MILES FLATT (AND HIS AMAZING GUITAR OF DEATH)
Real Name: Unrevealed; possibly Miles Flatt
Identity/Class: Unrevealed, possibly human possessed by a Spirit of Vengeance (see Comments)
Occupation: Musician
Group Membership: Fifty States Initiative (presumably; see comments)
Affiliations: None; presumably became affiliated with the Rhode Island governor and his aide following the tryouts
Enemies: None - but numerous tryouts rivals, including Los Habaneros, Jumpin' Jimmy Thunder and his Thunderiffics, the Five Baritones and Iron Man (Tony Stark)
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Providence, Rhode Island
First Appearance: World War Hulk: Front Line#3/3 (October, 2007)
Powers/Abilities: Unrevealed. Given his fiery appearance, he presumably is immune to flames and can project them (but see Comments). His skeletal face suggests some resistance to conventional injury. He wields "his amazing Guitar of Death," but apart from it being on fire, any powers it has are unrevealed. If he is possessed by a Spirit of Vengeance, then he presumably possesses the normal powers of same, including superhuman strength and durability. Most Spirits have a steed or vehicle empowered by hellfire; though none was seen in Miles' case, the tryouts requirements included that all contestants had to have their own vehicles, so he presumably did have some kind of transportation.
History: (World War Hulk: Front Line#3/3) - When Rhode Island held an open tryout for the position of the state's official Fifty State Initiative representative, with an additional requirement that entrants must also have musical aptitude, Miles Flatt and his amazing Guitar of Death entered and were the winners, their fearsome appearance causing them to be chosen even without a demonstration of Flatt's powers or musical skills.
Comments: Created by Paul Jenkins and Chris Moreno.
There is a real world Mississippi band by the name of Miles Flatt; their Facebook page states that the page (and maybe the band) was founded in 2012, so presumably the comic character came first, and the band's name is either a coincidence or one of the band is also a comics fan.
Miles Flatt appears in a single panel with no dialogue, leaving us with very little to go on. With skeletal hands, a burning skull, and Vegas Elvis clothes, he may be an Elvis-memed Ghost Rider. If that's the case, given he debuted prior to Danny Ketch going round depowering all others possessed of a Spirit of Vengeance (circa 2009 Ghost Rider comics), Miles might have had a very short career and been destroyed off panel. He'd also presumably be BTS in Ghost Rider: Heaven's on Fire #6, where all the Spirits of Vengeance ganged up on the rogue angel Zadkiel. Alternatively, Miles might just coincidentally look like a Spirit of Vengeance - there are other reasons in the Marvel Universe why your head might be a burning skull. Maybe he's a musical demon, or a member of the subterranean Skull-Men race encountered by Mark Todd, the Blazing Skull. Maybe he's actually a badly disguised Blazing Skull, indulging his love of the King of Rock. Maybe he is Elvis! Perhaps in the Marvel Universe Elvis faked his death and sought out the Skull-Men. Or maybe he was an Elvis impersonator outfitted by Techmaster with a weaponized guitar (cf. Johnny Guitar), which malfunctioned and incinerated him just before he was due to go on stage for the tryouts. Since we only see a single panel, for all we know what happens off panel just before and after might be this:
"Miles Flatt activates his guitar, ready to demonstrate its power and his playing skills. A small spark comes out, then suddenly turns into a raging torrent of fire as the inbuilt flamethrower backfires. A second later the host announces Miles, and the curtain pulls back to reveal his corpse, wearing an undamaged, flameproof Elvis costume, the flesh burned clean off and fires still roaring round the guitar as its remaining fuel burns out and Miles' head as the excessive hairspray keeps his wig aflame. The Rhode Island governor, impressed at what he believes is a fiery superhuman announces Miles the winner. A second later the skeleton collapses into its component parts."
Thanks to Angelicknight of the handbook forums over at CXPulp for suggesting the entry.
Profile by Loki.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Miles Flatt has no known connections to
A Mariachi-themed group of crimefighters, their powers (if any) unrevealed.
Since Habaneros are a type of chili, usually red in color when ripe and noted for their heat, I assume Paul Jenkins might have being making a nod to the real world band the Red Hot Chilli Peppers when he named this group.
