the UN will soon accede to his demands. He also uses his liquid light serum to gain new powers, allowing him to grow to giant size (the same size as Multi-Woman) as well as giving him a more normal physique (recall that this version of Multi-Man has tiny little arms and legs).

In addition, Multi-Man has given Multi-Woman the power to change forms just as he can (except without having to drink anything). This version of Multi-Woman does not yet have a beehive hairdo, but her hair is blue.

The forms that she demonstrates being able to turn into include a winged woman, a fish-woman, a burrowing tentacled thing, and a "fiery figure".

She finds Multi-Man attractive until he reverts to his tiny scrawny form. She turns against him and gets even madder when he tries to destroy her. (Imagine that!) With the help of the Challs, Multi-Man is able to destroy her, by creating an irresistable trap: a booby-trapped giant diamond necklace. Being a "dame," she can't resist putting on this necklace when she finds it; however the diamond is really "a giant crystal--the target of this ultrasonic unit!" Since she is in contact with the crystal, she begins to shake violently until she blows up.

In COTU#45, the second Multi-Woman arrives, having been built by Multi-Man in secret. This version (as is true for all later versions) has a bee-hive hairdo, but lacks the form-changing power of the original. She is destroyed, but she is repaired again in COTU #48 in a story that continues into Doom Patrol #102, where she is defeated (but not destroyed) by Elasti-Girl. She appears again in COTU#55. She is about thirty feet tall. If she made any other appearances, I am ignorant of them. Current whereabouts: unknown.

Selected quotes: "Try to destroy me, will you? You'll die for that!"

"That is not the way to treat my ally! Now dance, puppet! Dance! Before this parachute becomes your funeral shroud!"

KRA, King of the Robots

That's Kra above, being hit in the side by Rocky. Perhaps I should have put him first in my list of Challenger-Haters, since it was he who assembled the group. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

His army of robots was defeated by the Challs on Robot Planet [COTU#8]. While in jail awaiting his trial, he read up on the Challengers. He was sentenced to exile to a planet of his choice; desiring revenge, he chose Earth. He previously had the ability to teleport through space, but this ability was removed when he was exiled; however, he is still able to teleport anywhere on Earth. Upon his arrival, he began to form the League of Challenger-Haters. First, he broke Drabny out of jail and stole Drabny's helmet from a laboratory. Kra then sent Drabny to free Volcano Man from where he had been buried under rock. It was Kra who invented the Thermo Belt that Drabny then gave to Volcano Man in order to regulate his heat. He also apparently contacted Multi-Man as well. After a brief argument over leadership, Kra led the Chall-Haters in a plan to divide and conquer the Challs, which naturally failed. All of this takes place in COTU#42, after which the Chall-Haters are imprisoned in Challenger Mountain.

Kra was seen as a member of the League again in COTU#45, 48 and 55, as well as Doom Patrol #102. Lacking COTU #8, I have no information about "the alien robots". Kra was knowledgable about other planets, though, knowing that the League could just go elsewhere if they chose to destroy the Earth. In COTU #45, he loses the leadership of the League, when Multi-Man's creation Multi-Woman frees the League. In COTU #48, Multi-Man has invented a temporaty immunity to water for Kra, but Robotman eliminates this immunity. Kra's alien science is responsible for the League's attempt to revive an army of Atlanteans to do their bidding in Doom Patrol #102. It is suggested (though not stated) that he was the one to supply the army with their fabulous rayguns; the only other likely candidate would be Multi-Man. However, Robotman tricks Kra into using his great strength to smash his own leg off! In COTU #55, however, he seems to have been repaired.

Selected quotes: "You Challengers are about as funny as a blown gasket!"

"Arrgh! Oof! Ugggh!"

"I am KRA--KING OF THE ROBOTS--constructed and programmed to think for myself!"

"Those pesky CHALLENGERS will rue the day the came to my world, Robot Planet, and stymied my robot revolution!"

"I'll disassemble the atoms of my super-duper iron body and reassemble them elsewhere!"

"Okay, Multi-Man--if you don't want to join us, WE'LL have all the fun in clobbering the CHALLENGERS!"

"I am no ordinary robot! I am KING of robots!"

"How kind of you--my rock-headed, ape-faced friend!"

"Don't let this metal shell of mine fool you! The robots of my world are so complicated, we have the emotions of a human! Kiss me, big girl!"

"But freezing is no threat to me! I've got dry carbon lubricants and an electronic brain insulated against any temperature! Here I go!"

