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Post by dans on Sept 13, 2021 0:49:23 GMT
Anyone know anything about the "creature called 'Number 99'" from the Sentinels of Magic story? I'm thinking the Heap from Airboy, except it can talk. Is there any other backstory? Where did the name come from?
This is what I culled from the Sentinels story:
The creature called Number 99 sat in a heap on a bench as his comrades went through their rituals. Bilious eyes peered from under a pile of moss it used for hair. It moves by shuffling, without legs. It loves to fly. It can fall from great heights, splash apart, and then reform itself. It can communicate with plants and speak English. It has treelike arms and blunt fists, and is nine feet tall...
And since we're on the subject of the Sentinels of Magic, is there any backstory for the rest of the team?
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Post by DocQuantum on Sept 13, 2021 3:16:37 GMT
The team isn't a complete blank slate, but almost. From what I can gather, the Sentinels are closely associated with the U.S. Military, and thus their individual origins might be based in the war.
In my mind Number 99 was a U.S. Army Air Force pilot who was downed on a Pacific island early in the war (perhaps killed on the Bataan Peninsula in early 1942) and came back to life as a swamp creature who can't remember his previous life at all, and the only legible numbers left on his badly damaged dog tag was the number 99.
I've also had this weird idea that most of the members of the Sentinels might have appeared in one-off stories from G.I. Combat, Our Army at War, and other battle mags, but I haven't looked to hard if I can find any that might match up.
EDIT: There is a character who visually appears the same as Number 99 who appeared in Weird War Tales #3, and was the narrator for several reprint stories, and also appeared in a framing story with a few downed pilots whom he tells the story to. The ending of the framing story indicates he might have been real or could have been a figment of their imagination. The only real difference is that Number 99 didn't appear to talk much, while the Weird War Tales #3 seaweed creature was very loquacious.
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Post by DocQuantum on Sept 13, 2021 3:25:39 GMT
One of the members of the Parliament of Trees looks like the Heap, too, but this can't be the same being as Number 99, who was destroyed on Grim Island. Still, that wouldn't preclude similar backgrounds.
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Post by dans on Sept 13, 2021 21:57:35 GMT
One of the Sentinels is named Roland DiGrasso, the Stainless Steel Cat. I believe both his names are based on James Bolivar diGriz, the Stainless Steel Rat, from the series by Harry Harrison. diGriz did not have super powers, though, so the Cat's power set is unique to him. It is going to be tough fitting a deadly cat creature into a super hero story... it is fine when he runs around shredding demons with his claws, but shredding even enemy soldiers is not appealing to me...
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Post by DocQuantum on Sept 13, 2021 23:09:39 GMT
Pretty sure the name doesn’t indicate any connection with that sci-fi series. He’s based on Wildcat, so I’d expect him to be good with his knuckles and always fights fair. Don’t think he’s a crazy slasher-type killer or anything. Think 1940s comics instead of Wolverine.
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Post by dans on Sept 13, 2021 23:50:38 GMT
I just think that's where the name came from, not the concept. He has diamond hard claws and he slashed demons to shreds. That doesn't mean he has to act that way against humans.
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Post by dans on Mar 11, 2024 19:16:58 GMT
On to another Sentinel of Magic. From prior discussions we have come up with these potential characterizations of Number 99 (these are copied from earlier posts about Number 99): an earth elemental like Swamp Thing, a U.S. Army Air Force pilot who died in flames to rise again as the muck monster of his age
was apparently an American serviceman who died in a swamp somewhere in the Pacific or Southeast Asia and then was somehow magically converted into a swamp creature. Think 'the Heap', but he can talk, although he doesn't talk much. Buried in the vegetation where his neck would be, if he had a neck, are the remains of some GI dog tags. Most of the lettering on the tags is corroded and illegible, but there are two number 9 digits that can still be read.
Not all of these characteristics came from the sparse information in the only Sentinels of Magic story; this is what it said about Number 99: "The creature called Number 99 sat in a heap on a bench as his comrades went through their rituals. Bilious eyes peered from under a pile of moss it used for hair. It moves by shuffling, without legs. It loves to fly. It can fall from great heights, splash apart, and then reform itself. It can communicate with plants and speak English. It has treelike arms and blunt fists, and is nine feet tall..." No mention of dog tags or being a pilot or the crash occurring overseas. But the dog tags idea is great and adds a lot of mystery to the character. The rest of this post has been superseded. I missed the entry in the Earth 1 time line that stated that the American pilot who became #99 was shot down over Okinawa in 1943. [But does he have to crash overseas? For a short time in 1934, the Army Air Corps was called upon to fill in for the Post Office in the wake of the Air Mail Scandal.
