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GRENADE

Real Name: Hugh Fox

Identity/Class: Extradimensional (Earth-93060/Ultraverse) human mutate

Occupation: Adventurer;
   formerly college student; high school student

Group Membership: Strangers (Atom Bob, ElectroCute, Lady Killer, Spectral, Teknight, Yrial, Zip-Zap);
   formerly the student cohort at San Francisco Art Institute

Affiliations: Kay Bartlett, Dr. Beniamino, Choice, Mr. DiStefano, Captain Christopher Dugan, Empire-7, Entity, Hardcase, Henrietta Hawkins (as Light Being), Bill Kern, Mantra (Lukasz), Marilee, Mike, Moe, Night Man (Johnny Domino), Prime (Kevin Green), Prototype (Jimmy Ruiz), Captain Jacob Rome, Supra (all Earth-93060)

Enemies: Aladdin, Chief Aula, Rob Bartlett, Bastinado and his demons, Boneyard and his wives, Boneyard's elite guard, Brazen, Byter, Deathwish, Dirt Devil, Foxfire (John Reynolds), Gangsta, Generator X, Grip, Gaius "Guy" Julius Hunt, J.D. Hunt, J.D. Hunt's bodyguards, Mr. Leopold, Lightshow, Notch, NuWare, Omega Team (Gun-Nut, Needler, Trouble), Pilgrim (Bob Hardin), Powerhouse, Quattro (Book, Death Dance, Gate, Meat Hook), Rafferty, Raiders (Centipede, Gecko, Jolly Roger, Sandblast, Sangre, Scar, Yardarm), Rodent, "space station aliens", T.N.T.N.T. (Naiad, Neuronne, Taboo, Torso, Tugun, Tyrannosaurus), Waddell, War Eagle, Zara (all Earth-93060)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: San Francisco, USA;
   formerly Oakland, California, USA (all Earth-93060)

First Appearance: The Strangers#1 (June, 1993)

Powers/Abilities: Hugh Fox Hardin has the ability to (quietly) blast shrapnel (of unknown substance) from his body; he does this primarily from his chest for maximum coverage (and presumably because this power first manifested from his chest, it also easiest). However, Fox has honed this power so that he shoot shrapnel blasts from his wrists and even foot soles; anger appears to increase the intensity of the blasts. Regular use of blasts has slowly thickened his skin to be bulletproof. Grenade's power appears to manifest as an explosive blast barely a millimeter from his skin and instantly draws compacted material from the air around the blast site to expel like a grenade blast. He has athlete-level fitness and endurance, and works out regularly with weights. He has excellent combat skills, presumably from taking self-defense classes. Fox has a history of team sports, but also taking risks for his team's victory. He also has a creative talent that helped him somewhat succeed in visual art studies.

Height: 5'10"
Weight: 175 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown

History:

(The Strangers#19 (fb)) - As children, Bob Hardin and Hugh Fox (then aged 8) quickly became friends when Hardin's family moved into the Oakland neighborhood.

(The Strangers#19 (fb)) - In junior high, Fox was often busy with girlfriends and high school sports (football and baseball), but stayed friends with the shy Hardin.

(Strangers#14 (fb) - BTS) - Aged 15, Fox was caught shoplifting a big book on football history by shop owner Moe at Moe's Books. Moe sternly told him off and warned him never to return but didn't call the police.

(The Strangers#5 (fb)  - BTS) - Fox was star quarterback for Bishop O'Dowd High School and won the match for his team, earning minor fame at the time.

(The Strangers#19 (fb)) - While Fox wasn't sure what to do after finishing high school, Hardin encouraged him to try art classes.

(The Strangers#14 (fb) - BTS) - Hardin stayed good friends with Fox while studying in Oakland,California.

(The Strangers#1 (fb) - BTS) - Hardin and Fox enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute.