VOLCANO MAN

In COTU #27, the Challs investigate the legends of a Volcano Man. The legend seems to be true when the Challs encounter a Volcano Man, but it turns out to be the creation of a scientist who is trying to scare people away by using the legend of the Volcano Man combined with his own synthetically-created Volcano Men. One Volcano Man went rogue, but the scientist soon fixes his Volcano Man-controlling machine. The Challs are only saved when the "real" Volcano Man, upon whom the legends are based, arrives and battles with the smaller, artificially-created ones. Soon, the scientist's plans for world-domination are ruined.

In COTU #32, the Challs encounter two Volcano Men who merge into one. One of the Challs tries using a CO2 fire extinguisher on Volcano Man, but the CO2 is "baked into a solid". When liquid oxygen is used on him, there is an explosion (affecting Challs and Volcano Man alike-- a little.) When immersed in water, Volcano Man suffers pain briefly, then recovers from the initial shock. The Challs beat him by using bursts of liquid oxygen near Volcano Man to keep the CO2 cool enough that it won't bake. Volcano Man is covered in CO2 foam and crumbles into a pile of hot ashes. In COTU #34, Drabny digs through tons of volcanic rock to find Volcano Man, not dead after all. Presumably this story relates to the Volcano Man in COTU #27, not the merged pair from COTU #34. He is given his Thermo Belt (invented by Kra) by Drabny. Volcano Man joins the LoCH. Then, in COTU#45, Volcano Man escapes with them. He is also in COTU #48, Doom Patrol #102, and COTU #55. He is about 15 feet tall.

Selected quotes: "Hisss!"

"Sssssss!"

"Ssssss?"

Drabny

What can I say about this guy? What a loser. His helmet was one of 3 items created by ancient alchemists that Drabny found and stole in COTU #8. The other two were a youth serum (makes you about 15-20 years younger for a few hours), and a pair of goggles that allowed him to study and duplicate the technology of the future. For instance, with the help of the goggles, he built several vehicles he called "Star Cars", which had magnetic powers; the cars supposedly had other weapons as well, but Drabny was defeated before he got to use any of them. Since they were created by alchemists, it's possible that the helmet and goggles are actually occult artifacts, but they look like high-tech gadgets.

In COTU #42, he is seen in a flashback to COTU#8 in which he used his helmet to control the elements, in particular, to open up the ground beneath the Challs. He is also able to use it to burrow through the floor of his cell and to disintegrate "tons of lava rock". Before Kra breaks Drabny out of jail, Kra also liberates Drabny's helmet. The goggles and serum are nowhere to be seen.

In addition, he is seen using his helmet to telekinetically lift an ocean liner. He joined the LoCH in COTU#42, and was seen again in COTU#45. He is the only normal-sized member of the League. In COTU #48, he is killed when he returns to a booby-trapped undersea HQ. Is he the only recurring Chall foe to be killed? How pathetic. The other Chall-Haters continue on into Doom Patrol #102 and COTU #55.

On the other hand, we never see a body and the League only *presumes* that Drabny is dead...

Selected quotes: "Show them the awesome power of Drabny! Show the world my power!"

"You fellows are one big heart! And some day I'm gonna cut it out!"

"I don't blame you, large lady! You don't want a lover who combs his hair with 3-in-1 oil! You want a REAL man--like ME! And here I am!"

"I said I'd gamble against this thing for a crack at freedom! But this is no gamble-- it's GUARANTEED DEATH! Ayeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Go ahead and laugh! But I promise you, we'll have the LAST laugh some day...right in your ugly face!"

Other Potential Members:

Villo (the world's vilest villain) tried to join the Chall-Haters in COTU #55, but he was rejected, naturally enough, being only an ordinary guy with delusions of grandeuer. The Chall-Haters, however, were quite interested in his computer, Brainex. Villo, however, wasn't about to let Brainex go without him, though! Back at his villa (yes, Villo has a villa!), this conversation took place:

Villo: And -- uhhh -- I hate to tell you this, but they said I could be their leader -- if I dumped you! That Kra creep-- he's probably jealous of you!

Brainex: Why, that nasty little automaton!

Villo: But I told 'em where to get off! I said, "I'm loyal! I go where Brainex goes!"

Brainex: Touching, old shoe! I never thought you had that much comradeship in you! Truly touching!

However, earlier, the conversation had been just the opposite, Villo stating that "[Brainex is] loyal! He goes where I go!"

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