(Air Mail Scandal: in 1934, the Post Office rewarded selected major airlines with air mail delivery contracts in return for kickbacks, which kept smaller airlines from bidding and raised the price of air mail in general. This practice was stopped after a Senate review of the process. President Roosevelt cancelled all these contracts and instructed the US Air Corps to take over, beginning in February, but that ended in fiasco by May.)
During that short time there were numerous crashes of Air Corps planes and at least 13 fatalities. Perhaps one of these crashes occurred in a swamp and that's where Number 99 came from?
Alternatively, Army Air Corps pilots were active in the South Seas all through the 1930s but how did a 9 foot tall shambling mound of vegetation get back to the States to become a member of the Sentinels of Magic?]
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Post by dans on Mar 11, 2024 20:23:59 GMT
From Sudowrite: The legend of Number 99 dates back to a fateful event that occurred in the year 1943. On a seemingly ordinary day, a brave pilot from the US Air Corps embarked on a nighttime combat mission over the Okinowa Islands. Little did he know, this journey would mark his final one. The pilot proudly noted his call sign 'Niner' painted on the side of his P40 Tomahawk as he made final preparations for the first combat mission to be flown from their new hidden 'Acorn' airfield. The island they were stationed on, deep within the Japanese naval perimeter, had been transformed from a quiet oasis to a small airfield. It had been a chore getting the base built - most of the construction had been done by hand, and all the construction materials had been ferried in by submarine, while the P40 Tomahawks the unit was flying had been carried as close as possible on a naval aircraft carrier and flown in at night. He would never forget how scary his first carrier landing had been! But finally, today had arrived - they night they put all their hard work to the test! Niner couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and excitement as he thought about the hard work that had gone into building this top secret base. He carefully checked every inch of his Tomahawk, wishing for the arrival of the newer P51 Mustangs with their longer range and superior capabilities. But for now, they would have to make do with what they had - and Niner knew they were up against formidable enemies. But at least, they had enough of the new, experimental fuel that was expected to double their flying range! Today's mission was to seek out and destroy Japanese air forces over Okinawa. As he climbed into the cockpit, Niner couldn't help but feel a surge of confidence and cockiness - they were better pilots than the enemy, after all. As long as they stayed sharp and worked together as a team, they could overcome any challenges thrown their way. With a deep breath, Niner revved up his engine and prepared to take off into the unknown night skies above. The squad relied on their instruments to navigate to their target since it was after midnight. Despite many prior missions relying on instrument navigation, the pilots all breathed secret sighs of relief when they reached the shores. Perhaps because Okinawa was so far within the Japanese naval defensive perimeter, blackout regulations were not being strictly enforced, making it fairly easy for them to locate an airfield. The Japanese airmen were caught off guard when the Tomahawks flew low over the base, strafing the parked Zeroes and causing explosions and fires. Anti-aircraft guns eventually forced the attackers up and away while frantic pilots rushed to get the remaining planes into the air - but only two were still in flightworthy. They roared skyward, determined to get revenge for this sneak attack! The Tomahawk flight leader signaled for his squad to retreat back to their secret island base before the Zeros could pursue them. During their escape, Niner noticed his friend Boomer falling behind with smoke trailing from his plane. Without hesitation, Niner circled back to protect his friend. He spotted the two Zeros closing in on Boomer's plane and immediately engaged in a fierce dogfight with both of them. Though outnumbered and facing planes with superior aerial dogfighting capabilities, the Japanese pilots were not as skilled as Niner - their best pilots were on the front lines, not defending some base that had been rated (until now) as an extremely low probability target. Niner managed to take down one Zero and severely damage the other as his own plane became riddled with bullets and caught on fire. Despite his wounds and the damage that had destroyed his plane, Niner had successfully saved his friend, but he couldn't save himself. His burning plane crashed into a murky swamp on the island below. But even death could not stop this pilot from continuing on. His will to live was strong; his refusal to abandon his fellows transcended even death! His remains were absorbed by the surrounding vegetation, triggering a strange reaction. The plants mutated and fused with his former body, giving rise to a bizarre creature unlike anything ever seen before. Strange bilious eyes now peered out from under a mass of slimy moss, which had become its hair. It shambled awkwardly along the ground, its legs lost in the transformation process. Despite its grotesque appearance, this creature possessed newfound abilities that both fascinated and intrigued it. One of its most notable skills was the ability to break apart upon impact and seamlessly reassemble itself afterwards - a useful trait when avoiding predators. But perhaps most astonishingly, Number 99 had developed an unexpected form of communication. Not only could it speak English haltingly, but it also had the ability to communicate with plant life and understand their language. Standing an impressive nine feet tall, this creature was a true force to be reckoned with. Its arms resembled gnarled tree limbs and ended in blunt fists that could deliver devastating blows if provoked. Embedded within the tangled mess of vegetation where its neck should be are remnants of GI dog tags. Though most of the lettering has been corroded and rendered illegible, two digits stand out - number 9 repeated twice - as if trying to convey its identity in a world that had long forgotten it. This may resemble Number 99 slightly, although I think there is probably less definition in the leg area...