(The Strangers#1) - One Thursday morning on their way to class by tram, Fox and Hardin took action against the excessively sexual behavior by passenger J.D. Hunt and his paramour Candy (secretly a sex android); fellow passenger Dave Castiglione helped Fox and Hardin throw him off. An instant later, the tram was hit by the lightning-like "Jumpstart" effect, which would later trigger superpowers in its 59 passengers (becoming "ultras"). The tram brakes failed and hit a car driven by Johnny Domino (later Night Man). They waited for ambulances and to report to police. Rushing to class, Hardin inadvertently triggered his ultra powers and his satchel became a bag of gift apples. Shocked, Fox tried to see if could trigger any powers and found he could shoot out shrapnel through his skin that caused minor damage around him, but Hardin instinctively turned the shrapnel blasting at him into rosebuds. But where Hardin panicked at their predicament, Fox saw income opportunity.

   Later at dusk that same day, and hearing of an incident at the tram accident location, Fox and Hardin rushed over and found sorceress Yrial seemingly menacing onlookers. and battling fellow former passengers also mutated with powers (speedster Leon Balford, sharpshooter Elena La Brava, energy-spectrum manipulator Castiglione, plus electricity-firing android Candy); eventually Yrial fled. The police arrived but Balford whisked his fellow ultras away. The six ultras compared notes and considered that others on the cable car had been similarly affected, yet only they had been responsible enough to confront the sorceress (although Fox considered the fame and wealth potential). They decided to stay a team and pursue the sorceress, focusing on the unusual cloud over San Francisco. La Brava took them to the airport to her private plane.

(The Strangers#2) - After banter in the plane, they discovered the jungle land of Sky Island in the protective cloud and landed. But they were all soon captured and bound, their powers manifested so far all negated, although Hardin transformed sound waves, effectively translating their language so that they could understand their captors, and heard Yrial and chiefs Aula and Zara debate whether to remain a hidden people given the sudden rise in super-powered humans. Castiglione tried red flame, which triggered super-strength and led to their breaking free. Eventually an understanding was reached with Aula, despite Zara's protests, and Yrial was assigned to study and help the ultras. The group decided to remain a team, calling themselves the Strangers, and seek answers to their changes and fellow former passengers. La Brava appointed herself leader given her experience and the rest quickly assented.

(The Strangers#3 (fb)) - Back on ground, the Strangers hid in Hardin's parents' home where they discussed their powers over dinner. The team decided on their individual codenames (Atom Bob (Hardin), ElectroCute (Candy), Grenade (Fox), Lady Killer (La Brava), Spectral (Castiglione), Zip-Zap (Balford)). La Brava, also a successful fashion designer, created costumes for them. Yrial kept her name and original clothes.

(The Strangers#3) - Wanting to protect his secrets, vengeful J.D. Hunt sent the villainous ultra team T.N.T.N.T. (Naiad, Neuronne, Torso, Tugun, Tyrannosaurus) after the Strangers. Initially almost overwhelmed, the team fought back. Victorious, the Strangers introduced themselves to the quickly assembled media.

(Hardcase#4 (fb) - BTS) - Suspicious of a connection between J.D. Hunt and the Aladdin ultras they had just fought, the Strangers sought help from prominent ultra Hardcase.

(Hardcase#3) - The Strangers arrived at Hardcase's mansion, where the hero and his girlfriend Choice had just returned from a battle.

(Hardcase#4) - Aggressively prepared for further fighting, Hardcase and Choice calmed down when they realized the Strangers were there peaceably. They discussed Aladdin's connections with ultras and decided to join forces investigating an Aladdin secret base at Groom Lake, Nevada. Landing in Nevada and nearing the site, they split into three teams for reconnaissance, but were all incapacitated by Aladdin ultra agents (Dirt Devil, Foxfire, Grip, War Eagle); Distracted, Atom Bob, Grenade and ElectroCute were constricted by the energy-binding field of the Grip.

(The Strangers#4) - The Strangers, Hardcase and Choice were imprisoned inside a specially designed holding pen with a force field that resisted any direct attack from their powers. Senior Aladdin agent Mr. Leopold told them they would only gain freedom by joining Aladdin but they all refused. Grenade and Hardcase used their powers against each other to bring down the force field and the freed heroes fought Aladdin forces. They briefly escaped until Aladdin forces caught up with them in the labyrinthine base. A truce was reached between Aladdin and the Strangers (plus Hardcase and Choice) to keep out of each other's affairs.

