SONNY
Real Name: Unrevealed
Identity/Class: Human technology user
Occupation: Psionic expert
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Professor Stanky
Enemies: Iron Man (Tony Stark)
Known Relatives: "Moms" (mother)
Aliases: "Sonny"
Base of Operations: Cougar Mountain;
formerly Stanky Institute
First Appearance: Iron Man I#158 (May, 1982)
Powers/Abilities: Scientific genius, focusing on psionics research and experimentation
Height: 5'9" (by approximation)
Weight: 300 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Strawberry blonde
History:
(Iron Man I#158 (fb) - BTS) - Sonny was the overweight, bespectacled son of Moms (there was no mention of his father or other family members) who apparently went through an abusive childhood, stating his mother used to beat him when his grades were not good enough for her. Sonny stated Moms would lock him in a closet with his schoolbooks to forcibly make him study without meals for eight hours. On another occasion, Sonny stated Moms forgot about locking him in a closet for three days and he almost died.
(Iron Man I#158 (fb) - BTS) - Sonny was gifted with a high intelligence (whether from his forced studying or from natural ability) as he was sent to the Stanky Institute to learn psionics from Professor Stanky. Sonny did not develop psionic ability but learned about psionics, discovering his mother had the "greatest natural psionic talent in the world.
(Iron Man I#158 - BTS) - The young genius also achieved other credentials, as a wall in his home near Cougar Mountain contained numerous framed diplomas.
(Iron Man I#158 (fb) - BTS) - Shortly thereafter, Sonny began to experiment with Moms. The sessions were painful to Moms, but Sonny didn't care, demanding that to use her powers at his command. Using a "hypno-beam", Sonny would take control of Moms, unleashing her subconscious ability to use psionics. Examples of some of their experiments included making it rain, turning lights off, and creating a psi-field to surround a given area which could shut down any electrical system caught within range.
(Iron Man I#158) - Wile performing some more tests on his mother an unaware Iron Man was caught in the range of her psi-field as he flew through Cougar Mountain. Iron Man's armor immediately malfunctioned, forcing him to nearly crash. After finding no fault in his armor, Iron Man later returned to the area to investigate. Again, Iron Man's armor malfunctioned, with all systems failing except for his ability to move. Removing his helmet for better vision, Iron Man entered a cave for shelter, and found Moms in a hypnotic state within a still operating scientific lab. Sonny attacked Iron Man from behind, stunning him with a rock and throwing him into a pit. The pit began to fill with water, and Sonny covered the opening with heavy machinery to ensure Iron Man could not escape.
(Iron Man I#158) - Without the power of his armor, Iron Man was unable to remove the machinery. Searching for the source of the rising water, Iron Man discovered a gap at the bottom of the pit. Removing his armor, Iron Man was able to squeeze through and escape. Returning to the cave, Iron Man was attacked by Sonny, who was easily subdued. Bereft of Sonny's control, Moms awoke. Finding Iron Man standing over the unconscious Sonny, Moms stated if Iron Man would do her a favor and hit Sonny again.
Comments: Created by Denny O'Neil (writer), Carmine Infantino (pencils), Dan Green, Al Milgrom (inkers).
There were many questions left unanswered in this one and only appearance of Sonny and Moms. Who "Professor Stanky" was, how Sonny made his own devices immune from his mother's powers, and what his actual plans were - Sonny had stated to Iron Man he had to kill him to protect his secrets until he was ready to demand "everything he wanted". Despite Sonny's prior abuse at the hands of Moms, and the pain he inflicted on Moms during their experiments, they lived together, and Moms would cater to Sonny, making meals, etc. for him. Moms, who was aware of her psionic abilities, did not seem able to access them without Sonny's prodding and also showed no interest otherwise to do so.
Finally, both Sonny and Moms were able to see Iron Man without his helmet or his armor, but did not seem interested in his (at the time) secret identity, nor did Iron Man seem worried by this exposure.
Profile by Hugo V. Negron
CLARIFICATIONS:
"Sonny" has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
Iron Man I#158, p21, pan1 (main image)
Iron Man I#158, p9, pan3 (closeup)
Iron Man I#158, p9, pan1 (testing mother)
Iron Man I#158, p22, pan1,2,3,4 (defeated by Tony Stark)
Appearances:
Iron Man I#158 (May, 1982) - Denny O'Neil (writer), Carmine Infantino (pencils), Dan Green, Al Milgrom (inkers), Jim Salicrup (editor)
Last updated: 02/01/14
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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