--World War Hulk: Front Line#3/3
Jumpin' Jimmy Thunder and the Thunderiffics
A 1920s/30s big band-themed group of crimefighters, their powers (if any) unrevealed. They entered Providence's tryouts to find a 50 State Initiative team, but lost out to Miles Flatt.
Presumably inspired by the likes of Glenn Miller and his band, with DC's Johnny Thunder and his Thunderbolt providing naming inspiration.
--World War Hulk: Front Line#3/3
A operatic-themed group of crimefighters, their powers (if any) unrevealed. They entered Providence's tryouts to find a 50 State Initiative team, but lost out to Miles Flatt.
Their name and look was presumably inspired by the Three Tenors.
--World War Hulk: Front Line#3/3
|
|
Various crimefighters with some sort of musical bent, their powers (if any) unrevealed. They entered Providence's tryouts to find a 50 State Initiative team, but lost out to Miles Flatt.
The
most visibly disappointed entrant was Iron Man, who had apparently wanted
an opportunity to show off his little known skill with the triangle.
Partially for ease of reference, but mostly for my own amusement, I've given the recognizable individuals above with unofficial codenames. From left to right, they are Cymbal, the Masked Maracas, Electric Scaramouche, Sailorboy, Purple Piccolo, Hawaiian Thunder, the Rouge Drummer and the Viking Virtuoso of Volume.
--World War Hulk: Front Line#3/3
Rhode Island's Governor was annoyed to learn that his state was having trouble filling the position of the state's Fifty State Initiative's official superhero/team, pointing out to his aide that under the Initiative's terms they were supposed to have a team assigned to them, and checking his recollection that the New Slingers were supposed to have been theirs. His aide confirmed this, but added that the New Slingers had opted for a jail sentence in the Negative Zone instead once they learned where they were supposed to go to Rhode Island. Leading the Governor into an auditorium, the aide explained that they were holding open tryouts instead, with a musical theme tagged on as that ought to go down well with the voters. The Governor watched with mounting annoyance as one humiliatingly bad superhuman group after another took the stage, and announced that they would be a laughing stock. Ignoring his aide's attempts to cheer him up, the Governor wondered aloud what he would say to other Governors about the embarrassment, but then noticed the latest contestant, the impressive looking Miles Flatt, an act he could finally approve of.
The Governor is unidentified. At the time of publication, Rhode Island's real governor was Donald Carcieri; however, though there is a slight resemblance, I don't believe it was intentional - after all, the largest demographic amongst US senior politicians is probably older Caucasian males with white hair.
--World War Hulk: Front Line#3/3
When Rhode Island's assigned superhero team, the New Slingers, rejected the role, the Governor's aide hastily arranged open tryouts for the position, adding a musical requirement in the belief that would help the competition go across well with voters. Despite the aide's best attempts to cheer him up, the Governor was unimpressed with the contestants. Changing tack, the aide tried to buoy the Governor up by saying that having a Fifty State Initiative representative was just for show. After all, "It's not as though any supervillain is going to attack Providence. I'm not sure we even have any towns other than Providence..." His words were cut short as the Governor suddenly took a liking to the latest candidate, Miles Flatt.
--World War Hulk: Front Line#3/3
An unidentified host who announced each of the Providence tryout acts.
--World War Hulk: Front Line#3/3
images: (without ads)
World War Hulk: Front Line#3/3 (all images)
p2, pan11 (main/Miles Flatt)
p1, pan 5 (Los Habaneros)
p1, pan 6 (Jumpin' Jimmy Thunder and his Thunderiffics)
p2, pan 1 (The Five Baritones)
p1, pan 3 (tryout entrants, left hand image)
p2, pan 12 (tryout entrants, right hand image)
p2, pan 12 (Tin Tony and his Triangle of Tinkling)
p1, pan 2 (the Rhode Island governor)
p1, pan 2 (the governor's aide)
p2, pan 1 (the tryouts host)
Appearances:
World War Hulk: Front Line#3 (October, 2007) - Paul Jenkins (writer), Chris Moreno (artist), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Last updated: 01/29/15
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and © 1941-2099
Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you
should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at:
http://www.marvel.com
Special thanks to
www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix,
Master List, etc.!
Rhode Island governor
Rhode Island governor's aide