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Post by DocQuantum on Mar 11, 2024 20:55:49 GMT
Just curious. Why change the date to almost 10 years earlier than what's in the timeline?
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Post by DocQuantum on Mar 11, 2024 21:39:34 GMT
I checked my notes. Somehow this edit I made to the story back in 2010 accidentally got dropped, though I've had it on the timeline for quite a while:
"The creature had once been an American soldier -- a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force who was shot down in flames over the Okinawa Islands and later arose as something else entirely. Unable to remember the name it had in its previous life, this swamp thing was given the name of 99 by the only legible characters left on the mostly demolished dog tag it still wore around its moss-enshrouded neck."
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Post by dans on Mar 11, 2024 21:40:14 GMT
Totally missed that sorry. Thank you! Made a change in the ai-generated back-story; that answers the question about where it happened, too.
He must have mutated pretty quickly, though, as he went from a dead body decomposing in the swamp to becoming well enough known to be appointed a member of a super team in a matter of a few months. Should the dates maybe be moved a little farther apart? Maybe he crashed in mid-1942? Of course, swamp vegetation does grow really fast...
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Post by DocQuantum on Mar 11, 2024 22:02:28 GMT
If you look at Alec Holland, he became Swamp Thing almost immediately. Number 99 probably followed a similar model, which is fire, death, and the body left in a swamp. Burned up in the crash, his consciousness grew in the surrounding vegetation thanks to the unknown processes that create such plant elementals. He may have had similar adventures as Swamp Thing, too, being one of the ones from his era. He must have also met the Earth-1 version of the Heap as well, who is now a member of the Parliament of Trees, and was a German pilot named Albert Höllerer who died in World War II in 1942. One wonders if they would see each other as allies, being of the same kind, or as rivals?
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Post by dans on Mar 11, 2024 22:32:53 GMT
yeah, without knowing the time line I figured it would take 10 years or so to grow an elemental, so that's why I chose the date. It still seems to me that going from a totally unknown monster to a figure well enough known to the President to be recruited for the Sentinels in less than a year is pretty fast. He must have done some amazing things in Okinowa in a short time.
I think all natural plants 'feel' that all other plants are rivals rather than allies, since they compete so ruthlessly for resources. However, elementals with formerly human consciousnesses are probably different, and they may see each other as allies, since they are so alike and all the rest of the thinking beings in the world are so different.
I wonder if there is an Airboy/Heap story that could be retold about Number 99?
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Post by DocQuantum on Mar 11, 2024 23:01:07 GMT
I checked my notes. Somehow this edit I made to the story back in 2010 accidentally got dropped, though I've had it on the timeline for quite a while: "The creature had once been an American soldier -- a pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force who was shot down in flames over the Okinawa Islands and later arose as something else entirely. Unable to remember the name it had in its previous life, this swamp thing was given the name of 99 by the only legible characters left on the mostly demolished dog tag it still wore around its moss-enshrouded neck." During the same lost edit back in 2010, I'd also added an offhand comment about Roland DiGrasso having a mystical amulet that had bonded with his skin, explaining his powers as the Stainless Steel Cat. But that one never made it onto the timeline, so it's still up for speculation.
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Post by dans on Mar 11, 2024 23:13:47 GMT
I came up with that one, too. I like it best of all the ideas that have been discussed.
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