(Flood Relief) - Feeling helpless, Grenade, Atom Bob, ElectroCute and Lady Killer watched the devastating Iowa floods (partially caused by Flood) on TV as Zip-Zap, Prime, Prototype (Jimmy Ruiz) and Hardcase did their best to mitigate the damage.

(The Strangers#5) - After receiving emergency communication pagers from Lady Killer, the Strangers went separate ways for personal time. Fox and Candy spent time together and became closer. Alerted by Yrial, the Strangers assembled against the near-undefeatable death-dealing ultra Deathwish. Spectral arrived late, having failed to save an ill friend, and used his green flame to make Deathwish seemingly perish. Afterward, Spectral revealed he was gay to the group and Fox voiced the team's support.

(The Strangers#6) - The Strangers cleaned up the damaged street after the battle while Deathwish's unconscious human host was ferried to hospital where Deathwish was reborn. The villain again confronted the Strangers but, having learned from the previous fight, was no longer affected by Spectral's flame. The team were overwhelmed until Yrial intervened by releasing the power of the Light Being within nurse Henrietta Hawkins and villain was vanquished.

(Break-Thru#1) - Aladdin's Dr. Rains called in the Strangers for their views on the sudden unusual light-shifting activity of Amber Hunt, suspended in the sky, which caused deranged behavior in many people. The Strangers and Mantra flew up to investigate Amber's situation and, despite Prototype (Jimmy Ruiz)'s interference, Mantra determined it was the Entity on the Moon calling for assistance through Amber. Powerful hidden manipulator Rex Mundi sent his villainous teams Quattro (Book, Death Dance, Gate, Meat Hook) and Omega Team (Gun-Nut, Needler, Trouble) to eliminate Amber but his counterpart the Alternate sent in the Solution team (Dropkick, Outrage, Shadowmage, Tech) to join the Strangers and other heroes to protect Amber. With the Moon glowing to match Amber, the heroes next course was to travel to the Moon and help the Entity.

(Prototype#5) - The Strangers broke into J.D. Hunt's base where they commandeered and launched his nuclear-powered space shuttle, intending to use it to go to the Moon, but it was preprogrammed to go to a Russian satellite instead. Meanwhile, J.D. Hunt had Prototype (plus heroes Empire-7 and Supra) pursue them in an ex-Russian rocket. Automatically docking, the Strangers investigated the space station; they found it seemingly abandoned until they were attacked by savage space aliens that could quickly reconstitute themselves. Prototype's team arrived to find the Strangers constrained in the aliens' tentacles.

(The Strangers#7) - Prototype's team helped free the Strangers. The heroes fled into a dead end but bickering led to Prototype unintentionally breaching the hull. Spectral used his indigo flame to form a protective air bubble. Atom Bob sealed the breach and the heroes split into three to destroy the hungry aliens and find escape. Grenade and ElectroCute joined the Vietnamese Empire-7; Grenade lightly bullied the Asian, but they were all distracted and an alien grabbed Empire-7. Grenade kept blasting at the alien until it could no longer re-form itself. Prototype and the Strangers evacuated the space station in their stolen shuttle, but Supra and Empire-7 perished.

(Break-Thru#2) - The Strangers piloted the shuttle to the Moon, where they joined Hardcase, Choice and the Solution. A battle soon raged: the heroes versus and Quattro and Omega Team, although the enhanced Prime was knocked back and secretly healed by Mantra, who found out the Entity's secret. While the heroes addressed the chaos unwittingly unleashed by the distressed Entity, Rex Mundi's two teams fled. Several heroes downloaded data from the Entity but it exploded before all could be retrieved. The heroes realized that the Entity initiated many Jumpstarts throughout Earth's history, seeking help for its crashlanded predicament on the Moon.

(The Strangers#8) - The Strangers left in the stolen Aladdin shuttle and landed it at Edwards Air Force Base, where Mr. Leopold confronted them but was dismissed by Air Force Captain Dugan. The Strangers were later confronted by Chief Aula, who demanded Yrial return to Sky Island. Yrial initially resisted with the Strangers' help, but acquiesced and left with Aula. The Strangers followed and landed by plane. Yrial considered herself a Strangers member and escaped with them but stopped as her people gave chase and briefly fought. Yrial chose to surrender, but secretly gave a clue about her people to Lady Killer. She accepted imprisonment in a mystical stone and the Strangers left. Finding the clue, they all resolved to help Yrial.

