By Stan Hopewell
 |
| File photo: Denver as North-Star |
The superhero dubbed “Reboot Man” by the press tried to
gain entrance to the Atlantis-Peace Force Meetings but was turned away due to
lack of clearance.
Ray Denver, known as “Reboot Man” for his numerous
identity changes over the past few years, started his superhero career as
Star-Man. He gained the powers of
flight, super-strength, energy blasts, and energy manipulation from a pulsar
while exploring Alpha Centauri. This
identity only lasted three months before the original Star-Man, Dan Stewart,
spoke out against him using his old moniker.
Denver relinquished his first identity and took up the
name of North-Star, a name and costume inspired by the star Polaris. He enjoyed a rather successful career in this
guise and joined the Peace Force. But
this identity came to an end eight months later when he died fighting the
Sparlox in deep space.
Somehow, Denver was resurrected several months later in
an explosion above the moon, which no one has been able to fully explain. This time his powers included teleportation,
and he became Portal-Man. Unfortunately,
one month later, he accidentally teleported himself into the bedrock below the
Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
Then, Denver absorbed the rocks to become Rock-Man, whose
rock-based powers lasted only four months after he was caught in a mudslide in
California and dissolved into the Sacramento River. Five months later, he had absorbed the mud
and clay from the river and can now apparently shapeshift. He calls himself Clayman, and no one at Peace
Force Headquarters recognizes him.
“I’m a member,” he said.
“They know me. I’ve fought
side-by-side with them. I even
shapeshifted into my North-Star body and let them scan my mind. They know I’m telling the truth.”
Denver seemed depressed leaving the building. He expressed how he thought he was dead in
the Sacramento River and tried to convey how terrifying it was to become mud
and clay. According to him, it was a dark,
wet experience that made him feel helpless.
Once he gained control of his newfound abilities, he turned into an
eagle and flew across the country.
Denver acknowledged how often he’s changed identities and powers,
holding back mud tears, but said it’s out of his control. “How many of them control how they got their
powers?” he said. “How many of them have
had reboots? If it weren’t for one dumb
thing or another, half of them wouldn’t even be in there.”
Clayman, as he preferred to be called, left PFHQ in
disgust. When asked about a former
member being turned away, Cloudwalker said, “He’s a shapeshifter. After what happened last year, a creepy
shapeshifter is the last thing we need.”