(The Strangers#9 (fb) - BTS) - Grenade and ElectroCute traveled via Rio de Janeiro as part of the Strangers' plan to get to the Caribbean separately to avoid raising suspicion.

(The Strangers#9) - The Strangers (except Yrial) rejoined each other in the Caribbean to investigate Yrial's clue. The group anchored and relaxed while Atom Bob explored his powers on the nearby island. Local ultra pirates, Scar and his Raiders, who didn't realize their targets were ultras as well, attacked the yacht. The pirates initially overwhelmed those on the yacht and several left to tackle those Strangers on the island. But ElectroCute recovered and knocked out the pirates on the ship while Atom Bob eliminated the other pirates. The Strangers left victorious, having alerted the Coast Guard to the bound pirates.

(The Strangers#10) - The Strangers continued searching information for Yrial and chanced upon a portal to a demon dimension. Spectral and ElectroCute were dragged inside by demons and the others followed through the breach as rescue; Grenade blasted through the head of a serpentine demon. The demon realm's ruler Bastinado blocked the Strangers' ultra powers but couldn't stop Atom Bob's, who created magick that matched the demon's and left Bastinado defeated. The Strangers rushed to escape, but instead fell off a deep cliff.

(The Strangers#11) - All falling were powerless except Zip-Zap, whose hyper-metabolism saw his powers returned earlier and he generated a vortex that slowed their descent, landing on the enormous celestial body the Wold. During their immediate analysis, Lady Killer suggested that Atom Bob had created artificial magick, but he refuted this, stating it was real. Zip-Zap scouted the patchwork domains over several days while the others slowly recovered, during which Grenade and ElectroCute spent romantic time. Meanwhile, Zip-Zap found the Entity and was told where Sky Island was located. He rushed back, gathered the Strangers in a vortex and zoomed them back through the demon dimension and breach to Earth.

(The Strangers#12) - The Strangers stormed Sky Island, confronting Chiefs Aula and Zara with the truth. Recognizing the world beyond had changed, Aula freed Yrial and the Strangers left united.

(The Strangers#13) - Back in their base, police Captain Rome sought the Strangers' help against the villainous sorcerer Boneyard, who had hijacked a flight to gain the heroes' attention to secure their help locking away the demons they had unintentionally released. Rushing to the airport tarmac, the Strangers were joined by sorceress Mantra, enemy of Boneyard, and a dramatic fight ensued, The powerful Boneyard kidnapped Atom Bob to siphon his power. Mantra detected Atom Bob's new location and they soon found Boneyard, but a new breach allowed Bastinado and other demons to come through.

(Mantra I#12) - The Strangers helped Mantra fight Boneyard and his minions; the demons were either destroyed or rounded up with Grenade's discharge blasting through the demons. During the demon hunt, Mantra chided Grenade's chauvinism. Eventually Boneyard was distracted and Atom Bob freed. Boneyard was forced to flee.

(Ultraverse Premiere#8/3) - Grenade and ElectroCute were the drawcards for a charity event at a suburban shopping mall, but urban terrorist Rob Bartlett jumped in and attacked the crowd to target the two Strangers, who quickly disarmed him. Bartlett revealed that he hated ultras because he had missed the cable car hit by the Jumpstart that had triggered ultra powers. His resentment grew till he wanted to kill the Strangers for their hero status, but Grenade berated the gunman, stating that Bartlett could never be a hero because of all the senseless injury, death and destruction Bartlett had caused.

(The Strangers#20) - Spectral, Lady Killer, ElectroCute, Grenade and Zip-Zap discussed the positives of the trading card deal for the Strangers' positive profile and income.

(The Strangers#14) - The Strangers took personal time off. Fox and Hardin went to their former college hangout area in Berkeley, hoping to remain incognito, but were quickly recognized by fans. Fox happily dealt with autographs while Hardin ducked shyly into nearby Moe's bookstore. But the jealous super-strong ultra Powerhouse leapt in to confront the pair. Atom Bob instantly transformed their clothes into Strangers' costumes and the fight began. Powerhouse knocked Atom Bob backward; Atom Bob secretly created an unconscious duplicate of himself and invisibly turned into his power-hungry Pilgrim identity to investigate Powerhouse, but this left Grenade to fight Powerhouse's strength by himself. Atom Bob reappeared, feigning a weakened state as he watched Grenade fight Powerhouse alone (to gauge Powerhouse's fighting skills). The fight ended at a stalemate and the frustrated Powerhouse leapt away. After Grenade reconciled with bookstore owner Moe, Atom Bob and Grenade then left.

(The Strangers#15) - At their base, the Strangers reviewed those 16, including themselves, whom they knew were ultras from the cable car Jumpstart. Lady Killer revealed fashions she had developed to sell. They then went their separate ways on personal matters. Having learned they were rich from licensing deals, Grenade and ElectroCute got a red sports car; Fox claimed it was a business expense. ElectroCute's behavior became erratic and confused Fox.

(The Strangers#16) - Atom Bob and Grenade held a block party at Hardin's parents house for friends and key guests to give back to their Oakland neighborhood with media assembled outside the property. All the Strangers attended (except Spectral, who had personal matters) and briefly discussed the ominous mystery of the Pilgrim. Villainous ultras Generator X, Lightshow and Rodent, keen to attack the successful Strangers, violently gatecrashed the party; Hardin had wandered away, leaving the other Strangers to fight. With his toughening skin, Grenade shrugged off Rodent's sharp claws, although he still felt slight pain. With the foes soon defeated, Pilgrim suddenly appeared (with Byter) and  blasted the Strangers back before taking the three villains for his small army, again threatening the heroes' destruction, then quickly disappeared through a portal. Hardin returned from around a brick wall with a happy guest. Lady Killer expressed the team's disappointment in Hardin by chiding him.

(The Strangers#17) - The Strangers held a tense meeting at their headquarters to discuss strategy against the Pilgrim. Due to their power set, Lady Killer put herself and Atom Bob on "shadow detail" to respond immediately. Days passed and the Strangers joined Lady Killer's new fashion line launch, acting as security, but the ultra killer Rafferty stealthily broke through, almost murdering Lady Killer. In the chaos, Atom Bob turned into the menacing Pilgrim and asked Rafferty to join his army against the Strangers. Rafferty refused and it led to a staged fight between Pilgrim and an Atom Bob construct behind a force field during which Rafferty escaped.

(The Strangers#19 (fb)) - Pilgrim offered the Strangers a vague clue as to his real identity, which they misinterpreted in the heat of battle.

(The Strangers#17) - Spectral, Grenade and ElectroCute blasted Pilgrim's force field; a blinding flash hid Hardin's reversal from Pilgrim back to Atom Bob, and the Atom Bob construct to a Pilgrim construct, so as to confuse the Strangers. Atom Bob then made it appear that the Pilgrim construct and Byter teleported away. Again ElectroCute's sudden brusque manner confused Grenade (and the others).

(Firearm#17) - Grenade was amongst several Strangers held back from intervening against Rafferty during a deadly siege against the villain.

(The Strangers#18) - The increasingly suspicious Strangers continued trying to work out who Pilgrim was, possibly even one of their own. Grenade confronted ElectroCute about her angry behavior but she rebuffed him with an electric blast. Grenade returned to the Stranger's Pier 25 base, but were soon caught in a surprise and coordinated attack by Scar and his Raiders, and quickly overwhelmed (although Atom Bob feigned defeat and secretly transformed into Pilgrim). Meanwhile, ElectroCute had incorrectly concluded that the enigmatic android Teknight and Pilgrim were the same person and rushed backed to tell her colleagues. The Raiders readied to kidnap the Strangers but Pilgrim and his allies warped in, quickly defeating and expelling them. As the Strangers recovered, Pilgrim promised his army each a Stranger to slay the next day and they teleported away. Left a misleading clue, the Strangers set off to find Teknight, thinking he was Pilgrim in disguise.

(Night Man: The Pilgrim Conundrum Saga) - The Strangers found, fought and defeated Teknight but Night Man swung in and let their would-be foe speak. Teknight was searching for the Strangers to warn them of Pilgrim's nefarious plot to destroy the Strangers, the Pilgrim having planted seven bombs around San Francisco to force the Strangers to work separately. Night Man helped as each Stranger confronted one of Pilgrim's army. Yrial discerned the pattern of the bombs' locations and, with all of Pilgrim's army defeated, the Strangers homed in on her (while Night Man quickly dismantled most of the bombs), although the Atom Bob arriving with the group there was just another construct while Hardin secretly went back to Strangers HQ.

(The Strangers: The Pilgrim Conundrum Saga) - Arguing that there would be a second bomb at the twin peaks, Grenade left ElectroCute behind with Teknight and raced back to Strangers HQ. Grenade was frustrated that he hadn't fought a villain or found a bomb on this mission. Realizing Pilgrim's plan, the Strangers raced back to find Pilgrim there with Byter and a bomb. Yrial's magic forced Pilgrim's retreat. Pursued by Grenade, Hardin changed suddenly while briefly hidden into Atom Bob. Hardin then created a Pilgrim construct to join Zara's attack on Grenade and subsequent escape, while the real Hardin stayed with the group. By now, Night Man had determined the identity of Pilgrim, shocking the other Strangers that it was Bob Hardin. With his secret revealed. Hardin transformed into Pilgrim and gloated, saying he had grown beyond them, then fled. The Strangers, Night Man and Teknight all pursued and battled the power-mad Pilgrim to Coit Tower. The heroes kept wearing Hardin down, until eventually he fell, finally expending his own physical energy. Grenade delivered the final blow, firing an intense blast to answer the betrayal. Hardin was made unconscious by Yrial's magic. All the Strangers were devastated by Hardin's treachery.

(The Strangers#19) - Back at their base, the remaining Strangers all tried to cope with the betrayal of their teammate. Spectral tried to console Grenade, who was angry and lashed out at Spectral. Grenade later found ElectroCute unable to cope with her emotions and comforted her. Soon after, the other Strangers heard Teknight's pledge to help after he saved Lady Killer from Grip and they welcomed Teknight as a new teammate.

(The Strangers#21) - At the airport, the other Strangers watched Lady Killer and Yrial took Atom Bob's inert body onboard a plane to Andorra. ElectroCute raced ahead to take the wheel of the car for a carefree drive but a mafia-planted bomb severely damaged her android body. The remaining Strangers took her to J.D. Hunt at NuWare (where she had been created) and, quickly overcoming Hunt's enhanced bodyguards, aggressively asked J.D. Hunt to repair her and he complied. Spectral and Zip-Zap held J.D. Hunt hostage while Grenade and Teknight monitored ElectroCute's repair under Waddell's guidance at the NuWare labs. But Waddell had reprogrammed ElectroCute and when she woke, she blasted her two friends.

(The Strangers#22) - Grenade and Teknight fought back against the weaponized ElectroCute but all three were rendered unconscious/inert. J.D. Hunt's son Guy Hunt confronted Spectral and Zip-Zap and demanded a simple hostage swap. Instead, Zip-Zap and Spectral rushed to NuWare to free their friends. Meanwhile, Grenade had recovered in the cell and could see ElectroCute for the first time as a non-human. Once at NuWare, Spectral and Zip-Zap freed Grenade, Teknight and ElectroCute while blasting away more bodyguards and Waddell. Back at the Strangers' base, ElectroCute was fully restored.

(The Strangers#24) - After leaving the comatose Atom Bob at the Andorran clinic and battling the voodoo menace of Taboo, Lady Killer and Yrial returned and rejoined their team at their pier base, comparing adventures; Grenade grew jealous of ElectroCute's growing affection for Teknight. Swearing vengeance, Taboo pursued the duo and assembled an updated T.N.T.N.T. villainous team (Taboo, Naiad, Tugun, Neuronne, Tyrannosaurus). Several days later. the Strangers reconvened and met Spectral's partner Bill Kern, but T.N.T.N.T suddenly attacked. Each villain targeted a different Stranger from their earlier encounter, although Grenade quickly overcame Tugun. The villains fled in a helicopter, but with the Strangers' flying members still unconscious, they were unable to give chase. Later, the Strangers, all recovered, wondered on the new T.N.T.N.T.'s future.

(The Phoenix Resurrection: Genesis) - When the exhausted Phoenix Force from Earth-616 sought a local Ultraverse host, it selected then dismissed multiple super-powered candidates, including Grenade, Lady Killer and Zip-Zap from the Strangers.

Comments: Created by Steve Englehart, Rick Hoberg, Tim Burgard, Darick Robertson.

He first appears with blue eyes, then this soon changes to brown. Maybe that's a side effect of the Jumpstart? Protective layering to protect from the shrapnel? Do I get a No-Prize?

The "reboot" of the Ultraverse in the Black September event ended the Strangers run and virtually all the members disappeared, although their key ally Night Man continued and Zip Zap guest-starred in a speed race in Prime II#10 (Zip Zap's membership in the Strangers was recognized by the public, but it wasn't clear if the group was still active in a full capacity). The afterword in the final issue, Strangers #24, included finished covers for issues #25-27 in a possible 3-part storyline where the Strangers appear to encounter aliens. They definitely received new costumes, confirmed in the "next issue" box of issue #24, which states "celebration of the Jumpstart! With new costumes, and party guests from beyond the stars!" One can only speculate how many completed (or near-complete) issues were lost as Black September hit and what is left today decades later.

Moe's Books (shown in The Strangers#14) is considered an institution in Berkeley, California, and even has a small entry on TripAdvisor. Founder Moe Moskowitz passed away in 1997 and the shop is now run by his daughter Doris.

It's assumed that Fox left his art studentship to pursue his full-time role as adventurer with the Strangers.

The Strangers#23 issue is a story dedicated to Lady Killer and Yrial against Taboo. The other Strangers appear in one silent panel in battle (readers know it is against Hunt's forces in #22).

The Strangers#20 issue is a curious filler issue that doesn't quite fit between #19 & #21 and its "happy" feel doesn't sit well later, so I've slotted it in earlier.

The Ultraverse Origins 2-page story in January 1994 is a summary of the team's origins and offers no new information.

Artist Frank Fosco stated he did uncredited ghosting layouts for Rick Hoberg on The Strangers#5 on his Facebook page on 6/16/2021.

Englehart did some diligent research for real life placement; the cable car line passes near the San Francisco Art Institute with the appropriate crossing streets listed and nearby Coit Tower. Coincidentally, I caught a cable car on this line when I briefly visited SF a long while back, a few years before the Appendix gave me a proper introduction to the Ultraverse and welcomed me to explore further!

Profile by Grendel Prime.

CLARIFICATIONS :
Grenade has no known connections to:

Moe

Moe ran a popular bookstore in Berkeley, California. When Hugh Fox was 15, he tried to shoplift a large book on football history, but was caught by Moe, who severely told him off and warned him never to return, but didn't call the police. In the current era, after Fox and Hardin had been hit by the Jumpstart and gained ultra powers and became stars, he welcomed Bob Hardin inside, who was passing by, and introduced him to his buyer Laura and her children Sarah and brother Paul, an avid collector of Ultraverse cards and Strangers comics. They thanks Hardin for being an inspiration to the local neighborhood. Fox, now codenamed Grenade, had just fought villain Powerhouse and was recognized by Moe. Fox still felt guilty for the past crime and paid Moe the cost of the book, even though he didn't get it. Both recognized the lesson had been learned and Moe admired him.

Moe is based on Moe Moskowitz, who ran Moe's Books in Berkeley (see comments). Moe is not named by his full name in the comic, but the likeness is unmistakable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

--The Strangers#14

images: (without ads)
Mantra I#12, last page pin-up, (main image)
The Strangers#1, p10, pan2 (civilian attire)
The Strangers#16, p18, pan3 (chest blast)
The Strangers#10, p13, pan1 (wrist blast)
The Strangers#14, p21, pan6 (foot blast)
The Strangers: The Pilgrim Conundrum Saga, p47-48 (blasting Atom Bob)
The Strangers#14, p24, pan3 (Moe)

Appearances:
The Strangers#1 (June, 1993) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Burgard (inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
The Strangers#2 (July, 1993) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Burgard & Larry Welch (inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
The Strangers#3 (August, 1993) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Burgard & Larry Welch (inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
Hardcase#3 (August, 1993) - James Hudnall (writer), Jim Callahan (pencils), Rodney Ramos (inks), Chris Ulm & Hank Kanalz (editors)
Hardcase#4 (September, 1993) - James Hudnall (writer), Roger Robinson (pencils), Larry Welch (inks), Chris Ulm & Hank Kanalz (editors)
The Strangers#4 (September, 1993) - Steve Englehart & James Hudnall (writers), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Burgard (inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
Flood Relief (January, 1994) - D. Danko, Hank Kanalz, Tom Mason (writers), Aaron Lopresti, R. Pace (pencils); J. Lowe (inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
The Strangers#5 (October, 1993) - Steve Englehart (writer), Frank Fosco (layouts), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Dave Simons & Tim Burgard (inks), Chris Ulm (editor)
The Strangers#6 (November, 1993) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Dave Simons (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
Prototype#5 (December, 1993) - Steve Englehart, Tom Mason, Len Strazewski (writers), Roger Robinson (pencils), Jeff Whiting (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#7 (December, 1993) - Steve Englehart, Tom Mason, Len Strazewski (writers), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
Break-Thru#1 (December, 1993) - Gerard Jones, Mike W. Barr, Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, James D. Hudnall, Tom Mason, George Perez & James Robinson & Len Strazewski (writers), Gerard Jones (script), George Perez (pencils), John Lowe (inks), Chris Ulm & Hank Kanalz (editors)
Break-Thru#2 (January, 1994) - Gerard Jones (script), Gerard Jones, Mike W. Barr, Steve Englehart, Steve Gerber, James D. Hudnall, Tom Mason, George Perez, James Robinson & Len Strazewski (plot), George Perez (pencils), Al Vey (inks), Hank Kanalz & Chris Ulm (editors)
Prototype#6 (January, 1994) - Len Strazewski & Tom Mason (writers), Roger Robinson (pencils), Jeff Whiting (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#8 (January, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg & Steve Skroce (pencils), Tim Burgard (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Solution#5/2 (January, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Adam Hughes (pencils & inks), Roland Mann (editor) (reprinted in Ultraverse Origins the same month)
The Strangers#9 (February, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg & Steve Skroce (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#10 (March, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#11 (April, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#12 (May, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#13 (June, 1994) - Mike W. Barr & Steve Englehart (writers), Mike Gustovich (pencils), Thomas Florimonte (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
Ultraverse Premiere#4/2 (June, 1994) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Kris Renkewitz (pencils), Jeff Albrecht (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
Mantra I#12 (June, 1994) - Steve Englehart & Mike W. Barr (writers), Terry Dodson (pencils), Jasen Rodriguez (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#14 (July, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#15 (August, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#16 (September, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#17 (October, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#18 (November, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
Night Man I#14 (November, 1994) - James Robinson & Steve Englehart (writer), Dean Zachary (pencils), Bruce McCorkindale (inks), Roland Mann (editor)
The Strangers#19 (December, 1994) - Steve Englehart (writer), Steve Ellis (pencils), Tim Eldred (inks), Roland Mann & Kara Lamb (editors)
Sludge#12/Ultraverse Premiere#8/3 [flipbook] (December, 1994) - R.A. Jones (writer), Steve Scott (pencils), Larry Welch (inks), Hank Kanalz (editor)
Night Man: The Pilgrim Conundrum Saga (January, 1995) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Jack Keefer (inks), Roland Mann & Kara Lamb (editors)
The Strangers: The Pilgrim Conundrum Saga (January, 1995) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Barb Kaalberg, Scott Reed, John Strangeland (inks), Roland Mann & Kara Lamb (editors)
The Strangers#20 (January, 1995) - Len Strazewski (writer), Sam Payne (pencils), Thomas Florimonte (inks), Roland Mann & Kara Lamb (editors)
The Strangers#21 (February, 1995) - Steve Englehart (writer), Paul Abrams (pencils), Thomas Florimonte (inks), Roland Mann & Kara Lamb (editors)
The Strangers#24 (May, 1995) - Steve Englehart (writer), Rick Hoberg (pencils), Barbara Kaalberg (inks), Kara Lamb (editor)

First posted: 06/08/2023 - Happy 30th Anniversary of the Ultraverse!
Last updated: 06/08/2023

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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